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 […]
I am excited to announce a Call for Papers for a forthcoming special issue in the Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, which I will co-edit with Othman Barnawi and Rizwan Ahmad. The special issue theme is ‘A Sociolinguistics of Islam: Exploring Multilingualism & Meaning in Faith’ and […]
I am delighted to announce the publication of my new article, co-authored with Zhen Li [李蓁], titled “Towards Understanding Heritage Literacy” (see link). This research provides a fresh perspective on the intersection of heritage and linguistics, introducing and defining the concept of heritage literacy through an ethnographic study […]
Last month I visited two universities in Doha, Qatar: Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Qatar University. At Hamad Bin Khalifa, I gave a talk on a linguistic concept I am currently developing, which expands on the concept of heritage literacy that I have been writing about. The talk, […]
I had a great time recording a podcast with Tazin Abdullah as part of the Language On The Move series, in collaboration with the New Books Network. You can listen to it here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/a-semiotics-of-muslimness-in-china Alternatively, you can also find the podcast on the Language On The Move website […]
Below is the link to the full recording of our presentation at the Manchester China Institute. Just before the event, we formally donated Sino-Muslim artwork to the Institute and arranged for two pieces to be exhibited on loan at the Manchester Museum nearby. These artworks, paper cuts by […]
I am looking forward to two in-person events in February 2024, both of which disseminate and reflect on the recent Sino-Muslim Heritage Literacy project (funded by the Leverhulme Trust). The posters for the events are below. The first event (5th February) is part of the Chinese New Year […]
Ibrar's space 