Shaykh Amer has been described by the Sunday Herald as one of the Scotland's most prominent and respected Muslim thinkers. He was born and brought up in Glasgow, and has a law (LLB) degree from Strathclyde university and a BA (Hons) in Islamic studies from the University of Wales. In total he has spent ten years studying the Arabic language and Islamic Sciences including six years with renowned scholars in the Middle East (Syria and Yemen). He has teaching licenses (ijaza) in various Islamic subjects which he studied. He has studied with numerous distinguished scholars from a range of different schools of thought. His balanced studies in both the secular and religious give him a combination of sound scholarship with a profound understanding of society. Shaykh Amer's field of interest is primarily Muslim family law; an area in which he has studied in depth having studied all four schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi and Hanbali schools- Syria, Shafi and Maliki schools– Yemen). Currently, he is conducting a PhD research study on Islamic family law in the context of Scotland. He also has a counselling skills certificate certified by COSCA (Scotland's professional body for counselling and psychotherapy).