Asim Siddiqui (born 1976 in

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

, England) is a

British Pakistani British Pakistanis (; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakis ...

chairman and a founding trustee of

the City Circle The City Circle is a network body of mainly young Muslim professionals located in England and is a registered charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives ...

, a network of young British Muslim professionals established in 1999. In addition to running local educational and welfare projects, the City Circle organises weekly public discussion forums providing a grassroots outlet for debate on issues of mutual concern between British Muslim communities and wider society. Asim is responsible for the strategic direction of the City Circle. All of the City Circle projects are committed to inculcating constructive citizenship and building bridges between communities. Siddiqui is a member of the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

and has spoken at numerous think tanks including the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi) is a defence and security think tank with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1831 by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley ...

Demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

and the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

. He was appointed to the Iraq Commission by the

Foreign Policy Centre The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) is a British think tank specialising in foreign policy. It was founded in 1998 by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his colleagues. It was launched at an event with Prime Minister Tony Blair, with the aim of develop ...

. Asim is regularly interviewed by 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 ...

Sky news Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

and various radio stations. Asim contributes to ''

The Guardian ''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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' web blogs. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine placed Asim on its front page in 2008 as part of a cover piece on "Europe's Muslim Success Story". Siddiqui is a member of the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's UK-Indonesia Islamic Advisory Group."UK Muslims prepare to launch advisory body"
''Jakarta Post'', January 29, 2007. Accessed September 26, 2007 He has participated in

Foreign & Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

international delegations projecting British Muslims. Asim has been nominated to take part in the United States'

International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...

. Siddiqui graduated at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and qualified as an accountant at

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

. He is now a fellow of the

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (CCA). Founded in 1904, It is now the fourth-largest professional accounting body ...

and a qualified member of the Securities & Investment Institute. He works full-time for a major Arab bank in the city. Siddiqui is married with two sons. His father,

Ghayasuddin Siddiqui Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is an academic and political activist. He was born in 1939 in Delhi, India, migrated to Pakistan in late 1947 and moved to the UK in 1964. He has been leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, which he co-founded in ...

is leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain.

Awards and nominations

In January 2014, Siddiqui was nominated for the Services to Finance and Accounts 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

The City Circle

Commentisfree - Asim Siddiqui blog
''Guardian''
NS - Asim Siddiqui blog
''New Statesman''
"Panorama"
BBC, August 21, 2005. Accessed September 26, 2007.
"Islam, Race, and British Identity"
''Guardian'', November 30, 2004. Accessed September 30, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqui, Asim 1976 births Living people Muhajir people English people of Pakistani descent English Muslims