He is American historian who specializes in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. The professor holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Washington, an MA in Islamic History from Cairo University, and an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the American University in Cairo. He has widely travelled in the Middle East, including eleven in Egypt and one year in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He is author of End of the Jihad State (Suny Series), The History of Al-Tabari: The End of Expansion (Suny Series), and has written an introduction to Attributes of God (Amalpress).