I am a social anthropologist with a primary interest in religion, youth, migration, and sociality in urban Africa. I conducted fieldwork in East Africa and the Indian Ocean, specifically in Ethiopia and Madagascar. In my habilitation, titled A Tapestry of Tensions: Envy, Youth and urban sociality in coastal Madagascar, I examine discourses of envy among educated youth in the Indian Ocean port city of Mahajanga. This study focuses on social tensions arising from economic hardships and political crises in Madagascar. My analysis centers on individual migration projects and how the pursuit of a better life influences the ways in which young men and women navigate social proximity and distance in their everyday relationships.
My previous research scrutinized religious debates among Muslims in the East African context. My primary focus was on the role of saint veneration in Islam, place-making, and the culturalization of practices and discourses associated with shrines in Ethiopia. Additionally, I closely examined ethnic and religious boundary-making and explored the integration of global Islamic reform discourses into local frameworks of meaning and relevance.
Throughout my career, I have worked, taught, or held scholarships at the University of Mainz, Free University of Berlin, Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Societies and Cultures, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, TOPOI Berlin, University of Cologne, University of Mahajanga, and University of Göttingen.