Dr Asma Mustafa has a long-standing interest in understanding and contributing to the tapestry of Muslim communities. As a sociologist, Dr Mustafa has devoted her career to exploring the broad intersections of identity, religion, and common values within the dynamic context of British society.

Dr Mustafa is the Dean of Scholars and holds a Research Fellowship on Muslims in Britain at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. She is the organizer and facilitator of the Young Muslims Leadership Programme and its alumni network, which she has successfully led for over a decade. She is also Senior Research Fellow at Linacre College, University of Oxford and served as Senior Tutor (2014-2016).

Dr Mustafa received her MPhil and then DPhil in Sociology from Oxford University. Her Economic and Social Research Council (ESCR) funded doctoral research examined the role of ethnic, religious, and national identities in the political participation of young second-generation British Muslims. Her work encompasses a wide range of topics, including influences on the formation of Muslim identity over time; political engagement in its breadth; metanarratives around immigration; the study of lived religion; and the impact that socio-economic factors have on British Muslim communities.

Through her publications, Dr Mustafa has contributed to the academic discourse on Islam in Britain. She actively engages with community organizations, policymakers, and religious leaders to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Selected Publications:

‘Identity and Political Participation Among Young British Muslims’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) 

‘Muslims in the Military: Broadening Diversity in the British Armed Forces’ (Research Report, funded by the British Academy, 2019) 

Mustafa, A. and Richards, L. 'Immigration Attitudes amongst European Muslims: Social Identity, Economic Threat and Familiar Experiences', Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42.7 (2018): 1050-69.

Mustafa, A. and Heath, A. ‘Poverty and the labour market’ in Farah Elahi and Omar Khan (eds.) ‘Islamophobia: Still a challenge for us all. A 20th anniversary report’ (Runnymede Trust, 2017)