He is also the research leader at Asian Research Institute of NUS for Religion and Globalization Cluster. His expertise in Islam discourse has produced some fascinating publications on Islam, including: 1) Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives (ABC-CLIO, 2004), 2) Muslim Legal Thought in Modern Indonesia (Cambridge University Press, 2007), 3) Islamic Law in Contemporary Indonesia: Ideas and Institutions (Harvard University Press, 2001), co-edited with Mark Cammack, and 4) Islamic Connections: Muslim Societies and South and Southeast Asia (ISEAS Press, 2009), with Terenjit Sevea.