Amineh Hoti Ph.D.

Dr. Amineh Hoti is a Fellow-Commoner at Lucy Cavendish College at the University of Cambridge, an honorary post which the University of Cambridge awards to women who are particularly distinguished in their field and whose association may be beneficial to the college. She serves as Executive Director of the Society for Dialogue and Action (D&A), an advisor to the Three Faiths Forum, and patron of charities aiming for global peace and world solutions, such as the UK Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum. She was a member of the body that advises the UK government on Religious Education (SACRE).

Dr. Hoti obtained her PhD from the University of Cambridge and was the co-founder and first Director of the Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations (CMJR), where she outlined an innovative on-site Cambridge University course and taught an array of students, including Imams, priests, and rabbis. She has experience working with different religious groups at both grass roots and high levels. She has convened several major conferences involving distinguished personalities such as HRH Prince Hassan of Jordan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Chief Rabbi, and has received words of encouragement from both Her Majesty The Queen of England and HRH Prince William. She was one of the few women participants at the World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid, Spain, organized by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and King Juan Carlos of Spain in 2008. She has given media interviews on both international television and major US national papers, and she is considered an outstanding pioneer in the study and teaching of interfaith relations.

Dr Hoti's book, Sorrow and Joy Among Muslim Women: the Pukhtuns of Northern Pakistan (Cambridge University Press [2006]), was nominated for the 2007 Kiriyama Prize as an important contribution to the ethnography of the region and to feminist anthropology. She is the consultant editor of 'Valuing Diversity: Towards Mutual Respect and Understanding', an important learning resource for teachers and students which was distributed, by demand, to 2500 of the UK's 5000 schools. Dr Hoti is currently working on introducing another learning resource book accompanied by interfaith courses for policy makers, police, media and educational centers (including madrassas) in Pakistan, where she is setting up an educational centre with public outreach to increase tolerance, respect and deeper understanding leading to global peace.