Ahmed Paul Keeler

Ahmed Paul Keeler was the founder and director of the World of Islam Festival that took place in London and the UK in 1976. The Festival was remarkable in that the arts and sciences were presented as a manifestation of the unity of Islam, instead of from the Eurocentric, fragmentary point of view. The Festival was opened by Her Majesty the Queen, and was the most comprehensive exposition of Islamic culture ever to have taken place in the West, having a far-reaching impact both in the UK, the West and the Muslim world.

On April 27th 2014 Ahmed presented his ground-breaking Mizan Thesis at Cambridge University in an Illustrated Lecture, after which the University’s Centre of Islamic Studies invited him to become a Visiting Fellow to continue his work. 2019 saw the publication of his seminal work Rethinking Islam & The West: A New Narrative for the Age of Crises, followed in 2022 by A Life’s Journey: The Story behind a Book, which serves as a commentary on Rethinking Islam & The West. Applying the mizan perspective Ahmed produced Gazan Awakening in 2024 and Breaching the Mizan: From a Sacred to a Secular World in 2025.

Upcoming Events

BLF 2026
Dr Amanda Golden, Dr Iona Murphy
Don’t Let Your Figs Rot: Sylvia Plath’s Life in Writing
Sunday, 5 July 2026 | 19:00 – 20:00
Banqueting Suite, City Hall, BD1 1HY
Poetry
Event Reference: 26PO1
BLF 2026
Abdul Rahman Azzam, Ahmed Paul Keeler
World of Islam: Festival 50th Anniversary
Sunday, 12 July 2026 | 13:00 – 14:15
Pictureville, The National Science and Media Museum, BD1 1NQ
Art, Architecture & Design
Event Reference: 26AD21
BLF 2026
Ahmed Paul Keeler
World Premiere Screening: Mizan: Changing The Narrative
Sunday, 12 July 2026 | 14:45 – 16:15
Pictureville, The National Science and Media Museum, BD1 1NQ
Film
Event Reference: 26BF39
BLF 2026
Ahmed Paul Keeler
In Conversation with Ahmed Paul Keeler
Sunday, 12 July 2026 | 17:30 – 19:00
Pictureville, The National Science and Media Museum, BD1 1NQ
Art, Architecture & Design, Film, Global Futures, Race & Identity
Event Reference: 26AD22