Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra
Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra is a prominent British Islamic scholar, imam, and interfaith leader based in Leicester, England. He is widely recognised for his extensive work in deepening interfaith relations and bridging religious communities across the United Kingdom.
Interfaith Leader: He has served as the Chair of the Interfaith Relations Committee and Assistant Secretary General for the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB)
Chaplaincy: He serves as the Muslim Chaplain at the Canary Wharf Multifaith Chaplaincy in London. He is also a student mentor and chaplain to the Cambridge Muslim College and Ebrahim College
Prof. Dr. Recep Şentürk
Prof. Dr. Recep Şentürk is a Turkish sociologist and scholar of Islamic and civilisation studies. He is Dean of the College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar and founder of Usul Academy. He previously served as founding president of Ibn Haldun University (2017–2021).
He earned his PhD in Sociology from Columbia University in 1998. His research focuses on Islamic thought, sociology, human rights, modernisation, social networks, and Ibn Khaldun. His notable book, Narrative Social Structure: Hadith Transmission Network 610–1505, explores the transmission of Hadith using social-network analysis.
Paul Williams
Paul Williams studied philosophy and theology at the University of London and later embraced Islam. He is the Founder and Director of the Blogging Theology Academy and the celebrated comparative religions platform Blogging Theology, which brings together some of the world’s most prominent theologians and scholars from diverse faith traditions in a unique and much-loved intellectual forum.
He travels widely, delivering lectures on theological and philosophical questions across the world, and has been featured in the 2024, 2025, and 2026 editions of The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims.
Ustadha Ameena Blake
Ustadha Ameena is a British Muslim scholar who embraced Islam in 1992. She holds a Master’s in Islamic Studies, along with qualifications in English, teaching, and leadership, and is pursuing a PhD on reducing Islamophobic prejudice.
She lectures at MIHE Islamic University, serves as a university and police chaplain, and is the founding Director of the EHUK project. She teaches internationally and contributes to platforms including Islam Channel, Al Balagh Academy, and Roots Academy. She has also held leadership and advisory roles within the Muslim community and received the Most Impactful Aalimah Award in 2022.
Lauren Booth
Author and Journalist. Drawing on 20 years in the mainstream, Lauren now delivers media training at university and community level. Her Youtube channel explores Muslim narratives. Her memoir ‘In Search of a Holy Land,’ is now a stage play, premiered at the Edinburgh Festival and Palestine House.
Iqbal Nasim
Iqbal Nasim is an educator, podcaster, and social-impact leader focused on cultivating wisdom and transformation. He hosts the In Good Faith podcast and The Public Forum, and has created courses on prayer, leadership, and revelation.
Previously, he was CEO of the National Zakat Foundation (2012–21), cofounder and Trustee of Funders In Good (2021–24), and an investment banker (2006–11). He received an MBE in 2019 and holds degrees from Cambridge University and Bayes Business School.
Shaykh Afdal Feroz
Shaykh Afdal Feroz, an Imam with 35 years of experience, began his Islamic studies early, completing the memorization of the Quran and Alimiyyah Program. He is known for his ability to engage youth, leading international Quran competitions and delivering lectures globally. Founder of Abdullah Academy, World Iftar Day, and Zakat and Sadaqah Relief, he also co-founded the British Board of Scholars and Imams.
In business, he founded SAH Global and SAH Diagnostics, offering advanced cancer treatments and winning the HSJ Gold Award for his contribution to cancer treatment. A dual leader in religion and business, Shaykh Feroz mentors young scholars to excel in both fields.
Shaykh Abdullah Hasan
Shaykh Abdullah Hasan is a scholar, counsellor, psychologist, and community leader with over 20 years in Islamic studies, mental health, and community service. He holds an Imam Diploma, BA, and Ijaza Aliyah, with advanced training in theology, Islamic law, and related disciplines—all completed in Arabic. He is a founding trustee of the British Board of Scholars & Imams (BBSI) and a member of the Global Imams & Scholars Council (GISC).
Joram van Klaveren
Joram J. van Klaveren, was called ‘the crown prince of Geert Wilders’, a famous critic of Islam in The Netherlands and a former MP. He was in politics for almost 12 years: in the city council, the Provincial States, as a policy advisor and as a Member of Parliament.
While writing an anti-islam book he had change of heart and mind and eventually even became Muslim.
Joram studied comparative religion at the Free University in Amsterdam, is a registered academic teacher of religion and co-founder of the Islam Experience Centre (the first islamic museum in The Netherlands).
Shaykh Khidir Hussain
Imam of Masjid Ayesha Tottenham and is a graduate of the esteemed al-Azhar University in Egypt. Specialising in the field of Fiqh, he has been a prominent figure and spokesman in the British Muslim community for many years, having been invited to speak at various mosques and Islamic events across the UK, in addition to tackling a variety of contemporary issues. Shaykh Khidir Host Q&A programme on Channel S / Islam Essentials and Marriage Counsellor
Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury
Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury is the Academic Director of the Centre for Islamic Knowledge. Research Scholar in Islamic theology and philosophy, Ibn Rushd Centre of Excellence for Islamic Research. He read Philosophy at King’s College London, where he also earned the Associate of King’s College (AKC) award.
He then travelled to Cairo to study the traditional Islamic Studies curricula at Al-Azhar University. Returning to the UK, he completed his MA with distinction at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. His doctoral research, undertaken at SOAS, examined the eminent Sufi hagiographer and theoretician Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021) and was later published as A Sufi Apologist of Nishapur: The Life and Thought of Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (Sheffield: Equinox Publishing, 2019).
Dr. Sohail Hanif
Dr. Sohail Hanif is the Chief Executive Officer at the National Zakat Foundation. He works on Islamic legal theory, with a focus on the Ḥanafī school of law. He received an MA and DPhil from the University of Oxford. His doctoral thesis, A Theory of Early Classical Ḥanafism: Legal Epistemology in the Hidāyah of Burhān al-Dīn ‘Alī ibn Abī Bakr al-Marghīnānī (d. 593/1197), studies the interplay of rationality and tradition in a major work of legal commentary.
Sohail has also spent over a decade in Jordan, where he studied a full curriculum of Islamic sciences with traditional ‘ulamā’. He was previously the Head of Arabic Sciences at Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman, BA Program Manager and Lecturer at the Cambridge Muslim College, and an instructor in Islamic studies at Qibla Online Academy.
Imam Ashraf Dabous
Imam Ashraf Dabous joined LIC as Deputy Imam in September 2017 and Imam and Head of Education. Imam Ashraf studied at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia where he obtained a Diploma of Arabic Language and a Bachelors Degree from the Faculty of Dawah and Usul al Deen.
He also studied privately under various Shuyukh and Teachers Hanbali Fiqh and Hanafi Fiqh as well as hadith and the philosophy of hadith.
Furthermore, in regards to counselling, Imam Ashraf holds an MSc degree in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) from the Goldsmiths, University of London, and has earned Level 2/3 certifications in Person-Centered Approach Counselling.
Dr. Shahrul Hussain
Dr Sh Shahrul Hussain is a graduate of a traditional private Islamic seminary. In 1997, after graduating from the Seminary, he won a full scholarship to study at the University of Al-Azhar, and in 2001 graduated from the Faculty of Islamic Jurisprudence and Law. In 2009, he completed his PhD at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
During his career Shahrul Hussain has held many posts in the field of education. In 2010, he started his academic career with an institute affiliated to the University of Gloucestershire and Newman University Birmingham. He was a lecturer in Islamic Studies and the BA Islamic Studies Course Leader. Shahrul Hussain has travelled to many parts of the world attending academic conferences and seminars. He is passionate at teaching as well as research, and he is happy to hear from research scholars with ideas for research collaboration or PhD student requiring help and support with their research.
Shaykha Saleha Islam Bukhari
Shaykha Saleha Bukhari Islam is a Chaplain, Muslim scholar, Educator and Speaker, working with numerous grassroots organisations. She is one of the Muslim Chaplains working with the Canary Wharf Multifaith Chaplaincy team at Canary Wharf where she supports the broader Chaplaincy team. She has previously trained and worked as a Muslim Chaplain with the Bart’s Health NHS Trust. She is a member of the Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum (THIFF) and the Interfaith Network (IFN). She holds a BSc Hons Degree in Computing and a Shariah graduate who completed her 6-year seminary studies as a mature student and specialised in Prophetic narrations. She has recently completed a Professional Counselling Skills Programme (PCSP) which helps her to be holistic in her approach to understanding the worldview of others.
Dr Haroon Sidat
Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Cardiff University. Trustee of the Cambridge Muslim College and for BRAIS. Founder of Hujjah Academy. Haroon Ebrahim Sidat is an esteemed scholar of Islam, with a deep interest in Islamic theology, Islamic law, Sufism, and the social sciences.
He joined the Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University in 2015 after being awarded the prestigious Jameel scholarship for postgraduate study. His PhD thesis explores the rich and complex world of the dārul ‘ulūm (Islamic seminary) in modern Britain, contributing to a better understanding of the roles that religious institutions play in shaping Muslim religious leadership in contemporary society.
