Leadership
Religious leaders from across Europe, united by a shared commitment to freedom of religion or belief for all.
Scientology
Eric Roux is Chair of the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative (URI), the world’s largest grassroots interfaith network, and a member of its Executive Committee. An ordained Scientology minister, he is Vice-President of the European Office for Public Affairs and Human Rights. He is also an author and long-standing advocate for religious freedom, active in international forums including the OSCE, Council of Europe, European Parliament and United Nations.
Orthodox Christian
Petar Gramatikov is a hierodeacon of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. He holds a Master’s degree in Theology and received the title of Doctor (Didaskalos) of the Universal Orthodox Church from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1999. He has taught theology for 20 years and serves as Plovdiv Municipality’s expert on religious affairs. He is Vice-President of the Eastern European Forum for Dialogue-Bridges and promotes human rights and interreligious respect. From 2014 to 2022, he was a trustee of URI’s Global Council.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
D. T. (Hans) Noot coordinates religious education in Belgium and the Netherlands and advises seminaries in Eastern Europe for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University. A long-standing advocate for religious freedom across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, he is President of the Gerard Noodt Foundation, works with Human Rights Without Frontiers, and serves on the International Advisory Board of BYU’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies.
Sikh
Ranjit Singh is the Director of Public Affairs of the French Sikh community. He holds a Master in Law & Economics at University Paris 2 Panthéon Assas. He also worked for the Ministry of foreign affairs of India, and is a human rights activist in religious freedom issues as well as migrants fundamental rights issues.
Islam
Sheikh Dr Muhammad Al-Hussaini is a Research Fellow in Islamic Studies, educated at Oxford, Cambridge and Al-Azhar. He teaches Arabic, Islamic theology and classical Qur’anic interpretation, with a particular focus on Jewish-Muslim relations. His research examines medieval Islamic, Karaite and Rabbanite approaches to scriptural exegesis. He also teaches at Leo Baeck College and has long been active in promoting interfaith dialogue, mutual understanding and religious tolerance.
Roman Catholic Church
Aldo Natale Terrin taught History of Religions and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Urbino and Religious Studies at the Institute of Pastoral Liturgy in Padua. A Catholic priest and respected European expert on new religious movements, he was known for his impartiality and scholarly rigor. He published extensively on religion and secularization in Europe. Father Terrin, a founding member of EIFRF, passed away on 9 January 2024.