Ahmed Jafferali Versi (known as Ahmed Versi) is an editor, publisher, journalist and pharmacist. He is the founder and editor of ''

The Muslim News ''The Muslim News'' is a monthly and digital newspaper. Established by Ahmed J. Versi in February 1989, it has grown to become the largest monthly ethnic paper in the UK. It describes itself as, "The only independent monthly Muslim newspaper in ...

''. His writing has been published by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

.''

Career and achievements

Versi is passionate about female empowerment and Muslim women's involvement in sports, establishing the British Muslim Women's Sport Foundation, as well as having previously served as the Vice President of the International Islamic Women's Games. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

in 2007, in recognition of his achievements as the editor of

. He launched the Muslim News Awards for Excellence, an annual awards ceremony celebrating Muslim achievement in the UK in 2000, which he describes as one of his proudest career achievements.

Personal life

Versi studied Pharmacy at Portsmouth Polytechnic. He lives in

Harrow, London Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a popul ...

with his wife Tahera.

Views

Muslims and the media

In 2002, an article written by Versi in ''

'' highlighted the importance of diversity in media, encouraging increased representation of Muslims and efforts to change the 'Islamophobic culture' present in some media outlets. Following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, he pointed out that "because of their own experiences, British Muslims don't believe the mainstream media," in relation to claims made by the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

at the time on their intelligence following the events of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. In a 2006 academic paper, he further stated that "Government intelligence leaks certain information out in order to built up credibility for them to then do as they please. For example, the demonisation of Saddam Hussein prior to the attack on Iraq." In a 2011 interview with '' El Mundo'', Versi has highlighted what he views as the double standard of how Muslim terrorists and far-right extremist terrorists are treated and portrayed in the media. He said "The language towards Muslims in Europe is very negative. When a Muslim commits a crime, he’s a terrorist or a radical islamist. When it’s a European Non muslim, they refer to an unstable person or a madman."

Racism and Islamophobia

In 2017 during an interview on

Talk Radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

with

Julia Hartley-Brewer Julia Hartley-Brewer is an English radio presenter, political journalist and newspaper columnist. She hosts the weekday breakfast radio show on Talkradio. Early life Julia Hartley-Brewer's father, Michael John Hartley-Brewer, stood unsuccessfu ...

, Versi stated that he believed that most people in British society were not racist, prejudiced or Islamophobic. Instead, he explained that any supposed prejudice that exists is due to 'perceptions of Muslims, rather than the reality,' and that "the more we integrate, and come to know one another, the less prejudice and racism there will be." He also stated that "racism is not unique to the white communities, it is there in all societies," and that "there will always be some kind of racism in society." He has also pointed out Islam's rejection of racism, saying "Islam is colour-blind. All are considered as part of a common humanity."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Versi, Ahmed Jafferali Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British editors British male journalists British Muslims British pharmacists British publishers (people)