IF you want to follow the Bishop of Oxford on Twitter you now have a choice, after a Muslim multiculturalist set up an account in his name.

Nagihan Haliloglu, 40, was born in Istanbul in Turkey but studied abroad in England and Germany and completed a part-time Master's degree in Oriental Studies at Oxford University's Wadham College from 2002 to 2003.

Tweeting as Bishop of Oxford (@NHaliloglu) the 40-year-old has also taught in the United States and has been back in Istanbul since 2010.

Her profile says: "Conference hopper, lecturer, auntie, Jarvis Cocker fan. Explorer of the British Isles. Orientalistist. Occasional Classicist. I also wrote a book on Jean Rhys."

Ms Haliloglu told the Oxford Mail: "I would like it very much if the real bishop followed me, but then I tweet quite a bit in Turkish and about Turkish politics, and half the time I am venting off steam, so he might find it a bit of a bore.

"I am 40, single. I don't have any children but I have nephews and nieces who are very dear to me, hence the 'auntie' in my bio.

"I am a practising Muslim who finds the Anglican Church very welcoming.

"When I was studying at Oxford I went to a couple of services at St Mary's (in Iffley) and always found the sermon intellectually stimulating and relevant."

Ms Haliloglu, who has 3,060 followers on Twitter, said she has been using the title Bishop of Oxford since last year and did not get permission from the Oxford Diocese.

She added: "It was a bit of a joke connected to what I teach, what I'm interested in and my love of Oxford, and it stuck.

"I studied in Oxford for a year and have been visiting since 1997."

Ms Haliloglu said she has been following the debate about female bishops closely as she teaches courses on multiculturalism.

She added: "I also find the Anglican Church so welcoming in fact, that the, I hope, harmless joke is soon they will also have a Muslim bishop.

"I fit the profile - I am now based in Istanbul, by the Bosphorus, which is, of course, Greek for Oxford.

"And because I have spent quite a bit of time in Oxford, people come to me with Oxford-related questions."

The real Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev Dr Steven Croft declined to comment on Ms Haliloglu's Twitter feed.

But he said: "I really enjoy Twitter, and have been on Twitter for about eight years as @steven_croft.

"As of today I have 8150 followers and I must say I find it an excellent way of keeping in touch with a wide range of people I wouldn’t otherwise meet as well as some I see regularly."

It is not the first time a 'fake' Twitter account with Oxford connections has been set up.

One feed entitled 'Botley baglady' tweeted fake incidents from the life of the familiar figure who is often seen in the Botley Road area.