Chris Allen (born 1966) is a British sociologist and associate professor at the Centre for Hate Studies based in the Department of Criminology at the University of Leicester. He was named by the '' Deutsche Welle'' as an expert on the topic of contemporary Islamophobia.

Early life

Chris Allen was born in Bermondsey, London.Chris Allen
Huffington Post UK, retrieved 23 April 2023. He received a B.A. in religious studies from University of Wolverhampton in 2001, and a Ph.D. in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

from the University of Birmingham in 2006.Chris Allen – University of Leicester
LinkedIn, retrieved 23 April 2023.

Career

Allen worked for a year as a Research and Policy Assistant at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education associated with The Islamic Foundation. He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton for 3 years, Director of Research and Policy at the N.G.O called Brap in Birmingham for 3 years, and University Lecturer at the University of Birmingham between 2009 and 2018. Since 2018, he has been an Associate Professor in the Centre for Hate Studies based in the Department of Criminology, University of Leicester. Allen's research focuses on Islamophobia, British and European Far Right and, more broadly, religiously motivated hate.The Centre for Hate Studies – Expertise
University of Leicester, retrieved 23 April 2023.

Research into Islamophobia

Shortly after the events of 9/11 he was commissioned by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia to co-author its "Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001" with Jorgen S. Nielsen. Published in May 2002, the report concluded that "a greater receptivity towards anti-Muslim and other xenophobic ideas and sentiments has, and may well continue, to become more tolerated". At the same time, Allen apparently acknowledged that "there were very few serious nti-Muslimattacks" and that Islamophobia "manifested itself in quite basic and low-level ways." However, Allen has stated that after the report was published there was a "concerted effort by some to dismiss this data because the number of 'high level' incidents - violent assaults, murder, firebombing of mosques etc - were (thankfully) low." He also stated that the focus in the number of Islamophobic incidents or severity of them minimizes the fact that the hate, prejudice, and discrimination that Muslims face negatively affect them and their lives. In 2012, he was asked to be on the board of "a cross-government working group to tackle anti-Muslim hatred". He later resigned from the group.

Works

* ''Islamophobia'' (Ashgate, 2010)

References

External links

Chris Allen's personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Chris Living people Academics of the University of Birmingham Islam in Europe 1966 births Scholars of Islamophobia