Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham (Trustee)

Lord Nazir Ahmed was the first Muslim peer at the House of Lords. He is a graduate of Thomas Rotherham College, and Sheffield Hallam University. Later, he went on to build a career as a business development manager while keeping actively involved in his local community. He was a local councillor during the 1990s, as well as serving as a JP on the magistrates' bench, chairing the South Yorkshire Labour Party for four years and acting as a non-executive Director of Rotherham Health Authority.

He was raised to the peerage as Baron Ahmed, of Rotherham in the County of South Yorkshire in 1998.

Julia Babette Sarah Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, DBE (Trustee)

Baroness Neuberger is a graduate of Newnham College, Cambridge, Leo Baeck College, London, and is former Chief Executive of the Kings Fund, an independent charitable foundation aiming to improve health, especially in London. Previously she has been Chair of Camden and Islington CHS NHS Trust ('93-'97), Visiting Fellow, Harkness Fellowship Harvard Medical School ('91-'92), Visiting Fellow, Kings Fund Institute ('89-'91) and Rabbi, South London Liberal Synagogue ('77-'89). She has been Chair of the Patients' Association, and holds Trusteeships of the British Council, Imperial War Museum and formerly Runnymede Trust. She is also a Vice President of the United Nations Association and is Patron of the North London Hospice, Patron of the Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund and Patron of the Memorial Arts Charity.

Baroness Neuberger speaks on Health for the Liberal Democrats at the House of Lords.

Professor Mona Siddiqui, Ph.D, DLitt (HON), FRSE, FRSA, O.B.E (Trustee)

Professor Mona Siddiqui has a BA Honours in Arabic and French from the University of Leeds (1984). She gained the Membership of the Institute of Linguistics with Distinction in spoken French (1985). She has an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Manchester (1986) and a Diploma in TEFL from Linguarama School at Manchester (1989). She received her PhD (University Scholarship) in Classical Islamic Law from the University of Manchester (1992).

She is the Professor of Islamic Studies and Public Understanding at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and the Director for the Centre for the Study of Islam at the University of Glasgow.

Sir David Michels (Trustee)

Sir David Michels is currently Senior Independent Director at Strategic Hotels and Resorts and EasyJet as well as Deputy Chairman of Marks & Spencer. He is also on the board of Jumeirah Hotels and is President of the British Hotels Association.

Having spent 40 years in the hotel and gaming business he retired last year having sold Hilton International (where he was Group Chief Executive) to Hilton Hotels Corporation for £4 billion and launched Ladbrokes as a separate part of the company.

Prior to Hilton he was Chief Executive of Stakis PLC, when joining it in 1990 it was a good company in serious trouble with a market cap of £23 million which was subsequently sold in 1999 to Ladbrokes PLC for £1.2 billion.

Sir David’s previous experiences included Worldwide Marketing Director for Hilton International and Grand Metropolitan Hotels where he started his career subsequent to hotel school.

In 2006 he was knighted for services to the hotel and catering industry.

Mehri Niknam MA, MBE (Founder & Executive Director)

She has been working officially in Muslim-Jewish relations for over two decades and has been a consultant in Muslim-Jewish relations since 1995. She considers her work as her vocation.

In 2008 she won the Fulbright scholarship in Interfaith and Community Action.

She was a member of the Imams and Rabbis Committee and the Roundtable of Academics and Theologians at the Department of Communities from 2005-6.

Mehri Niknam’s contributions to Muslim-Jewish relations were recognised nationally in 2005 when she was awarded the MBE.

In the same year she was made Honorary Fellow at Leo Baeck College, Reform Rabbinic Seminary, for her achievements in Jewish-Muslim interfaith relations.

Her academic field is “Comparative Judaism and Islam in the Middle Ages”. She also studied Classical Persian Literature and has lectured at various universities, including Birkbeck College, London, the University of Sussex and Parkes Institute, University of Southampton.

Publications include article on Maimonides in “Medieval Islamic Encyclopaedia”, Routledge; The Desert, “Forms of Prayer: Pilgrim Festivals”, Reform Judaism; Commentary on “Words of Paradise: the Poems of Rumi”, Frances Lincoln

Arslan (Project Coordinator)

Arslan is currently studying Management and International Business at the University of London. He intends to undertake a Business Education PGCE in the near future to fulfil his ambition of becoming a teacher. He enjoys travelling and plans to tour much of the world using ethical modes of travel wherever possible. His main area of religious study is the understanding and practical implementation of the Islamic Jurisprudence of the Hanafi School. He is currently learning to speak Arabic which he intends to master before finishing his current education. He enjoys a varied reading material ranging from Political Satire of Michael Moore to the poems of Jalaluddin Rumi. Having been introduced to the world of interfaith through his University’s Islamic Society, he was keen to explore the concept of unity among faiths. He attended the projects of the Foundation at university, and thus took the opportunity of becoming a Project Coordinator with the Foundation.

Arslan is keen to learn and contribute to interfaith dialogue in order to improve his own spirituality as well as promoting the message of unity among people of faiths through recognising the commonalities and respecting the differences.

Nabil Hawa (Advisor on student projects)

Nabil is currently a student reading Politics and International Relations at the University of London.  He enjoys playing a variety of sports and plans to run the London marathon next year.  He enjoys reading, learning languages, travelling and intends one day to take a year to travel to various places of other cultures.

Nabil’s involvement with his university's Islamic Society caused him to come across interfaith work, and it is his interest in "engaging with people of other faiths and backgrounds" which has caused him to find a great appreciation for his role as projects coordinator with the Foundation. 

Coming from a Muslim family, Nabil is no doubt familiar with the Abrahamic faiths, and with his positive outlook towards interfaith interactions. He looks forward to working and contributing to building bridges of understanding and respect between people of different faiths in this country.

Mazin Al-Bahrani (Volunteer; Student representative)

Mazin is an international student from Oman, currently studying Computer Sciences degree at the University of London.  He has a great fondness for Japanese cartoons and believes that he has learned a few basic Japanese terms just by obsessively viewing this genre!

Mazin is a laid back kind of guy, yet when inspired, he can achieve anything he likes. He managed to be the Islamic Society’s webmaster and vice-President as well as finishing his exams with flying colours.

Mazin first encountered The Joseph Interfaith Foundation when it held a seminar at his university, and became keen and interested in finding out more about interfaith interaction. He is looking forward to being involved in learning and experiencing the challenges of interfaith interaction.

Fatima Rajina (Volunteer; Student representative)

Fatima is a graduate in BA German & Spanish from University of London. In addition to her competence in these languages, she is also fluent in Bengali and Urdu.

She has an innate appreciation for the diversity of human nature, as evidenced in her choice of degree and in her desire to constantly engage with the complex and challenging facets of our global society. She enjoys reading books about world history and learning new languages.

In 2006, Fatima was awarded the Princess Diana Memorial Award for her work in promoting diversity and social cohesion in a multi-cultural society. She looks forward to brining her inquisitive and insightful mind to the work of the Foundation, and hopes to contribute to its outreach.

Ataul Munim (Volunteer; IT professional)

Ataul Munim is a graduate of Computer Science. He has several years of web design experience, likes to design games, and has drawn a web comic called Spoonboy.

He has an inquisitive mind and love of knowledge. Currently he is learning, several musical instruments including guitar, piano, ukulele and harmonica, and is teaching himself about 3d modelling and animation. With a background in technology, art and design, he is working in related industry.

Ataul was the Project Coordinator for the Joseph Interfaith Foundation during 2007-2010. This was his first official encounter with the world of interfaith, though coming from a Muslim family, he is no doubt familiar with other Abrahamic faiths and is instinctively at ease with interfaith interactions.

Following his positive and enjoyable experiences in interfaith work during his time at the Foundation, Ataul has decided to continue his contributions to the projects of the Joseph Interfaith Foundation as well promoting its values and ethos by remaining a volunteer with the Foundation.