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Dr Imranali Panjwani

Dr. Imranali Panjwani is the Head of Diverse Legal Consulting, UK (www.diverselegal.com) and a Lecturer in Law at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, Essex. He has the unique combination of being a lawyer and academic having lived and worked in the UK, Middle East and Australia. His country expert reports draw upon primary country and theological sources with stringent analysis of evidence, law and language. He resides in the UK.

Name
Dr Imranali Panjwani
Occupation
Head of Diverse Legal Consulting, UK & Lecturer in Law at Anglia Ruskin University
Webpage
Website: www.diverselegal.com and Profile: https://aru.ac.uk/people/imranali-panjwani
Expertise

Qualifications:

  • LLB in Law, University of Sheffield
  • PGDip in the Legal Practice Course (LPC), University of Law
  • Seminary Training in Islamic Studies & Arabic, Al-Mahdi Institute
  • PGDip in Academic Practice, King’s College London
  • PhD in Theology & Religious Studies, King’s College London (Title: ‘The role of the self in the Islamic-Western human rights discourse’)

Areas of expertise
- Country profiles
- Ethnic and religious groups such as Shi’a and Sunni
- Political, social and cultural movements e.g Muslim Brotherhood

- Terrorism and the role of militias

- Human rights: conflicts between secular and religious law, gender, religious and sexual discrimination, freedom of expression and political thought

- Human dignity

- Women’s rights and honour-killings

- Human trafficking: men, women and children

- Multiculturalism, integration, relocation

- Islamic law and theology

- Muslim sects and diaspora

Experience

Positions held:

  • Religious Director, Imam Hasan Centre, Sydney
  • Visiting Scholar, School of Humanities & Communication Arts, Western Sydney University (Project: “Human dignity and the experience of Muslims practising Islamic law in Australian society”)
  • Post-Doctoral Researcher, Research Institute of Al-Mustafa University, Mashhad, Iran (Project: “The role of case law in Islamic law”)
  • Paralegal in Immigration & Civil Rights, Fisher Jones Greenwood
  • Legal Adviser in Commercial Litigation, Strutt Import Export Ltd

Experience:

  • Numerous reports, research and analysis conducted in the UK and internationally for law firms, academic institutions and community organisations.
  • Knowledge of UK immigration law and procedure and international human rights; experience in analysing witness statements, home office determination letters, tribunal decisions, country evidence, case law and primary religious and cultural sources
  • Regular contact with Muslim asylum seekers, refugees and minority communities
  • Regularly presents at human rights, law and theology conferences in the UK and internationally
Publications

Selected list:

Books

  • Editor, The Shi’a of Samarra: The Heritage and Politics of a Community in Iraq (London: I.B Tauris, 2012)

Chapters

  • From Fair Hearing to Fair-Tech Hearing: Improving Access to Justice in Immigration and Asylum Hearings in the UK (The Legal Tech Book, 2020 - forthcoming)
  • ‘The Creation of Minority Case Law: A Possible Solution for the Recognition of Muslim Refugee Rights in European Countries’ (SGH Warsaw School of Economics and Erasmus+: Programme of the European Union, 2019) - forthcoming
  • ‘From Theory to Practice: English Case Law as an Additional and Evidentiary Holistic Tool for the Derivation and Operation of Law in Shi‘i Usul al-Fiqh’ in Bhojani, A, Bohlander, M & De Rooij, L.,Contemporary Discussions in Shi‘i Legal Theory (Leiden: Brill, 2019) – forthcoming
  • ‘Challenges in Teaching Islamic Studies at Universities: The Problem of Streamlining Islam for Undergraduates’, in Hwang, A & Pugliese, M., Teaching Interreligious Encounters - American Academy of Religion’s Teaching Religious Studies Series (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017): 117-135
  • ‘Shi’i-Sunni Relations’, in Siddiqui, A & Lamb, C (eds)., Meeting Muslims (Leicester: Christians Aware, 2012), 17-22      

Journal articles

  • ‘The Problem of Passivity between Faith Communities: The Need for New Models of Interfaith Dialogue in a Multicultural Climate’, Dialogue & Alliance, vol. 27, no.1, 2013: 10-21
  • ‘The Massacre of Karbala ’, Critical Muslim, vol.5, 2013: 49 - 58
  • ‘Bahrain’s Oppressed: Lone Voices in International Law’, Arches Quarterly, vol.6 (10) 2012: 134 - 144
  • ‘Human Dignity in Islam: The Notion of “Rights of the Self” in the Work of Zayn al-Abidin as a Universal Framework to Cultivate Human Dignity’, Journal of Medical Ethics & Bioethics, vol. 19 (1-2) 2012: 2-6

Short Articles and Entries

  • ‘Bahrain’ in The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society (forthcoming, 2019)
  • ‘Ali b. Abi Talib’, ‘Ghaybah’, ‘Hadith’, ‘Husayn’, ‘Ilm’, ‘Ismah’, ‘Ithna-Ashariyyah’, ‘Ja’far al-Sadiq’, ‘Mahdi’, ‘Repent’, ‘Qur’an’ and ‘Yazid’, in Cakmak, C  (ed)., Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopaedia - 4 volumes (California: ABC-CLIO, 2017)            

Book Reviews

  • ‘Book Review: Shari'a in the Modern Era: Muslim Minorities Jurisprudence by Iyad Zahalka’,American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, vol. 34 (1), Winter 2017: 114-118
  • ‘Book Review: Bibliographical Discourse Analysis – 4 Volume Set: The Western Academic Perspective on Islam, Muslims and Islamic Countries (1949 – 2009) by Saied Reza Ameli’, Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies, vol. VI, no.4, Autumn 2013: 500-505
  • ‘Book Review: A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion by Craig Martin’, Religion, 2013, 44(2): 323-326
  • ‘Book Review: Shi’i Theology in Iran by Ori Goldberg’, Journal of International and Global Studies, vol. 4 (2), 2013: 123 - 125
  • ‘Book Review: Islam and the English Enlightenment (1670-1840) by Humberto Garcia’, Journal of History and Cultures, vol. 2, 2013: 65 – 66

Conference papers (selected list)

  • Moving Beyond Shari’ah Councils: The Creation of Fiqh Case Law to Resolve Muslim Issues & Reduce Conflict with Secular Laws (Quality Hotel Panorama, Gotenburg, Sweden – organised by the University of Copenhagen, 21-23 August 2019)
  • Exploring the role of nafaqah (financial maintenance) to recognise the capability and responsibility of a female breadwinners in Islamic law (Muslim Materialities in Marriages, University of Amsterdam, 11-13 June 2019)
  • Avoiding Eurocentrism: Developing Minority Case Law (International Roundtable of Semiotics, University of Coimbra, Portugal, 23-25 May 2019)
  • The creation of minority case law: a possible solution for the recognition of Muslim refugee rights in European countries (Muslim minorities and the refugee crisis in Europe. Narratives and policy responses. 8–9 November 2018, Warsaw (Poland). Organised by Erasmus – European Union)
  • Broadening the Role of Imams: Imam as Key Brokers between Muslim & Non-Muslim Communities (Brokerage in Diverse Europe Workshop (The Open University/Göttingen University, Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Council for European Studies held in London, 12-13 Jan 2018)
  • Case Law as a Solution for Reclaiming Minority Rights & Identities (Universal Justice Network Conference, Penang, Malaysia, 25-26 October 16)
  • Constructing a Framework for Human Dignity in Islam: The Thought of Zayn al-Abidin (Exploring the Meaning & Application of Human Dignity in Islam, Imam Hasan Centre, Sydney, 16-17 July 16)
  • From Theory to Practice: The Relevance of English Case Law in Shi'i Jurisprudence (Symposium on Shi’a Jurisprudence, Al-Mahdi Institute & Durham University, Durham University, 16 – 18 Aug 15)
  • 'A Lacuna in Shi’i Legal Theory: The Role of the Subject in the Derivation of Law’ (Research Institute of Al-Mustafa International University, Mashhad, 7 Jun 15)
  • Contemporary Trends Affecting Muslim Life in the United Kingdom: Secularity, Terrorism & Islamophobia (Research Institute of Al-Mustafa International University, Tehran & Isfahan, Mar 15)
  • Zayn al-Abidin’s Rights to One’s Self in the Philosophy of Religion (Whither the Philosophy of Religion?, Roundtable Graduate Conference, Oxford University, 12 May 11)
  • Imam Ali & Kierkegaard on the Soul (Kierkegaard Conference, Oxford University, 16-18 Apr 10)
  • Risalat al-Huquq in International Law (Islamic Law in Minority Contexts, SOAS, 17 Dec 09)
  • The Internal Human Contract in International Law (Peace & Reconciliation, UCLA, 7-10 Jul 09)
  • Experiential Ontology (Narrating the Human Subject, Oxford University, 19 Sept 09)
Languages
Arabic, Farsi, Gujarati
Ethnic groups expertise
Muslims, Kurds, Christians, Jews, Chadians,
Religious groups expertise
Shi’a, Sunni, Christian, Jew, Yazidi
Fees
[Private to EIN members]
Contact email
info@diverselegal.com
Countries of expertise: