Azhar Ibrahim, PhD. is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Malay Studies National University of Singapore ( NUS ). He obtained his PhD., MA, from the same Department in 2002 and 2008 respectively. His dissertation focused on the humanism and intellectualism among Malay literary intelligentsia while his MA thesis dealt with the study of religious orientations as reflected in feudal Malay society and its continuities in the present. He majored both in Malay Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies at undergraduate level. He has been a Lecturer for almost ten years at the National Institute of Education, (NIE) NanyangTechnologicalUniversity, teaching classical and modern Malay literature, sociology of the Malays, as well as Islamic intellectual traditions and civilization. At NIE he also co-teach multiculturalism and critical pedagogy. His research interest includes sociology of religion, sociology of literature and critical literacy, and the Malay-Indonesia intellectual development. Currently he is pursuing his post-doctoral research at the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark for (2009/2010), and later at Temple University, USA (2010/2011) under the NUS Overseas Postdoctoral Fellowship. His postdoctoral research focuses on Social Theology in Muslim Southeast Asia: Trends and Challenges, and the Theology of Dialogue in Malay-Indonesian Societies: Prospects and Impediments. He has co-edited and published widely in Malaysia and Indonesia. Amongst his major publications in English are:

-- Humanistic Traditions in Islam: A Preliminary Survey. (Singapore: The Print Lodge, 2008)

-- Moral Vision and Social Critique: Selected Essays of Syed Hussein Alatas. ( Singapore: The Reading Group, 2007)

-- Islam, Religion and Progress: Critical Perspectives. (Singapore: The Reading Group, 2006)

--“The Idea of Religious Reform: Perspectives of Singapore Malay-Muslim Experiences” in Syed Farid Alatas (ed.) Muslim Reform in Southeast Asia: Perspectives from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. (Singapore: MUIS, 2009)

--“Discourses on Islam in Southeast Asia and their Impact of the Singapore Muslim Public,” in Lai Ah Eng (ed.) Religious Diversity in Singapore. (Singapore: ISEAS, 2008 )

--“Critical Humanism in Islamic Educational Philosophy,” in Charlene Tan (ed.) Philosophical Reflections for Educators. ( Singapore: Cengage Learning, 2008)

-- “An Evaluation of Madrasah Education: Perspectives and Lessons from the Experiences of Some Muslim Societies,” in Lai Ah Eng & Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman (eds.) Secularism and Spirituality: Seeking Integrated Knowledge and Success in Madrasah Education in Singapore. (Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies 2006 )

-- “Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Islamic Thought,” in Philosophy in Schools: Developing a Community of Inquiry. Intro & Edited by Ho Wah Kam. ( Singapore: Singapore Teachers’ Union, 2006 )

Riem Spielhaus is a Research Fellow at the Centre for European Islamic Thought. She obtained her MA in Islamic Studies and African Studies in 2001 from the Institute of Asian and African Studies (IAAW) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2001. Her doctorate was completed at the same institution in 2008 with a dissertation focusing on processes leading to the emergence of a Muslim conscious in Germany between ascription and self-identification. Since completing her Masters Riem Spielhaus has been working as advisor for the commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration of the German Federal Government. She is a member of several working groups set up by the German government as well as civic organizations like the German Islam Conference. She has been a lecturer for almost eight years in the Area Studies Programmes at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin teaching Arabic, Muslims in minority situations, introductions to Islamic Studies and Area Studies as well as courses on methodology. Her research interest includes Muslim minority studies with a focus on production and dissemination of Islamic knowledge, identity politics, and the institutionalization of Islam in Europe. Her main field of expertise is religious practice and institutionalisation of Muslims in Germany and Europe.

Recent publications include:

Amongst her publications in English are:

- “The Concept of the Muslim Enemy in the Public Discourse” (with Yasemin Shooman)in Jocelyne Cesari (ed), Muslims in Europe and the United States after 9/11,London: Routledge 2009, pp.

- “Interessen vertreten mit vereinter Stimme: Der ‘Kopftuchstreit‘ als Impuls für die Institutionalisierung des Islams in Deutschland“, in Sabine Berghahn and Petra Rostock (eds), Der Stoff, aus dem Konflikte sind. Debatten um das Kopftuch in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, Bielefeld: Transcript, 2009, pp.

- “Autorität darstellen - Legitimationsstrategien muslimischer Akteure,“ in Anke Bentzin et al. (eds), Islam auf Sendung. Islamische Fernsehsendungen im Offenen Kanal Berlin,Berlin: Dagyeli, 2007, pp. 93-117.

- “Germany” (with Yasemin Karakasoglu, Frank Peter and Sigrid Luchtenberg) in Jocelyne Cesari (ed), Securitization and Religious Divide in Europe: Islamophobia in Germany,Paris: European Commission on Security Issues in Europe. 2006, pp.

-Islamisches Gemeindeleben in Berlin, with Alexa Färber, Berlin 2006.

- “Cooperation between Muslim organizations and state institutions: Obstacles und opportunities” in Peter Heine and Aslam Syed (eds.), Muslim Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, Berlin:Maecenata, 2005, pp. 409-424.