Presidents

Co-Chairs and Presidents of the Christian Muslim Forum

Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham & Ibrahim Mogra

The Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham, Chair, is our second Anglican President, following the early retirement of Bishop David Gillett at the end of 2007. Bishop Richard has been Bishop of Kingston in Southwark Diocese since 2002. Previously he was Vicar of St Augustine of Canterbury, Luton, where he was involved in the early stages of the Luton Council of Faiths. On his appointment he said: 'I am honoured to be called to serve the Church and build good relations with Muslims both nationally and locally through this key role in the Christian Muslim Forum. Bishop Richard is married and plays hockey and squash regularly.

The Revd. Dr. Nicholas Wood	Dr Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour	Rt Revd David Gillett	Dr Ataullah Siddiqui
The Revd Esme Beswick MBE	The Rt Revd Michael Evans	Shaykh Haytham Tamim	Musharraf Hussain

Rt Revd Paul Hendricks

Presidents

The Revd. Dr. Nicholas Wood, also Trustee/Honorary Treasurer, Fellow and Tutor in Religion and Culture at Regent's Park College, University of Oxford, and Director of the Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture. A former schoolteacher, he is a minister in the Baptist Union of Great Britain and a member of the Oxford Faculty of Theology.

Ibrahim Mogra (Sunni) - Trustee, Chair of the Muslim Council of Britain's Masjids and Community Affairs Committee

Rt Revd Donnett Thomas (Pentecostal) awaiting photo - Apostle and Bishop of Power of the Living Word Ministries International

Rt Revd Paul Hendricks - (Catholic Auxiliary Bishop, South West London) with responsibility for the S West of the Southwark Catholic Archdiocese, Diocesan Advisor on New Religious Movements and Cults. He was ordained by Archbishop Kevin McDonald in February 2006. He studied for the priesthood at the English College, Rome (1979 – 1985). He obtained a Licence in Philosophy from the Gregorian University, Rome. He was ordained priest at Holy Innocents, Orpington in 1984. His first appointment, in 1985, as assistant priest was to St Boniface, Tooting. In 1989 he was appointed Philosophy Lecturer and Bursar at St John's Seminary, Wonersh. His next appointment was as parish priest of Our Lady of Sorrows, Peckham, in 1999. He serves on the Diocesan Finance Committee and is the Diocesan Advisor on New Religious Movements and Cults. He was ordained by Archbishop Kevin McDonald in February 2006.

Anjum Anwar

Vacancy - Shi’a President

For details of our Specialists click on Areas of Work

Former Presidents

Abbas Ismail (Shi'a) - Adjunct Lecturer, Islamic College for Advanced Studies (the same institution as his predecessor Dr Bahmanpour), Assistant Secretary General, The World Federation of Khoja Shi’a Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities, with specific remit for Islamic Education including Interfaith Activities (Shi’a)

Dr Musharraf Hussain OBE, Vice-Chair of the Christian Muslim Forum until 31/12/2010 and head of the Karimia Institute in Nottingham. A well known speaker and teacher, who will be recognised by some as one of the two representatives of MCB who went to Iraq to seek the release of Ken Bigley. Appointed President 2006, appointed Chair 2008. Musharraf was awarded his OBE in the 2009 New Year's Honours list. There is currently a vacancy for a Muslim Co-Chair.

Dr Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour, Principal, Islamic College for Advanced Studies, Willesden, London. A Shi'a scholar and also editor in chief of the monthly magazine Echo of Islam. Appointed 2006, retired 2008.

Rt Revd David Gillett stood down as Chair of the Christian Muslim Forum in December 2007. The members and staff of the Forum are very grateful for his wise leadership in our first two years, and during the process of the Forum's creation. He retired early as both Chair of the Forum and Bishop of Bolton to care for his wife. Some of the highlights of Bishop David's time with the Forum were: our statement on Religious Festivals at Christmas 2006 (an idea he brought to the Forum), which generated a great deal of media interest and followed his own Hallowe'en campaign; the first imams and ministers conference (our third event is planned for April 2008) and our first annual lectures with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Prof. Tariq Ramadan. We wish Bishop David and his wife peace and good health in retirement. Appointed 2006, retired 2007.

Dr Ataullah Siddiqui, former Vice-Chair of the Christian Muslim Forum and Director of the Markfield Institute of Higher Education and head of the Islamic Foundation's Inter Faith Unit. Has a long history of engagement with Christians since his youth. Has published many books and articles on Christian-Muslim relations. Appointed 2006, retired 2008.

The Revd Esme Beswick MBE, founder and president of the Joint Council for Anglo Caribbean Churches. She has served on several ecumenical bodies including Borough Dean of Lambeth, Chair of Brixton Council of Churches, Churches Council for Britain and Ireland and the former Inner Cities Religious Council a government public body. Patron of Race Equality Employment Programme, and formerly a President of Churches together in England. Appointed 2006.

The late Rt Revd Michael Evans, Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia. Canon theologian of Southwark archdiocese. He has been involved in ecumenical dialogue for the last fifteen years. He was recently chair of the Archdiocese of Southwark Justice and Peace Coordinating Committee.

Shaykh Haytham Tamim, the chairman and founder of Utrujj foundation, a leading Islamic educational institution in the UK. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated in the UK. While responsible for orchestrating the design and delivery of over 200 different courses, Shaykh Haytham Tamim's vast teaching experience has manifested in changing many lives. He is an Independent consultant in Islamic finance and is on the Shari'ah supervisory board for Gatehouse Bank PLC (London), Gulf Finance House (UK), Europe Arab Bank, The Utrujj Foundation www.utrujj.org, and Al-Qalam Shari'ah board (UK).