Researchers

Obaidur Rahman Naufal was a Research Assistant at the Centre for Study and Research (CSR) and is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Ibn Haldun University, Turkey. He completed his M.A. in Political Science and B.A. in History from Aligarh Muslim University, India.

His research interests include Islam and Islamic movements, anthropology of the state, sociology of religion, modernity and postmodernity, power and knowledge, political violence, and contemporary India.

Khushhal Ahmed is a Research Associate at the Centre for Study and Research (CSR), New Delhi, and a doctoral scholar in the Department of Psychology at Aligarh Muslim University. His doctoral research examines media violence and its impact on youth social behaviour and well-being, engaging with questions at the intersection of social and political psychology. His broader interests encompass religion, decolonial psychology, anthropology, and philosophy.

Having completed his BSc with Zoology majors, Khushhal pursued a Master’s in Psychology from AMU, where he received the University Merit Financial Award for two consecutive sessions (2021–22 and 2022–23). Since 2022 he has also served as an Editor at The Companion. At CSR he contributes to the Centre’s research, writing, and editorial initiatives.

Owais Manzoor Dar is currently serving as Guest Faculty in the Department of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He earned his PhD in Islamic Studies from the same department, with a dissertation on the question of ulū al-amr (authority) in South Asian Muslim intellectual history.

He examines how Muslim intellectuals and ʻUlamāʾ have conceptualised and interpreted authority, and how these interpretations continue to shape intra-Muslim debates. His work has appeared in the Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, Analisa: Journal of Social Science and Religion, the American Journal of Islam and Society, and The Maydan (George Mason University).

Syed Ahmed Muzakkir hails from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University, USA. He graduated in Economics from the University of Madras and completed his post-graduation in Economics at the International Islamic University Malaysia. His areas of interest include civil society, social movements, and the application of Islamic thought to contemporary society. He is also a Hafiz of the Qur’an.

He has participated in numerous academic conferences and published over half a dozen research papers in academic journals, alongside opinion pieces in various magazines. He previously served as Director, Centre for Educational Research and Training (2019–20), and as Secretary General of SIO India (2021–22).