Sheikh ul-Islam of the Caucasus

His Virtue Prof. Dr. Allahshukur Pashazade is the current Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board (CMB), Chairman of the Qazi Council (Fetwa institution) of the CMB and Sheikh ul-Islam of Caucasus. Born in 1949, Azerbaijan, he received his religious education in Mir Arab Madrasah, Bukhara, then at Tashkent Islamic University, Uzbekistan, graduating in 1975. Upon his return to Azerbaijan, he held several religious posts. In 1980 he was elected Chairman of CMB and received a title of XXII Sheikh ul-Islam of Caucasus.

• Sheikh ul-Islam and Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office since 1980
• Co-chair of CIS Interreligious Council since 2004.
• Current chairman of the Advisory Council of Muslim Leaders of CIS.
• Current chairman of the Supreme Religious Board of Caucasian peoples.
• Senior Fellow of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought of H.K. of Jordan
• Fellow of “Taqreeb bayn al Mazaheb” Committee for the Islamic convergence
• Fellow of “Dar al Taqreeb” Foundation for the Islamic convergence

Faculty Member, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University

Dr. Al-Majed’s positions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia show his commitment to dialogue - bringing people together, elaborating on mutual understanding and avoiding violence among religious groups.

Dr. Al-Majed is convinced of the importance of dialogue between different groups in the education system.

• Faculty member of education at the Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University in Riyadh
• Founding Member of the National Society for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Director General of the Islamic Culture Centre in London (1996-2001)
• Chief Editor of Islamic Quarterly Magazine London UK (1996-2001)
• Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the British Muslims' Heritage Centre

President, Shanti Ashram

Dr. Aram has been part of interfaith dialogue efforts for the past twenty years. She has led critical child development initiatives globally and across rural India. Together with Shanti Ashram’s partnership platform encompassing 215 partners she is deeply committed to integrated human development initiatives. She founded the International Center of Child and public health in 2016 and through it multiple public health initiatives are currently being implemented for vulnerable children. Deeply committed to the Gandhian spirit, she has received several awards for her work and authored a variety of publications.

• Co-moderator and Executive Committee Member of Religions for Peace-International
•  Chairperson of the International Ethics Education Council for Children at Arigato International
• Member, Task force, International initiative to end child poverty
• Member of the Governing Council, National Foundation for Communal Harmony, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
•  Trustee, M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation
• Distinguished Member, Board of Management of the Gandhigram Rural University
•   Founding Member of Namadhu Pangu, a social service outreach of Kumaraguru College of Technology
• Alumnus and Visiting Professor of the Harvard School of Public Health & PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research

Titular Bishop, Diocese of Luperciana, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

His Eminence Cardinal Miguel Ayuso is Titular Bishop of Luperciana, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Cardinal Ayuso has always been active in interreligious dialogue, teaching in both Cairo and Rome as well as writing several important publications on issues related to Christian-Muslim dialogue. As a priest he worked in the local Church in Egypt and Sudan from 1982 to 2002.

He served as President during his service at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI). He also taught courses in interreligious dialogue and participated in meetings and conferences on interreligious relations in various countries in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. In addition to his native Spanish, Cardinal Ayuso speaks Arabic, English, French and Italian.

• 2019: Appointed Cardinal by Pope Francis
• 2019: Appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
• 2016: Ordained Bishop, Titular See of Luperciana by Pope Francis 
• Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, 2012-2019
• President of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), 2005–2012
• Awarded a PhD in Theology by the Faculty of Theology of Granada, Spain, in 2000
• Served as parish priest in Sacred Heart Parish in Abbassiyya/Cairo as well as Director of the Pastoral, Liturgical and Catechetical Centre of El Obeid
• Diocese/Sudan, 1982-2002
• Ordination as priest in 1980
• Member of the Comboni Missionaries.

Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

During his service to the Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel has become an advocate for peace and dialogue.

• Metropolitan of France, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (election 2003)
• President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France
• Co-President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP)
• Director of the Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union in Brussels
• In charge of Interreligious Dialogue with Judaism and Islam on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

American Jewish Committee, International Director of Interreligious Affairs

Rabbi David Rosen was the Chief Rabbi of Ireland and the senior rabbi of the largest Orthodox Jewish Congregation in South Africa. Today he is one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in the field of interreligious affairs.

• AJC‘s International Director of Interreligious Affairs and its Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious Understanding
• Past Chairman of IJCIC, the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations
• Honorary Advisor on Interfaith Relations to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel
• Honorary President of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ)
• Knighted by the Vatican in 2005 as Commander of the Order of Gregory the Great. Decorated CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2010 by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II.

Secretary for Inter Religious Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury and National Inter Religious Affairs Advisor

Rev. Sudworth was appointed Secretary for Inter Religious Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury and National Inter Religious Affairs Advisor in September 2018.

• 15 years with the inner city ministry of the Diocese of Birmingham
• Commenced his interfaith journey as a Church Mission Society mission partner in North Africa and then as a curate and parish priest in multifaith settings
• Doctorate in Christian-Muslim relations from Heythrop College, University of London
• Authored articles and publications on Christian-Muslim relations including Distinctly Welcoming: Christian Presence in a Multifaith Society and Encountering Islam: Christian-Muslim Relations in the Public Square