Bio
Marwan Muhammad is a French-Egyptian statistician, author, and policy expert with a career spanning finance, human rights, and applied mathematics. Trained in statistics and probability, he began his career in financial modeling before transitioning to human rights advocacy, where he leveraged data-driven approaches to address social justice issues.
As the former director of the most prominent human rights NGO supporting Muslims in France and a diplomat at the OSCE, he worked on policy frameworks supporting marginalized communities across Europe, Central Asia, and North America.
He designed and led one of the largest surveys on discrimination in Europe, involving 27,000 participants, using statistical modeling to inform policy. Now a consultant for global organizations and major institutions, he advises on risk management, education policy, social equity, and data-driven decision-making.
Professional Experience and Background
In Finance
Marwan has worked in quantitative finance for 10 years, designing trading algorithms, risk management instruments, and structured product pricing models. His experience includes consulting for financial institutions such as the World Bank or the Austrian treasury agency and full-time positions at Société Générale, HSBC, and F.I.S Global.
In Human Rights
Marwan served as an OSCE Human Rights Bureau advisor on combating discrimination and hate crimes (2014-2016). He collaborated with international NGOs and advocacy groups to advance human rights initiatives. He trained law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices throughout Europe and Central Asia on hate crimes and human rights. As an expert for think tanks and international organizations, Marwan has contributed to projects for agencies such as USAID, SumOfUs (now Eko), the Carter Center, and the Fundamental Rights Agency.
With Civil Society
As the director of the most prominent human rights NGO supporting Muslims in France (CCIF), he challenged discriminatory measures and led successful campaigns and strategic litigation, resulting in protective case law (2016-2017). He also designed and coordinated the largest survey of Muslims in Europe, which gathered responses from over 27,000 participants (2018-2020). He has trained civil society organizations across four continents and continues to advise some of the most prominent charities and human rights organizations, mainly in Europe and North America.
In Education
Marwan currently serves as the Coordinator for Education Data and Research for an intergovernmental organization, overseeing international assessments and education indicator programs. His expertise in data analysis and policy development has helped shape evidence-based education strategies.
He also has experience in teaching, primarily in quantitative finance, where he has taught fifth-year engineering students on numerical pricing methodologies and advanced stochastic calculus. Additionally, he has designed training curricula for various educational programs (public speaking, time management, cognitive biases and analytical decision making).
Education
Marwan holds an engineering degree in applied mathematics, specializing in quantitative finance.
Awards and Recognitions
2012 – Granted special consultative status at the UN Ecosoc Council
2012 – 1st place in the Alliance Française eloquence competition – Paris
2013 – COJEP Civil Society Prize
2014 – Panel expert for the Swedish government
2015 – Panel expert for the Fundamental Rights Agency
2017 – UNESCO Panel Expert
2019 – Trainer and expert for the Carter Center for Peace
2023 – TRT World Forum guest speaker
Publications
FoulExpress: a novel on migrants, popular culture and finance (Hard Cover & Paperback / Editions Sentinelles – 2009)
Shadow Report on France, European Network against Racism (2012)
The Quantification of prejudice: how to measure the impact of discrimination, European Commission IMAN project (2014)
White paper on anti-terrorism & data-mining, OSCE (2015)
Countering the Islamophobia Industry, Carter Center (2018)
The Intersectional Nature of Islamophobia, European Yearbook on Human Rights (2016)
We (too) Are The Nation, Editions La Découverte (Hard cover, 2017)
What the press says
Marwan’s work has been featured in various media outlets, highlighting his contributions to education, policy, and advocacy. His insights have been shared in interviews, articles, and expert panels discussing the intersection of data, human rights, and social impact.
“We are not defined by what is said about us. We are worth more than that. Let’s be able to rise above this context. The CCIF is just one part of the solution.”
As he returns to his seat, he is welcomed with the gratitude of those who feel their self-image has been restored. And then comes the question: “Marwan, why aren’t you running [for president]?”
Since his return to the CCIF as director in March, after a two-year stint at the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw, Marwan Muhammad has, at 38, become one of the most visible Muslim figures in France. A sought-after speaker, capable of mobilizing people.
“He is an emerging leader.”
By Cécile Chambraud
Published on October 31, 2016
Nonetheless he’s one of the few people who has seized the initiative from Macron in the last year, launching a “Grand Consultation” among France’s estimated six million Muslims in response to the president’s plan to reorganise their religion.
He had 20,000 responses in one week alone, leaving Macron to play catch-up with his own consultation.
If Muhammad does change his mind about a political career there is certainly an opening for someone like him. An amateur DJ who has been described as the “Malcolm X of French Muslims”, Muhammad is a former director of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France…
By Gavin Mortimer
Publié on June 28, 2018
In 2001, he joined the trading floors of a major French bank. However, after gaining experience in market finance, Marwan decided to abandon a career that no longer made sense to him—torn between his ethics and his professional activities, at the heart of a financial system whose glaring injustices he recognized years before the financial crisis.
He then began writing Foul Express, a testimony of his journey through the world of finance. His unique writing style reflects who he is: a child shaped by diverse influences, from traditional French culture to urban lifestyles, Muslim faith, childhood imagination, and even manga culture—a complex identity.
Marwan writes articles and columns on topics such as identity, consumerism, ethics, and North-South relations.
By Yasmine Chouaki
Published on January 19, 2014
Muhammad is charismatic with an intense gaze, and speaks in well-crafted paragraphs in near-perfect English.
He’s emerged as something of a cult figure among a certain segment of French Muslims, especially amid the spike in hostile rhetoric that followed the spate of terror attacks that hit France in 2015 and 2016.
By Karina Piser
Published on July 12, 2019
Press photos
A few media contributions
