He specializes on the history of Islam in Southeast Asia, covering topics such as the Muslim networks, social movements, intellectual currents and minorities within and beyond the region. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees at the National University of Singapore and completed his PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. In late 2013, he was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Columbia University, New York. More recently in early 2015, he was a Visiting Professor at the Universiti of Brunei Darussalam (UBD).