Public face of a private faith

Tag : Public Phone

Twenty years ago, Mona Siddiqui was shocked when the BBC called herto chat about her academic specialism. Salman Rushdie'scontroversial novel, The Satanic Verses, had just hit a rawcultural nerve, and when the phone rang it was the first time shehad been asked to discuss Sharia in public.

In 1988, Siddiqui's work was still considered a niche interest.Today's political debates look rather different, and Islamic law israrely out of the news. In February, when the Archbishop ofCanterbury's comments that the teachings of Sharia should besubsumed within civic law were met with indignation and outrage,Siddiqui was one of the first in the spotlight.

But 20 years ago, Siddiqui - who was then still a PhD student inManchester - turned down that first media opportunity. "I didn't doit because I hadn't read the book," she recalls. "I thought oneneeded a lot of preparation before speaking on the radio. I'verealised subsequently that you don't."

Two decades on, Siddiqui is a household name; a commentator for theBBC, an adviser to government at the highest levels and a regularcontributor to the "Thought for the Day" slot on Radio 4's Todayprogramme. And since the events of September 11, 2001, her phonehas barely stopped ringing.

Her successes in academe have been just as considerable. Only 12years after taking up her first full-time post at the University ofGlasgow, she is now professor of Islamic studies and publicunderstanding, and director of the university's Centre for theStudy of Islam. But her fondness for taking a public platform isdown to her strong belief that debate around Islam is lacking thebackground and the context that academia can offer.