Myriam Francois-Cerrah was born in London of French and Irish heritage.
She completed her BA in Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge
University in 2003, after which she worked for a year for MEND, a
Palestinian NGO in Jerusalem, where she received training in Active
Non-violence and Conflict Resolution techniques. In August 2005, she
travelled to Washington DC to pursue an MA in Arab Studies, specialising
in Middle East politics, on a CCAS scholarship, at Georgetown
University. There, she collaborated on the production of a documentary
(Arabs and Terrorism, Bassam Haddad) and published current affairs
articles. Former Assistant Editor at emel magazine, she continues to
contribute to the magazine. In May 2010, Myriam co-organised and hosted
the Rethinking Islamic Reform conference at Oxford University.
(www.rethinkingislamicreform.co.uk)
As a researcher with the European Muslim Research Centre, Exeter University, she contributed a chapter on European Muslim identity to the 2010 report “Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK Case Studies”.
She has been the media spokesperson for the Oxford University Islamic society (www.ouisoc.com) and the “Inspired by Muhammed” campaign (www.inspiredbymuhammad.com) aimed at fostering greater understanding of Islam. She is currently a Contributing Scholar to State of Formation, a forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders (www.stateofformation.org).
Myriam regularly contributes to public debates on a variety of issues, including on BBC Newsnight, the BBC Big Questions, the New Statesman, The Times, the Independent, BBC Radio, The London Paper, Index on Censorship, The Cherwell, The F-word and others. She lectures within the Muslim community on a variety of topics, as well as to mainstream institutions such as the BBC, the Scottish Interfaith forum and universities.
She also provides diversity training for public and corporate institutions (The MET, Clifford Chance LLP, BBC).
Myriam is currently undertaking a DPhil at Oxford University, focusing on Islamic movements in Morocco. She speaks fluent French and proficient Arabic and has travelled extensively. Her first love is horses.
She blogs at: http://myriamfrancoiscerrah.wordpress.com
