An Interview with Dr Imran Alvi (President 2000-02)

The following is an interview taken on 25 May 2022 with Dr Imran Alvi, the OUISoc President for two consecutive years from 2000-02.

1. Tell me a little about yourself.

I came to Oxford for MPhil and DPhil Economics. I did my undergraduate degree at the London School of Economics in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics. Oxford is my hometown - specifically, Headington. I’ve worked in a range of different jobs in the private, public and charity sector. The purpose of the role often left me feeling I could contribute more and this led me to change roles almost every two years! I now run a consultancy firm, Oxford Intellect, which provides training and consultancy support to universities abroad in advanced research methods. I have really enjoyed this role and the contribution that it allows me to make - Alhamdulillah I have stuck at it for more than two years!

2. What inspired you to go for the presidency?

Well, it is mentioned in a Hadith, “O Abdur Rahman, do not ask for authority. If it is given to you at your request, you will be held fully responsible for it. If it is given to you without your request, you will be helped by Allah in it.”

Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 6727, Sahih Muslim 1652

So, I did not actively seek to become President. However, the consistent encouragement of a good friend to give it a go led me to the role. I also felt it was a big responsibility upon me since it was a guardianship for other Muslims.

3. What was your vision for the ISoc?

Since I came as a postgrad, I saw from LSE that there was a gap of mentorship from scholars. When I first joined LSE, we did have an elderly khateeb (the person who would give the Friday khutbah (sermon)). He left after a few months and this left a vacuum of knowledge - there was no scholar we could go to for our questions and for general advice. I also noticed that there were mainly big events in LSE and although they had their benefits, they required a lot of pre-planning for a single evening event. One particular event took almost two years, which I was quite involved in. It was an early conference on Islamic Finance. We had many big banks and speakers at the conference. However, post-event, I was left considering what I gained from it besides putting something on my CV. Therefore, I felt besides annual events, continual development was important since, after a few years of being at university, you should leave with a stronger connection with Allah.

Although big events looked good on the termcard, I wanted to make it easier to access scholars and tried to facilitate this. I got to know Sheikh Riyadh more when I came back to Oxford from London and he was a huge source of knowledge, support and was able to connect with the students (Alhumdulillah).

4. How did you go about achieving your vision(s)?

I tried to organise suitable, regular events like study circles. During my term, Jumu’ah was also a key event each week and I put emphasis on this. This was the time when we would have an audience with many Muslim students so we wanted to make the best use of it. There was no prayer room at that time, so we would end up booking a room for Jumu’ah, carrying prayer sheets from place to place, setting up the room, etc etc. Trust me, you have it easy now! 

We put a lot of effort into outreach (Facebook didn’t exist then!) This included notes into pigeon holes, trying to meet new people at Jumu’ah and spreading the word through other societies like PakSoc. We also tried our best to meet as many new people as possible during Freshers Week. 

Ramadan was always a good time to bond - we would organise food on a daily basis with the help of the local community and restaurants. And, of course, I cannot leave out ISoc football as a key part of any ISoc plan.

5. Is there anything you would have done differently?

I would have liked to set up more formal classes for learning, from the beginning, to allow people to join and learn about Islam, and have study pathways to progression and reaching goals. For example, when it comes to Hifdh (memorisation of the Quran) you may come in not knowing anything at all but if you put in a small but consistent effort then you will see it build up, which would encourage people and also help them continue after university, as well as make excellent use of their spare time, which students have a lot of!

6. As President, what was your favourite event?

This is not really a single event, but I would say I enjoyed the Jumu’ah Khutbahs by Sheikh Riyadh the most. This is because it was very inspirational, which led to good choices. It was also not a one-off event, but consistent.

When it comes to the social side, Brothers’ ISoc football was very competitive and something I enjoyed.

7. What was your defining memory of ISoc?

What would make me the most happy would be seeing so many people progress in their relationship with Allah and hoping for some share of that reward. I believe I saw some gems in my time that have continued to prosper and thrive Alhamdulillah. They excelled in their careers, some senior figures in leading consultancies others senior medics. However, besides worldly gains, they have also achieved so much in the Deen (religion). One friend kept up with his studies and completed his Alim course and is now teaching in his local community. Another has realised the importance of Hifdh - his children are now Hufadh and he is well on his way to completing his Hifdh. 

A key memory would also be building relationships with scholars, it was a lot easier to do this at Oxford than at LSE! It wasn’t just a source of knowledge for religious questions, but also wider guidance in how one should go about building a relationship with Allah.

8. Has being President/a member of ISoc had any influence on yourself as a person, after you graduated from University?

I hope so. I hope to have taken benefit from it and want it to be such that I and others have a better understanding of religion and the challenges that are present. However, you do not need to be in the position I was in to do that - you can still increase in your faith regardless. 

9. What are your thoughts on ISoc today?

I have to admit I have been a bit disengaged with it recently but I will come back soon inshallah! However, from what I know, there is a lot of good work going on and it is very active. I have popped in a few times for prayer and it is nice to see the PR (prayer room) being used for both relaxation and worship. I also liked the informal breakfast event you organised where students could just chat with each other and scholars.

From my experience, my advice would be to start from the question: How can we strengthen the relationship students have with their Creator, with Allah? If you start from this question, you will then find it easier to develop content for the termcard with clear focus and purpose.