Tharik Hussain

Tharik is an award-winning author, travel writer and journalist specialising in Muslim heritage and culture. He is a Fellow at the Royal Geographical Society in London and the Centre of Religion and Heritage at the University of Groningen.

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Tharik's book, Minarets in the Mountains; A Journey into Muslim Europe, won the British Guild of Travel Writers' Adele Evans Award for best travel narrative book of 2022. It was also shortlisted for the 2022 Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year award; longlisted for the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize and was amongst the Books of the Year in  the New Statesman, Prospect Magazine and the Times Literary Supplement, as well as the Travel Books of the Year in The Washington Post, Suitcase Magazine and Newsweek.

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Minarets in the Mountains has been translated into German and is set to be translated into Chinese in early 2024.

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Tharik is also the author of several travel guides for Lonely Planet, including Saudi Arabia (shortlisted for the 2020 Travel Media Awards), Bahrain, Thailand, London and Great Britain. In the latter, he wrote the first chapter ever to appear in a mainstream guidebook dedicated to Muslim heritage in Britain. Tharik has written about encountering Muslim cultures and heritage across the globe for various media publications from National Geographic Traveller to the BBC. The impact of Tharik's writing, which often serves to counter popular religious and cultural narratives, was recognised at the annual British Bangladeshi Fashion and Lifestyle Awards in December 2022 when he won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature. 

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In July 2019, Tharik created Britain's first Muslim heritage trails, in Surrey, England; in 2017 he was named one of the UK's most inspiring British Bangladeshis and in 2016 his BBC World Service radio documentary, America's Mosques; a story of integration, won Best Religious Program at the New York Festivals World's Best Radio Programs Awards.

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Tharik has given lectures and talks on his specialisms at a host of prestigious venues and events including The Royal Geographical Society, The Times Travel Show, Traverse 22, The Universities of London and Leicester and a number of literary festivals such as Jaipur Lit London. 

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Tharik is an advisor to the Institute of Islamic Art Thailand and has an MA in Islamic Studies. He possesses two decades of experience in media and education, and is a leading consultant on global Muslim culture, heritage and travel. He resides in London and is represented by David Godwin at David Godwin Associates Ltd.