Miqdaad Versi is director for media monitoring at the Muslim Council of Britain.[1] As well as holding the position as one of the council's active public representatives, Versi is also engaged with the media voicing concerns over the misrepresentation of Muslims.[2][3] The Guardian described him as "the UK’s one-man Islamophobia media monitor."[4]
Versi occasionally writes opinion pieces for the Guardian and the Independent.[5][6] He is a board member of Rights Watch UK.[7] Versi also runs a travel agency in north-west London full-time.[8]
Versi grew up in Harrow, London in an Indian family.[8] His father moved to the UK from east Africa in the 1970s and worked as an engineer.[8] His mother worked as a nursery teacher.[8] He read mathematics at the University of Oxford.[7]
During his university studies, in pursuit of his interest in Islamic jurisprudence, Versi spent one year in Damascus, Syria learning Arabic and Islamic law.[8] He later worked for Oliver Wyman and then for the Royal Bank of Scotland.[8]
Litigation
editVersi sued for defamation following Ed Husain accusing Versi of being, "pro-Hamas pro-Iran pro-gender discrimination pro-blasphemy laws pro-secretarian (sic) [and] anti-Western."[9] Versi won two preliminary trials in which the High Court found that the ordinary meaning of the words was defamatory; and that it was inappropriate to argue a partial defence in a separate pre-trial hearing, ordering Husain to pay costs.
References
edit- ^ "Our governance". www.mcb.org.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ Nye, Catrin (19 January 2017). "The man correcting stories about Muslims". BBC News. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "The UK media too often misrepresents Muslims – with dangerous results". The Guardian. 23 January 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ Hattenstone, Simon (25 March 2019). "'The Tories are institutionally Islamophobic': Miqdaad Versi takes on MPs and the media". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ "Miqdaad Versi". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Miqdaad Versi". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Board – Rights Watch UK". www.rwuk.org. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Subramanian, Samanth (18 October 2018). "One man's (very polite) fight against media Islamophobia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Miqdaad Versi v Mohamed Husain (aka Ed Husain) [2024] EWHC 1672 (KB)". High Court (KB). 28 June 2024.
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