Dr Riyaz Timol
Research Fellow in British Muslim Studies
School of History, Archaeology and Religion
- TimolR1@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 74884
- John Percival Building, Room 5.49B, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I work as a Research Fellow at Cardiff University's Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK. My research interests include ethnographic methodology, intergenerational transmission of Islam in Britain and the relationship of Islam with modernity. My disciplinary approach is within the sociology of religion with particular reference to the theoretical contributions of Peter L. Berger. I teach the MA module 'History and Development of Muslim Communities in Britain', supervise several postgraduate students and help deliver the innovative online course Muslims in Britain: Changes and Challenges. I am the Principal Investigator of a major four-year project examining the lived experiences of British Imams and the co-editor of a special issue of the international journal Religions exploring 'Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities'.
Ph.D. thesis:
- Spiritual Wayfarers in a Secular Age: The Tablighi Jama'at in Modern Britain (shortlisted for the 2018 BRAIS – De Gruyter Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World)
Public writing:
- Understanding British Imams: A Research Bulletin - (published in the British Sociological Association's Religion newsletter - June 2023)
- What does the Covid-19 debate about mosque closures tell us about religious authority in British Islam? - (published on the Journal of British Muslim Studies - April 20, 2020)
- Tea, chillies and takeaway: what food choices reveal about British Muslim identity - (published on The Conversation - 1 April, 2019)
- The Apostates: When Muslims Leave Islam by Simon Cottee - (book review published on thebookslamist - 18 January, 2018)
- Sociology, Faith and Islam: Some Reflections on the Legacy of Peter L. Berger (1929-2017) - (published on The Sociological Review blog - July 10, 2017)
- Six Points for a Successful PhD - (published on the Islam-UK Centre blog - 4 July, 2017)
- Obituary: Hafiz Patel (1926-2016) - (published On Religion - February 28, 2016)
Media appearances:
- BBC Radio Wales All Things Considered: Prayer and Brexit
- BBC Radio 4 Last Word: Sheikh Yusuf Motala
- TRT World: The misunderstood missionary - the story of the Tablighi Jamaat
- The Islam Channel: British Imams community survey discussion
- British Muslim TV: Understanding British Imams research project
Conference organiser:
- INSIDE OUT: Reflexivity and Methodology in Research with British Muslims (September 2014)
- Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities (January 2019)
Public speaking:
- 'Spiritual Wayfarers in a Secular Age: The Tablighi Jama'at in Modern Britain' public lecture delivered at the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Cardiff University, February 2017.
- 'Steadfastness in God's Way: Frameworks of Religious Practice in the Lives of Contemporary Tablighis and Franciscans' public lecture delivered at Oxford Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, October 2019.
Publication
2023
- Timol, R. 2023. Religious authority, popular preaching and the dialectic of structure-agency in an Islamic revivalist movement: the case of Maulana Tariq Jamil and the Tablighi Jama’at. Religions 14(1), article number: 60. (10.3390/rel14010060)
2022
- Timol, R. 2022. Born-again Muslims? Intra-religious conversion and the Tablighi Jama'at. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 33(3), pp. 281-306. (10.1080/09596410.2022.2049110)
2021
- Gilliat-Ray, S. and Timol, R. eds. 2021. Leadership, authority and representation in British Muslim communities. MDPI. (10.3390/books978-3-03943-742-9)
2020
- Timol, R. 2020. Ethno-religious socialisation, national culture and the social construction of British Muslim identity. Contemporary Islam (10.1007/s11562-020-00454-7)
- Gilliat-Ray, S. and Timol, R. 2020. Introduction: leadership, authority and representation in British Muslim communities. Religions 11(11), article number: 559. (10.3390/rel11110559)
- Timol, R. 2020. Mosque closures and religious authority in the British Muslim community amidst COVID-19. [Online]. www.britishmuslimstudies.com: Journal of British Muslim Studies. Available at: https://www.britishmuslimstudies.com/post/mosque-closures-and-religious-authority-in-the-british-muslim-community-amidst-covid-19
2019
- TImol, R. 2019. Structures of organisation and loci of authority in a glocal Islamic movement: the Tablighi Jama’at in Britain. Religions 10(10), article number: 573. (10.3390/rel10100573)
- Timol, R. 2019. Young British Muslims: Between rhetoric and realities, by Sadek Hamid (ed.)[Book Review]. Muslim World Book Review 39(2), pp. 55-58.
2018
- Timol, R. 2018. Islamic revivalism and Europe's secular 'sacred canopy': exploring the debunking capacity of public religion. In: Hjelm, T. ed. Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion: 50 Years after The Sacred Canopy. Bloomsbury Academic
- Timol, R. 2018. Islamic revivalism and Europe's secular 'sacred canopy': Exploring the debunking capacity of public religion. In: Hjelm, T. ed. Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion: 50 Years after The Sacred Canopy. London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 119-133.
- Timol, R. 2018. The Apostates: When Muslims leave Islam by Simon Cottee [Book Review]. [Online]. thebookslamist: WordPress. Available at: http://thebookslamist.com/2018/01/16/apostates-muslims-leave-islam/
2017
- Timol, R. 2017. REVIEW - Norton Anthology, Islam. JBASR 18, pp. 51-53. (10.18792/jbasr.v18i1.4)
- Timol, R. 2017. Spiritual wayfarers in a secular age: the Tablighi Jama'at in modern Britain. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2016
- Timol, R. 2016. Loyal enemies: British converts to Islam, 1850- 1950 by Jamie Gilham [Book Review]. Journal of Islamic Studies 27(3), pp. 410-413. (10.1093/jis/etw023)
- Timol, R. 2016. The many altars of modernity: Toward a paradigm for religion in a pluralist age [Book Review]. Journal of Contemporary Religion 31(1), pp. 130-131. (10.1080/13537903.2016.1109882)
2015
- Timol, R. 2015. Religious travel and Tablighī Jamā‘at: modalities of expansion in Britain and beyond. In: Suleiman, Y. ed. Muslims in the UK and Europe. I. Cambridge: Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge, pp. 194-206.
- Timol, R. 2015. Islam, youth, and modernity in the Gambia: The Tablighi Jama'at by Marloes Janson [Book Review]. Muslim World Book Review 35(3), pp. 28-32.
2014
- Timol, R. 2014. Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Ali Nadwi: His life & works. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 25(4), pp. 538-540. (10.1080/09596410.2014.926600)
- Timol, R. 2014. Missionary impositions: Conversion, resistance and other challenges to objectivity in religious ethnography [Book Review]. Culture and Religion 15(4), pp. 494-496. (10.1080/14755610.2014.972089)
2013
- Timol, R. 2013. Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions, by Abdal Hakim Murad [Book Review]. Muslim World Book Review 34(1), pp. 28-30.
Articles
- Timol, R. 2023. Religious authority, popular preaching and the dialectic of structure-agency in an Islamic revivalist movement: the case of Maulana Tariq Jamil and the Tablighi Jama’at. Religions 14(1), article number: 60. (10.3390/rel14010060)
- Timol, R. 2022. Born-again Muslims? Intra-religious conversion and the Tablighi Jama'at. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 33(3), pp. 281-306. (10.1080/09596410.2022.2049110)
- Timol, R. 2020. Ethno-religious socialisation, national culture and the social construction of British Muslim identity. Contemporary Islam (10.1007/s11562-020-00454-7)
- Gilliat-Ray, S. and Timol, R. 2020. Introduction: leadership, authority and representation in British Muslim communities. Religions 11(11), article number: 559. (10.3390/rel11110559)
- TImol, R. 2019. Structures of organisation and loci of authority in a glocal Islamic movement: the Tablighi Jama’at in Britain. Religions 10(10), article number: 573. (10.3390/rel10100573)
- Timol, R. 2019. Young British Muslims: Between rhetoric and realities, by Sadek Hamid (ed.)[Book Review]. Muslim World Book Review 39(2), pp. 55-58.
- Timol, R. 2017. REVIEW - Norton Anthology, Islam. JBASR 18, pp. 51-53. (10.18792/jbasr.v18i1.4)
- Timol, R. 2016. Loyal enemies: British converts to Islam, 1850- 1950 by Jamie Gilham [Book Review]. Journal of Islamic Studies 27(3), pp. 410-413. (10.1093/jis/etw023)
- Timol, R. 2016. The many altars of modernity: Toward a paradigm for religion in a pluralist age [Book Review]. Journal of Contemporary Religion 31(1), pp. 130-131. (10.1080/13537903.2016.1109882)
- Timol, R. 2015. Islam, youth, and modernity in the Gambia: The Tablighi Jama'at by Marloes Janson [Book Review]. Muslim World Book Review 35(3), pp. 28-32.
- Timol, R. 2014. Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Ali Nadwi: His life & works. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 25(4), pp. 538-540. (10.1080/09596410.2014.926600)
- Timol, R. 2014. Missionary impositions: Conversion, resistance and other challenges to objectivity in religious ethnography [Book Review]. Culture and Religion 15(4), pp. 494-496. (10.1080/14755610.2014.972089)
- Timol, R. 2013. Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions, by Abdal Hakim Murad [Book Review]. Muslim World Book Review 34(1), pp. 28-30.
Book sections
- Timol, R. 2018. Islamic revivalism and Europe's secular 'sacred canopy': exploring the debunking capacity of public religion. In: Hjelm, T. ed. Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion: 50 Years after The Sacred Canopy. Bloomsbury Academic
- Timol, R. 2018. Islamic revivalism and Europe's secular 'sacred canopy': Exploring the debunking capacity of public religion. In: Hjelm, T. ed. Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion: 50 Years after The Sacred Canopy. London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 119-133.
- Timol, R. 2015. Religious travel and Tablighī Jamā‘at: modalities of expansion in Britain and beyond. In: Suleiman, Y. ed. Muslims in the UK and Europe. I. Cambridge: Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge, pp. 194-206.
Books
- Gilliat-Ray, S. and Timol, R. eds. 2021. Leadership, authority and representation in British Muslim communities. MDPI. (10.3390/books978-3-03943-742-9)
Thesis
- Timol, R. 2017. Spiritual wayfarers in a secular age: the Tablighi Jama'at in modern Britain. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Websites
- Timol, R. 2020. Mosque closures and religious authority in the British Muslim community amidst COVID-19. [Online]. www.britishmuslimstudies.com: Journal of British Muslim Studies. Available at: https://www.britishmuslimstudies.com/post/mosque-closures-and-religious-authority-in-the-british-muslim-community-amidst-covid-19
- Timol, R. 2018. The Apostates: When Muslims leave Islam by Simon Cottee [Book Review]. [Online]. thebookslamist: WordPress. Available at: http://thebookslamist.com/2018/01/16/apostates-muslims-leave-islam/
Research
Understanding British Imams (Principal Investigator)
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.
For more details, please visit the project website.
Science and British Muslim Religious Leadership (Co-investigator)
What does science mean to British Muslim religious scholars? How is it understood, debated and taught in British Islamic institutions? What do attitudes towards science tell us about the relationship between Islam and modernity? While it is common to hear claims in the media about Islam and Muslims being 'anti-science', virtually no research has been conducted on what Muslim religious leaders actually think about scientific topics. This collaborative project based at the University of Birmingham will fill this gap by exploring the views of Muslim leaders (the 'ulama) about science, and how they engage with scientific issues in their day-to-day roles.
For more details, please visit the project website.
Building Positive Relationships among University Students across Religion and Worldview Diversity (Steering Group Member)
For more details, please visit the project website.
Teaching
Undergraduate teaching
- Introduction to the Study of Religion
- Islam in the Contemporary World
- Living Islam: Between Text and People
- Islamic Studies Dissertation Tutor
- I have supervised undergraduate dissertations on a broad range of topics including Islamic philosophy and mysticism, Middle Eastern religio-political movements, South Asian culture and diaspora, Islamophobia, religion and media, Islamic art and culture, Sunni and Shia theology, Sufism, Islamic feminism and gendered sartorial practices.
Postgraduate teaching
- Theory & Method in Qualitative Research with British Muslims
- Skills and Methods for Postgraduate Study
- History and Development of Muslim Communities in Britain
- Supervision of Ph.D. and MA student dissertations.
Other
Biography
Honours and awards
- 2018 - Ph.D. thesis shortlisted for the BRAIS – De Gruyter Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World
- 2012 - awarded Jameel scholarship for Ph.D. study
- 2004 - awarded prize for best undergraduate dissertation in English Literary Studies
Professional memberships
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of
- British Sociological Association (Sociology of Religion sub-group)
- British Association of Islamic Studies
- Muslims in Britain Research Network
- British Association for the Study of Religions
Academic positions
- 2017 - Present, Research Associate in British Muslim Studies, Cardiff University
- 2015 - 2018, Islamic Studies Dissertation Tutor, Manchester University
Committees and reviewing
Co-editor of Special Issue " Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities" in the international journal Religions.
Peer reviewer for
- Journal of Classical Sociology
- Journal of Contemporary Religion
- Journal of Church and State
- Numen – International Review of the History of Religions (Brill)
- Religions
Supervisions
I am currently co-supervising two Ph.D.s:
- Fatou Sambe - Converts and the Next Generation of British Muslims
- Moamer Khalayleh - Engaging Contemporary Atheism Through the Conceptual Tools of Ashʿarī Theology
I am interested in supervising Ph.D. students in the areas of:
- Experiences and training of British imams
- Career Trajectories of British Dar al-Uloom (Islamic Seminary) Graduates
- Conversion and apostasy in contemporary Islam
- Movements of Islamic revival in Britain
- British Muslim identity
Current supervision
Fatou Sambe
Research student
Moamer Khalayleh
Research student
Research themes
Specialisms
- British Muslim Studies
- Religious Authority
- Islamic Revival