Islam Issa (academic)

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Islam Issa
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham
Scientific career
FieldsHistory, Literary Criticism, Sports

Islam Issa is an Egyptian-British[1] scholar and author, a Professor in the School of English at Birmingham City University whose research has specialized in Early Modern English literature and the reception of Renaissance.

He is also a frequent broadcaster on the BBC and overseas, and has been described by The Guardian as a football analyst and players’ agent.[2]

Career[edit]

Issa graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature from the University of Birmingham, where he was then a Visiting Lecturer and Fellow until he became a lecturer at the Birmingham City University in 2015. He teaches all periods and genres of English literature, and his research has focused on Early Modern English literature and the present-day reception of the Renaissance. His other academic interests include literary translation and cultural history.[3]

Issa has a media presence, with appearances on over fifty radio and television stations around the world. He has also given public lectures overseas, including work for the British Foreign Office. In 2017, the BBC identified his as one of its New Generation Thinkers, one of ten academics whose research was to be made into radio and television programmes.[4][3] In 2012, according to The Observer, Issa disclosed that two Egyptian soccer stars believed that the Port Said Stadium riot had been planned.[5]

In 2016, Issa published research into the First World War which stated that “at least 885,000 Muslims were recruited by the Allies”,[6] with the Discovery Channel noting that “Issa more than doubled the previously estimated figure of 400,000 soldiers after trawling through thousands of personal letters, historic archives, regimental diaries and census reports”.[7] The findings came as he was curating the “first exhibition devoted to the Islamic contribution to World War I”.[8] The exhibition was visited and praised by King Charles III.[9]

In 2019, Issa presented the BBC Four television documentary Cleopatra and Me: In Search of a Lost Queen.[10]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Issa's book Milton in the Arab-Muslim World won the Outstanding First Book award of the Milton Society of America. He has also been named as Birmingham City University's Researcher of the Year.[3]

Issa won the Research Project of the Year at the Times Higher Education awards.[11]

He was a finalist for Excellence in Community Relations at The Muslim News Awards and Services to Education at British Muslim Awards.[12][13] His exhibition "Stories of Sacrifice", won the Muslim News Awards Excellence in Community Relations prize.[3]

Publications[edit]

  • Milton in the Arab-Muslim World (2016).[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Issa, Islam (1 May 2023). "Cleopatra was Egyptian — whether Black or brown matters less". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (13 February 2015). "Death of Zamalek fans in riot stirs political conspiracies in Egypt". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "School of English : Dr Islam Issa". www.bcu.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Watch "How not to be ignorant | Islam Issa | TEDxAylesbury" Video at TEDxTalks". TEDxTalks. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  5. ^ Doward, Jamie (4 February 2012). "Egyptian police incited massacre at stadium, say angry footballers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  6. ^ McKinney, Emma (27 January 2016). "New research reveals almost 900,000 Muslims fought in WWI". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  7. ^ Lorenzi, Rossella. "800K Muslim Soldiers Served in WWI". Discovery Channel Communications. Retrieved 15 August 2016. Not found 23 April 2020
  8. ^ Oliphant, Vickiie (25 January 2016). "Allies 'recruited 885,000 Muslim troops'". the i Newspaper. p. 11.
  9. ^ "Prince of Wales visits WW1 exhibition curated by Birmingham university lecturer | GBCC". www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. ^ Cleopatra and Me: In Search of a Lost Queen (2019) - IMDb, retrieved 28 April 2021
  11. ^ "WW1 Muslim soldiers research project scoops prestigious award". Birmingham City University. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. ^ "The Muslim News Awards for Excellence 2017: The Shortlist - The Muslim News". The Muslim News. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Check out the finalists for the British Muslim Awards 2017 - DesiMag". DesiMag. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  14. ^ Issa, Islam (25 October 2016). Milton in the Arab-Muslim World. S.l.: Routledge. ISBN 9781472484802.
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