Asim Siddiqui (born 1976 in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

, England) is a

British Pakistani British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), of ...

chairman and a founding trustee of the City Circle, 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 a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

and has spoken at numerous think tanks including the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

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 British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The F ...

. He was appointed to the Iraq Commission by the Foreign Policy Centre. Asim is regularly interviewed by the BBC, Sky news and various radio stations. Asim contributes to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' and ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

'' web blogs. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' 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, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

'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 & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

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 leaders t ...

. Siddiqui graduated at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

and qualified as an accountant at

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four account ...

. He is now a fellow of the

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwid ...

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 is leader of the

Muslim Parliament of Great Britain The Muslim Parliament of Great Britain is a Muslim organisation founded in 1992 in London by Kalim Siddiqui, Director of the Muslim Institute, based on a proposal published in July 1990 under the title ''The Muslim Manifesto''. The Muslim Parliam ...

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