Speech Title: Implications for the future of new Muslims

Michael Abdur Rashid Taylor is the Coordinator of the Canadian Certificate in Muslim Studies, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Michael is a member of the Canadian Council of Imams and Chair of the Ontario Central Region of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care. He has worked as a Mental Health Professional and Organizational Development Leader for 15 years. Taylor holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Regis College of the Toronto School of Theology in the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management’s Leadership Development Program. Michael has held varied positions including Manager of Spiritual and Religious Care at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Currently, his consultant work includes Diversity, Religious Accommodation and Healing Approaches. He is Managing Director of Rashid Taylor Consultants and Director of Islamic Chaplaincy Services Canada. He was an honorary witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 

Speech Title: Three ways Muslims Negotiate in Canada today.

Katherine Bullock is a lecturer in Islamic politics in the Department of Political Science, University of Toronto at Mississauga.  She is a TV host for Sound Vision Foundation’s Muslim News Canada, and President of Compass Books, dedicated to publishing top-quality books about Islam and Muslims in English.  Her research focuses on Muslims in Canada, their history, contemporary lived experiences, political and civic engagement, debates on the veil, media representations of Islam and Muslims, and Muslim perspectives on zakat and Basic Income.  Her own books include Muslim Women Activists in North America: Speaking for Ourselves, and Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical and Modern Stereotypes, which has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Malayalam, Tamil, and Turkish.  Her latest research studies how Canadian Muslim healthcare workers cope with workplace anti-Muslim racism.  Originally from Australia, she embraced Islam in 1994.

Speech Title: Deep approach to Hizmet Education: identity building through project based learning as an impact to society.

Dr. Zuleyha Mary Fikret is a Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Turkish and Ottoman Studies Program in the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department at Columbia University. Educated in both Turkey and the United States, she earned her B.A. in Arabic Language and Literature from Istanbul University, followed by two M.A. degrees—one in Arabic Literature from Marmara University and another in Central Eurasian Studies (Ottoman and Modern Turkish Studies) from Indiana University. She completed her Ph.D. in Ottoman Language and Literature at Indiana University with a dissertation on the portrayal of women in the Biblical and Qur’anic Joseph narratives in Ottoman literature.

Dr. Fikret has taught at Indiana University and the University of Minnesota and has served at Columbia University since 2010. Her teaching spans Islamic studies, literature, and language, including Qur’anic narratives, Islamic spirituality, Sufism, women in Islam, and Turkish and Ottoman language courses from elementary to advanced levels.

Speech Title: Digital Ahklak: A Nursian Framework for Morality in the Digital Age.

Dr. Zeki Saritoprak is Professor and Chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Director of the Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University. A native of Turkey, he has devoted more than thirty years to the study of Islamic theology, mysticism, and interfaith dialogue.

Dr. Saritoprak earned his Ph.D. in Islamic Theology from University of Marmara and has authored over fifty academic articles and encyclopedia entries, in addition to several influential books. His publications include Islam’s Jesus (2014) and Islamic Spirituality (2019). He is currently working on a book on Islamic eschatology.

Speech Title:Family Dynamic and Mental Health

Imam Ayman Al-Taher is a dedicated and compassionate Registered Psychotherapist, Certified Clinical Chaplain, and spiritual counsellor, holding qualifications from esteemed institutions such as the College of Pastoral Education and Psychotherapy (CPSP) Canada-USA and the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC).

‍With unwavering commitment, he has served as a Spiritual Counselor and Caregiver in the Spiritual Care Department of the renowned Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto for 27 years. Beyond his spiritual calling, he wears multiple hats, including that of an Imam, Public Speaker, and Activist, actively participating in advocacy groups like the Muslim Children’s Aid and Support Services (MCASS). Furthermore, his expertise extends to certifications in Mental Health First Aid, Suicide Prevention, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
‍Ayman stands as a beacon of professional guidance, offering personal and family counseling services that adopt a holistic approach, encompassing the realms of the mind, body, soul, and spirit. Proficient in a multitude of counseling psychology models, he adapts his approach eclectically, always attuned to the unique needs of his clients. His extensive experience has seen him facilitate numerous mental health, parenting, and youth workshops across various cities in Canada.
‍Imam Ayman Al-Taher’s enduring commitment to enhancing the well-being of individuals and families shines brightly as a testament to his profound dedication to the holistic betterment of the human spirit. His diverse expertise and compassionate approach make him a trusted ally on the path to healing and personal growth.

Speech Title: The foundations of Muslim identity according to Fethullah Gülen.

Dr. Muhammed Cetin is a Professor of Sociology and a language instructor in the General Education Department at a North American university in Texas. He earned his master’s degree from University of Leicester and his PhD in Sociology from University of Derby. His academic and administrative career includes roles as Lecturer, Vice Rector, and Ministerial Adviser in Turkmenistan, as well as Visiting Scholar appointments in the Sociology Department at University of Texas at Austin and the Religious Studies Department at University of Houston.

Dr. Cetin served in a voluntary capacity as President and later Publications Coordinator of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, organizing and speaking at numerous interfaith conferences and cultural programs. He also wrote weekly columns for the international daily Today’s Zaman and taught sociology at East Stroudsburg University.

He is the author and producer of the documentary DVDs Rumi and Universal Love and Dialogue and Call to Prayer, and the author of several books, including The Gülen Movement: Civic Service without Borders, Hizmet: Questions and Answers on the Gülen Movement, and Turkey’s Path to Democratization: Barriers, Actors, Outcomes, translated into multiple languages.

From 2011 to 2015, Dr. Cetin served as a Member of Parliament for Istanbul, where he was Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He has authored numerous academic book chapters and journal articles.

Albert Frolov is a PhD candidate at the Toronto School of Theology (University of Toronto) and a Research Fellow at the Lonergan Research Institute (Regis College). He is also a Lecturer at Respect Graduate School (Pennsylvania). His work focuses on comparative theology and philosophy of religion, especially Islam–Christianity dialogue, religious-mystical experience, and religious epistemology, developing a comparative framework between Bediüzzaman Said Nursi and Bernard Lonergan.