Founder

Arsalan Iftikhar

Arsalan Iftikhar is an American Muslim human rights lawyer and founder of the GeoMuslim Institute (GMI). Previously, Arsalan was a research faculty member at Georgetown University in Washington DC for five years. He is the author of several books including FEAR OF A MUSLIM PLANET and SCAPEGOATS which former US President Jimmy Carter called “an important book that shows Islamophobia must be addressed urgently.” Arsalan’s global media interviews have appeared everywhere from CNN to BBC World News to Al-Jazeera English and his speaking venues have included Harvard University, U.S. State Department International Speakers Program, Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and The Aspen Ideas Festival. Arsalan was also once cast as a Hollywood movie ‘featured extra’ for the Warner Brothers spy movie thriller Body of Lies starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. CNN named one of Arsalan’s opinion editorials as o ne of the top “100 CNN Op-Eds That Tell The Story of the 2010s” decade and he was awarded the 2013 Disti nguished Young Alumni Award from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis (where he received both his undergraduate and law degrees).

Honorary Chair

Professor John Esposito

Dr. John Esposito is founding director for the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Once called the “most influential Islamic scholar in the United States” by the International Herald Tribune, Professor Esposito is the author of nearly 50 books on Islam and Muslims including The Future of Islam, Islamophobia & the Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century, Islam & Democracy After the Arab Spring, What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, and Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. He is past president of both the Middle East Studies Association of North America and the American Academy of Religion. Professor Esposito is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including winning the highest civilian award from the government of Pakistan (known as the Quaid-e-Azam Award) for his outstanding contributions to Islamic studies over a 50-year legendary academic career.

Honorary Chair

Dr. Daisy Khan

Dr. Daisy Khan is an award-winning author, speaker, and founder of Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equality (WISE), the largest global network of Muslim women committed to peacebuilding, gender equality, and human dignity everywhere. Previously, she served as executive director for the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) for nearly two decades where she created the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow program bringing together young Muslim community activists from across the globe. For her work, Dr. Khan has been named one of the “Top Ten Women Faith Leaders” by The Huffington Post and Glamour Magazine once called her one of the “7 Women You Must Follow on Twitter” because of her work on Islam and Muslims.

Honorary Chair

Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool

Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool serves as honorary chair for the GeoMuslim Institute (GMI) and he is also the former South African Ambassador to the United States during the administration of President Barack Obama. Ambassador Rasool is also a former Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School for Foreign Service at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU). Previously, Ambassador Rasool also served as a Member of Parliament in South Africa’s National Assembly and became lifelong friends with 1993 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela when they were both jailed as anti-apartheid activists in South Africa.

Honorary Fellow

Dr. Susan Carland

Dr. Susan Carland is an Australian academic, author and television presenter best known for her ongoing media presence speaking on her academic speciality of women in Islam. Professor Carland is a sociologist of religion and deputy director of research, impact, and engagement at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Carland’s writing has appeared in international newspapers, academic journals and books, magazines, websites, and anthologies across the globe. She has been named as a “Muslim Leader of Tomorrow” by the United Nations (UN) Alliance of Civilizations and she was also once named to the “20 Most Influential Australian Female Voices” list from The Age newspaper in Australia.

Chaplain & Chief of Staff

Chaplain Omer Mozaffar

Chaplain Omer Mozaffar is chief of staff and chaplain for the GeoMuslim Institute (GMI). For over a decade, he has served as the official Muslim chaplain at Loyola University in Chicago addressing the ongoing theological, personal, & social matters for thousands of students over the years. Chaplain Mozaffar also serves as lecturer in the departments of theology & modern languages and literatures at Loyola University (as well as teaching at the University of Chicago and DePaul University as well). For nearly three decades, Chaplain Mozaffar has been giving weekly Friday khutbas (sermons), officiated hundreds of Muslim weddings, provided religious counseling to refugees, and spoken out on behalf of survivors of sexual violence. He is a previous recipient of the Loyola University’s “Staff Member of the Year” and Chaplain Mozaffar has also consulted with Hollywood studios as a subject matter expert on Islam and Muslims in the movies and television.