Director

Merryl Wyn Davies

Appointed in May 2010 she is a writer and broadcaster with some 30 years of involvement with Muslim intellectual life. At bbc tv she worked for Everyman, Heart of the Matter and Global Report and was a regular contributor to the Muslim magazine Afkar/Inquiry. Her books include Knowing One Another: Shaping an Islamic Anthropology and Darwin and Fundamentalism. In collaboration with Ziauddin Sardar: Distorted Imagination: Lessons from the Rushdie Affair and a trilogy on America from Why do People Hate America? to Will America Change?.

Deputy Director

Samia Rahman

Appointed in September 2010 she is a writer and journalist. Formerly deputy editor of emel magazine she has written for the Guardian, Prospect magazine and the New Statesman on a range of issues including segregation in Bradford and the dangers of working in the media in Russia. She worked on the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary Young, Angry & Muslim and has been a researcher for Channel 4 News and More4 News.

Chair of Trustees

Ziauddin Sardar is a writer, broadcaster and cultural critic. The most recent of his numerous books include Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim and Balti Britain: A Provocative Journey Through Asian Britain. He is the editor of Futures, the monthly journal of policy, planning and futures studies. He is also the Chair of the Black Umbrella Trust, which publishes the critical art journal Third Text.

Trustees

Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is a well-known Muslim activist, an expert on Islamic fundamentalism and Muslim political thought. A champion of female empowerment he campaigns against forced marriage, domestic violence and murder in the name of honour. Together with senior clerics, he launched a Muslim marriage contract to protect the rights of women. He is co-author of a report on and campaigns against child abuse within faith-based environments. Dr Siddiqui has promoted dialogue and engagement across all barriers: social, cultural and political.

Ehsan Masood is a science journalist. He began his career on MuslimWise magazine and is now editor of the Research group of publications including Research Fortnight and Research Europe. He worked for the journal Nature as London correspondent, developing world correspondent and acting chief commissioning editor. He teaches international science policy at Imperial College London and advises the British Council on science and cultural relations. His books include Dry: Life Without Water, The GM Debate: Who Decides? British Muslims: Media Guide and Science and Islam: a history. He is a member of the board of trustees of lead International.

Mufti Barkatulla is a senior Imam and lecturer on Islamic Finance at a Community College. Trained extensively both in traditional Islamic and modern Western educational institutions, he has served uk Muslims as a community worker and as a Judge at Islamic Sharia Council, London. He has developed Islamic Sharia information databases on cd-rom and recently hosted live phone-in shows on community tv channels. He is a member of the Sharia supervisory boards of several institutions including Islamic Bank of Britain and Lloyds tsb. He maintains the Islamic Helpline.

Shazia Ovaisi is a medical doctor. After completing a medical rotation at Kings College Hospital, London and obtaining her Membership of The Royal College of Physicians (mrcp), she pursued a career in General Practice. She is a Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (mrcgp) and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Dermatology from Barts. She has been awarded a National Institute for Health Research (nihr) Academic Fellowship; a Masters Degree in Public Health at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Stroke Research at St George's University of London. Shazia volunteered for an ngo in Kashmir after the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and has worked on social action projects in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

Hayet Bahri is a professional conference and liaison interpreter. She is curently a lecturer on the MA programme in International Liaison and Communication at the University of Westminster. She has been involved in Interfaith Dialogue for over a decade, particularly with the Maimonides Foundation and Daughters of Abraham. She has also been active with various Arab and Muslim grassroots organisations in London.