Advisory Committee

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Founder and CEO of ASMA Society (American Society for Muslim Advancement) and Imam of Masjid Al-Farah, a mosque in New York City near Ground Zero, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has dedicated his life to building bridges between Muslims and the West and is a leader in the effort to build religious pluralism and integrate Islam into modern American society. In establishing ASMA in 1997, he created the first American organization committed to bringing Muslims and non-Muslims together through programs in interfaith, culture, arts, academia, and current affairs. As Imam of Masjid Al-Farah, he preaches a message of peace and understanding between people, regardless of creed, nationality, or political beliefs.  Architect of the Cordoba Initiative, an inter-religious blueprint for improving relations between America and the Muslim world and for pursuing peace in the Middle East, and a member of the National Inter-religious Initiative for Peace in Washington DC, Imam Feisal is the author of What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West.

Ambassador Akbar S. Ahmed
Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University. Considered "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam" by the BBC, he is former High Commissioner of Pakistan to Great Britain, and has advised Prince Charles and met with President George W. Bush on Islam. His numerous books, films, and documentaries have won prestigious awards, and his books have been translated into several languages, including Chinese and Indonesian.  Interviewed regularly on CNN, CBC, the BBC, Professor Ahmad has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Night Line, and was the presenter and narrator of "The Glories of Islamic Art", the three-part television series broadcast in the UK in 2006.  He has recorded 12 lectures for an audio CD series, "Encountering Islam", for NowYouKnow Media in Washington DC.  His most recent book, Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization, is published by the Brookings Institution Press.  In addition to his tenure appointment at American University, he is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Karen Armstrong
Contemporary and historical religion’s most prolific author, Karen Armstrong is a highly sought-after lecturer around the world, and is called upon by governments, universities, and church and secular organizations alike to educate about the world’s religions and to inform regarding their place in the modern world.  A former Roman Catholic nun, she was educated at Oxford and has taught at London University and London’s Leo Baeck College for the Study of Judaism.  Her writings include A History of God: From Abraham to the Present, the 4000 Year Quest for God;  Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths;  The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam;  Islam: A Short History;  The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions; and Muhammad: A Prophet For Our Time.  Karen has been honored around the world especially as a bridge-builder between the Abrahamic Faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Rev. Chloe Breyer
The Rev. Chloe Breyer is Executive Director of The Interfaith Center of New York.  An Episcopal priest serving as Associate Minister at St. Mary’s Manhattanville in West Harlem, the Rev. Chloe Breyer is the author of The Close: A Young Woman’s First Year at Seminary.  The founder and former director of The Cathedral Forums on Religion and Public Life at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, following 9/11 Rev. Breyer worked with the Diocese of New York on an initiative to rebuild a mosque in Afghanistan destroyed by U.S. bombs, and traveled to Afghanistan in 2003, 2004, and 2006 for two additional faith-based aid projects.  A board member of Episcopalians for Global reconciliation, Rev. Breyer has worked with the U.S. Campaign for the Millennium Development Goals to raise awareness about the MDGs among American religious leaders of different traditions.  Her recent publications include chapter contributions to What Can One Person Do? Faith to Heal a Broken World and Challenging the Christian Right from the Heart of the Gospel.  She also writes for Slate Magazine’s faith-based column and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Christian Ethics with a focus on religion and conflict resolution at Union Theological Seminary.

The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane
The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, D.D. is the Eighth Bishop of Washington, D.C.  As Bishop of Washington, Bishop Chane serves 93 congregations and 45,000 members in the District of Columbia, and in the Counties of Prince George's, Montgomery, Charles and Saint Mary's in Maryland; and as the President and CEO of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which governs Saint Alban's School for Boys, The National Cathedral School for Girls, Beauvoir Primary School, the Cathedral College and the National Cathedral.  Active member of many boards and advisory committees, including the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, The University Council Committee On Religious and Spiritual Life at Yale University, The Episcopal Church Publishing Company, The Virginia Theological Seminary, Bishop Chane serves as Co-Chair of the "Bishops Working For A Just Society" Coalition and on the Episcopal Church's Committee On National Affairs. He was recently appointed to serve on a Global Anglican Task Force investigating human rights violations in the Kingdom of Swaziland, Africa and his diocese has established a partnership with The Anglican Church of the Province of Southern Africa. He has received honorary doctorates from both Virginia Theological Seminary and the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.  Bishop Chane is the author of numerous published articles on the Church and Secular Society, Global Terrorism, and The Episcopal Church and Human Sexuality. He was recently honored for his ongoing work in Abrahamic Dialogue by the Inter-Faith Conference of Metropolitan Washington and was a recipient of the Inter-Faith Bridge- Builders' Award.  He holds degrees from Boston University (BA) and Yale Divinity School (M.Div).

Sister Joan Chittister, OSB
One of the Roman Catholic Church’s key visionary voices and spiritual leaders for more than thirty years, Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pennsylvania, is an award-winning author and well-known international lecturer on behalf of peace, human rights, women’s issues, and contemporary religious life and spirituality.  She currently serves as co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, a partner organization of the UN, facilitating a worldwide network of women peace builders, particularly in Israel and Palestine. She is Vice-Chair of the Niwano Peace Prize Committee and also a founding member of the inter-religious International Committee for the Peace Council.  Sister Joan writes a weekly web column for the National Catholic Reporter, "From Where I Stand,” and has authored over 30 books. She is the founder and executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality located in Erie.

Barkat Fazal, M.D.
Dr. Barkat Fazal is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Attending Physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center. He is Chairman of the Infection Control Committee at the hospital, and has several publications in the area of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.  His voluntary contributions include serving as Vice Chairman of Focus Humanitarian Assistance USA, a disaster relief and humanitarian service organization of the Ismaili Imamat. Dr. Fazal is currently the Vice-President of His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for USA.  He has previously served in various capacities within the leadership structure of the Ismaili community in the United States.  His volunteer work spans areas such as health, education, economic development, and social welfare of the Ismaili Muslim community settled in the USA.  He lives with his wife and two young sons in Long Island, NY.

Rev. Dr. Robert Franklin
Rev. Dr. Robert Franklin, Distinguished Professor of Social Ethics at Emory University, is the newly appointed President of Morehouse College.  A scholar-preacher and insightful educator, he has also served at the University of Chicago, Harvard Divinity School, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, and the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, as well as at the Ford Foundation.  His books include Liberating Vision: Human Fulfillment and Social Justice in African-American Thought, Another Day’s Journey: Black Churches Confronting the American Crisis, and his recently published Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities, in which he calls for practical and comprehensive action for change from within the African American community and from all Americans.  One of the leading voices in the field of theological education, Dr. Franklin has also recently completed a sabbatical in which he traveled around the world to observe the role of religion in the public arena of various cultures.  He is also a frequent commentator on Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

Rabbi Dr. David Gordis
President and professor of Rabbinics at Hebrew College and founding director of the National Center for Jewish Policy Studies (formerly the Susan and David Wilstein Institute of Jewish Policy Studies), Rabbi Dr. David Gordis has lectured and written extensively on the subjects of Jewish life in America and Israel, Israel/ Diaspora relations, and Judaism in America and Israel.  Prior to assuming the presidency of Hebrew College in 1993, Dr. Gordis was vice-president, provost, and associate professor of Talmud at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and lecturer of Jewish Law at UCLA. He has also served as vice-president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, executive vice-president of the American Jewish Committee, and the founding executive director of the Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel.  An ordained rabbi, Dr. Gordis holds Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in History from Columbia University and Master of Hebrew Literature and Doctor of Philosophy in Talmud degrees from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Rev. Dr. Joseph C. Hough
Rev. Dr. Joseph Hough is president of the faculty and the William E. Dodge Professor of Social Ethics at the Union Theological Seminary.  An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC), Congregational, with teaching and research interests in social ethics, theological education, and the Church and ministry, he received his doctorate from Yale University.  Dr. Hough formerly served as dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Habib Jamal, M.D.

Professor Tazim R. Kassam
Dr. Tazim R. Kassam is a historian of religions specializing in Islamic cultures. An associate professor of religion, she has been a faculty member in the Department of Religion since 2000.  Before coming to Syracuse University, Dr. Kassam taught at two leading liberal arts colleges, Middlebury College and Colorado College.  She served as director of the Syracuse University Religion Department’s Graduate Studies Program from 2002-04 and is currently chair of the department.  She is director of a new program titled Muslim Cultures: Historical Diversity & Contemporary Realities to be offered fall 2007 at the London center of Syracuse University Abroad.  As a progressive and moderate Ismaili Muslim, she has a fundamental commitment to ethics, justice, and human rights, and to the public understanding of pluralism in Islam. Dr. Kassam is on several editorial boards including the “Journal of the American Academy of Religion” and “Postscripts, the Journal of Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds,” and is general editor of the biannual “Spotlight on Teaching” published by the AAR.

Mohamed M. Keshavjee
Mohamed M. Keshavjee is a lawyer by profession having been called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn London and Osgoode Hall in Canada.  He is also an advocate of the High Court of Kenya where he practiced Law many years ago. In 1980 he joined the Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan at Aiglemont, France as an Information Officer serving the needs of the Institutions which today constitute the Aga Khan Development Network with a special focus on the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.  In that capacity, he has travelled to many Muslim countries including Yemen, Morocco, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt.  He is at present a member of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies London and on the Advisory Committee of the Festival of Muslim Cultures in Britain. In 2000 he completed his LLM at the University of London with a special focus on Islamic Law, The International Protection of Human Rights, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Arab Comparative Commercial Law.  In the same year he attended The Hague Academy of International Law in Holland for a summer programme in Public International Law.  At present he is pursuing a Doctorate in Law in ADR and Islam at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.  In 2003 he was elected to the Steering Committee of the World Mediation Forum at their fourth international conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  In 2006 he was a key note speaker at the Dutch Mediation Association’s annual congress in Eindhoven, Holland and in the same year addressed the Chief Justice, Attorney General and the Judiciary of British Columbia on ADR.  His chapter on ADR in Islam appears in a 2006 publication called “Migration, Diasporas and Legal Systems in Europe” which was published under the aegis of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London.  Since 2006, he teaches the ADR and Islam module to LLM students at the London School of Economics.  He has been associated with the Chautauqua Institution for over ten years and was one of the founders of the Abrahamic Initiative sponsored by Chautauqua.

Daisy Khan
Executive Director of  ASMA (American Society for Muslim Advancement), Daisy Khan is currently directing two cutting-edge intrafaith programs: Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, which seeks to empower emerging Muslim leaders in North America and Europe, and Muslim Women Leaders’ Forum, an annual international forum in which Muslim women convene to develop new strategies for the advancement of their rights.  She recently conducted the acclaimed WISE (Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality) Forum in NYC, and now travels worldwide with this message.  Married to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, together they mentor young Muslims on the challenges of cultural assimilation and reconciling Muslim and Western Identity.  A frequent lecturer, she has been featured in documentaries on Islam, and has been quoted by Time, Newsweek, and Newsday. 

Rev. Tony Kireopoulos
Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos is Senior Program Director for Faith & Order and Interfaith Relations at the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, the leading ecumenical body in the United States.  In service of this organization’s primary goal of unity among churches, and in partnership with faith communities worldwide, he directs the theological work of the Faith & Order Commission, which studies church uniting and church dividing issues, as well the work of the Interfaith Relations Commission, which gives attention to interfaith relationships and theological reflection on these relationships.  Immediately prior to this, Dr. Kireopoulos was the National Council of Churches’ Associate General Secretary for International Affairs and Peace, in which he helped formulate the organization’s positions on international issues and US foreign policy.  Previously he was the Executive Director of the US Conference of Religions for Peace, which is part of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, where he worked with US interfaith leaders to translate shared commitments into collaborative programs addressing critical social issues.  Before that he was Special Assistant to the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, where his portfolio included the Archdiocese’s UN non-governmental organization office and US governmental affairs, and Assistant to the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, in the area of communications.  Among his affiliations, Dr. Kireopoulos is a board member of the United Nations’ NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Save Darfur Coalition.  He is also a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Orthodox Theological Society of America, and the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations.  Dr. Kireopoulos has a bachelor’s degree in international politics from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and a master’s degree in international finance from The Thunderbird School of Global Management; he also has a master’s degree in divinity from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, and a doctoral degree in contemporary systematic theology from Fordham University. 

Professor Azim Nanji
Director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, Professor Nanji is former Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion at the University of Florida, and has held academic and administrative appointments at various American and Canadian universities.  He has served as Co-Chair of the Islam section at the American Academy of Religion and on the editorial board of the Academy’s Journal.  The author of numerous books on Islam, he is editor of The Historical Dictionary of Islam. 

Rev. Dr. Albert Pennybacker
Ordained to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Pennybacker served for 17 years as pastor of the Disciples’ largest congregation, University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and before that pastored churches in Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio. He subsequently served as Professor of Homiletics and Ecumenics at Lexington Seminary in Kentucky, and for six years as Associate General Secretary at the National Council of Churches in the Division of the Washington Office, where he worked closely with members of Congress on issues of freedom of religion at home and abroad.  He is former president of the Interfaith Alliance and currently serves on the committee of the Clergy and Laity Network. 

Rabbi David Saperstein
Rabbi David Saperstein is the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.  He represents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and the administration. During his 30 year tenure as Director of the Center, Rabbi Saperstein has headed several national religious coalitions.  He currently co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, and serves on the boards of numerous national organizations including the NAACP and People for the American Way.  In 1999, Rabbi Saperstein was elected as the first Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.  Also an attorney, Rabbi Saperstein teaches seminars in both First Amendment Church-State Law and in Jewish Law at Georgetown University Law School.  A prolific writer and speaker, Rabbi Saperstein has appeared on a number of television news and talk shows and his articles have appeared in major US news publications.  His latest book is Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.

Ori Soltes
Ori Soltes is Goldman Professorial Lecturer in Fine Arts and Theology at Georgetown University, as well as a frequent lecturer in the National and Resident Associate Programs at the Smithsonian Institution.  Professor Soltes is the former Director and Curator of the National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where he curated over 80 exhibitions.  He has taught and lectured in 22 universities and museums throughout the country, on subjects ranging from the Arab-Israeli conflict to The Body in ancient Art.  With degrees in classics and philosophy, Professor Soltes has authored more than 100 articles, exhibition catalogues, and books on a wide range of topics.

Chautauqua Institution staff:

Thomas M. Becker
Thomas M. Becker is Chautauqua Institution’s seventeenth president.  Prior to his election as president, Mr. Becker had served for eighteen years as Vice President of the Chautauqua Foundation and Chief Operating Officer of the Chautauqua Institution. A Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), President Becker earned a degree in political science from Xavier University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Indiana University at South Bend, where he is a recipient of their Outstanding Alumni Award. 

Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell
Director of the Department of Religion at the Chautauqua Institution, Joan Brown Campbell served previously as General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, USA, and Director of the U.S. Office of the World Council of Churches.  She is an ordained minister with standing in the American Baptist Church and the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.  Dr. Campbell participated in many historic events of the latter part of the last century, including having worked with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights Movement, having participated in the enthronement of Desmond Tutu as Archbishop of South Africa, and in the election of Nelson Mandela as the first African President of South Africa.  She is Co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) and has also led numerous peace missions to the Middle East involving major leaders in the region.

George L. (Geof) Follansbee
Vice-President for Development of the Chautauqua Institution and Chief Executive Officer of the Chautauqua Foundation, Geof Follansbee had previously served as Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations for the University of Michigan Law School, and prior to that as Assistant Head for Advancement at The Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and Associate Dean for Development  and Alumni Affairs at Marshall-Wythe School of Law at The College of William and Mary in Virginia.  A graduate of Phillips Academy and Princeton University, he earned his Juris Doctorate at SUNY Buffalo, and served as a partner with the Nelson & Follansbee Law Firm in Chautauqua, New York. Having a life-long relationship with the Chautauqua Institution, he served as a Trustee from 1974-1984.

Maureen O’Connor Rovegno
Prior to her present position as Assistant Director of the Department of Religion, Maureen Rovegno served as a Trustee of the Chautauqua Institution from 1996-2004, and as a volunteer associate of the Department of Religion from 1993-2005.  Holder of a BA from Duquesne University and a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where she also studied Arabic and issues of reconciliation and peace, Maureen taught World Religions for many years at the secondary level.  A chaplain and pastoral counselor, she joins Joan Brown Campbell in the work of the Global Peace Initiative for Women.