Usama Hasan

USAMA HASAN-Sheikh Dr. Usama Hasan is currently Senior Researcher in Islamic Studies at Quilliam, a think-tank promoting human rights and civil liberties, and challenging Islamism and extremism. Usama is a trained imam, having memorized the Qur’an age 11 and led mosque prayers for over 25 years, as well as being a scientist with a Ph.D., MA and MSc from the Universities of Cambridge and London, and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He has translated a number of Islamic texts from Arabic and Urdu into English, including the Islamic Foundation’s “Way of the Prophet” (2009). His latest academic papers address Islamic thought, law, human rights, gender-equality and scientific ethics.

Usama was a committed Islamist for 20 years before a deeper understanding of the Qur’an and life enabled him to move on in his own thinking. As a young man, Usama was one of the leaders of the Salafi Islamic movement in the UK that sent hundreds of fighters, including himself, to participate in “jihad” in Afghanistan and Bosnia during the 1990s. In 2014-15, Usama has worked on Islam, Politics and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria, Kosovo & MENA.

RECENT CAREER HISTORY

1. Senior Researcher in Islamic Studies, Quilliam Foundation, May 2012 – present

2. Lecturer in Astronomy, Science & Ethics, Cambridge Muslim College, 2010-15

3. Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society, 2010 – present 4. Member, International Society for Science and Religion (www.issr.org), 2015 –

5. Senior Lecturer in Engineering & Computing, Middlesex University, 2003-12

6. Director & Trustee, City Circle (London), 2008-12

7. Planetarium Lecturer, Royal Observatory Greenwich, 2006-8

8. Vice-Chairman, Imam & Khatib, Al-Tawhid Mosque, Leyton, London, 1984-2012

9. Visiting Associate Professor, National University of Sciences & Technology, Pakistan, 2002-3

USAMA HASAN – Recent Activities

QUILLIAM “RELIGIOUS REFORM” SERIES 1. The Balance of Islam in Challenging Extremism (2012) http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/publications/free/the-balance-of-islam-in-challenging-extremism.pdf

2. No Compulsion In Religion – Islam & Freedom of Belief (2013), includes discussion of death penalty for apostasy http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/publications/free/no-compulsion-in-religion-islam-and-the-freedom-of-belief.pdf, available in 10 languages here http://www.islamandbelief.net/NoCompulsion.html

3. From Dhimmitude to Democracy: Islamic Law, Non-Muslims & Equal Citizenship (2015) http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/publications/free/from-dhimmitude-to-democracy.pdf

EXPERT INPUT

1. Convenor of Muslim-Science.com’s International Task Force on Islam and Science: The Big Questions (http://muslim-science.com/initiatives/task-force-islam-science/), roundtable discussions at the Turkish Society for the History of Science in Istanbul, February 2015

2. Delegate, Ditchley Park conference on Understanding Political Islam, UK, March 2015

3. Instructor, Christian-Muslim peacebuilding in Nigeria, UK, January 2015

4. Trainer, Religion & Geopolitics, Kosovo, January 2015

5. Delegate, US-Islamic World Forum (Brookings Institution), Qatar, June 2014

6. Instructor, Christian-Muslim peacebuilding in Nigeria, UK, February 2014

7. Organiser and host, international workshop on Islam and Science: A Reasoned Approach, London, 2013 (http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/events/islam-science-workshop-2013/)

PUBLICATIONS ON ISLAM

1. “Hurriyah, Musawah, Ukhuwwah – Islam and Discourses of Integration,” paper presented at SOAS-Nohoudh Muslim Integration Conference, University of London, November 2015

2. C. Winter & U. Hasan, “The Balanced Nation: Islam and the Challenges of Extremism, Fundamentalism, Islamism and Jihadism”, Philosophia, 2015

3. U. Hasan & C. Cooper, “DEMOCRACY IS HYPOCRISY!” European Muslims, democratic malaise and Islamist extremism – Queries, Journal of Foundation for European Progressive Studies, Issue 3, Winter 2013-1014, pp. 68-73 http://www.queries-feps.eu/Queries%203.pdf

4. U. Hasan, Women’s Rights & Gender Equality in Islam – Between Traditionalism and Rationalism, in “Speaking in God’s Name: Re-examining Gender in Islam,” Inspire, 2015

5. U. Hasan, Health, Sickness, Medicine, Life and Death in Muslim Belief and Practice, in European Journal of Palliative Care, Volume 19 Number 5, September-October 2012.

6. U. Hasan, The Veil: Between Tradition & Reason, Culture & Context in Islam and the Veil, ed. Theodore Gabriel & Rabiha Hannan, Continuum Books, 2011