Muhammad Anwar,

OBE 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 ...

(4 April 1945–11 June 2020) was a British-Pakistani sociologist who specialised in the study of race and ethnicity. Anwar was born in Sargodha. His father was a senior civil servant. Anwar studied for a degree in social sciences at the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

in Lahore, graduating in 1965, before taking a Master's degree in sociology at the same institution. He subsequently worked as a lecturer at

Government College Peshawar Government College Peshawar is public sector college located in Zaryab Colony, Faqirabad, Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The college offers programs for intermediate level both in Arts and Science groups, which are affiliated with Board ...

before moving to the United Kingdom in 1970, where he studied for a second Master's degree, in economics at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, and a PhD at the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...

, from where he graduated in 1977. His PhD thesis was about Pakistanis in northern England, and following his graduation from Bradford he worked for Rochdale Community Relations Council. Anwar started working at the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in 1981. At the CRE, he was the organisation's head of research. He joined the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

in 1989, where he directed the university's Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations until 1994 and was also a research professor. He retired from Warwick in 2012, becoming

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

professor. Anwar's publications included the books ''Between Two Cultures'' (1976), ''The Myth of Return'' (1979), ''Race and Politics'' (1986), ''British Pakistanis: Demographic, Social and Economic Position'' (1996) and ''Between Cultures'' (1998). In 2007, he was awarded an

for services to education. Anwar's research highlighted that democratic political participation was as a key factor when it came to improving race relations. In his 1976 book on Pakistanis in the UK, ''Between Two Cultures'', he wrote that "racism and discrimination were rife, and participation in the political process was very low". Tahir Abbas writes that Anwar had a "subjective, but also deeply proactive, commitment to integration through political participation and engagement. He understood the importance of taking part in society to activate the rights and responsibilities individuals have as citizens but also to make a difference in race relations". According to Abbas, Anwar's most significant contribution to the sociology of ethnic relations came in ''The Myth of Return'', which was based on his PhD research.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anwar, Muhammad 1945 births 2020 deaths Academics of the University of Warwick Alumni of the University of Bradford Alumni of the University of Manchester Pakistani sociologists University of the Punjab alumni British sociologists British people of Pakistani descent