Nader Saiedi is professor of sociology and anthropology at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. Born in Iran, he is the author of numerous Bahá’í books, including Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb.

Layli Miller-Muro is a lawyer and the founder of the Tahirih Justice Center, a Bahá’í-inspired women’s advocacy organization in Falls Church, Va.

Richard Thomas, with Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, co-edited Lights of the Spirit: Historical Portraits of Black Bahá’ís in North America, 1898-2000, which featured, among others, jazz great Dizzy Gillespie. He is a retired professor of history at Michigan State University.

Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, with Richard Thomas, co-edited Lights of the Spirit: Historical Portraits of Black Bahá’ís in North America, 1898-2000, which featured, among others, jazz great Dizzy Gillespie. She is a professor of English at Miami University in Ohio.

Kenneth Bowers is secretary-general of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. He is chief administrative officer of the Bahá’í Faith in the U.S. and author of God Speaks Again: An Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith.

Michael Karlberg, associate professor of communications at Western Washington University, is the author of Beyond the Culture of Contest, which includes an examination of the Bahá’í system of governance.

Joel Gordon is a history professor at the University of Arkansas. He is an expert on religion and politics in the Arab world.

Stephen Schwartz is executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, which says it promotes moderate Muslim views. Schwartz has taken credit for coining or popularizing the term.

The Rev. Patrick Howell is vice president for mission and ministry at the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University. He co-edited the book Empowering Authority: The Charisms of Episcopacy and Primacy in the Church Today. He has frequently written about Pope Benedict XVI for the Seattle Times.