Aminul Hoque,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

( bn, আমিনুল হক) is a Bangladeshi-born British lecturer and writer.

Early life

Hoque was born to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family in the village of Bagir Ghat in

Golapganj Upazila Golapganj Upazila ( bn, গোলাপগঞ্জ), previously known as Gulabganj, is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Geography Golapganj Upazila (Sylhet District) area 278.34 km2, located in bet ...

, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Hoque's father had been living and working in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

since the early 1960s so the rest of his family joined him in 1980. Hoque grew up in a predominantly Bangladeshi neighbourhood in

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

. His early memories were of extreme poverty, overcrowding and experiencing racism. Hoque graduated from the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. He completed two degrees and a PhD.

Career

Since October 2008, Hoque has been a lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies at

Goldsmiths A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold. In German, the Goldsmith family name is written Goldschmidt. Goldsmith may also refer to: Places * Goldsmith, Indiana, United States * Goldsmith, New York, United States, a h ...

, and a visiting lecturer at

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City ...

. Hoque's writing and work focuses on issues of multicultural Britain, identity, social justice, youth policy, religion and race relations. In 2015, his book '' British-Islamic Identity: Third-generation Bangladeshis from East London'' was published. In February 2015, he contributed in a discussion regarding the three British schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left home to join the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

and

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. In the same month, he spoke at the London Festival of Education, hosted by the

Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to ...

. In April of the same year, he was interviewed by Nihal on

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British Asian radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially British Asians between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has ...

. In May of the same year, he contributed on

's ''

Today programme ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is a long-running British morning news and current-affairs Radio program, radio programme on BBC Radio 4. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, it is produced by BBC N ...

''. In July 2015, he was interviewed by Nadia Ali on

about his Ramadan memories and the

British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis ( bn, বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, Bilatī Bangladeshī) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term c ...

community. Hoque's background is in youth, community and voluntary work. He is an expert in young people and cultural identity. Most of his community work is in Tower Hamlets. Hoque is also a freelance journalist and broadcaster. In 2020, he hosted an episode of ''

A Very British History ''A Very British History'' is a British documentary television series that was broadcast on BBC Four. The four-part series explores migration to Britain in the 20th century and the shift in culture in various minority communities. Production ...

'' focusing on Bangladeshi emigration to the United Kingdom from the 1960s onwards. Hoque served as a trustee on the board of

Royal Museums Greenwich Royal Museums Greenwich is an organisation comprising four museums in Greenwich, east London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just un ...

from 2016 to 2021. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,

Oliver Dowden Oliver James Dowden (born 1 August 1978) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since October 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015. Dowden served in the Johnson gover ...

, vetoed his reappointment for a second term in 2021. The chair of the board,

Charles Dunstone Sir Charles William Dunstone (born 21 November 1964) is the British co-founder and former chairman of mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse, former chairman of multinational electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company Dix ...

, resigned in protest at the government's failure to reappoint Hoque. Hoque said that he was "shocked, disappointed and baffled" at Dowden's veto against his reappointment.

Awards and recognition

In 2008, Hoque was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours for his services to youth justice in East London. In 2005, he received a Philip Lawrence Award. In 2004, his radio documentary ''Islamic Pride'' was shortlisted for the

Sony Awards The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

Personal life

Hoque is a Muslim He has three children. He is a

Manchester United Football Club Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

fan.

Works

* Hoque, Aminul. (January 2005)
Long-Distance Nationalism: a Study of the Bagir Ghati Community Living in East London
* Hoque, Aminul. (2015). '' British-Islamic Identity: Third-generation Bangladeshis from East London''. London: Trentham Books. .

References

External links

*
Hotseat: Islam expert Aminul Hoque
''BBC News''. 28 January 2005 * Hoque, Aminul
I'm a British Bangladeshi Muslim academic: it's about confidence
''

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 ...

''. 15 November 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoque, Aminul 1977 births Living people British Muslims Bangladeshi emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom English male journalists Muslim writers British Asian writers 21st-century British writers The Guardian journalists Journalists from London Alumni of the University of Sussex Academics of London Metropolitan University Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London People from Golapganj Upazila People from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century Bengalis 21st-century Muslims 20th-century Bengalis bn:আমিনুল হক