Speakers and panellists

Keynote speakers

Ataullah Siddiqui

Dr Ataullah Siddiqui is a Reader in Religious Pluralism and Inter-Faith Relations at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, where he was previously Director from 2001-2008. His interests include formation of religious leadership in Islam, especially with respect to chaplaincy and ulema. As well as his 2007 report Islam at Universities in England: Meeting the Needs and Investing in the Future, Dr Siddiqui has published prolifically on Islam and Christian dialogue and mutual relations.

Shaukat Warraich

Shaukat Warraich is an award-winning social entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer of Faith Associates. He was instrumental in the 2006 launch of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body, comprising over 600 Mosques and Islamic centres in the UK, and has authored the Mosque and Islamic Centre Management Guide. He has established the Beacon Mosques standards kite-mark and is the chief editor of Imamsonline.com, a blog platform showcasing good practices of Imams globally.

Panellists

Saleem Kidwai (Chair)

An accountant by profession, Saleem Kidwai OBE is the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales and a long-standing member of the Cardiff Muslim community. He has spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at bettering understanding of Muslim communities and convenes workshops and training for Imams and Mosque teachers across Wales. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for “services to Diversity and Business in Wales”.

Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera

Mufti Dr Abdur-Rahman Mangera is a graduate of the Darul Uloom seminary in Bury, England, where he received formal authorization in the Islamic Sciences. He later specialized in legal judgment (iftā’) at Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur, India, followed by a Masters and PhD in Islamic Studies from SOAS (University of London). He has worked as an imam both in Southern California and London and has authored, edited and translated numerous publications at White Thread PressHe has worked as an imam both in Southern California and London and has authored, edited and translated numerous publications at White Thread Press and is the Principal of White Thread Institute.

Imam Qari Asim

Qari Asim MBE works simultaneously as a Legal Director at DLA Piper UK LLP and a senior imam at the award-winning Leeds Makkah Mosque.  In 2012, he received a MBE for his ground-breaking initiatives in enhancing community relations and for his work in engaging young people.  He is Chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, an executive member of the British Muslim Forum and author of Our Children: Our Future.

Myriam Francois-Cerrah

Dr Myriam Francois is a journalist, academic and television documentary presenter whose career has spanned the BBC, Al Jazeera, TRT World and the Huffington Post. Several of her documentaries have been shortlisted for awards and her translation of Asma Lamrabet’s book, Women in the Qur’an: An Emancipatory Reading, won the English Pen Award. In May 2010, Myriam co-organised and hosted the Rethinking Islamic Reform conference at Oxford University featuring Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Professor Tariq Ramadan.

Atif Imtiaz

Dr Atif Imtiaz was, until recently, Academic Director of the Cambridge Muslim College. He completed his PhD in social psychology at the London School of Economics on Muslim identity politics among Bradford youth. He has worked as an Equality and Diversity advisor to NHS Bradford and Airedale and is the author of Wandering Lonely in a Crowd: Reflections on Muslim Conditions in the West.

Shuruq Naguib

Dr Shuruq Naguib is a lecturer at the department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University. Her research interests include Qur’anic hermeneutics, ritual law and the response of Muslim women scholars to modernity.  She was the lead researcher on a project entitled Muslim Women Reading Religious Texts in Britain and Egypt and is the interim co-chair of the British Association of Islamic Studies (BRAIS).

Rehanah Sadiq

Rehanah Sadiq is a Muslim chaplain in Birmingham NHS hospitals, meeting religious, pastoral and spiritual needs of its service users. She trains and mentors chaplains and is an Honorary Visiting Chaplaincy Fellow at Markfield Institute of Higher Education in Leicestershire. Her experience extends to West Midlands Police Chaplaincy and to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. She project-managed the award winning QEHB Mihrab, installed in the Birmingham Queen Elizabeth hospital.