About Our Presenters

Our Story Tellers

Arif Choudhury
Arif Chourdhury is a Bangladeshi-American Muslim storyteller, filmmaker and stand-up comic. He tells humorous stories about growing up as the only Bangladeshi-Muslim immigrant family in north-suburban Chicago.

Susan O’Halloran
Author of several books and producer of videotaped keynotes and performances including “Tribes & Bridges” at the Steppenwolf Theatre, O’Halloran’s stories shine a light on difficult social issues and make them less confusing and overwhelming.


Presenters from Indonesia

Syafa`atun Almirzanah
Syafa`atun Almirzanah is a Muslim scholar from Indonesia specializing in interreligious and conflict resolution work, as well as comparative mysticism. She is currently completing her Ph.D. (Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago) and D.Min. (Catholic Theological Union).

Thomas Michel, S.J.
A Jesuit Catholic priest, and member of the Indonesian Province, Fr. Tom Michel is the director of the Jesuit Secretariat for Interreligious Dialogue in Rome and is also the ecumenical secretary for the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.


Presenters from Israel-Palestine

Zafer Mohammad
Zafer Mohammad worked for the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Palestinian Youth Council in Ramallah. With an MA in peace studies (Notre Dame), Zafer is completing his MA in Bible (CTU) and will enter Georgetown’s Ph.D. program in religious pluralism in the Fall.

Geries S. Khoury
Geries Khoury is a Christian scholar and author in Palestine. He is currently the dean of the Theological Department at Mar Elias Educational Institutions/Ibilin and is director of Al-Liqa, a major center for interreligious dialogue and Christian-Muslim relations in Israel-Palestine.


Presenters from Nigeria

Matthew Kukah
Matthew Kukah is a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna, Nigeria. Presently a Senior Rhodes Scholar at St. Antony’s College at Oxford, he has published extensively on the issues of religion, democracy and human rights in Nigeria.

Ishaq Oloyede
Ishaq Oloyede, a professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies and deputy vice-chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria, is a leading Muslim figure in Nigerian conflict resolution and Christian-Muslim dialogue.


Presenters from the United Kingdom

Ian Linden
Ian Linden is an associate professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London specializing in religion and conflict in Africa. He has been engaged in interreligious dialogue for over ten years and is a recent appointee to the Muslim-Christian Forum of Great Britain.

Abduljalil Sajid
Abduljalil Sajid, a British Muslim of Pakistani origin, is chair of the Muslim Council for Religious and Racial Harmony in the U.K. A Muslim scholar and educator, Imam Sajid specializes in articulating an authentic interpretation of Islam for the 21st /15th century.