Allan Brawley

Professor Emeritus of Social Work, Arizona State University

Based of what we hear about Pope Francis, there is reason to hope for better days ahead. He seems to be a very good person, in all senses of that word.

Kelly James Clark

Senior Research Fellow, Kaufman Interfaith Institute, Grand Valley State University

Better for everyone -- Muslim, Christian, Jew, even Communist -- to live in a society which guarantees freedom of belief and practice.

John Feffer

Open Society Fellow

The "case of the 13 imams" sounds almost mythic. But the current case the Bulgarian government is prosecuting against 13 imams from the area of Pazardzhik -- west of Plovdiv on the way to Sofia -- is very real.

Qanta Ahmed, MD

Author, 'In the Land of Invisible Women'

Religious intolerance has become de facto a central component of Pakistani identity. This intolerance is legislated within Pakistan's constitution, rooted in a Presidential decree, no less, when Pakistan introduced new legal definitions defining Muslim identity.

Mike Ghouse

Speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist, activist

Insha Allah, we will do more intra-faith dialogue and learn to respect each other for what we believe, and not get hell bent on proving and denying each other's faith.

Noel Irwin Hentschel

Chairman, CEO and co-founder, AmericanTours International

I submit that only divine Intervention can save the Holy Land. God is the only hope for achieving a "New Jerusalem."

Joseph Blady, M.D.

Former program officer for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and senior analyst for the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence

As troubling as an Iranian nuclear weapon would be, it is unlikely that it would be as catastrophic as yet another American-involved Middle Eastern/South Asian war. By the way, where does Syria fit in the picture?

Preetam Kaushik

Freelance journalist

Ben Affleck has won the Best Picture Oscar for Argo. But he seems to have ruffled quite a few feathers by taking liberties with the story of the rescue of the six American staff living in hostage conditions in Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Rabbi Marc Schneier and Russell Simmons

President, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; Vice President, World Jewish Congress

In our modern era, the open question remains: How will we, as an ever-more diverse and often fractious nation, avoid the fate of the ancient Egyptians, and instead succeed in responding to the challenge of the ninth plague?

Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey

Former Bosnian foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations

Will Turkey support and Cypriot Turks be expected to reintegrate into a unified Cyprus if the Kremlin is handed even a bigger role in the economic future of the Island and the exploitation of its natural gas reserves?

Rabbi Abraham Cooper

Associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Museum of Tolerance

Is this the best solution that democratic Netherlands can come up with? A witness protection program for a man guilty of fighting bigotry and standing up for the truth?

Joyce S. Dubensky

CEO, Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding

Imagine what could happen if Pope Francis truly follows in the footsteps of his namesake. Imagine a more peaceful world that respects religious difference. I believe it can happen.

Dr. Faheem Younus

Muslim, professor, doctor and philanthropist

Harassing minorities in the pretense of blasphemy accusations is not my version of Islam. Maybe that's why Pakistan's constitution does not consider Ahmadi Muslims to be "real" Muslims. But Scripture tells us that it's not Prophet Muhammad's version of Islam either.

Bob Herbst

Lawyer and political and public policy junkie

President Obama's upcoming trip to Israel prompts us to note the death from cancer last week of a fascinating and prophetic religious figure in the West Bank -- Chief Rabbi Menachem Froman of the Takoa settlement, a few miles from the Dead Sea.

Azeem Ibrahim

Executive Chairman, The Scotland Institute

America's uneasy partnership with Saudi Arabia must change and together or separately they must develop a convincing strategy for reducing Wahhabism and its global influence. Whether the new Secretary of State can achieve this or not remains to be seen.

Ron Kronish

Director, Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel

President Obama is coming to Israel next week. Among other things, I hope that he is coming to restart the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Most pundits remain pessimistic, but I remain hopeful.