Mr. Abdullah Khan

Student, International Peacemaking Program, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut

Abdullah Khan is currently studying at Hartford Seminary, Hartford in the international peacemaking program. Prior to this he worked for three years in Copenhagen, Denmark at an Islamic association. He has worked for the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Pakistan as a consultant and trainer in the madaris (Islamic traditional schools) project, where he helped train teachers in the madaris and develop their perceptions about contentious domestic and international issues. He has organized twenty one-day training programs across Pakistan, in addition to six ten-day programs in Islamabad.

A former consultant with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), he devised curricula to introduce study of human rights in madaris and Christian seminaries. He has traveled widely across Pakistan and interviewed the heads of the leading sixty madaris affiliated with different sects. These interviews and surveys formed the basis for his recent book, Deeni Madaris: Tabdili kay Rujhanat, discussing the socio-economic trends in the leading Pakistani madaris over the next ten years.

While working in Denmark, he was actively involved in numerous intercultural projects, from interfaith dialogues to environmental campaigns. Mr. Khan regularly delivers lectures on local radio in English and Urdu. He is also involved in counter-radicalization projects aimed at the youth demographic. Mr. Khan has participated in major international conferences, including the 5th and 6th Asia-Europe Foundation conferences in South Korea and Spain, which discussed how relationships between the media and religions can be improved. He is also one of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations' Global Experts.