Shaykh Amer Jamil is an Islamic religious scholar and co-founder of the Solas Foundation and iSyllabus programme, the latter of which he is currently the Project Director. He holds a law degree from the University of Strathclyde and BA in Islamic studies from the University of Wales. He is also currently the Muslim Chaplain at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Media appearances
Jamil regularly contributes to national newspapers such as the Scotsman, Sunday Herald and the BBC. He is a frequent contributor to local radio programmes. In 2012 he addressed the Scottish Parliament with a short reminder on the importance of morally righteous behaviour, particularly for those who are in positions of authority. In 2016, he appeared on the Islamic site Seekers Guidance where he talked about the popular issue of black magic. In 2017 he appeared on a series of podcasts for the Deenspiration podcast show.
Work on domestic violence
He was an early and outspoken advocate on tackling forced marriage in the Asian community, stating "the practice has no place in Islam". In 2007, he authored the booklet What Islam Really Says About Domestic Abuse. The booklet methodically explains topics such as 'The concept of harm in Islam', 'The example of the Prophet ﷺ' as well as clarifying the oft misunderstood verse in the Qur'an about hitting, explaining that domestic violence is irrefutably not allowed in Islam. The work was supported by the Strathclyde Police and Scottish Government. It was translated into 5 other languages and 8000 copies were distributed to various women's groups, social work and the Police as well as other relevant organisations. In 2010, he launched a national campaign on raising awareness and tackling domestic abuse in the Muslim community. In the same year, he also authored the work titled "Islam and Domestic Violence: A Commentary" with Louise Riley. In 2013, he was asked by the Scottish Government to share his views on the proposal put forth to criminalise forced marriage. In the same year, the Assistant Chief Constable, Iain Livingstone, invited him to speak at a conference regarding honour-based violence. Jamil is also the lead of Unity Family Services, a Glasgow based charity which focuses on family support and guidance in the Muslim population. Amongst its aims are to prevent and tackle forced marriages, domestic abuse, as well as solving wider societal family issues as well as providing support for social workers on how to engage with Muslim clients. He also signed his name alongside over 30 religious leaders across Scotland voicing his rejection of forced marriage in Islam. The campaign was backed by the Scottish government and The West of Scotland Religious Equality Council. He is currently conducting PhD research on the relationship between Islamic family law and Scots family law.
Secular qualifications
Jamil holds a law degree from the University of Strathclyde.
Religious qualifications
After travelling to France, Jamil travelled to a wide range of Muslim countries seeking sacred knowledge from a wide range of distinguished scholars in the Muslim world. He first travelled to Syria, attending the Abu Noor University, founded by former Grand Mufti of Syria Shaykh Ahmed Kuftaro. Whilst in Syria he also attended private classes with distinguished Shaykhs from the both the Abu Noor University and the prestigious al-Fath Islamic Law Institute whose lead Shaykh was the current mufti of Damascus, Shaykh Abd al-Fattah al-Bizm After this he travelled to Yemen, where he studied in the renowned Dar al-Mustafa Institute under the well known scholars Habib Umar bin Hafiz and Habib Ali al-Jiffri. Whilst here he studied the science of Tazkiah, religious dialogue and family law, the latter of which is now his primary field of interest. He has studied family law in depth from the perspective of all 4 schools of SunniIslamic law : Whilst in Yemen he studied the Maliki and Shafi‘ischools of thought. Whilst in Syria, he studied the Hanafi and Hanbali schools of thought.
Teaching licences (''Ijazah'')
He has earned Ijazah in the following traditional Islamic sciences:
Jamil is also the author of “Reminder,” a leaflet series which focuses on issues facing British Muslims. The following have been topics of the "Reminder" Series:
