Sherman Jackson holds the King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture at the University of Southern California, where he is also professor of religion and American studies and ethnicity. He was formerly the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Visiting Professor of Law and Professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Michigan. […]

Curtis is a professor of world languages and cultures at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, where he teaches courses on Islam and Muslim American studies, among others. He has written numerous books, including Muslim American Politics and the Future of U.S. Democracy, and he edited The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States.

Ihsan Bagby is an associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky and an expert in Islam and its history and practice in North America. He is one of the authors of the research report “The American Mosque 2011.”

Act One is a nonprofit that trains Christians for careers in mainstream film and television. It is in Hollywood, California.

Tim Cain is an elder at Kaleo Church in San Diego. The church emphasizes the intersection of religion with pop culture in many of its services and events. The church’s website contains a section on culture, including movie, music and book reviews.

William Dean is a professor emeritus of constructive theology at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. He is the author of The American Spiritual Culture and the Invention of Jazz, Football and the Movies (Continuum, 2002).

Harvey Kornberg is associate professor of political science at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. He has expertise in abortion politics.

Rita Simon is university professor emerita of justice, law and society for the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. She wrote the book Abortion: Statutes, Policies and Public Attitudes the World Over (Praeger Publishers, 1998).

Jonathan E. Brockopp is associate professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University. He edited the book Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War and Euthanasia, and he wrote an article on Shariah for the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World.