In this vlog, the Centre’s deputy director Abdul-Azim Ahmed shares an update on his research project on Islam in Wales, with a special focus on his visit to the grave of Amelia Kadija Baksh in Carmarthenshire. The project was launched with a photo competition, and in this gallery, you can see some of the entries, […]
In the first of our series on research updates from Centre staff, director Sophie Gilliat-Ray discusses issues of diversity, inclusion, and exclusion in relation to religion in the workplace and in public life more generally. Here’s the transcript for Sophie’s vlog: Welcome to the Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University…and to one of our regular research […]
On Monday 13 March 2023, my colleagues from the School of English and Philosophy (Dr Megan Leitch, Dr Stephen Gordon and Prof Martin Willis) and I (Dr Mansur Ali) with the assistance of Cardiff University AHSS library special collection staff, and led by Dr Megan Leitch (Reader in English Literature), launched our exhibition on ‘Sleep […]
On Sunday 12 March 2023, the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) premiered its first movie on organ donation and Islam. The panel included transplant surgeons, organ transplant patients, nephrologists, organ donation activists, and myself, acting as the Muslim theologian on the panel. Many questions were raised by members of the public related to the law, […]
Photo by Mark Bryant The pursuit of “firsts” is always enticing in history as superlative claims help justify the importance of the findings in question. But such claims are always contentious and prone to contradiction. Given this, it is with some hesitation I’m sharing the story of the first Muslim grave in Wales – at […]
My interview with Gayle, a white British Muslim convert of 18 years, had ended. It was a pleasant but chilly late winter’s day. About fifty yards up the street was a group of women wearing shalwar kameez, loose shawls and sandals. Gayle remarked how ‘Pakistani dress’ was impractical in Britain, an example of the ‘culturally […]
The creators of the pastwn and its recipient: Nancy Collis, Peter Forward, Sami Bryant, Hanan Issa, and Mark Bryant at the Grange Pavilion. Mark and Sami Bryant have known Hanan Issa for several years and were both pleased to hear the news that she had been named National Poet of Wales. At the Muslims in […]
I can’t quite put my finger on it…but there is something rather compelling about the story of Fatima Cates (1865-1900) one of the first women to convert to Islam in Britain in the late 19th century. I was privileged to attend a commemorative event for Fatima at the Abdullah Quilliam Society Mosque and Heritage Centre […]
The Office for National Statistics has released the first information on religious affiliation from the 2021 Census, giving us a glimpse of the unfolding story of faith in Britain. The headline findings are significant but expected for those familiar with the trends. We see the numerical decline of Christianity, the increase in those stating they […]
Dr Mansur Ali joined a podcast to discuss the question of end times: what happens at the end of the world? Ed Kessler of the Woolf Institute runs the podcast Naked Reflections as part of The Naked Scientists series. The discussion between Ali, Kessler, and Woolf Institute fellow Beth Phillips look at both hope and […]
