Hyphen Festival 2025 to feature top Muslim figures in sport and politics
How to watch former faith minister Wajid Khan and famous faces in rugby and football discuss Muslims’ rich contributions to life in the UK and Europe
Hyphen Festival 2025, Hyphen’s inaugural celebration of Muslim contribution to British public life and culture, takes place on Tuesday in Westminster — and you can watch us interview leading names in politics and sport using our YouTube livestream.
Former faith minister Wajid Khan, a peer in the House of Lords, will discuss his life and career with Hyphen’s editor in chief Burhan Wazir during a fireside chat.
Lord Khan, who warned against scrapping anti-Islamophobia work during an interview with Hyphen in October, was appointed by Keir Starmer in the wake of Labour’s 2024 general election victory, and served until a cabinet reshuffle in September this year prompted by Angela Rayner’s resignation. While in office, he helped oversee work to heal relations between British communities following the wave of racist rioting that swept across the UK in the summer of 2024.
A peer since 2021, Khan is also a former member of the European Parliament and a one-time mayor of Burnley. Before entering politics he worked as a senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.
The event will also feature a politics panel, chaired by Hyphen’s deputy editor (news and investigations) Ramzy Alwakeel, discussing the forces shaping Muslims’ participation in electoral politics. Panellists will include Shavanah Taj, general secretary of the Wales Trades Union Congress; Mothin Ali, the co-deputy leader of the Green Party; and Hina Bokhari, who leads the Liberal Democrat group on the London Assembly.
Titled How will Muslim voters respond to the UK’s current political challenges?, the discussion will touch on the rise of new parties on both the left and right, as well as the enfranchisement of more than 100,000 young Muslim voters.
A panel on Muslim contributions to the world of sport, chaired by Hyphen reporter Saman Javed, will round out the day, with rugby player Zainab Alema, Muslim Sport Foundation data and insights manager Sahiba Majeed and Jawahir Roble, a football referee and former coach.
Hyphen’s editor in chief Burhan Wazir said: “We are excited that Hyphen’s first in-person event will feature some of the leading Muslims from the world of politics and sports. Hyphen Festival 2025 also promises to highlight the many contributions British Muslims make to public life in the UK and beyond.”
To watch the live stream, visit Hyphen’s YouTube page, or you can follow @onlinehyphen on X for updates throughout the day.
