Advisory Board

Prof Em. Dr. Paul Weller is a Christian in the Baptist tradition. He lives mainly in Germany, but also the UK. He is a Non-Stipendiary Research Fellow in Religion and Society and Associate Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture, Regent's Park College, University of Oxford, where he is an Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion; Visiting Fellow of the Research Institute for Peace, Security and Social Justice, Coventry University; and Emeritus Professor, University of Derby. His publications include Time for a Change: Reconfiguring Religion, State and Society (2005); co-authored Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality: Britain in Global Contexts (2013); and Hizmet in Transitions: European Development of a Turkish Muslim Inspired Movement (2022). He conducted research (2016-2019) for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE on Classroom Challenges for Teaching About and Addressing Anti-Semitism in the OSCE Region. He was a Network member (2021-22) of the EU External Service funded Global Exchange on Religion in Society. He is a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College member and has been Expert reviewer for the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency, and its Directorate General Justice and Consumer Rights.

Liza Dumovich is currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at KU Leuven. She holds a PhD and a MA in Anthropology from Universidade Federal Fluminense. She is also a research associate at the Center for Middle East Studies at Universidade Federal Fluminense (NEOM/UFF) and co-editor of Revista Diaspora - Oriente Médio & Norte da África, a collaborative digital magazine on the MENA region and its diasporas.

Christoph Bultmann is professor of biblical studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Erfurt, Germany. His research interests focus on the Hebrew Bible and especially the prophetic and poetic books in Israel’s wisdom tradition. In addition, he has pursued an interest in the reception history of the Bible during the age of the 18th-century European Enlightenment. His work in the field of Interreligious Studies has been inspired by many forms of joint teaching together with scholars of Islam in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Erfurt. He has contributed the chapter on Deuteronomy to the Oxford Bible Commentary, ed. by John Barton (2001), and a chapter on ‘Lessing and the Bible’ to the volume Lessing and the German Enlightenment, ed. by Ritchie Robertson (2013). He is a co-editor of the volume (in German) Die Gülen-Bewegung zwischen Predigt und Praxis (2011).

Uriel Perugia (Rome, 1976), engineer, father of two children. Active in Jewish Youth Organizations,
joined the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) in 2019, after a decade spent as
professional in the aerospace industry. As Secretary General, he coordinates UCEI’s activities and
staff, as well as institutional relations (national and international) and security. Since 2021 he is the
Italian delegate to the EU Working Group on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish Life.

Fellow of Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (ICPEM) and Representative to EU institutions. She is a Member of Advisory Board of Crisis Response Journal and CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter. Lina provides consultancy in the area of security, risk and crisis management to a number of organisations within both the private and public sectors.
Lina Kolesnikova has researched and written more than hundred articles on a wide range of issues arising from recent events on the global scene and is also a frequent speaker and moderator at international meetings.

Abdelghafar Salim is a research fellow at the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He is also a research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale (Germany). He finished his Ph.D. in the field of Islamic law and anthropology with a thesis on the daily life of Muslim refugees in Germany. He is also a lecturer for the training program on dealing with conflicts in Germany's diverse society at the Berlin Senate Department for Justice and Consumer Protection. In November 2023, he was elected as a board member of the Society for Arab and Islamic Law (Gesellschaft für Arabisches und Islamisches Recht).

Born 9 May 1984 at Madrid (Spain).

Roman Catholic priest of the Archidiocese of Madrid since 11 years ago.

Bachelor in Theology in Universidad Eclesiástica San Dámaso (2012).

Master in Classic and Christian Literature in Universidad Ecclesiástica San Dámaso (2018).

PhD in progress in Sophia Universitary Institute (Florence, Italy). In Trinitarian Onthology.

Currently Delegate of the Archbishop for Ecumenism and Interfaith Dialogue.

Teaching Religions and New Religious Movements in Universidad Eclesiástica San Dámaso.

Dr. Arhan Kardas studied law, philosophy and history at the University of Ankara, Gazi and Bilkent. He continued his research with a master's degree in law in Vienna and was active on the board of the Friede Institute for Dialogue from 2002 to 2008. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on "Equality of Women in Islamic Law?" under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Mathias Rohe and completed it in 2019. Dr. Kardas contributed in the translation and editing of many Islamic works, such as The Quran Complete Translation with Extensive Commentary by Ali Ünal, Small Words, Small Letters, The Lord of Hearts, Praxis Islam, etc. He is currently an adjunct lecturer at the University of Potsdam in Jewish Studies and Religious Studies and is the editor-in-chief of Fontäne and Fontäne Jugend magazines.

He graduate at the University of Rome, "La Sapienza," in Classical Literature, he has also attended courses at the Higher Institute of Jewish Studies since 1974.

He has held prominent roles, including Vice President of Altaroma (2007–2009) and consultant for major companies such as Symantec, Experian, Fastweb, and others. From 1996 to 1999, he advised leading firms like Stet and Acea on international tenders in Israel, following earlier work supporting exports to Israel for various businesses.

Active in Jewish community leadership, he was President of the Jewish Community of Rome (1997–2000), President of B’nai B’rith (2004), and served on the board of the Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage (2009). He has been a delegate to multiple UCEI congresses and held numerous leadership roles within Jewish organizations, reflecting his dedication to cultural and institutional engagement.