Michael Nazir-Ali

Michael Nazir-Ali was the 106th Bishop of Rochester for fifteen years until September 1, 2009. He is originally from Asia and was the first non-white diocesan bishop in the Church of England. He was appointed in 1994. Before that he was the General Secretary of CMS from 1989-1994 and Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan prior to holding that position. He holds both British and Pakistani citizenship and from 1999 was a member of the House of Lords where he was active in a number of areas of national...See more

Michael Nazir-Ali was the 106th Bishop of Rochester for fifteen years until September 1, 2009. He is originally from Asia and was the first non-white diocesan bishop in the Church of England. He was appointed in 1994. Before that he was the General Secretary of CMS from 1989-1994 and Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan prior to holding that position. He holds both British and Pakistani citizenship and from 1999 was a member of the House of Lords where he was active in a number of areas of national and international concern. He has both a Christian and a Muslim family background and is now president of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue (OXTRAD). Michael's secondary education was in Pakistan. He studied economics, sociology and Islamic history at the University of Karachi, and theology at Fitzwilliam College and Ridley Hall, Cambridge. His interests have led him to research and study in several fields, including comparative literature, comparative philosophy of religion and theology at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and elsewhere. He has taught at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Michael is an Honorary Fellow of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He is also a Senior Fellow of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Michael is Visiting Professor of Theology and Religious Studies in the University of Greenwich and on the Faculty of the London School of Theology (LST) affiliated to the Universities of Brunel and Middlesex, as well as the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. Michael is the author of twelve books and of numerous articles on mission, ecumenism, the Anglican communion, and relations with people of other faiths (particularly Islam). See less