Azza Karam is a longstanding advocate for interreligious cooperation. She served nearly two decades with the United Nations, where she both co-founded and chaired the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion. She is Professor of Religion and Development at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and has published widely in multiple languages. She is founding President and CEO of Lead Integrity, a global consultancy and management company with a roster of faith-inspired professionals in development, humanitarianism, and human Rights.
Karam serves on the Ansari Institute’s advisory board and was recently appointed as an affiliated faculty member. She also spoke at the Ansari Institute Pen and the Sword Panel at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, where she and others discussed the work of religion in advancing sustainable development.
In "The Age of Holy Wars and the Poetics of Solidarity" (Parts 1 and Part 2) published by the Inter Press Service News Agency, Karam notes the rise in polarization and the increasing visibility of religion as causes for conflict within and between social groups. Yet, Karam also sees religion - and faith leaders - as integral parts of and responsible for repairing these fractures. But this responsibility, she says, will come at a cost:, “this may well mean sacrificing something dear to us.” Nevertheless, she says, “A poetics of solidarity may well be about cultivating and deliberately working alongside those we dislike, and giving the best of what we have, and of whom we are.”