Salam Institute for Peace & Justice

Dr. S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana
Associate Director
info@salaminstitute.org

Biography

Born and raised in Turkey, Dr. Kadayifci-Orellana received her Ph.D. at the American University in Washington D.C. in the field of International Peace and Conflict Resolution and her M.A. at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England in the field of International Conflict Analysis. Her doctoral dissertation looked at different interpretations of war and peace in the Islamic tradition and explored the reasons behind the rise of extremist interpretations in the West Bank and Gaza.

Dr. Kadayifci-Orellana has co-authored the edited the volume, “Anthology on Islam and Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam: Precept and Practice” as well as various journal articles on Islam and nonviolence, conflict resolution, and mediation. She is currently working towards publishing her dissertation entitled: Standing on an Isthmus: Islamic Narratives of War and Peace in Palestine with Lexington Publishers. She has been invited to lecture at various institutions, such as George Mason University, the World Bank, among others. She also served as a consultant to nonprofit development agencies: Center for International Environmental Law and CoDevelopment Canada, on various projects in Turkey. She is one of the founding members of Salam Institute for Peace and Justice (a non-profit organization that works on issues of conflict resolution, nonviolence, development and interfaith dialogue especially in the Muslim world). She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Mediterranean Agenda, an online, multi- media journal focusing on the current political issues in the Mediterranean and the Balkan regions. Dr. Kadayifci-Orellana has taught and conducted research at the School of International Service at the American University on topics including religion and conflict resolution, culture and conflict resolution, Islamic sources of peace and conflict resolution, peace paradigms, Islam and democracy, introduction to peace and conflict resolution in regions as diverse as the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa, Central and South Asia, and Latin America, among others. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C.