MEET

Zeynab Bouhedjeur is a master’s student in history at the University of Oslo, and has a background in English, gender studies and sociology, in addition to history. Zeynab works as an akdvisor in the Norwegian think tank Minoten, and as an educator at the democracy workshop at Utøya. Through studying the program Dialogpilotene, and through working as a pathfinder with the Muslim Pathfinders (Muslimske Veivisere), Zeynab also has experience with both intra- and interfaith dialogue. 

Academic interests

Digitalisation, migration, parenting, mental health

Nadiya Lazzouni is a French Muslim journalist with academic backgrounds in business law and political science, specializing in international relations. She has been driven by the commitment to amplify the voices often overlooked by mainstream media when she launched the Speak Up Channel on YouTube in 2017. She also gained major public recognition through televised debates on secularism and civil liberties. In 2021, she joined Le Média, a well-known leftist web TV platform, becoming the first journalist to present the news on French media while wearing a headscarf.

Esma Uçan (31) was born and raised in Belgium, with Turkish roots. She is the youngest and first female president of the Muslim Council of Belgium, and the first female president of a representative cult in both Belgium and Europe. Esma is a bridge-builder, focused on breaking cultural barriers and promoting inclusion. Between 2017 and 2021, she was actively involved in the only youth quadriologue in Europe, where interfaith dialogue was at the core. She is committed to strengthening the position of (Muslim) women in society and creating an inclusive, equal society.

Edina Husović, BA (born 1984 in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina) serves as the Head of the Presidential Office of the Islamic Religious Authority in Austria. In addition, she supports the communities of around 300 mosques in Austria regarding administration and assists them in their outreach to the public and their own members. She was also involved in the implementation of the SOAR project in Austria and participated on behalf of Austria at the MEET Conference in 2023.
After completing her degree in Transcultural Communication at the University of Vienna, she has worked as a translator, interpreter, language trainer, and lecturer for German, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and English. In addition to her professional roles, she is actively involved in volunteer work in Islamic hospital chaplaincy, interfaith dialogue in Austria and internationally (in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria) and specifically in women's interfaith dialogue.

Amjad is a development and peacebuilding pracademic. He has worked in different perspectives of humanitarian work, interfaith engagement and peace building. He is an Adjunt
Fellow at the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Malaysia, Research Fellow of the Faculty of
Education, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, and a Nonresident Fellow at the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, Doha. He is a board member of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, People Beyond Borders, Eduspots, and Muslim Aid UK. His publications include journal articles, several book chapters, a book on "Lessons from Aceh," and the recently published Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Sri Lanka. 

Amjad is an alumni of the International Visitors Leadership Program and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Euphrates Institute, and has an M.Eng from Imperial College, London, an MBA from U21 Global Singapore/Manipal Global Nxt Malaysia and a PhD from Exeter University. He is currently employed at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as working on strategic youth engagement, peace and fundamental principles.

"Shaykha Saleha Islam Bukhari is an accomplished Muslim Chaplain, educator, and community leader committed to faith-based empowerment and social wellbeing. After 18 years as a stay-at-home wife and mother, she pursued Islamic scholarship and emerged as a respected Ālimah and role model for Muslim women. She was awarded the Most Impactful Ālimah Award 2024 and shortlisted for "Religious Advocate of the Year" at the 12th British Muslim Awards 2025 by Oceanic Awards.

She has taught Islamic sciences at institutions like Ebrahim College and Q-Iman, led women’s programs at East London Mosque’s Maryam Centre, and delivered lectures at prestigious universities including SOAS, KCL, UCL, and LSE. As a Shariah Council Judge with the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council UK and a member of the British Board of Scholars and Imams, she contributes valuable scholarship and empathetic legal support.

Beyond teaching, Saleha serves as a Shariah Content Consultant with Islamic Relief and supports initiatives for vulnerable women through Nour Domestic Violence. She is a Corporate Chaplain at Canary Wharf Multifaith Chaplaincy, advising global companies, and actively engages audiences through Islam Channel’s IslamiQA show. Through her website and outreach work, she continues to inspire resilience, faith, and community leadership."

Name: Senaid Kobilica

Date of birth: 17.01. 1974 in Kakanj - Bosnia Herzegovina

High (Religious) school – Gazi Husrev-begova medresa in Sarajevo. BA-MA at International Islamic University in Islamabad – Pakistan.

Mufti for Western Europe - Religious authority for Islamic communities of Bosniaks in 13 European countries. Head imam in The Islamic community of Bosnia Herzegovina in Norway 1999-2025. President of The Islamic council of Norway 2007-2013. Since 2017 President of The Muslim Dialogue Network in Norway. 

Member of Religions for Peace Europe and European Council of Religious Leaders. Member of EULEMA. Member of the MEET platform - Muslim European Empowerment Programme. Member of Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council - European Muslim and Jewish leaders. 

As the leader of the Islamic Council of Norway recieved a number of awards in 2008. Was included in the book "Who's Who" among the most 1000 important persons in Norway, and found worthy of a ranking among the 10 most influential people in the category of "religious authority".

Also selected to the top 10 list of the leaders with a foreign background by "the Leadership Foundation", and selected among the 10 most prolific Norwegian citizens of foreign origin by the largest Norwegian daily newspaper.

In decembar 2011 The Press Club at The Norwegian Parliament gave their annual prize – The Tolerance prize to Senaid Kobilica together with one Norwegian priest. The Prize was given because of the remarkable cooperation during the funeral of the victims brutally killed by terrorist Anders Breivik.

Ibrahim Yazici, born in Rendsburg in 1982, studied law in Hamburg and Kiel before completing a second degree in German studies in Kiel, specializing in media, history, Islamic studies, and European ethnology. He earned his doctorate at the European University Viadrina on the topic of “Religious spaces and religious emotions in Islamic culture in Germany – the example of the Rendsburg Mosque.” Due to institutional differences, he is continuing this research at another institute.

Yazici co-founded the Islamic Student Community Kiel in 2008. From 2009 to 2014, he was youth leader of the Islamic Community in Kiel. Between 2013 and 2018, he was first secretary, then deputy chairman of the Islamic Religious Community of Schleswig-Holstein (SCHURA). From 2016 to 2018, he also worked as a press spokesman for the Alliance of Islamic Communities in Northern Germany.

From 2018 to 2020, he was responsible for scholarship programs and student residences and was also deputy chairman of the IGMG students. Since 2020, he has been a board member of the European Association for Mosque Building and Mosque Promotion EMUG. In 2022, he founded with (EMUG), a think tank for Islamic architecture in Europe.

Sunniva Whittaker has been the elected rector of the University of Agder since 2019. She was reelected i 2023 for a new four year term ending in 2027.

She is also the elected Chair of Universities Norway til 2025. 

As rector, she is the Chair of the University Board. She represents the university externally in matters connected to UiA and higher education in general. She is also frequently consulted on various issues by private and public sector stakeholders locally, regionally and nationally.

Sunniva aims to create a culture of learning where students feel like partners in a community of knowledge. She works to achieve close collaboration with students through cooperation with student organizations and associations and by having her own student mentors.

Ensuring good research conditions for research groups and individual researchers is also a top priority.

In line with UiA’s vision of co-creating for tomorrow’s knowledge, she stresses the importance of further development of collaboration between industry and public institutions in the region,  including ensuring that students are connected to the labour market during their education.

An important aspect of this collaboration is promoting the knowledge that is co-created with industry and society. She works to strengthen the position of knowledge in the public debate, and consequently contribute to understanding and solving challenges in society.

Sunniva is aware of the importance of the university’s role in societal debate. In 2018, she arranged a conference where researchers from Norway and abroad discussed what role researchers of philosophy, literature, history and other humanities subjects should play in the public debate.

Sunniva was born in Trondheim and was raised in Canada, and considers both Norwegian and English as her mother tongues. She is a full professor, holding a PhD in French Linguistics from the University of Bergen and was formerly the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at UiA. She has also held positions as Department Head and Vice Rector at NHH Norwegian School of Economics. She has studied French, Literary Science and Russian and is also a trained conference interpreter. Her PhD dissertation, which was written in French, explores how argumentation is integrated into language structures.

While working at NHH, she studied macroeconomics, marketing, organizational psychology, management and organizational theory. Her background in the humanities has given her a high level of cultural competence and human understanding. Sunniva recognizes the value of her interdisciplinary background and works to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration at UiA