Tahir Abbas

Dr Tahir Abbas BSc(Econ) MSocSc PhD FRSA is currently Reader in Sociology and founding Director of Birmingham University’s Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Culture. He was Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (2007-2008). His research expertise is in the areas of Muslim minorities and Islam in Britain, ethnicity, race equality and multiculturalism.

A recognised author of books, papers, articles, reviews and opinion columns in national and international publications, Tahir has a BSc(Econ) Economics with Mathematical Studies (Queen Mary, University of London, taking Introduction to Individual and Social Psychology at the London School of Economics), MSocSc Economic Development and Policy (University of Birmingham), and a PhD Ethnic Relations (University of Warwick). He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Lunar Society. He has held numerous small scale research grants and has been consulted by government departments and civil society organisations in Asia, Europe and North America. He presently sits on the editorial boards of the journals, Sociology (British Sociological Association) and Vista: Perspectives on Probation Criminal Justice and Civil Renewal (sponsored by the Probation Association).

Dr Abbas currently sits on the Runnymede Trust Academic Forum and is an external advisor to DEMOS on their project on Muslim political identities in Western Europe. Dr Abbas is routinely consulted, and has advised numerous Islamic and Muslim organisations throughout Britain and across the globe.

Key publications (2008-)

(2009d) Muslim Power: Class, Culture and Representation, in progress.

(2009c) Race, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism, London and New York: Sage.

(2009b) British Islam: The Road to Radicalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

(2009a) ‘Multiculturalism, Islamophobia and the City’, V S Kalra (ed.) Oxford in Pakistan Readings in Sociology and Social Anthropology - Pakistani Diasporas: Culture, Conflict, and Change, Karachi: Oxford University Press.

(2008b) ‘Ethnomethodology in the study of Islam and Muslim minorities: seeing, believing, knowing’, in B Spalek and A Imotal (eds.) Religion, Spirituality and Social Science: Challenging Marginalisation, Bristol: Policy Press.

(2008a) 'Introduction - Islamic Political Radicalisation in Britain: Appraising an emergent phenomenon', in A A Malik (ed.) The State We Are In: Identity, Terror and the Law of Jihad, second edition, Bristol: Amal Press, pp. xv-xxiv.

External appointments

2007-2008, Visiting Fellow, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

2007 – present, Centre Fellow and Associate Director, Centre for Studies in Security and Democracy, University of Birmingham.

2001 – present, Senior Associate Research Fellow, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, University of Warwick.

International activities

2008, British Muslim Delegation to Indonesia, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1-6 March 2008.

2007, British Muslim Delegation to Pakistan, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 29 April - 5 May 2007.

Making news

'Muslim Britain is becoming one big no-go area' (London, Sunday Times) 13 January 2008

'Radical thinker' (London, Guardian) 13 November 2007

'The changing face of Islam in UK' (Karachi, Dawn Features) 29 October 2007

'7/7 death knell for British Muslim leaders' (Karachi, Dawn) 26 October 2007

'Delegate' (Prague, Forum 2000) 7-9 October 2007

'A question of faith' (London, Guardian) 26 September 2007

'Flight of middle class Muslims' (BBC Radio 4) 24 April 2007

'The challenge for us all' (Leader, Guardian), 12 August 2006

'Vote 2004: the battleground' (BBC News Live) 24 May 2004

'Rejected and dejected - the new generation of Muslims' (London, Guardian) 1 April 2004

Research funding

As principal [PI] or co-investigator [CI], funding has been obtained from the Home Office (2007-2008, PI), Dudley Muslim Association (2008, CI with Dr Frank Reeves), Heritage Lottery Fund (2006, CI with the Bangladeshi Writer's Association), Commission for Judicial Appointments (2005, PI), European Commission (1998-1999, CI with Professor Muhammad Anwar, Warwick University), ESRC and Birmingham Chamber of Commerce (1998-1999, CI with Monder Ram, Balihar Sanghera, and Trevor Jones), Runnymede Trust (1997, CI with Alex Hall and Nusrat Shaheen), City College (Birmingham, 1997, PI), Centre for the Study of Islam-Christian Relations (Birmingham University, 1996, PI), ‘East’ (BBC, Pebble Mill, Birmingham, 1995, CI with Karima Imtiaz).

Book reviews (2005-)

(2008b) Book review of Gareth Stansfield (2007) ‘Iraq: People, History, Politics’ (Cambridge: Polity), Muslim World Book Review, 28(2): 51-52.

(2008a) Review Essay, ‘Educating Muslims: current national and international debates’. A book review of Sofia Chanda-Gool’s South Asian communities: catalysts for educational change (Trentham Books, 2006), the Linda Herrera and Carlos Alberto Torres edited book Cultures of Arab Schooling: Critical Ethnographies from Egypt (State University of New York Press, 2006) and Rosarii Griffin’s edited book Education in the Muslim World: different perspectives (Symposium, 2006), British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(2): 243-245.

(2007b) Book review of (2006) (eds.) N Ali, V Kalra and S. Sayyid ‘A Postcolonial People: South Asians in Britain’, Muslim World Book Review, 28(1): 43-44.

(2007a) ‘ “The Islamist”: a journey around faith and nation’. Book Review of The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left, by Ed Husain, Penguin, pp. 304, OpenDemocracy, Uploaded 21 June 2007.

(2006d) Book review of M Begg (2006) ‘Enemy combatant: A British Muslim's Journey to Guantanamo and Back’ (London: Simon and Schuster), Muslim News, May, issue 205, p. 15.

(2006c) Book review of T Modood (2005) ‘Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain’ (Edinburgh: University Press), Ethnic and Racial Studies, 29(3): 596-598.

(2006b) Book review I Manji (2005) ‘The Trouble with Islam Today: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change’ (Edinburgh: Mainstream), OpenDemocracy, Uploaded 24 April.

(2006a) Book review of H Daun G Walford (eds) Educational Strategies Among Muslims in the Context of Globalization: Some National Case Studies, Leiden: Brill (2004) (Muslim Minorities Series), vi + 285pp, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 29(1): 200-201.

(2005) ‘The roots of British Islamophobia’. Book review of H Ansari (2005) ‘ ‘The Infidel Within’: The History of Muslims in Britain, 1800 to the present’, London: Hurst, Patterns of Prejudice, 39(3): 348-350.

Opinion-editorials (2007-)

(2008a) Comment on ‘Between Marx and Muhammed: Class politics and British Muslims’, by Dr Amir Saeed , in Soundings: The Journal of Class and Culture, online debates, 24 June 2008.

(2007c) ‘We have not yet reached the end of the road’, Birmingham Post, p.5 [Weekend Supplement], 27 October.

(2007b) ‘Listen to the new voice of Birmingham’s Muslims’, Birmingham Post, pp. 8-9, 18 September.

(2007a) ‘Muslim Cultural Youth: Paving the way to the future’, Spanda News: e-Newsletter of the Spanda Foundation, Netherlands, Hague, pp. 6-7 [ISSN 1824-7180].

Government advisory roles (2005-)

Belgium Commission on Islam and Muslims, British Embassy in Jakarta, British High Commission in Islamabad, British Council Czech Republic, British Council Indonesia, Embassy of the United States in Canberra, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations , Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Immigration and Citizenship Australian Government, Franco-British Council , Goethe-Institute Pakistan, High Commission for Pakistan in Canberra, High Commission for Pakistan in London, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw , UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Research Analysts, UK Improvement and Development Agency, UK Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, UK Prisons Service, United Nations Development Programme, Islamic Conference Youth Forum, Heyder Ali Foundation, Council of Europe, and ISESCO (in Baku, Azerbaijan), United States Institute for Peace, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (at Wilton Park), Forum 2000

Membership

2007- Trustee of the Oxford Centre for British Islam, 2007- Academic Forum, Runnymede Trust, 2006- Editorial Board of Sociology, 2004- Editorial Board of Vista: Perspectives on Probation Criminal Justice and Civil Renewal, 2003- Muslims in Britain Research Network, 2003- British Sociological Association, 2003- Association of Muslim Social Scientists, 2003- Trustee of Kashmiri and Pakistani Professionals Association (Chair, 2006-), 1998, Member of European Research Forum on Migration and Ethnic Relations.

Awards

Muslim Power 100, and nominated for the category of 'Excellence in Education', sponsored by the Islamic Bank of Britain and Carter Anderson, January 2007.

For Contributions to the Muslim Community, presented by Baron Patel of Blackburn and Mr Khurshid Alam of the Progressive Muslims Forum, House of Lords, London, 14 June 2007.

External links

• University of Birmingham
• openDemocracy - Tahir Abbas