Before joining the University of Westminster, I worked for NGOs specialising in the Arab world (during which time, I organised all-party parliamentary delegations to a number of Arab countries). In the late 1990s, I was employed as Parliamentary Officer for the British Council and, in the early 2000s, worked as a parliamentary researcher for a Member of Parliament at the House of Commons in London. From time to time, I have provided advice for diplomats taking up posts in the Middle East and for British MPs seeking a better understanding of the MENA region. I also assisted in setting up all-party parliamentary groups for Lebanon and Syria in the British Parliament and organised parliamentary visits in both directions. In 2000, I participated in a parliamentary commission of enquiry into Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.