Understanding British Imams

Understanding British Imams is a four-year research project based at Cardiff University’s Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK.

Read the latest project update in the British Sociological Association’s Socrel Newsletter - June 2023.

Background to the research

Imams are the largest group of Muslim religious professionals in Britain who work principally within mosques leading prayers, delivering sermons and providing guidance to their congregations. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that this role is being expanded to encompass pastoral care, chaplaincy, charity work or wider community projects such as inter-faith activity or civic events.

Further, the pressures of a post-9/11 and 7/7 socio-political climate, in which counter-terrorism measures become increasingly conflated with integration issues, have foregrounded the imam as a figure that may guide his flock in either constructive or destructive ways. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, the British imam has only rarely been the subject of in-depth ethnographic research.

Generously funded by the Jameel Research Programme, this project aims to fill this lacuna by conducting the most detailed and rigorous study ever undertaken of British imams; and communicating the results, and interest in Muslim religious leadership in the West more generally, to many beneficiaries.

The project will transform our understanding of British imams and create a lasting reference point for future research on Muslim religious professionals.

Dr Riyaz Timol discusses the ‘Understanding British Imams’ research project on British Muslim TV

British Muslim TV video

Our research aims

Running from 2019 to 2023, the project has several key aims which can be summarised as follows:

1. To develop a national profile of British imams based on biographical details such as age, ethnic origin, language usage and country of birth. This has been done through a meticulously planned national mapping exercise involving multi-sited mosque visits, telephone interviews and an online survey. We are pleased to have gathered data from more than 1,200 British mosques and, because many mosques employ more than one imam, to have gathered data about more than 2,000 individual imams.
2. To develop rich insights into the personal, lived experiences of British imams. This has been done through a series of in-depth interviews conducted with 40 different imams of all backgrounds across Britain. We are pleased that the project has received such strong support from imams themselves who have taken out many hours to speak with us and share their experiences.
3. To elicit British Muslim community views on imams based on their personal experiences of interacting with them. This element of data capture was achieved through a detailed online survey which attracted 587 responses from a wide spectrum of the British Muslim community.
4. Based on the project findings, to make a series of recommendations to British Muslim community groups about how best to help imams serve their congregations. This could include the development of evidence-based training packages for ‘Continuous Professional Development', or a structured improvement of the working conditions of imams regarding such issues as salary, contracts, leave, etc.

The project team

Dr Riyaz Timol - Principal Investigator

Dr Timol’s PhD dissertation was shortlisted for the 2018 BRAIS - De Gruyter Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World.  As the Principal Investigator, he has overall management of the project contributing to data collection, analysis and write-up.

Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray - Co-Investigator

Professor Gilliat-Ray has been researching Muslim religious professionals in Britain for two decades, with a focus on Muslim chaplains. Her role involves shaping the overarching intellectual contributions of the project, especially as a specialist in the sociology of religious professionals.

Imam Dr Haroon Sidat - Research Associate

Dr Sidat’s recently completed PhD consisted of a detailed ethnographic study of a British Dar al-Uloom (Islamic seminary). Having served as a part-time imam for several years, he is uniquely positioned to conduct the bulk of the fieldwork on this project.

Seherish Abrar - Research Assistant

After completing a bachelor’s degree in Religion and Education at the University of Huddersfield, Seherish was awarded the Jameel scholarship for postgraduate study at Cardiff University. She completed the MA ‘Islam in Contemporary Britain’ in 2019 with her dissertation centring around the religious authority of female ‘Ulama in British Muslim communities.

Maulana Muhammad Belal Ghafoor - Research Assistant

Following his BA in Islamic Studies at the University of Leeds, Belal completed the Diploma in Contextualised Islamic Studies and Leadership at the Cambridge Muslim College. He has also served as an imam and teacher in both mosque and seminary settings. As a Jameel Scholar at Cardiff University, Belal’s MA thesis examined Muslim religious leadership in Scotland.

External advisors

The project is supported by a diverse range of imams, academics and community leaders (in alphabetical order).

While Cardiff University seeks to consult widely with a broad spectrum of stakeholders to facilitate the successful delivery of the project, it does not necessarily endorse the viewpoints or positions of any external individual or organisation associated with this project.

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