Much of my academic career has centred on radicalisation and de-radicalisation, but since 2020, my research interests have broadened to encompass the study of Islam and Muslim communities. My work integrates key theoretical approaches to understanding social actors with rigorous empirical research, drawing on years of sociological fieldwork both in Britain and internationally. Through extensive interactions with Islamic radicals, I gained a deep understanding of their social realities, providing insight into the processes that lead to radicalisation. This focus shaped my early career, culminating in a doctorate from Royal Holloway, University of London, on radical Islam. Since then, I have contributed to numerous cross-cultural research projects on counterterrorism and radicalisation, working across both the private and public sectors.

I am currently working on my fifth monograph, Contesting Political Islam (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025), which explores the ideological and methodological disagreements among Islamist groups, with a particular focus on the UK. This book examines the critical differences in how various Islamist movements and activists conceptualise and engage with political Islam. Drawing on firsthand narratives from members of the UK branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir, it provides insight into the group’s internal debates and its conflicts with other Islamist factions.

My fourth monograph, Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain: The Rise and Fall of an Islamist Group (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024), offers a comprehensive analysis of the political, social, cultural, and interpersonal factors that contributed to the group's rapid ascent and subsequent decline in the UK.

My earlier works have similarly focused on the evolving landscape of Islamism in Britain. Leaving Islamism: Narratives of British Muslims (Peter Lang, 2022) examined the experiences of former Islamists, documenting their reasons for disengaging from Islamist ideology. This study built on my first monograph, Radicalism Unveiled (Routledge, 2013), which analysed radicalisation processes among British Muslims. Meanwhile, Segregated Britain: Everyday Life in Muslim Enclaves in Modern Britain (Peter Lang, 2020) investigated the social realities of Muslim communities living in segregated enclaves, offering an in-depth exploration of the factors shaping these residential patterns.

Beyond academia, my expertise has been applied in legal and policy contexts. Since October 2017, I have commissioned over 450 expert legal reports on human rights, asylum, and terrorism cases, addressing the religious and socio-political conditions in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. My extensive ethnographic fieldwork in these regions has informed my work on asylum and human rights procedures, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of country conditions. By applying my research expertise, I have helped improve the decision-making process within the UK Home Office Asylum Division, directly influencing legal judgments in UK asylum and human rights court hearings.

I have developed a diverse and extensive teaching portfolio in sociology and religious studies, focusing on how social structures, beliefs, and identities are formed, interpreted, and reshaped in the modern world. My modules explore various dimensions of social life, critically analysing their evolution and significance. For instance, Sociology of Religion introduces students to key theoretical perspectives on the relationship between religious belief, practice, and social structures, with a strong analytical emphasis on the role of religion in both historical and contemporary societies. One of my most popular modules, Debating Islam, engages students in critical discussions on modern debates surrounding Islam, addressing intersecting themes of violence, peace, and ideological contestation.

PhD Supervision

I welcome PhD projects in Sociology, Islamic Studies, and Modern Islam, particularly those focused on radicalisation and de-radicalisation, Islamism, Muslim identity, and community formation.

Email: f.wali@bangor.ac.uk

Tel. 01248 383721