Ajmal Masroor (; born 19 October 1971) is a

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

i-born British

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

, broadcaster and political activist. He is known for being a television presenter on political discussions and on Muslim channels.

Early life

Masroor was born in

Sylhet District Sylhet District (), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital. History Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Benga ...

and came to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

at the age of one when his parents immigrated from the country. He moved back to Bangladesh a few years later, aged seven, due to his father's concerns about different cultures, and the possibility of losing their Muslim identities. However, they returned when he was 13. When living in the East End, Masroor experienced racism against the Bangladeshi community in the area, with properties being damaged. He was brought up in

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

, 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 Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

is not acceptable in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. He then married a Hungarian, Henrietta Szovati (who had converted to Islam), and they now have two children. He went to Hammersmith and West London College to study his GCSEs and A Levels. While studying, he was active in student unions, and founded the college's first Islamic society. Masroor took admission at the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

(SOAS) to study BA politics and Arabic, and then a master's at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

in Islamic studies. He also studied relationship counselling with Relate.

Career

Masroor provides relationship counselling and spiritual coaching. He is an author, broadcaster and fundraiser. Masroor runs the Barefoot Institute, which provides support and to Muslim couples, including marriage, divorce and family counselling, mediation, and coaching. His courses use Quranic principles. Masroor is a travelling imam, who leads Friday prayers at various mosques across the United Kingdom, including

Palmers Green Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is located within the N13 postcode district, around north of Charing Cross. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cy ...

mosque,

West Ealing West Ealing is a district in the London Borough of Ealing, in West London. The district is about west of Ealing, Ealing Broadway. Although there is a long history of settlement in the area, West Ealing in its present form is less than one hundre ...

mosque, Wightman Road mosque, and

Finsbury Park Mosque The Finsbury Park Mosque, also known as the North London Central Mosque, is a five-storey mosque located next to Finsbury Park station close to Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club's Emirates Stadium, in the London Borough of Islington. It serve ...

in London, as well as Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He is also invited to lead Friday prayers at Leeds Grand Mosque and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

Islamic Centre occasionally. Masroor joined the Islamic Society of Britain, serving as its chairperson from 2016 to 2019. He stood for the office of secretary general of the

Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is an umbrella body of Muslim organisations in the United Kingdom, with over 500 affiliated mosques and organisations. It was formed in 1994 in response to British government's expressed wish for a single r ...

in January 2021. He was the director of Communities in Action, an organisation founded to empower communities to organise, deliver and realise their full potential. He was the chairman of ChildrenPlus, a charity that focused on providing humanitarian assistance to poverty stricken and most vulnerable children around the world. Masroor was selected as the Liberal Democrats

prospective parliamentary candidate In British politics, a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) is a candidate selected by political parties to contest under individual Westminster constituencies in advance of a general election. The term originally came into use because of ...

for

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

at the 2005 general election, but stood down after being criticised for posting on the Muslim Public Affairs Committee forum. He stood in

Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 United Kingdom ...

at the 2010 general election, representing the Liberal Democrats, and came second with 10,210 votes (20.1%), behind the Labour candidate,

Rushanara Ali Rushanara Ali (; born 14 March 1975) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping since July 2024. A member of the Labour Par ...

, who won with 21,784 votes (42.9%). He stood in the same seat in the 2017 general election as an independent, coming third with 6.5% of the votes. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, following boundary changes, he stood as an independent in the new

Bethnal Green and Stepney Bethnal Green and Stepney is a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency in Greater London, which returns one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House ...

constituency, coming second with 30.5% of the votes. Masroor is a broadcaster and regular contributor on various TV and radio channels in the UK. He currently presents his own programmes on

Islam Channel Islam Channel is a UK-based, free-to-air, English language, Islamic-focused satellite television channel and online media platform funded by advertising and donations. It was founded in 2004 by Mohamed Ali Harrath (born 1963), a Tunisian acti ...

and on

Channel S Channel S () is a UK-based, free-to-air television channel targeting the British Bangladeshi community. The channel was established on 16 December 2004 by Mahee Ferdous Jalil, a Bangladeshi businessman in London. On Sky (UK & Ireland), Sky it ...

, where he presents an English programme called ''Let's Talk''. He is also part of the panel in a programme broadcast by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, called '' Shariah TV''. On Channel 4, he also presented a programme called ''Make Me a Muslim'', in which he asks six non-Muslims and one lapsed Muslim to follow Islamic teachings for three weeks. On 10 May 2009, Masroor presented a programme called ''Celebrity Lives - Sharia Style'', which was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. He has also appeared on major news channels, such as the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

as a commentator on social, political and religious issues. On 30 January 2011, he appeared on the BBC show ''

The Big Questions ''The Big Questions'' was an interfaith dialogue and ethics television programme usually presented by Nicky Campbell. It was broadcast live on BBC One on Sunday mornings, replacing ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' as the BBC's religious discussion ...

,'' and in 2019 he appeared on BBC's ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...

''. In October 2013, Masroor was alerted by anti-terrorist police that he and a number of other prominent Muslim figures in the UK who had spoken out against Islamist extremism were targeted by a propaganda video created by Al-Shabaab, the terrorist group responsible for the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya: the video urged jihadists in the UK to take action, citing the

murder of Lee Rigby On the afternoon of 22 May 2013, a British Army soldier, Fusilier#United Kingdom, Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was attacked and killed by Islamic terrorism, Islamist terrorists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale n ...

as an example to follow. Interviewed by ''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

'', Masroor said of the video: "It is a terrible piece of work and the content is vile and disgusting and horrific in many ways. It is a group of people who are glorifying violence and death. It didn't make me scared. It just made me angry and more determined." He also received a second death threat in 2015, from the ISIS terrorist cell in Iraq and Syria, which led to him moving home, and his family relocating to another country for a short while. In July 2015, Masroor was interviewed by Nadia Ali on

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...

about his

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

memories. In October 2018, the

Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ) is an international Islamic non-governmental organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate values. The NGO has been funded by the Saudi gov ...

fired him from the Fitzrovia Mosque for criticising Saudi Arabia and crown prince

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

, following remarks he made about the disappearance of

Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, Saudi dissidents, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab New ...

and corruption in the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. The Muslim World League released a statement saying, "But since he continued provoking public opinion against the individuals, governments, causing stir in the society, shaming and accusing falsely, no option was left but to stop dealing with him in anyway." Masroor spoke at an event immediately after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and said that Mohammed bin Salman was directly responsible for the murder of Khashoggi. Masroor added that Bin Salman should be tried for his crime. He said that Saudi Arabia was ruled by an illegitimate regime, and the civilised world should boycott the country; not sell them arms or intelligence; and should never offer its rulers the red carpet treatment when they come to the UK or Europe.

Personal life

Masroor has a brother, Mustafa Almansur, who was the organiser of the

Grenfell Tower Grenfell Tower is a derelict 24-storey residential tower block in North Kensington in West London, England. The tower was completed in 1974 as part of the first phase of the Lancaster West Estate. Most of the tower was destroyed in a Grenfell T ...

protests in 2017. On 17 December 2015, Masroor was stopped by a U.S. embassy staff from boarding

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic A ...

flight at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...

. Masroor was informed that his U.S. business visa had been revoked, and received no further explanation as to why he was being prevented from travelling, despite travelling to the U.S. four times earlier in the year. On 22 December, he was invited to the U.S. embassy to speak about the matter but was still not given a reason, nor an apology. On 13 January 2016, it was reported that he was prevented from travelling to the U.S., and his visa was revoked over concerns about one of his 28,000 Facebook followers. Masroor set up a website, www.flyingwhilemuslim.org.uk, so other Muslims can document any similar experiences they have faced while trying to travel to U.S. In 2019, the US embassy in London reissued Masroor a valid US visa and welcomed him to travel to the USA any time.

Awards and nominations

In January 2013 and 2015, Masroor was nominated for the Religious Advocate of the Year award at the

British Muslim Awards The British Muslim Awards are an annual award ceremony that honours the success and achievements of British Muslim individuals, groups and businesses. It was established in 2013. Overview The British Muslim Awards was founded by Oceanic Consult ...

References

External links

* *
Ajmal Masroor
on Liberal Democrats
Ajmal Masroor
on ''

theguardian.com ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' * Casciani, Dominic
Muslim hope among terror 'wreckage'
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

''. 11 September 2002
Integration, not assimilation
'' ABC''. 17 July 2005
Muslim body welcomes Pope apology
''

''. 17 September 2006 * Masroor, Ajmal
Britain has failed many young Muslims: Imam Ajmal Masroor
''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...