IRF will organize a colloqium and forum with DR ANAS Altikriti in Kuala Lumpur on the next week from 17-23 May.

The following is Dr Anas’s profile for the participants and guests who would like to know more about him:

Anas Altikriti was born in Baghdad in 1968, and came to settle in the UK in 1970. His father was an Islamist and a renowned opposition figure to the Ba’th regime in Iraq, hence the family did not return to Iraq for the next 33 years. Professionally, Anas Altikriti has lectured in Translation and Interpreting studies at Leeds University since 1995 and at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh between 2000 and 2003.

His main activities however, have been in the public forum, campaigning throughout Britain’s Muslim community for more involvement and a better engagement with the wider British society, and a more efficient and constructive role on the British political front. He has also been involved in a number of campaigns to eliminate the rising trends of Islamaphobia and racism in the UK and was at the forefront of the Anti-War movement, which emerged in 2001.

As spokesman and then President of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), Anas Altikriti co-organised and led more than 15 demonstrations against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as against the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The highlight of this was to chair the historic 2-million strong demonstration against the war in Iraq on the 15th of February 2003 in Central London.

In 2004, Anas Altikriti joined George Galloway’s Respect party and stood as the party’s leading candidate in Yorkshire and Humberside in the European Parliamentary elections. Most recently, Anas Altikriti was dispatched by the British Anti-War movement to Iraq to negotiate the release of British hostage Norman Kember and his fellow Christian Peace-makers. Three of the four hostages, including Mr. Kember were safely released on the 23rd of March 2006.

Anas Altikriti is an international speaker and lecturer, and appears regularly in the Arab and international media commenting on Arab, Muslim and International affairs. He appeared on the BBC’s Hard Talk in June 2004 and also on BBC World’s Doha Debates in May 2005, both with Tim Sebastian. He has also appeared on numerous occasions on prominent Arab TV stations including Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya, and was focus of an in-depth report by Australian ABC’s ‘Lateline’ in July 2005. He has written a number of articles for the Guardian newspaper. Presently, he heads The Cordoba Foundation in London and fronts a weekly debate show ‘Sharqun Wa Gharb’ (East and West) on newly found Arab TV satellite station ‘Al-Hiwar’ (The Dialogue).