He is married to Mara Hotung, daughter of Eric Hotung and great-granddaughter of Sir Robert Hotung. Although he was born a Muslim whilst at Netherhall House he became interested in Catholicism and was intellectually engaged by the work of 20th century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar and also by the writings of John Henry Newman.
SOAS, University of London.
Ilyas Tariq Khan was raised in Lancashire (North West England). His early schooling was in the old Lancashire Pennine mill towns of Haslingden and then Accrington. Background and Khan served two terms as the chairman of the prominent British charity Leonard Cheshire Disability (liquid crystal display) — the largest organization of its kind in the world, with a presence in over 50 countries.
He is a Fellow of Street Edmund"s College, Cambridge and is also attached to the Judge Business School. where he is the "Leader in Residence".
Khan is a trustee of the Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst, which aims to raise funds to make the collections at Stonyhurst more widely accessible. The project has the support of Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor, Lord Guthrie, Cardinal Vincent Nichols Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Lord David Alton.
In 2015 Khan ranked 21st in The Tablet"s list of Britain"s most influential lay Catholics. At this time he discovered the works of the Swiss theologian and philosopher Hans Urs von Balthasar and has since become well known as a keen enthusiast of this Swiss theologian and thinker.
Khan began to read theology in the Netherhall library, where he studied such Christian theologians as Origen and Saint Augustine.
In September 2015 Pope Francis elevated Khan to a Knight of the Order_of_St_Gregory_the_Great for his contribution to the Church and community.
Khan, a philanthropist, is a merchant banker by training and started his career at the London firm of J. Henry Schroder Wagg & Company Limited. He was also the owner of the famous English football team Accrington Stanley and is its Patron and the founder and publisher of the Asia Literary Review. In business terms he was one of the founding directors of Australia-based White Energy Company, and the founder of Cambridge Quantum Computing.
His special interests include philanthropy and Wittgenstein, and he is a member of the British Wittgenstein Society.
