Islam
Mona Siddiqui (1963 - )
Mona Siddiqui with her Family, Dullatur, October 2010.
Background Information
Mona Siddiqui is one of Britain's most high-profile Muslim academics who are regularly
featured on British television and Radio. She is Professor of Islamic and Inter-religious
Studies at the University of Edinburgh. She has lectured in Arabic literature, Islamic
Studies, Law and theology in various universities and became Professor of Islamic
Studies at Glasgow University until December 2011. In 2012 she has recently taken up
post at Edinburgh University, where she will lecture and conduct research on Islamic
theology, ethics and Christian-Muslim relations. She will also take up the newly
created position within the University as Assistant Principal for Religion and Society.
Mona Siddiqui was born in Karrachi, Pakistan in 1963 but moved to Britain at the age
of 6. This was originally supposed to be a short term move for her family but Britain
soon became her home. Her parents were religious and they sat and prayed together
and read the Qu’ran. She grew up in Huddersfield where she attended school and
later went on to study Arabic and French at Leeds University. She continued her
studies at Manchester University gaining a Master’s degree in Eastern Studies in
1986, and a doctorate in classical Islamic Law in 1992. She moved to Glasgow after
she got married, where she lives today with her family.
Mona is well-known in the UK for her broadcasting work, with regular appearances on
radio, television and in the press. In addition, she has sat on various Advisory Boards
for organisations such as Glasgow’s Gallery for Modern Art, Scottish Asian Arts, the IB
Tauris Religious Studies project and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.
She is currently the chair of the BBC's Scottish Religious Advisory Committee and a
member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution and the World Economic Forum’s
Global Agenda Council on the Islam-West Dialogue. She holds three honorary
doctorates and is Visiting Professor at several educational institutions worldwide.
Mona Siddiqui is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of
Arts.
References
Image 1: (http://www.nationalgalleries.org/object/PGP 779.8) This striking portrait shows Siddiqui as
both a strong woman and a caring mother and wife who wants to instill in her children a sense of
themselves as global citizens. It is part of a series by photographer Verena Jaekel who was
commissioned to produce portraits of Scots of Pakistani heritage for the re-opening of the Scottish
National Portrait Gallery in 2011.
Key Messages: Coexistence/ Adopting tolerance to
other faiths
Mona Siddiqui’s main message is one of coexistence
between Muslims and other faiths. At a time when
tensions run high, she has used her faith position and
her voice to ‘call on Muslims to be more tolerant towards
other faiths and views’. 1 Originally against interfaith
work, she became involved in ‘Building Bridges’ – an
annual Christian-Muslim conference that has convened
in many places around the world.2 Initially reluctant to
become involved, she now believes that there is a real
need for this kind of work, not just at the community level
but also at the more academic level. “Peace doesn’t
come through an absence of conflict’ 3
As a Muslim living in a democratic society, she
expresses her loyalty to both her faith and to Britain. 4 In
the short film, ‘See Britain through my eyes’ made ahead
of the London 2012 Olympics) she describes her life in Glasgow as very peaceful. She
sees Britain as the kind of place that allows people to keep their own identity and says
there is “no expectation at all that people give up their faith. With over two million
Muslims living in the UK. I think most are very happy to be living here.” 5
However, although she is positive and values the freedom and opportunity, British
society affords, she is aware that this is not the case for all Muslims in the West. When
discussing the reaction to debates in the West over issues such as the wearing of the
veil or the Danish cartoon controversy, she says that this shows that “Muslims can live
with the hardware of democracy but cannot cope with its software: pluralism, dignity”. 6
These kind of reactions she says, taint the whole of the Muslim faith with intolerance.
Mona Siddiqui is extremely committed to her work and was awarded an OBE in 2011
for her contributions to interfaith relations.
References
1. SUNDAY 25 APRIL 2010 Herald, ‘Leading Islamic scholar urges Muslims to adopt tolerance to other
faiths and views ‘
2. LEARNING TO COEXIST: Anthony McRoy talks to Professor Mona Siddiqui THIRD WAY MARCH
2008
3. Peace comes about when we make coexistence our goal, The Tablet, 20 October 2007
4. See Britain through my Eyes, Mona Siddiqui – Short Films ahead of London Olympics 2012
5. ibid, See Britain through my Eyes, Mona Siddiqui
6. ibid, Sunday 25 April 2010 Herald article.
Image 2: http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/images/UGSP00884.jpg
Learning and Teaching Activities
Activity 1: Introductory activity: Video “See Britain through my
eyes"
In this short film, Mona Siddiqui talks about life in the UK, and the opportunities
available to people living in Britain.
o Watch the short film of Mona Siddiqui describing life in Britain.
o Group or pair discussion –
o Use stimulus questions e.g. How does she describe immigration to Britain in the
1960's and 1970's? What does Mona Siddiqui value most about living in
Britain?
o Summarise the short film in one sentence or in a Tweet or using 6 words.
Activity 2: Newspaper Article (Herald) activity
In this article Mona Siddiqui speaks exclusively to the Sunday Herald ahead of a trip to
Rome. As Scotland’s top female Islamic scholar she talks about how she will use this high-profile international platform in Rome to call on Muslims to be more tolerant
towards other faiths and world views. As part of her speech to the Pontifical University
of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Professor Siddiqui argues that the future of the
religion depends on Muslims moving away from viewing Judaism and Christianity as
“corrupted” revelations.
o Divide class into groups of four
o Divide the passage into four parts.
o Each person summarises the key points of their section on a small piece of
card. e.g. The future of Islam depends on Muslims stopping judging other
religions as 'corrupted'
o Each person then tells the others what is on their card and they put all four
pieces in the centre.
o The other groups rotate to see if they agree with their summaries by ticking
relevant points they agree with. The class can then summarise together on the
board
Activity 3: Learning to Coexist - Interview with Mona Siddiqui
In this interview Mona Siddiqui talks to Anthony McRoy about her life, her influences
and her hopes for the future. As this is quite a lengthy interview, Reciprocal Reading
Strategies could be used. The teacher can initially show case each strategy
themselves by reading a part of text aloud and showing pupils how they would lead,
predict, question and clarify. Below is a summary however full details can be found in
New Literacy across learning materials to support the third and fourth levels in Glow.
(Glow log-in required).
Reciprocal reading is a well-researched method used to develop learners’ reading
skills, promote higher order thinking, develop listening and talking, and ensure access
to the curriculum for all learners. Studies have also demonstrated that learners transfer
their learning into other contexts. Reciprocal reading is just one in a number of
strategies which can be used when learners are reading and analysing texts. Its aims
are to:
•
•
•
•
•
improve reading comprehension through the use of four reading
strategies: predicting, questioning, clarifying and summarising
scaffold the four strategies by modeling, guiding and applying the
strategies while reading
enable pupils to reflect on their reading and develop higher order
thinking skills
use the social nature of learning to improve reading comprehension
be one strategy in promoting literacy across learning in all sectors
Links for sources:
1.
2.
3.
4.
SUNDAY 25 APRIL 2010 Herald, , ‘Leading Islamic scholar urges Muslims to
adopt tolerance to other faiths and views ‘ (newspaper article)
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/leading-islamic-scholarurges-muslims-to-adopt-tolerance-to-other-faiths-and-views-1.1022904
LEARNING TO COEXIST: Anthony McRoy talks to Professor Mona Siddiqui
THIRD WAY MARCH 2008 (interview)
Peace comes about when we make coexistence our goal, The Tablet, 20
October 2007 (magazine article)
See Britain through my Eyes, Mona Siddiqui – Short Films ahead of London
Olympics 2012 (video)
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/global-issues/london-2012/see-britain/mona-siddiqui
Other sources:
DEBATE: What will the Pope's visit achieve?
Mona Siddiqui takes part in a debate on how the British public will receive the Pope's
attack on secularism. During his visit to Britain, Pope Benedict XVI aims to tackle what
he sees as the dangers posed to the British society by its rapid secularisation. Joining
Mona are former Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor and
philosopher Professor AC Grayling.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9003000/9003970.stm