whitethread

Studied Philosophy as an undergraduate at Kings College London after which he travelled to Cairo to study the Islamic studies curriculum at al-Azhar university, focussing on Islamic law. He also studied extensively in private with a number of scholars with a keen interest in Arabic tafsir (exegesis) and balagha (rhetoric). He returned to the UK where he completed his MA in Islamic studies with distinction at SOAS thereafter taking up his doctoral studies on the life and work of the great khurasanian Sufi and hadith specialist Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (d. 412/1021). His PhD was published in 2018 by Equinox Publishing. Currently, he is pursuing studies in philosophical theology and Sufism with a forthcoming publication on the problem of evil within Islamic thought (AUC Press). He is a professional translator, teacher and examiner as well as curriculum consultant for GCSE, A-Level and the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs.

After initially completing his Masters degree in Engineering (MEng) at Queen Mary University (University of London) went on to diversify his academic background by pursuing an MA from SOAS (University of London) in Near and Middle Eastern Studies and another from Birkbeck College (University of London) in Philosophy with his thesis written on Imam al-Ghazali’s view on scientific knowledge and causality. He has also pursued classical Islamic knowledge by studying under a number of local Ulama in London and concentrating on basic Islamic sciences such as Ilm al-Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Ulum al-Hadith, Aqida and Ilm al-Kalam. His areas of interest include: Islamic philosophy and theology, Islamic legal theory, Islamic history of ‘ideas’, philosophy of science and the scientific method, epistemology and metaphysics in Western and Islamic thought. He has a number of published book reviews in specialist academic journals and is currently pursuing a research project tentatively titled, ‘Trajectories in Islamic theological dispute’. He is also a qualified teacher of Physics and Critical Thinking.

Dr. Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera is a British Muslim scholar educated in both the Islamic and Western traditions. He memorised the Qur’an by heart and graduated from the Darul Uloom seminary Bury, UK, and later earned a specialised licence to issue fatwa (legal responses) at Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur, India. He earned his BA from the University of Johannesburg and completed his MA and PhD in Islamic Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He holds an honorary fellowship at The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman has the unique experience of serving as an imam in Muslim communities on both sides of the Atlantic, eight years in Southern California and over five in the great city of London—and his continued work as an international speaker and lecturer enables him to address and offer pertinent advice on current challenges that face Muslims in the West. He is the founder of Whitethread Institute, a post-graduate insititute for Islamic scholars. He is an avid traveller and continues to teach hadith and work on scholarly publications through White Thread Press. Many of his lectures are available on Zamzam Academy and his courses through Rayyan Courses.