I am a PhD candidate in International History at the LSE and currently a Visiting Student at the University of Cambridge. My doctoral thesis, "The British Empire and Islam in the Second World War", is supervised by Dr David Motadel and Professor Marc Baer.
Before joining LSE, I studied History, Political Education, and German Philology at the University of Vienna, where I graduated with a BA in History. I received my MA in Near and Middle Eastern History from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Aside from my research at LSE, I currently teach colonial and global history (HY113) at the Department of International History and work as the Religion Scholars Network Coordinator (RSN) at the LSE Faith Center and Religion and Global Society Research Unit (feel free to reach outif you want to join our RSN at LSE). My current academic interests lie at the intersection of colonialism and Islam, the history of Muslims in Europe, interfaith history, and, more broadly, the interplay between religion and politics, in past and present (feel free to reach out if you want to discuss things over a coffee).
Provisional thesis title: The British Empire and Islam in the Second World War
My doctoral thesis is the first study to systematically examine Britain's Islam-related policies during the Second World War. Drawing on extensive research in primary sources from the UK, US, Germany, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, India, and Nigeria, the dissertation explores Britain's efforts to win over and mobilise Muslims across the Empire for their war effort. Ultimately, it demonstrates the crucial role Muslims played in Britain's victory over the Axis powers while addressing the complexities of Anglo-Muslim relations during this period.