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Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun in the 1960s, but then left her
teaching order in 1969. She earned her Masters in Literature from University of Oxford and
taught modern literature at the University of London. She also taught part time at the Leo
Baeck College for the Study of Judaism and the Training of Rabbis and Teachers. Recently
Karen Armstrong has become a regular columnist for The Guardian newspaper. Karen’s
books include: Holy War, The Crusades and their Impact on Today’s World [1988]; Muhammad, A
Biography of the Prophet [1991]; A History of God [1993]; Jerusalem, One City, Three Faiths [1996]; The Battle for God, A History of Fundamentalism [2000]; and Islam, A Short History [2000]. Her books have been translated into forty languages. Since September 11th, Karen
has become chiefly known for her work on Islam and Fundamentalism. Karen appears
regularly on radio and television to comment on religious affairs in England and the United
States, and is a frequent contributor to conferences, panels, newspapers and periodicals on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Mrs. Samia Farouki
Ms. Farouki is the Founder and CEO of HAIFinance Corporation, a global investment
company. She originates and oversees a diverse investment portfolio consisting of
controlling positions in several prominent U.S. manufacturing and service companies that
conduct business around the world. Mrs. Farouki is a member of the Board of Directors of
Vital Voices, a global partnership that supports women's progress in building democracies,
strong economies and peace. She is an Executive Board member of the Lab School of
Washington, D.C., a board member of the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Washington
Opera and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Mrs. Farouki is a founding Co-Chairperson of the
Arab American Cultural Foundation and a member of the Khalil Gibran Foundation. Mrs.
Farouki holds degrees from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon and George
Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield
Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield is Vice President of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for
Learning and Leadership. As a leader for religious diversity and openness, Hirschfield has
brought his message of respecting and celebrating pluralism to literally thousands of people
- as an educator, mentor, and much sought after public speaker and commentator. In
recent years, Hirschfield has been in great demand as a thoughtful, yet powerful voice on
issues of faith, doubt and the importance of interfaith dialogue and has been featured on “Nightline UpClose” (ABC-TV), “Frontline,” “Religion & Ethics Newsweekly” (PBS-TV),
and Court TV, as well as on NPR radio and in major newspapers across the country. He is also the co-author of Embracing Life & Facing Death.
Julia Armstrong Jitkoff
Julia Armstrong Jitkoff is a native Texan who lives in New Jersey and Colorado. As a former trustee, she now advises the Cordoba Initiative. Ms. Jitkoff is an artist working in watercolor and bronze and an engaged philanthropist. She is also a private investor and director of a small foundation. She studied at the New York Academy of Art in New York City and is a graduate in Latin American Studies, focus Economics, from the University of Texas at Austin.
John Edwin Mroz
John Mroz is President and Founder of the EastWest Institute, a fiercely independent
international think and do tank. Established as a European-American initiative in the fall of
1980, Mroz built EWI into one of the world’s pre-eminent non-governmental change agent
institutions. EWI operates centers in Moscow, Brussels, Prague and New York and
leadership programs in Istanbul and the UK. Mroz has served as an advisor to more than
twenty governments including the US, Germany, Poland and Russia as well as the
Commission of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe and the G-8. He has
received numerous international awards including Germany's highest award to a noncitizen
in recognition of the role he and his Institute played in facilitating German
reunification. Mroz is the author of a landmark book on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Beyond
Security: Private Perceptions Among Arabs and Israelis. Mroz is an active member of the
Council on Foreign Relations. He has appeared frequently on BBC, CNN, ABC and other
news programs.
Elaine Pagels
Elaine Pagels is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. In
three consecutive years, she was awarded the Rockefeller, Guggenheim and MacArthur
Fellowships. As a young researcher at Barnard College, she changed forever the historical
landscape of the Christian religion by exploding the myth of the early Christian Church as a
unified movement. Her findings were published in The Gnostic Gospels, an analysis of 52
early Christian manuscripts that were unearthed in Egypt. The book won the National Book
Critic’s Circle Award and the National Book Award and was chosen by the Modern Library
as one of the 100 best books of the 20th Century. Pagels’ other books include The Origin of
Satan; Adam, Eve and the Serpent; and the New York Times bestseller, Beyond Belief: The Secret
Gospel of Thomas. Pagels earned an M.A. from Stanford University and Ph.D. “with
distinction” from Harvard. She possesses a working command of Greek, Latin, German,
Hebrew, French, Italian and Coptic. She has been profiled in Time, The Atlantic Monthly,
Vogue, Mirabella and The New Yorker.
Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor is Under-Secretary-General of United Nations for Communications and
Public Information since January 2001. Prior to his current role, Mr. Tharoor served as
Director of Communications and Special Projects in the Office of the Secretary-General and
as Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General (1997-2001). He was Special Assistant to the
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from 1989-1996. Mr. Tharoor's
United Nations career began in 1978 on the staff of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees in Geneva. Mr. Tharoor is also the author of eight books, as well as numerous
articles. He is also the recipient of several journalism and literary awards, including a
Commonwealth Writers' Prize. In January 1998, Mr. Tharoor was named by the World
Economic Forum as a "Global Leader of Tomorrow". Mr. Tharoor was educated in India
and the United States, completing a Ph.D in 1978 at the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy at Tufts University. | 
