Academic Staff

Born in 1946, Dr Muhammad Manazir Ahsan began his education with traditional Islamic schooling, which he successfully completed in 1964, attaining Mumtaz al-Muhaddithin, the highest academic degree in Islamic theological learning in Bangladesh. Dr Ahsan then moved to the UK and completed his PhD in Middle Eastern History from SOAS, University of London in 1972.

Dr. Zahid Parvez is the Rector of the Markfield Institute of Higher Education and the Head of Quality and Regulatory Compliance. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr Parvez was a Senior Lecturer in Information Management at the University of Wolverhampton Business School for 20 years.  He also served as an external examiner at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Hertfordshire University, and also Staffordshire University (for Oman delivery).

Dr Ataullah Siddiqui is a Professor of Christian-Muslim Relations and Inter-Faith Understanding at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education where he was also the Director of the Institute from 2001 to 2008. He was a founder President and Vice Chair of the ‘Christian Muslim Forum’ in England, and a founder member of the Leicester Council of Faiths.

Emir joined Markfield Institute of Higher Education in February 2016. He studied BA in Islamic Studies from the European Institute of Human Sciences, followed by Masters in Islamic Banking Finance and Management from The University of Gloucestershire. He completed his PhD in Islamic Finance from the University of Bolton. Emir’s research interests centre on the intangible asset of the Islamic financial institutions and exploring the ways in which it can be effectively managed and measured.

Shaikh obtained his BA (Honours) in Islamic Studies, LLB, Diploma in Advanced Labour Law and Diploma in Advanced Banking Law from the University of Johannesburg (ex Rand Afrikaans University). He also has an MA in Islamic Management, Finance and Banking from Loughborough University. Shaikh completed his  PhD on Pension Funds from the University of Gloucestershire in 2019.  He also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from IFS University College. He graduated as an Alim Fadil through the Darse Nizami system from Madrassah Arabia Islamia in South Africa. 

Dr Haroon Bashir is a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education. Dr Bashir originally received a BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Leeds (I). Upon completion of his BA, he read an M.St in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford (Dist.). Following this, he returned to the University of Leeds to complete his PhD, having been awarded a fully funded studentship by the White Rose College of the Arts and Humanities (WRoCAH).

Dr Rafeek attained his PhD in Fiqh for Muslim minorities (fiqh al-aqaliyyat) from Porstmouth University in 2012 and has since been teaching Arabic and developing Islamic studies courses at the department of education and training at the Islamic Foundation. He joined MIHE as a lecturer in Islamic Studies and Arabic in 2018. Dr Rafeek completed his 'Alimiyah training in Jami'ah Naleemiyah in Sri Lanka before coming to the UK, where he completed his BA, MA and PhD studies. In addition, he completed a Certificate in Muslim Chaplaincy.

Ustadha Ameena Blake joined the MIHE team as a lecturer of BA Islamic Studies in September 2018. She completed her BA (hons) in English Studies from Sheffield Hallam University and undertook a Post Graduate in teaching followed by her MSc in Leadership and Management of Education. As well as working in educational leadership and consultancy, and teaching in mainstream education, she has studied and lectured in a range of Islamic institutions and completed her MA in Islamic Studies at MIHE.