Myriam François

Last updated

Myriam François
Myriam francois 2020 1.jpg
François in 2020
Born
Emilie Siobhan Geoghegan François

December 1982 (age 42) [1]
Camden, London, England [2]
Education
Occupation(s)Journalist, filmmaker, writer
Website myriamfrancois.com

Emilie Siobhan Geoghegan François (born December 1982), [1] known as Myriam François and formerly as Myriam François-Cerrah, is a British journalist, filmmaker and writer. Her work has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4 and Al Jazeera. She is the founder and CEO of production company MPWR Productions, which specialises in documentary films centred on minority voices. [3]

Contents

Early life, early career and education

François was born in Camden, London, to an Irish mother and a French father. [4] She attended a French school in London and is bilingual. She was born Emilie François, but has used Myriam instead of her given name since she became Muslim in 2003. [5]

François was a child actress, whose performance as Margaret Dashwood in the Oscar-winning film Sense and Sensibility (1995) earned her critical acclaim. [6] She went on to appear in Paws (1997), alongside Billy Connolly and Nathan Cavaleri, and in New Year's Day (2001). [7] [8]

François holds an MA from Georgetown University (United States) and a BA from the University of Cambridge (UK). She completed her PhD (DPhil) at Oxford University, focusing on Islamic movements in Morocco in 2017.

Career

François was an assistant editor and features writer at Emel magazine (2008–2009) and worked at the Islam Channel in London. She translated Asma Lamrabet's book, Women in the Qur’an: An Emancipatory Reading [9] which won the English Pen Award. [10]

François began her career in documentary filmmaking as a presenter and producer at the BBC. Her first documentary on BBC One, A Deadly Warning: Srebrenica Revisited (2015), was nominated for the Sandford St Martin Religious Programming Award in 2016. [11] In 2016, she presented her second documentary, The Muslim Pound (2016), which explores the growing consumer goods market for Muslims in the UK. [12] She was also a programme researcher and presenter at the BBC and a regular guest on its flagship channel's The Big Questions from 2008 to 2011 [13] and on Sunday Morning Live also in 2015. [14] [15] François then worked as a programme producer on Al Jazeera English's Head to Head. [16]

In 2017, François presented The Truth About Muslim Marriage (Channel 4, 2017), which was nominated for Best Investigative Documentary at the Asian Media Awards in 2018. [17] [18] François then joined TRT World as Europe correspondent, covering European breaking news. Between 2017 and 2018, she also developed, produced and presented Compass, a monthly arts and culture documentary for the channel. [19]

In 2019, François left TRT World and began working with BBC World Service, where she produced and presented a series of short documentaries, including Tariq Ramadan: #MeToo in the Muslim World (2018), and Is Brexit-Voting Llanelli Changing Its Mind? (2019) which looks at the impact of Brexit in Llanelli, a Leave-voting town in Wales. [20] [21] In 2019, her documentary City of Refuge, which examined the plight of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, aired on BBC Radio 4 in April and on BBC World service in May. [22] In 2022, she presented the BBC World Service audio documentary When Rape Becomes a Crime, which focuses on rape laws in Senegal. [23] François also began hosting and producing The Big Picture: France in Focus, a four-part series for Al Jazeera English focused on the fault lines within French society. [24]

Writing

François was a correspondent for the Huffington Post (2014–2015), where she broke a headline story on an exclusive 36-page document written by alleged al-Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. [25] She has appeared on Newsnight (2009), 4thought.tv (2011), [26] BBC News (2010), [27] Crosstalk (2010), BBC Radio (2012), Sky News [28] and documentaries including Divine Women, presented by Bettany Hughes. [29]

A former columnist at the New Statesman , François's writing has featured in the British press, including The Guardian , TIME, Foreign Policy , The Telegraph , CNN online and Middle East Eye . [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]

François is a former senior fellow at the Center for Global Policy (CGP), a think tank where, between 2019 and 2020, she produced an in-depth report looking at the plight of European children of ISIS fighters in camps in Northern Syria, as well as an accompanying piece for Foreign Policy . She has been an outspoken critic of Islamophobia. [36] She is a former research associate at School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (SOAS), in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East, where she researched issues related to British Muslims, integration, and racism.

Her articles also appeared in The Huffington Post, [37] New Statesman , [38] Your Middle East, [39] The London Paper , Jadaliyya, [40] the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, [41] The Daily Telegraph , [42] Salon , [43] Index on Censorship , [44] The F-Word, [45] and the magazine Emel . [46]

Other work

Francois in 2015 Myriam francois 2015 1.jpg
François in 2015

François gave guest lectures at Harvard University (2014), the University of Birmingham (2014), and Luther College (2015) in Decorah, Iowa, and presented an annual guest lecture at Kingston University, in England, in 2012–2014. She spoke at the 2015 HowTheLightsGetsIn at the Hay-on-Wye Festival. [47] She has been a regular presenter at high-profile events, including the Mayor of London's Eid Festival 2019 [48] and the London Modest Fashion Festival 2018. [49]

She was a judge for the 2019 Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction books. [50]

Francois appeared on The World with Yalda Hakim during the Red Sea crisis in early 2024, supporting the Houthis' blockade in aid of Palestine and denouncing Israel's war on Gaza. She also criticised the United States and the Biden administration for bombing Yemen, saying that they are bombing "one of the poorest countries in the world that has been under a humanitarian blockade [...] because [they are] in support for the Palestinians". [51]

Personal life

In 2003, at the age of 21, François became a Muslim after graduating from Cambridge. At the time, she was a sceptical Roman Catholic. She rejects the use of the words "convert" and "revert" as "exclusionary", describing herself as "just Muslim". [52]

François chose to stop wearing a hijab in the late 2010s. She said that the subsequent lack of Islamophobia due to her being a white woman in Western attire made her feel enmeshed in white privilege. Nevertheless, she did not decide to return to the hijab. [2]

As of 2015, François was married to a Turkish man. [53] By early 2022, they had divorced. [54]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Robinson</span> English actor, author and campaigner (born 1946)

Sir Anthony Robinson is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom Blackadder and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel 4 series Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. He has written 16 children's books.

Liza Tarbuck is an English actress, comedian, and television and radio presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Winkleman</span> English television presenter (born 1972)

Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman is an English broadcaster and writer. She has been nominated three times for the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for co-presenting the BBC One dancing competition show Strictly Come Dancing (2010–present). Winkleman received her fourth BAFTA nomination and first win for presenting the BBC One reality show The Traitors (2022–present). She previously hosted the Saturday mid-mornings show on BBC Radio 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mishal Husain</span> British newsreader and journalist (born 1973)

Mishal Husain is a British journalist, broadcaster and author. She is best known for having presented a range of BBC News programmes, most notably Radio 4's Today programme. She occasionally appeared as a relief presenter on the weekday edition of the BBC News at Ten, and more rarely, the BBC News at Six. She has hosted The Andrew Marr Show, HARDtalk, Impact and BBC Breakfast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Maitlis</span> British journalist (born 1970)

Emily Maitlis is a British journalist and former newsreader for the BBC. She was the lead anchor of the BBC Two news and current affairs programme Newsnight until the end of 2021. She has since been a presenter of the daily podcast The News Agents on LBC Radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Rani</span> British broadcaster and journalist (born 1977)

Anita Rani Nazran, better known as Anita Rani, is a British radio and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Serra</span> Italian journalist

Barbara Serra is an Italian-born British-based broadcast journalist and TV newsreader. She studied at the London School of Economics, before becoming a journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Derbyshire</span> British journalist (born 1968)

Victoria Antoinette Derbyshire is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster. Her eponymous current affairs and debate programme was broadcast on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel from 2015 until March 2020. She has also presented Newsnight and BBC Panorama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Bonnin</span> French-born Irish television presenter (born 1976)

Elizabeth Bonnin is a French-Irish science, wildlife and natural history presenter, who has worked on television in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. She presented morning show RI:SE and music show Top of the Pops in the early 2000s.

Michal Katya Adler is a British journalist. She has been the BBC's Europe editor since 2014.

The Islamic Sharia Council (ISC) is a British organisation that provides legal rulings and advice to Muslims in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic Sharia based on the four Sunni schools of thought. It primarily handles cases of marriage and divorce and, to a lesser extent, business and finance. Thousands of Muslims have turned to the Council to resolve family and financial issues. The Economist magazine states it has offered rulings to "thousands of troubled families since the 1980s", the council states that it has dealt with an average of between 200 and 300 cases monthly as of January 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imran Garda</span> South African journalist, presenter and novelist

Imran Garda is a South African journalist, presenter, and novelist. The long-running host of The Newsmakers from 2015 to 2020, Garda returned to TRT World in 2022 with the one-on-one interview program The InnerView. He was formerly the host of Third Rail on Al Jazeera America based in New York City. Garda was also a senior presenter and producer for AJ+, Al Jazeera Media Network's all digital video news channel based in San Francisco. Previously, he worked for Al Jazeera English in Doha, Qatar and Washington, DC. He also hosted the show The Stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martine Dennis</span> British news anchor

Martine Dennis is a British news anchor. She was most recently a presenter with Al Jazeera English, and before that BBC World News.

Zeina Awad is a Lebanese/Canadian news correspondent who used to co-host Fault Lines, Al Jazeera English's flagship current affairs programme about the Americas. Awad says she believes that Fault Lines strives to identify and patch information gaps by "asking the tough questions" of the countries and people in power.

Shamim Ara Chowdhury is an English television and print journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AJ+</span> Online news service

AJ+ is a social media publisher owned by Al Jazeera Media Network which focuses on news and current affairs. AJ+ content exists in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. It is available on its website as well as platforms YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; with written content on Medium.

Al Jazeera Arabic is a Qatari state-owned Arabic-language news television network. It is based in Doha and operated by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which also operates Al Jazeera English. It is the largest news network in the Middle East and North Africa region. It was founded in 1996 by the then Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesrine Malik</span> Sudanese-born journalist and author

Nesrine Malik is a Sudanese-born journalist and author of We Need New Stories: Challenging the Toxic Myths Behind Our Age of Discontent. Based in London, Malik is a columnist for The Guardian and served as a panellist on the BBC's weekly news discussion programme Dateline London.

Samreen "Sam" Naz is a British television presenter, actress and screenwriter currently working as a news presenter for Sky News in London. She has previously hosted several programmes including 60 Seconds. She wrote, produced and starred in a short film called Liberté (2021), in which she played the lead role of Noor Inayat Khan, a secret agent working for Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War.

References

  1. 1 2 "Emilie Siobhan Geoghegan FRANCOIS". Companies House. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 François, Myriam. "Muslim, 'white' & seeking new forms of solidarity: Myriam François" (Interview). Interviewed by The Demented Goddess. The Demented Goddess. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "MPWR Productions". MPWR Productions. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  4. ↑ Miriam O'Reilly (8 September 2011). "Heart and Soul: Muslim White Female". BBC Sounds (Podcast). BBC World Service. Event occurs at 03:21. Myriam François-Cerrah, daughter of a French father and an Irish mother...
  5. ↑ Ian (14 October 2023). "Myriam François Bio, Age, Husband, Hijab, Net Worth, Channel 4". BiographyScoop. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Lee, Ang (26 January 1996), Sense and Sensibility (Drama, Romance), Columbia Pictures, Mirage Enterprises, retrieved 12 January 2023
  7. ↑ Zwicky, Karl (25 September 1997), Paws (Adventure, Family, Fantasy), Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), Latent Image Productions Pty. Ltd., New South Wales Film & Television Office, retrieved 12 January 2023
  8. ↑ Krishnamma, Suri (2 November 2001), New Year's Day (Drama), Flashpoint (I), Alchymie, Liberator Productions, retrieved 12 January 2023
  9. ↑ "Women in the Qur'an: An Emancipatory Reading". Kube Publishing. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Speakers and panellists". Cardiff University. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "BBC One - A Deadly Warning: Srebrenica Revisited". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "BBC One - The Muslim Pound". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "One Programmes – The Big Questions, Series 3, Episode 5". BBC. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "One Programmes – Series 6 Episode 15". BBC. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  15. ↑ "One Programmes – Series 6 Episode 15". BBC. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  16. ↑ "Ebor Lecture: Myriam Francois-Cerrah". higheryork. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  17. ↑ "The Truth About Muslim Marriage". True Vision TV. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "Myriam Francois's Channel 4 documentary nominated for Asian Media Award". Northbank Talent Management. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  19. ↑ "Compass - TRT World". Compass - TRT World. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  20. ↑ "The rock star scholar and the rape claims". BBC News. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "Is Brexit-voting Llanelli changing its mind?". BBC News. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  22. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - City of Refuge". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  23. ↑ "BBC World Service - The Documentary Podcast, When rape becomes a crime". BBC. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  24. ↑ "France in Focus". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  25. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (14 January 2014). "Mastermind Of The Sept. 11 Attacks Wants To Convert His Captors". The Huffington Post.
  26. ↑ "Myriam Francois Cerrah (2011) [Should Muslims adapt to Britain or should Britain adapt to Muslims?]". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Alternative titles... 4thought.tv[17/03/2011]
  27. ↑ "Impact Asia – A veiled threat or an attack on faith?". BBC News. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  28. ↑ "Myriam Francois". New Lines Institute.
  29. ↑ Divine Women on BBC
  30. ↑ "Myriam François". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  31. ↑ "Myriam Francois". Time. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  32. ↑ François, Myriam (October 2021). "Myriam François". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  33. ↑ "Myriam Francois-Cerrah". The Telegraph. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  34. ↑ François, Myriam (7 September 2016). "Forget the burkini ban: France's Muslims have much bigger problems". CNN. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  35. ↑ "Myriam François". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  36. ↑ "Myriam François". Foreign Policy. October 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  37. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (26 January 2012). "Why a War With Iran is the Real Threat". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  38. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (14 December 2011). "When does it not pay to be Muslim?". The New Statesman. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  39. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (29 April 2013). "Morsi must become a leader for all Egyptians". Your Middle East.
  40. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (16 May 2015). "Olivier Roy on Laicite as Ideology, the Myth of 'National Identity' and Racism in the French Republic". Jadaliyya.
  41. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (27 April 2015). "Face Veils and Miniskirts: Whose Interests are Served in France's Republic of Men?". ABC (Australia).
  42. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (17 July 2014). "Why banning Sharia courts would harm British Muslim women". The Telegraph.
  43. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (13 October 2014). "Bill Maher's horrible excuse: Why his defense of Islamophobia just doesn't make any sense". Salon.
  44. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (15 January 2011). "Tunisia: France's faux pas". Index on Censorship. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  45. ↑ "Articles by Myriam Francois-Cerrah". The F-Word. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  46. ↑ "Sailing Towards The Divine". Emel . 27 June 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  47. ↑ "Progressive politics takes centre stage at HowTheLightGetsIn". 27 April 2015.
  48. ↑ "Everything you need to know about Eid Festival in London". Evening Standard. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  49. ↑ admin. "We are pleased to announce that Dr Myriam Francois will be hosting Modest Fashion Festival". Modest Fashion Festival. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  50. ↑ "Dr Myriam Francois". The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  51. ↑ "Dr Myriam Francois: 'I'm sorry your Amazon packages are delayed... but, genocide, guys'". Sky News. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  52. ↑ François-Cerrah, Myriam (16 August 2014). "Don't call me "convert" nor "revert" for that matter". Muslimvillage.com. Originally published on 15 June 2013 as a WordPress entry of hers titled Don't call me a "convert"/"revert". Her blog no longer exists.
  53. ↑ "Ramadhan Routine: Myriam Francois-Cerrah". Hala Gems. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  54. ↑ François, Myriam [@MyriamFrancoisC] (7 March 2022). "can someone send me that khutbah on how paying your child support is actually an amanah and the grave sin involved in not providing for your child...? Also worth reminding your homeboys." (Tweet). Retrieved 19 January 2025– via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.