Shaykh Muhammad Reza Tajri began his seminary studies at the Ḥawza ʿIlmiyya of London and went on to complete a BA in Islamic Studies at The Islamic College and Middlesex University. He then moved to Damascus to study at the Ḥawza al-Imām al-Khumaynī. Whilst in Damascus, he also studied advanced Arabic at the University of Damascus. Upon returning to the UK, he completed an MA in Islamic Studies at The Islamic College and Middlesex University and a second MA in Islam in Contemporary Britain at Cardiff University. He is currently completing his PhD at Lancaster University where he is researching evolving perceptions of Shīʿī religious authority on British university campuses.  

A specialist in the Arabic language, he has been a Lecturer in Arabic at the Al-Mahdi Institute since 2015. He is the Head of the Department of Studies in Comparative Religions and Director of both the Centre of Intra-Muslim Studies (CIMS) and the Inter-Religious Symposia Platform (IRS). 

His research interests revolve around Muslims in the UK and Europe, contemporary Shīʿism and Shīʿī identity, religious authority, and the impact of gender on religion. He has presented his research at numerous conferences across the UK.  

Publications 

Articles 

• “Assessing Perceptions of Islamic Authority amongst British Shia Muslim Youth.” In Muslims in the UK and Europe II. Edited by Yasir Suleiman and Paul Anderson, 148-156. Cambridge: Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge, 2016.  

Translations 

• Muhammad Muhammadi Rayshahri. Wisdom of the Prophet Muhammad: A Compendium of Prophetic Hadith, translated by Afzal Sumar and Muhammad Reza Tajri. London: ICAS Press, 2023. 
• Al-Fayḍ al-Kāshānī. Spiritual Mysteries and Ethical Secrets (al-Ḥaqāʾiq fī maḥāsin al-akhlāq), translated by Muhammad Reza Tajri, Amina Inloes, and Nazmina Virjee. London: ICAS Press, 2012.