Chris Allen (born 1966) is a British academic who researches contemporary Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime. Currently based in the Institute of Applied Social Studies (IASS) at the University of Birmingham, he has been described by the authors of one report — to which he himself was a major contributor — as the UK's most experienced scholar on Islamophobia[1]. He is the current Editor in Chief of The Journal for Peace, Gender & Development Studies." [2]
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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"[3] 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"[4]. Soon after the publication of the EUMC report, Allen received funding from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to undertake research into the phenomenon of Islamophobia.
Allen's research has appeared in a range of different books, collections and peer reviewed journals in both his native UK and Europe more widely, including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland. In terms of presenting his findings, he has done so at a number of international and national academic conferences including the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (Vienna, 2002), the Colloque du Groupe de Recherche sur l’Islam en Suisse (Geneva, 2003), University of Freiburg (13 December 2005), CERI-Sciences (Paris, 2006), and the British Educational Research Association (University of East London, 2010). In November 2010, Ashgate published Allen's monograph, Islamophobia. In the book, Allen put forward a theoretical exposition of Islamophobia, establishing a new definition and conceptualising it as an ideological phenomenon that has a variety of different modes of operations and exclusionary practices.
Allen was awarded his doctorate by the University of Birmingham in 2006. He also holds a bachelors degree from the University of Wolverhampton.
Allen began his academic career by teaching in the University of Birmingham's Sociology department. In 2006, Allen left the University to take up the post of Director of Research & Policy at BRAP (formerly Birmingham Race Action Partnership), a Birmingham-based equalities and human rights agency. During his time at BRAP, he oversaw a number of projects that explored issues of inequality and discrimination. Whilst at BRAP, Allen also held a Visiting Lecturer post at the University of Wolverhampton, an Associate Lectureship at the Open University and Research Fellow status at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education.
He returned to the University of Birmingham in June 2008 as a Research Fellow in IASS. He continues in that post.
Living on Bermondsey's Elim Estate, he attended the Grange Primary School before moving to Bacon's Church of England Comprehensive School (now Bacon's College) in 1977. On leaving Bacon's in 1984, he went to work in the financial sector in the City of London. Moving to the West Midlands in 1990, he spent a number of years working in insurance and stockbroking.
Allen made a significant career change in 1998 when he entered higher education initially to train to be a secondary school teacher.
Academic publications
- Islamophobia. London: Ashgate, 2010.
- ‘Fear and loathing: the political discourse in relation to Muslims and Islam in the contemporary British setting’ in Politics & Religion (Vol IV no.2 Autumn 2010).
- ‘Keeping it simple and stupid: theoretical considerations on the concept of Islamophobia’ in Sayyid, S. & Vakil, A. (eds.) Thinking through Islamophobia. London: Hurst & Co, 2010.
- ‘Das erste Jahrzehnt der Isamophobie’ in Bunzl, J. & Hafez, F., (eds.) Islamophobie in Österreich. Vienna:StudienVerlag, 2009.
- ‘Down with multiculturalism, book-burning and fatwas’: the death of multiculturalism and its implications for Muslims in Journal for Culture and Religion (2007, no.2, vol 8).
- ‘Islamophobia in Europe’ in Amghar, S., Boubekeur, A. & Emerson, M. (eds.) European Islam: The Challenges for public policy and society. Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies, 2007.
- ‘(Muslim) Boyz-n-the-Hood’ in International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World Review (no.18) Leiden: ISIM, 2006.
- ‘What is Islamophobia? An evolutionary timeline’ in Delgado, M. (ed.) Islam in Europa: Zwischen Weltpolitik und Alltagssorgen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2006.
- ‘Endemisch europees of een europese epidemie? Islamophobia in Europa na 11 september 2001’ in Plate, L. & Smelik, A. (eds.) 11 September in de kunsten. Amsterdam: Van Gennep, 2006.
- ‘From race to religion: the new face of discrimination’ in Abbas, T. (ed.) Muslim Britain: communities under pressure. London: Zed Books, 2005.
- ‘Faith literacy’ – entrepreneurship in religious studies’ in British Association for the Study of Religions Bulletin (no.104, March 2005). Wolverhampton: BASR, 2005 (with D. Burke & D. Holingshead).
- ‘Entrepreneurial consultancies in religious studies’ in Discourse: learning and teaching in philosophical and religious studies (Vol.4, no.2 Spring 2005). Leeds: Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies at the Higher Education Academy, 2005 (with D. Burke).
- ‘Endemically European or a European epidemic? Islamophobia in contemporary Europe’ in Gabriel, & T., Geaves, R. (eds.) Islam and the West: a post September 11th perspective. London: Ashgate, 2004.
- Justifying Islamophobia: a post-9/11 consideration of the European Union and British contexts in American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (no.3, volume 21, Summer 2004) Denver: AMSS & IIIT.
- ‘The impact of the Runnymede Trust on Islamophobia in the UK’ in Boce: revue romande des sciences humaines, (6 April-June 2003). Geneva: University of Geneva, pp.51-68.
Policy briefings
- ‘Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime in the West Midlands’ in Lambert, R. & J. Githens-Mazier, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime: UK case studies. Exeter: University of Exeter, 2010.
- An overview of key Islamophobia research. London: National Association of Muslim Police.
- Policy focus: the Equalities Bill. Markfield: Policy Research Centre, 2010.
- Safer, stronger communities: considering the impact of population changes in the West Midlands. Birmingham: West Midlands Regional Observatory, 2009.
- The ‘Religion or Belief’ Equality Strand in Law and Policy: Current Implications for Equalities & Human Rights. London: British Humanist Association, 2009.
- ‘A normal week: Islam and Muslims in the national press’ in INSTED (ed.) Islam and Muslims in the UK media: text, talk and imagery. London: Greater London Authority, 2007.
- Summary Report on Islamophobia in the EU15 after 11 September 2001. Vienna: European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia, 2002 (with Jorgen S. Nielsen).
Bigmouth Strikes in Vain: Chris Allen's personal blog