He is a historian interested in the transregional architecture of Asian societies. His research has focused primarily on Muslim societies in the Malay world – in relation to the Indian Ocean – as well as contemporary Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and has centred on the question of cultural difference. His book Becoming Arab: Creole Histories and Modern Identity in the Malay World is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. At the KITLV, he is collaborating with Marieke Bloembergen, Tom Hoogervorst, and David Kloos on a workshop on ‘scholarly study, religious knowledge, and difficult histories’. He is also writing a paper for the workshop based on his current research on Muslim shrines as a way of exploring the history of the Malay world.