In November-December 2025 I undertook a rich and very rewarding research sojourn across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. The extended trip centred on academic exchange, public scholarship, and our ongoing work on heritage literacy. The journey began in Jeddah, where I was honoured to serve as a Visiting Scholar at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). 

During my time there, I delivered four sessions across the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and KAU’s new Chinese Culture & Science Institute. These included a lecture on ‘What is a Sociolinguistics of Islam?’, a professional development workshop on academic publishing, and joint lectures with Heng Wang on the history of Islam and its heritage among Chinese Muslims. The discussions were thought provoking, wide-ranging, and reflected strong interest from faculty and students alike.

From Jeddah, we travelled to Sharjah (UAE), where we presented our work at the American University of Sharjah to an engaged interdisciplinary audience, followed by lively discussion with colleagues from history, archaeology, sociology, and literary studies. The final leg of the trip took us to Qatar, where we delivered further talks hosted by the Department of English Literature & Linguistics at Qatar University and met with colleagues and students. While in Doha, Heng Wang donated two pieces of Chinese Islamic artwork to the Al Mujadilah Centre, a women’s sacred and intellectual space. These pieces are unique calligraphy and paper-cut pieces connected to our Leverhulme-funded research. 

Altogether, it was a busy but deeply fulfilling trip, full generous hospitality, stimulating conversations, and meaningful connections.