On Monday 11 May, the University of Manchester co-hosted the second Muslim-Friendly Universities Conference: Researching Equity and Inclusion with Muslim Communities, with one of our donors, the Aziz Foundation. Over 50 delegates attended, including researchers from several universities, students, Muslim Chaplains, and community representatives.

The day began with a welcome from Zain Sardar, Programme Manager and Joe Dobson, Director at the Aziz Foundation and Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice President for Social Responsibility. Professor Thakkar acknowledged that there was much to do in tackling Anti-Muslim hate and affirmed the University’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the progress made.

The event also had a keynote speech by Dr Sadia Habib, Senior Lecturer in Education, who spoke of her work on meaningful and authentic engagement with community centred research, followed by panel discussions on topics including: positionality and reflectivity in researching British Muslim Communities, risk and precarity in investigating Islamophobia and a lively and engaged thought-provoking Q&A, which included reflections on research experiences with Muslim Communities.