Professor Asma Afsaruddin, Ph.D.
Dr. Afsaruddin is an Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She previously taught at the Johns Hopkins and Harvard Universities. (Her fields of specialization are the religious and political thought of Islam, Qur'an and hadith studies, and Islamic intellectual history). She has written and lectured extensively in the United States and abroad on various aspects of Islamic thought. Among her publications are Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2002); Hermeneutics and Honor: Negotiation of Female Public Space in Islamic/ate Societies (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University, 1999); Humanism, Culture, and Language in the Near East: Studies in Honor of George Krotkoff (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1997); and numerous journal articles and reviews. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy and a member of the editorial boards of the Middle East Studies Association Bulletin and the forthcoming Routledge Encyclopedia of Medieval Islam. Her research has won support from the American Research Institute of Turkey and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
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Laila Al-Marayati, M.D.
Dr. Laila Al-Marayati is the spokesperson and past president of the Muslim Women's League (MWL), a Los Angeles based organization dedicated to disseminating accurate information about Islam and women and to strengthening the role of Muslim women in society. Dr. Al-Marayati has written articles and participated in numerous conferences addressing issues of concern to Muslim women; topics include: basic women's rights in Islam, reproductive health and sexuality, stereotyping, violence against women, among others. In addition, Dr. Al-Marayati spearheaded the MWL's efforts on behalf of rape survivors from the war in Bosnia in 1993 and was a member of the official United States Delegation to the United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Dr. Al-Marayati is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist in private practice in Southern California.
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Professor Cherif Bassiouni
Professor Bassiouni serves as president of DePaul's International Human Rights Law Institute. In 1992, he was appointed a member, and later chairman, of the U.N. Commission to Investigate Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the former Yugoslavia. From 1995-1998, he was elected vice chairman of the U.N. General Assembly's Committee for the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, and in 1998, he was elected chairman of the Drafting Committee of the U.N. Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. In 1999, he was appointed by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights as special rapporteur on the right to restitution, compensation, and rehabilitation for victims of gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In 1999, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifelong work to establish an International Criminal Court.
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Michon Boston
Michon Boston is currently the director of programs at the Humanities Council of Washington D.C. Between 1987 and 2001 she was an associate director and held several other positions at the Public Broadcasting Service. She is also an independent writer and producer. She has received numerous awards and grants such as, the Larry Neal Writers Competition Award for Drama (D.C. Commission for the Arts and Humanities) for "Iola's Letter" and the National Endowment for the Humanities Grant for A HISTORY OF BLACK WOMEN AT OBERLIN COLLEGE. Michon got a B.A. in English from Oberlin College and studied directing for T.V. and sitcom writing at UCLA.
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David Burhans, Ph.D.
Dr. Burhans served as the Chaplain to the University of Richmond, Virginia from 1974 to 2004 and served as the pastor, preacher and spiritual leader for the University community. He is a graduate of William Jewell College in Missouri (B.A. in English) and a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville with Master of Theology and Doctor of Theology degrees. In addition to his Chaplaincy work, he has taught classes for the University’s School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Burhans serves as President of the State Board of the National Conference for Community and Justice, the Board of Virginia Supportive Housing of Richmond and is Chairman of the Charles B. Keesee Educational Fund Board in Martinsville, VA.
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Professor Jean Bethke Elshtain
Jean Bethke Elshtain is Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago. She is the author of many books, including The Jane Adams Reader, Jane Adams and the Dream of American Democracy, and Who Are We? Critical Reflections and Hopeful Possibilities. In addition, Professor Elshtain is the editor of The Family in Political Thought, Politics and the Human Body, and Just War Theory; co-editor of Women, Militarism, and War; and co-author of But Was It Just? Reflections on the Morality of the Persian Gulf War. She also has written over 400 articles and essays in scholarly journals and journals of civic opinion. In 1996, Professor Elshtain was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is the recipient of seven honorary degrees and is co-chair of the recently established Pew Forum on Religion and American Public Life.
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Professor Diana L. Eck, Ph.D.
Diana L. Eck is a professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and is a member of the Faculty of Divinity. She received a B.A. from Smith College, an M.A. from the University of London, a Postgraduate Diploma from Banaras Hindu University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. She has worked closely with churches, including her own United Methodist Church and the World Council of Churches, on questions of interreligious relations and dialogue. Since 1991, she has been heading a research team at Harvard to explore the new religious diversity of the United States and its meaning for the American pluralist experiment. The Pluralism Project has been documenting the growing presence of the Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Zoroastrian communities in the United States.
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Professor Marie Failinger
Marie Failinger is a Professor of Law at the University of Hamline. She practiced health and welfare law at Legal Services Organization of Indiana (LSOI), where she also directed projects on lay advocacy and community development. Professor Failinger is a member of the Indiana and Minnesota Bars. She has been involved in founding professional and community organizations that focus on poverty law, legal services for the poor, arts and the law, church mission and growth, children and the law and American Indian policy. In addition to her work with various organizations, she is on the board of the National Equal Justice Library, which she helped found, and is currently the coeditor of the Journal of Law and Religion.
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Professor Allan Godlas, Ph.D.
Dr. Godlas is Associate Professor in the Department of Religion at the University of Georgia. His award-winning website on Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic and Religion is acclaimed for its comprehensive collection of links and resources documenting Islam's history and scripture, information on Islam's place in the modern world, its stance on women's rights, Islamic art and architecture, and its history of mysticism. He has conducted extensive research in manuscript libraries in Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey. His areas of research include Qur'anic commentary (tafsir), hadith, Islamic mysticism (also known as Sufism) and consciousness transformation, and the relationship between Islam, modernism, and postmodernism.
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Shakeela Z. Hassan, M.D.
Shakeela Z. Hassan is a medical doctor and educator with a longstanding commitment to promoting unity, understanding, and respect within the Muslim American community and between the Muslim community and Americans of other faiths. Dr. Hassan attended medical school at Osmania University, in Hyderabad, India, and then pursued her graduate medical education and training at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. Dr. Hassan is active in the community affairs of the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park, Illinois. For the last three years, Dr. Hassan served as the National Fundraising Chairperson for Unity Productions Foundation, where she was responsible for raising the funds needed to produce the documentary film, “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet.”
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Randa Fahmy Hudome, Esq.
Randa Fahmy Hudome is currently the President of Fahmy Hudome International (FHI), a strategic consulting firm with a focus on international energy issues. Prior to assuming the presidency of FHI, Randa served as the associate deputy secretary of energy in the Administration of President George W. Bush. Prior to her executive branch experience, Randa was foreign policy counselor during Senator Abraham’s tenure in the United States Senate.
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Dr. Shammim Ibrahim
Dr. Shamim Ibrahim has extensive and in depth experience in addressing the welfare needs of the Muslim community. For this purpose she founded NISWA Association Inc., a social service organization to address the needs of the Muslim community. Under her leadership a Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence was established in 1996. Another organization founded by Dr. Ibrahim is Aasra. The mission of this institution is to promote Islamic education. Aasra grants stipends and scholarships to students attending Islamic schools. Currently, she is also the Director of the Healthy Start Program at Fleming Middle School. The goal of the program is to improve the academic achievement of students in targeted schools by removing barriers to learning by focusing on improving mental and physical wellness, addressing safety issues including gang prevention, and parent education.
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Professor Linda Malone, J.D.
Professor Malone is a Professor of Law at the University of William and Mary. She specializes in Agricultural law, Comparative and Foreign law, Comparative law-Middle Eastern, Criminal law, Environmental law, International law, Property law-Land Use and Zoning, Women and the law. She clerked for Judge Wilbur F. Pell, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She also practiced law at Alston, Miller & Gaines in Atlanta and Ross, Hardies, O’Keefe, Babcock & Parsons in Chicago, taught at the University Of Arkansas School of Law, and was a visiting professor at the law schools of Duke, Illinois, Arizona, Denver, Virginia, and Washington & Lee.
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Mariam A. Nawabi, J.D.
Mariam A. Nawabi is an attorney working in the litigation and intellectual property departments at the Dechert law firm in Washington, D.C. She was selected as a member of the Legal Affairs Working Group for Afghanistan in January 2002, which advised the Afghan Interim Administration and the U.N. Special Undersecretary for Afghanistan on various laws and regulations. Mrs. Nawabi represents Humanity in Crisis, Inc. on a pro bono basis. Humanity in Crisis is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to serving as a bridge of compassion between the United States and Afghanistan. Mrs. Nawabi is also on the board of the Nooristan Foundation, which started and supports three schools in rural areas of Afghanistan and is currently working on several development and reconstruction projects inside Afghanistan. Mrs. Nawabi is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. She is a graduate of George Mason University with a degree in International Studies.
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Thomas W. Porter, Jr. J.D.
Mr. Porter graduated from Yale University in 1966 with a B.A. in English. After Yale, he attended Union Theological Seminary, graduating cum laude in 1969 with a Master’s of Divinity degree. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1974 from Boston University School of Law. He concentrates his practice on the litigation of general and complex matters, as well as church and religious matters. He also performs mediation services for general and complex litigation cases. Between 1977 and 1986 he was President of the Council on Religion and Law. He is Chairman of the Board of Editors of the Journal on Law and Religion published by Hamline University Law School, St. Paul, Minnesota.
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Asifa Quraishi, J.D.
Asifa Quraishi is a doctoral student at Harvard Law School, writing her S.J.D. thesis in comparative Islamic and American constitutional legal theory. She holds an LL.M. from Columbia Law School (focusing on federal habeas corpus law), a J.D. from U.C. Davis, and a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley. She has held federal clerkships in the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals and has published articles in the fields of Islamic and comparative law, including gender issues. Ms. Quraishi has served on the Board of Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights and the Muslim Women's League and is a founding member of MuslimJD, NAML's predecessor organization. A new mother, Ms. Quraishi continues to be active in various American Muslim community activities that have been part of her life for many years.
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Professor Alison Dundes Renteln, Ph.D.
Alison Dundes Renteln is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern California since 1987. She is a specialist in the areas of International Law/Human Rights, Comparative Legal Systems, Constitutional Law, and Legal and Political Theory. Professor Renteln received her B.A. from Harvard-Radcliffe in History and Literature, her Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of Berkeley, and her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center. She served on the State Bar Commission on Access to Justice and the California Judicial Council Access and Fairness Advisory Committee. She has served on the State Bar Commission on Access to Justice and the California Judicial Council Access and Fairness Advisory Committee, and the California Attorney General's Commission on Hate Crimes. Her publications include International Human Rights: Universalism Versus Relativism (1990), Folk Law: Essays on the Theory and Practice of Lex Non Scripta (co-edited with Alan Dundes) (1994), and numerous articles. An expert on cultural rights, including the use of the "cultural defense" in the legal system, Professor Renteln has lectured to judicial organizations and law enforcement groups on this subject.
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Sanusi L. Sanusi
Mr. Sanusi is a Muslim Nigerian banker and Islamic Scholar, he heads the Risk Management Sector in U.B.A. PLC, a bank in Nigeria. He has a B.Sc. and an M.Sc in Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also earned a B.A. in Shariah and Islamic Studies from the International University of Africa, Khartoum. Mr. Sanusi has conducted numerous research projects on a variety of topics, such as, Finance in Banks: Juridical Foundations and the Islamic Alternative in Arabic. He is also the author of several articles such as Amina Lawal: Sex, pregnancy and Muslim law, Women and Political Leadership in Islamic Thought and Sharia and the Woman Question.
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Arshi Siddiqui, J.D.
Arshi Siddiqui became associated with Williams & Jensen in 2001, where she represents clients before Congress and the Executive Branch on a wide range of legislative and regulatory matters, including issues relating to federal taxation, technology, and international trade. Prior to joining Williams & Jensen, Ms. Siddiqui served as House Ways and Means Counsel to U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra (D-CA). She also worked for U.S. Representative Eva Clayton (D-NC). In addition, Ms. Siddiqui has been involved in a number of political campaigns at the local and national levels in the states of California, Florida, and North Carolina. Ms. Siddiqui graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1997 and is a member of the State Bar of California. She also earned degrees in economics and political science from the University of California, Davis.
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Dr. Mohammad Shafi, Ph.D.
Dr. Shafi recently retired as a Management Consultant in Corporate Strategies and International Marketing. Prior to 1972, he taught Physics in the United States, Pakistan, and the West Indies. He currently serves as the chairman on the Board of Trustees at the Dar al Islam Foundation, is the Secretary on the International Board of Directors of the Minaret Business Association, is the President of Diversified Management Strategies, and is on the Advisory Committee of the Zaytuna Institute. Dr. Shafi has also been associated with many business, social, and religious organizations as founder, co-founder, or officer. For example, he was a Member of the Board of Directors of The Islamic Center of New England--1999-2000 and Founder and President of the Islamic Center of New Mexico--1969-1983. Dr. Shafi has a Ph.D. in physics from Georgetown University and an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico.
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Marcia K. Thompson, J.D.
Marcia K. Thompson is the director of legal outreach at KARAMAH. She has a wealth of experience and provides mediation and training in the areas of civil rights, employment/workplace, criminal/juvenile justice topics and family matters. Ms. Thompson is often asked to be a guest lecturer/speaker at educational institutions and professional/social organizations on a variety of legal and law enforcement related topics. She earned her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and her law degree from George Mason University School of Law.
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Professor Adrien Katherine Wing, J.D.
Adrien Wing is a Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law. After graduation from Princeton, Professor Wing earned her Master of Arts degree in African studies from University of California at Los Angeles. She then obtained her J.D. from Stanford Law School. Prior to joining the College of Law faculty, Professor Wing spent five years practicing law in New York City, specializing in international law issues regarding Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Professor Wing has published in such areas as critical race feminism, rape in Bosnia and women’s rights in Palestine and South Africa. Professor Wing presently teaches Constitutional Law, Critical Race Theory, Human Rights Law, Law in the Muslim World, Comparative Law, and Comparative Constitutional Law.
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