Chris Allen (academic)

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.[1] He was named by the Deutsche Welle as an expert on the topic of contemporary Islamophobia.[2]

For other people with the same name, see Chris Allen.

Early life

Chris Allen was born in Bermondsey, London.[3] He received a B.A. in religious studies from University of Wolverhampton in 2001, and a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Birmingham in 2006.[4]

Career

Allen worked for a year as a Research and Policy Assistant at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education associated with The Islamic Foundation.[5] 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.[4]

Allen's research focuses on Islamophobia, British and European Far Right and, more broadly, religiously motivated hate.[1]

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".[6] At the same time, Allen apparently acknowledged that "there were very few serious [anti-Muslim] attacks" and that Islamophobia "manifested itself in quite basic and low-level ways."[7] 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."[8] 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.[8]

In 2012, he was asked to be on the board of "a cross-government working group to tackle anti-Muslim hatred".[9] He later resigned from the group.[10]

Works
  • Islamophobia (Ashgate, 2010) ISBN 978-0754651390

References
  1. The Centre for Hate Studies – Expertise, University of Leicester, retrieved 23 April 2023.
  2. Walker, Tamsin (20 March 2010). "Racial inequality still rife across Western world". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  3. Chris Allen, Huffington Post UK, retrieved 23 April 2023.
  4. Chris Allen – University of Leicester, LinkedIn, retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. Chris Allen - University of Birmingham, LinkedIn, retrieved 23 April 2023.
  6. Allen, C. & Nielsen, J. S. Summary Report on Islamophobia in the EU15 after 11 September 2001 (Vienna: European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia, 2002).
  7. Malik, Kenan (6 January 2005). "What hate?". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  8. Allen, Chris (3 June 2013). "Why the 'Daily Telegraph' And 'Daily Mail' Are Wrong About Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  9. Shah, Murtaza Ali (5 April 2012). "British government moves to tackle Islamophobia". The News International. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  10. "Why I Quit the Government's Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group". Huffington Post UK. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
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