Researcher of the Month - September 2022: Rabiha Hannan

Rabiha Hannan is a part-time PhD student in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, at the University of Leeds. Her current research looks at British Muslim women and their engagement with Islam. She is a member of the Centre for Religion and Public Life and is funded by AHRC, through the White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH).

Tell us a little about your ‘research journey’ – how did you get to where you are right now?

My research journey has taken a long and winding path. I initially trained as a Clinical Pharmacist and have worked in multiple hospitals in the UK. Although I loved my job, I was always drawn to the idea of developing better understanding between people of different cultures and traditions. After the incidents of 9/11 and 7/7 I felt this was an urgent need. As such alongside my pharmacy work, I got involved in a number of social action projects, youth training programmes, education work, museum exhibitions, interfaith activities and research programmes. I was part of the implementation team which helped set up the Christian Muslim Forum in 2012, and I helped launch One Roof Leicester (supporting the homeless in Leicester) in 2014. In 2015 I co-founded ‘New Horizons in British Islam’ (a charity that engages in critical discussions around Muslim identity, tradition and reform), known best for its flagship project ‘The British Islam Conference’.

During this period, I also decided to do a Masters in Muslim Community Studies, specialising in pluralism and gender in Islam. I felt the onus on understanding Islam in a British context (especially from a female perspective) was becoming increasingly important. My MA thesis explored how and why Muslim women dress in different ways. After presenting a paper about my research at a conference, I was honoured to be asked to co-edit a book by Professor Theodore Gabriel on ‘Islam and the Veil’.

After this a number of opportunities opened up for me in the academic arena; I was able to work as a research assistant with Professor Sean McLoughlin on his research on ‘The Hajj and British Muslims’. I was also involved in research projects by the Open Society Foundation, looking at ‘Muslims in Leicester’ and ‘Somalis in Leicester’. Eventually my interest in ideas on gender and Islam peaked and with the support and encouragement of Professor Sean McLoughlin and other great teachers, I applied for a PhD. In 2018 I was generously awarded a studentship by WRoCAH to study part-time at the University of Leeds.

Who, or what, sparked your interest to work on your particular research area?

I have often been scrutinised by onlookers about the supposed contradiction of being an ‘active’ and ‘vocal’ individual yet identifying with a religious discourse that many still believe oppresses women and silences them. At one level my interest in the area of gender and Islam was primarily to understand matters for myself. But I also strongly felt a need to learn more about how and why other Muslim women make the decisions they do – how they navigate life to attain an authentic practice of Islam, whilst faced with the challenges of living in the modern world.

People often presume what Muslim women think or believe, but I would like Muslim women’s voices to be heard first hand. I guess this all started when I was a child, inspired by the way my mother (a first-generation Pakistani immigrant, who came with no English language ability) was able to navigate her way through life; work, build a family, good social networks and home for us while maintaining strong religious ties and values that were compassionate, inclusive and open to her new environment.

What are you currently, or about to start, working on?

My current research explores: ‘Muslim women, Islamic texts and Muslim discourses: The struggle for authenticity in the modern world’. It seeks to understand how British Muslim women derive meaning from religion and view the concept of authenticity in the UK today.

I am currently in the process of completing my fieldwork. I have undertaken several focus groups with British women from 3 cohorts – Indian, Pakistani and Somali heritage. I am exploring 7 themes of enquiry: Economic, Social, Political, Religious, Aesthetics/Beauty, Relationships and Free time/Leisure as a framework for investigation, in order to understand how and why Muslim women practice their religion as they do.

I will then go on to interview British scholars of Islam from a variety of religious perspectives, seeking to understand how they would approach these same issues (shaped by their formal training and engagement with Islamic scripture). This will allow me to examine whether there are overlaps in understanding or if women are making very different decisions to suit their lived realities. I want to learn whether British women of varied ethnicities are practising their faith in the UK in similar /different ways, and how their everyday encounters and decision making coincide/differ from that of scholars’ perceptions of what is ‘authentically Islamic’ and what is not.

In what way(s) do you feel your research examines the role of religion in public life and the relationship between the two?

A key aspect of my research is to look at how Muslim women’s understanding and engagement with religion impacts on her participation in public life; accessing education, career choices, social interaction, dress and body comportment, leadership roles etc. The study explores whether religion is seen by British Muslim women as an empowering or disempowering phenomenon; considering patriarchy, gender equality, and the agency of female lived religious practice. It will also look at the wider significance of such decision making – the implications it might have for established institutions within Muslim communities, as well as the economic, political, religious and social implications on wider society, including influence on community relations and social cohesion.