Call for Papers

Date: January 21, 2019 @ 9:30am to 5:30pm

Venue: Cardiff University Main Building, Council Chamber 1.77, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK

Abstract Submission Deadline: December 7, 2018

This one-day conference brings together academics and activists to explore issues of leadership, authority and representation in British Muslim communities.  Who speaks for British Muslims?  How is authority construed, constructed and exercised in an age of mass media and the Internet?  What internal and external factors shape leadership structures and modalities of representation for British Muslims living as a minority in a culturally Christian but largely secular social context?  Where do leaders come from in a decentralized religious tradition lacking a priestly hierarchy?  How do government discourses and media representations impact upon dynamics of leadership and authority in British Muslim communities?

Keynote Lectures by:

• Ataullah Siddiqui (Markfield Institute of Higher Education)
• Shaukat Warraich (Faith Associates)

Panel Discussion on ‘The Future Role of Imams in the UK’ with:

• Saleem Kidwai (Chair)
• Shuruq Naguib
• Atif Imtiaz
• Mufti Abdur Rahman Mangera
• Myriam Francois-Cerrah
• Imam Qari Asim

This conference has been organized in conjunction with a special issue of the international journal Religions jointly edited by Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray and Dr Riyaz Timol. Delegates may be invited to submit a paper for publication, subject to normal peer-review procedures, after the event.  The deadline for final paper submissions is 25 April 2019.

More information on: Center for the Study of Islam in the UK