Ajmal Masroor (born 19 October 1970) is a British imam, broadcaster and politician. He is well known for being a television presenter on political discussions and on Muslim channels.
Background
Masroor was born in Bangladesh and came to Britain at the age of one when his parents immigrated from the country. [1] He moved back to Bangladesh a few years later at the age of nine due to his father's concerns about different cultures and the possibility of losing their Muslim identities. However, they returned when he was at the age of 13. When living in the East End, Masroor experienced racism against the Bangladeshis in the areas, with properties being damaged.[2] He was brought up in Shadwell, and attended the Bluegate Fields School on Cable Street. He is the oldest of six children. At the age of 19, his father attempted to force him into a marriage in Bangladesh, but was unsuccessful because Masroor challenged his father, saying forced marriage is not acceptable in Islam. He then married a Hungarian, Henrietta Szovati (who had reverted to Islam), and they now have two children.[3]
After his GCSEs and A Levels, Masroor studied Politics and Arabic at SOAS, and was very active in student unions and Islamic Societies. His interests include learning about new cultures and world food, playing badminton, and reading based on history, society and politics. Masroor is a local imam, who leads Friday prayers weekly at four different mosques in London: Goodge Street mosque, Palmers Green mosque, West Ealing mosque and Wightman Road mosque in Haringey.[4] He currently lives in Haringey, London.
Career and views
Masroor is currently a Member of the Muslim Council of Britain, the Central Working Committee Spokesperson for the Islamic Society of Britain (and a member of its national consultative body) he is the chairman and director of Communities in Action.
He stood in the 2010 General Election, for the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency in east London, representing the Liberal Democrats,[5] and came second place to Rushanara Ali.[6] He was selected as Lib Dem PPC for West Ham during 2005, but stood down after being criticised for posting on the Muslim Public Affairs Committee forum.[7]
Masroor is a well known television presenter on various TV channels in the UK. He currently presents his own programmes on Islam Channel and on Channel S,[8] where he presents an English programme called Let's Talk.[9] He is also part of the panel in a programme broadcasted by Channel 4, called Shariah TV.[10] On Channel 4, he also presented a programme called Make Me a Muslim - he asks six non-Muslims and one lapsed Muslim to follow Islamic teachings for three weeks.[11] In 10 May 2009, Masroor presented a programme called "Celebrity Lives - Sharia Style" which was broadcast on BBC One.[12][13]
He has also appeared on major news channels such as the BBC, CNN and many other channels as a commentator on social, political and religious issues.[14] On 30 January 2011, he has appeared on the BBC show The Big Questions a debate show on general questions.[15]
