Naasiha Abrahams
I completed my Honours degree in Religious Studies at UCT in 2009. My thesis explored the (re)construction of identity in interfaith marriage in Cape Town. I am currently enrolled for a Masters degree and I will be building on my previous research. This time my research will investigate how Swahili identity is negotiated in marriage with particular reference to interfaith marriage. The study will take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where anecdotal evidence suggests that incidences of interfaith marriage are on the increase. Initially, I will spend some time at a language school in Zanzibar, learning the Swahili language, which I am very much looking forward to.

Junaid Ahmad
I am Junaid Ahmad from Pakistan. My higher education has been in the United States, including a JD (Juris Doctor) degree in law. I am currently a Ph.D student, and my research interest is in looking at the social, theological, and political transformations that have taken place in the discourse and practices of Deobandi madrassas in Pakistan.

Moses Batiibwe
I am a 38 year Old Ugandan. I hold a B.A (Education) and an M.A (Religious Studies) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. I joined University of Cape Town in 2005 for a doctorate in Religious Studies under the supervision of Professors Tayob and Chidester. I am on USHEPIA scholarship. Batiibwe Moses Sserwadda.

Joseph Wandera
I am a Kenyan, NRF supported student, working on my PhD research under the guidance of Prof. Abdulkader Tayob. My topic is: Contemporary Muslim and Pentecostal public sermons in Western Kenya and their Influence on Interfaith Relations. My initial studies were an MA in Intercultural Theology obtained from Radboud University, Netherlands. Prior to joining UCT, I was based at St Paul's University in Kenya.

Nafisa Patel
I was born in Johannesburg but have lived in Cape Town for the past 20 years. I have worked in the Early Childhood Education field for a few years. In 2009 I completed my BA in Islamic Studies at the International Peace University South Africa. I have a particular interest in Islamic gender and educational issues. Presently, I am working on my Religious Studies - Honours thesis with Dr Sa'diyya Shaikh. My research topic deals broadly with Muslim women's educational agency - and I am focusing specifically on Muslim women's learning experiences at Islamic Higher learning institutes in Cape Town.

Reza Ismail
I am Reza Ismail from Cape Town, South Africa. I am currently pursuing a BA (Hons) degree in Religious Studies with specialization in Islamic Studies. My primary areas of research interests are Usul al Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Aqeedah (Belief &Theology) and Islah (Islamic Reform), which is being supervised by Prof. Abdulkader Tayob. I have had extensive training in Cape Town at the hands of prominent traditional scholars. I am a graduate of the Muslim Judicial Council’s Qurra (Qur’an reciters) Development Program where I have studied the Arabic language as well as classical Arabic texts on the sciences of Qur’anic recitation. I also hold a B Sc degree in the Mathematical, Physical and Statistical sciences (Actuarial Science) from the University of Cape Town and I am registered with the Society of Actuaries in the USA. I have worked as an asset and risk consultant for a firm of actuaries and I also have an interest in the fast growing area of Islamic Finance.

David Bonett
I am a Zimbabwean who graduated from UCT with a degree in BA Psychology and Religion. I am currently working with Professor Tayob and Dr. Andrea Brigaglia on my Honours thesis. My main focus will be on the Tijaniyya Tariqa within the Cape Town area, with a comparative religion slant.

Ramzi Ben Amara
I am from Tunisia. I did German at the University of Heidelberg before I joined the University of Bayreuth, Germany. I studied Religious Studies, Anthropology and Linguistics of African languages. I did my Master Degree on the development of Sharia question in Northern Nigeria. I accomplished my PhD on an Islamic anti-Sufi movement called Izala in the same country. I joined the CCI in September 2011as a research fellow as part of the project Biographies of Religious Engagement. In am interseted in Islam in Africa particularly Sufism, anti-Sufim, activism, political Islam as well Muslim-Christian relations.