Dr Sohail Hanif became National Zakat Foundation’s Chief Executive in November 2021. Prior to this, he held the position of BA Manager and Lecturer at Cambridge Muslim College. From 2015-17, he was NZF’s Head of Research and Development and has also held the position of Head of Sciences at Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman.

He is an expert in Islamic law, having studied extensively with traditional scholars, and holds a PhD from Oxford University. His PhD thesis, which explores Islamic legal epistemology, won the 2019 prize of the British Association for Islamic Studies. He has lectured widely on Islamic law and Qur’anic studies in academic, public and traditional settings.

Shaykh Muhammad Kazi is a visiting lecturer at the Cambridge Muslim College where he teaches the Quranic Studies module. Muhammad serves as a Community Imam and Liaison Officer at Ashford and Staines Community Centre and is reading for a PhD in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is particularly interested in the theme of the Prophet’s exemplariness and the complex interplay between the temporal and timeless dimensions of the Qur’an. Muhammad completed an MSt at Oxford, an MA at SOAS, has spent more than a decade studying the Islamic sciences with traditional scholars in the UK and Jordan, and has also memorised the Noble Qur’an. 

Dr Ingrid Mattson was born and raised in Canada, earning a BA (hons) in Philosophy and Fine Arts, then moved to the United States to study at the University of Chicago, earning a PhD in Near Eastern Language and Civilizations in 1999. From 1998 to 2012 she was Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut where she developed and directed the first accredited graduate program for Muslim chaplains in North America and served as Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. Since 2012 she has held the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at Western University in London, Canada.

Shaykh Idris Watts is a registered psychotherapist with BACP and a Somatic Experiencing practitioner. He has worked closely with local communities in the UK for over a decade providing a pastoral and educational service within the Muslim and wider community. He studied traditional Islamic sciences in Fez, Morocco where he lived for 10 years. He integrates Islamic principles and teachings with clinical research and incorporates the principles of attachment, trauma and counselling with somatic bodywork into his practice. 

Idris has studied with Hakim Archuletta, gaining a deeper understanding of the principles of traditional wisdom and bodywork as well as incorporating Islamic approaches to psychology and psychotherapy through the guidance of Professor Rasjid Skinner and Abdallah Rothman as part of their training with the International Association of Islamic Psychology (IAIP). 

 The event will begin at St Paul’s Church on Hills Road. It is a one–minute walk from the College.  

Please arrive by 10 am. Refreshments will be served and plenty of CMC merchandise and books will be on sale. The event will start promptly at 10.45 am.   

There is a waiting list you can sign up to. If any places become available, those on the list will receive an email to register with 24 hours to do so. This is on a first come, first served basis. 

Some teaching with plenty of thought-provoking and reflective exercises (journalling, text analysis, etc) as well as group discussions and activities.  

Drinks and light refreshments will be provided throughout the day, with a Mediterranean bowl for lunch. 

Unfortunately, we cannot permit entry for children under the age of 12. Children 12 and above can purchase a concession ticket and will have to be accompanied by an adult over 18 years of age. However, this event will be mainly interactive and therefore more suitable for those over 16. 

No, this is a strictly in-person event and the workshops are engaging and interactive, making it unsuitable for recording. 

We will offer a full refund five days prior to the event. After that, we will not be able to refund your ticket.  

If you require disability access, please email the team at courses@cambridgemuslimcollege.ac.uk and we will do our best to accommodate. 

There is no public parking available on the College grounds. Paid parking on St Paul’s Road has a 4-hour time limit.

There is also a car park at Queen Anne’s Terrace which is a 6 minute walk away.

Explore the different ways to travel to us here.