Bringing thousands to Cardiff virtually in 10th anniversary year

Islam UK Public Lecture Series 2015 streams live across the globe this Spring

Celebrating its tenth anniversary year, Cardiff University's Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK is to welcome thousands of people from around the world to a fascinating range of free public lectures over the next two months thanks to a livestreaming service.

From British Muslims and charitable giving and Approaching Islamophobia from a Human Rights Perspective to Challenges and Opportunities: British Muslim Women and Maktab Education, the 2015 Islam UK Public Lecture Series brings a range of expert speakers to the University and the Welsh capital over six Tuesday evenings throughout February and March to share latest research and engage the wider public.

Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray is particularly pleased this year to be opening up the complete lecture series online:

"We are delighted that this series – now in its eighth year – will be open to anyone in the world. This great development is made possible through live streaming for our Massive Open Online Course Muslims in Britain: Changes and Challenges via a Google hangout.

"Our programme is carefully chosen to spotlight a wide variety of current themes, bringing scholars from across the UK to Cardiff to reflect on their work. It is a great pleasure this year to welcome Dr Chris Allen for his talk Approaching Islamophobia from a Human Rights Perspective organised in partnership with the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Wales as its 2015 Annual Lecture". 

The 2015 line-up this year is as follows: British Muslims and charitable giving [10th February]  Zia Salik; Loyal Enemies or Critical Friends'? The Challenges for British Muslims in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries [17th February] Professor Humayun Ansari; Demystifying the Muslimah: Faithful Feminists [24th February] Dr Sariya Contractor; Approaching Islamophobia from a Human Rights Perspective [3rd March] Dr Chris Allen; The Darul Ulum and Mainstream Higher Education: A Way Forward? [10th March] Haroon Sidat & Saleem Seedat with Prof Ron Geaves; Challenges and Opportunities: British Muslim Women and Maktab Education [17th March] Imran Mogra 

Muslims in Britain: Changes and Challenges was one of the first ever global Massive Open Online Courses, reaching 6,500 people globally on launch last year, and the first of its kind offered by Cardiff University. This free course repeats this year following its successful launch in 2014. To sign up, see https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/muslims-in-britain

The Islam UK Public Lecture series, organised in conjunction with a number of local Muslim organisations, is one of the central pillars of the research centre established in 2005 at Cardiff University, enabling dissemination of latest research for the widest public audience possible. To find out more, see Cardiff Islam UK Centre or follow @IslamUKCentre on Twitter.