He holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the Institute of Political Studies of the Université Lumière Lyon 2, where wrote a dissertation on The Islamic factor in Afro-Arab relations: roles of Sufi brotherhoods and Islamic movements. He also holds a Masters degree in Arabic Languages and Civilizations. He has been a visiting scholar at The Institute of African Studies (Mohammed V University, Morocco) and a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations (ISMC) of the Aga Khan University, London.