Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem is a much-loved Director of the Centre of Islamic Studies at SOAS, University of London, and Editor of the Journal of Qur’anic Studies. He was awarded an OBE in 2008 in recognition of his services to Arabic literature and interfaith understanding. He is a Member of the Conference of Academy of the Arabic Language, Cairo, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in Islamic Studies from the University of Jordan in 2006. Born in Egypt, Abdel Haleem memorized the Qur’an (this was a prerequisite for entry to Al-Azhar University) before starting his further education. He has many publications including a widely acclaimed translation of the Qur’an.