He studied Middle East History and Islamic Thought at the University of Exeter (UK). He received his PhD (Exon) in Arabic and Islamic Thought in 2014. He taught Middle Eastern and Iranian History at the University of St Andrews (UK) between 2013 and 2016. His research interests at Leiden University focus on medieval Arabic and Islamic thought, Shiʿism, religious establishments and clerical networks in Iraq and Iran, and Islamic political theology.