Dr. Ayse Zisan Furat is associate professor of Religious Education at Faculty of Theology of Istanbul University since 2014. She received her B.A. in History of Science from Istanbul University in 2001. Then she completed her M.A. (2004) and PhD (2009) degrees in Religious Education from the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the same university. Her research interests include religious education policy, religion in Turkish education, Ottoman education policies, and multicultural and intercultural education. 
 

Dr. Aid Smajić is a professor of psychology at the Faculty of Islamic Studies, University of Sarajevo. He graduated in Psychology (2002) and Islamic Studies (2001). He obtained his master's degree at the International Islamic University in Malaysia, while he received his PhD in 2010 at the Department of Psychology at the University of Sarajevo. He has (co)authored several books and studies, including Professionalising Muslim Spiritual Care: Swiss and Bosnian Experiences (2025), Work Stress among Bosnian Imams: Prevalence, Causes and Coping (2022), Religiosity and Ethnic tolerance in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2016) and Values and Value Orientations of Muslim Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2015). The areas of his academic and research interest include psychology of religion, group dynamics and intergroup relations, organizational psychology, systemic family therapy, Islamic spiritual care, and indigenous Islamic psychology and psychotherapy.

Ali Ayten was born in 1979 in Konya, Türkiye. He completed his primary and secondary education in Derbent. During his final year of high school, he decided to pursue higher education in theology. He graduated from the Faculty of Theology at Selçuk University in 2002. During his undergraduate studies, he developed a strong academic interest in the psychology of religion and began preparatory work for graduate studies in this field. In 2003, he was appointed as a research assistant in the Department of Psychology of Religion at the Faculty of Theology, Marmara University. He completed his master’s degree in 2004 with a thesis entitled “The Relationship between Self-Actualization and Religiosity.” In 2009, he earned his PhD with a dissertation entitled “The Role of Religiosity and Empathy in Prosocial Behavior.” During the 2008–2009 academic year, Ayten was a visiting researcher at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, where he both advanced his Arabic language skills and conducted theoretical and empirical research in the psychology of religion. In the 2010–2011 academic year, he served as a research fellow at the University of London, carrying out a study on the relationship between religiosity and identity among Muslims living in London. In 2012, he was awarded the title of Associate Professor based on his scholarly work focusing on the role of religion in coping processes. In 2017, he was promoted to Full Professor following the publication of his work Erdeme Dönüş (Return to Virtue), which examines the positive psychology approach within a religious framework. He is currently a Professor of Psychology of Religion at the Faculty of Theology, Marmara University. Ayten is proficient in Arabic and English. He is married and the father of three children.Selected Publications:Psychology and Religion; Psychology of Religion; Empathy and Religion; Taking Refuge in God; Return to Virtue; Popular Religiosity; In Pursuit of Happiness; Introduction to Sufi Psychology; Religion and Health; Oh, These Youth!; Nature Is Entrusted to Us.

Professor of Psychology, Georgia Southern University

Prof. Dr. Soner Gündüzöz graduated from the Faculty of Theology at Atatürk University in 1994. He completed his master’s degree in the field of Arabic at Atatürk University in 1997 and received his Ph.D. in Arabic from Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMÜ) in 2002.

Between 1995 and 2006, he worked as a research assistant and later as a Ph.D. research assistant in the Department of Arabic Language and Rhetoric at the Faculty of Theology, Ondokuz Mayıs University. He was awarded the title of Associate Professor on March 20, 2006.

In 2007, he served as an Expert at the High Council of Religious Affairs of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). On August 29, 2008, he was appointed as a Member of the High Council of Religious Affairs. During this period, he also served as a Rapporteur for the High Council of Religious Affairs and as the Deputy Secretary General of the Fourth Religious Council. In addition, he participated for a period in the Hadith Project conducted by the Presidency of Religious Affairs.

Prof. Gündüzöz became a full professor at Ondokuz Mayıs University in 2011. As of 2013, he was appointed to the Faculty of Theology at Ankara University. Subsequently, he also worked for a period at the Faculty of Theology of Ordu University and in the Department of Translation and Interpreting (Arabic) at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kırıkkale University.

By the Presidential Decree dated July 10, 2020, published in the Official Gazette No. 31182 on July 11, 2020, he was appointed as a Member of the High Council of Religious Affairs. Prof. Gündüzöz continues his academic studies at the Faculty of Theology, Ankara University.

He is also currently involved in the Qur’an Translation Project of the Presidency of Religious Affairs as a member of the translation committee, working on the Plain and Annotated Translation of the Holy Qur’an.