Bishop Michael Nazīr-^cAlī was born in 1949 in Karachi, Pakistan. He had both a Christian and Muslim family background. As a young boy, he attended a Roman Catholic school in Karachi. He began attending Roman Catholic services and identified himself as a Christian at the age of 15. After that, he was formally received into the Church of Pakistan five years later.

Bishop Nazīr-^cAlī studied economics, Islamic history and sociology at the University of Karachi and theology at Fitzwilliam College and Ridley Hall, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford, Cambridge, and the Australian College of Theology, with assistance from Professor Anne-Marie Schimmel of the Center for World Religions, Harvard in comparative literature, comparative philosophy of religion and theology.

He returned to Pakistan as a tutor at Karachi Theological College. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1976 and worked in Karachi and Lahore. He became the Provost of Lahore Cathedral and was ordained as the first bishop of Raiwind in West Punjab (1984-86), at the time, the youngest bishop in the Anglican Communion.

Robert Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury, arranged for him to come to England when his life was in danger in Pakistan. He was an assistant to the Archbishop at Lambeth, then General Secretary of the Church Mission Society (1989-1994), and concurrently Assistant Bishop of Southwark. He was appointed the 106th Bishop of Rochester, England in 1994.

In 1999, he became the first Asian religious leader to sit in the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament.

He has taught at institutions in Pakistan, England, Canada and the U.S. He is also an Hon. Fellow of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He is visiting professor of Theology and Religious Studies in the University of Greenwich. In 2005, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International.

• Director of the Oxford Center for Mission Studies, since 1986.
• Board of Christian Aid 1988 – 1997.
• Secretary to the Archbishop’s Commission on Communion and Women in the Episcopate (the Eames’ Commission), 1989-1998.
• Chairman of the Mission Theology Group of the Board of Mission, 1992-2001.
• Chairman of Council, Trinity College, Bristol, since 1996.
• Member of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, 1997-2003.
• Chairman of Ethics and Law Committee, 1998-2003.
• Theological Consultant to the Crown Appointments Review Group, 1998-2001.
• President of the Network for Inter-Faith Concerns in the Anglican Communion (NIFCON), 1998
• Member of the Archibishops’ Council, 2000-2005
• Member of the House of Bishops’ Standing Committee, 2000-2005.
• Member of the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission, since 2001.
• Chairman of Working Party on Women in the Episcopate, 2001-2004.
• Founding member of the Dialogue of Scholars, 2002
• Chairman of the House of Bishops Theological Group, since 2004.
• A visiting lecturer in a number of universities and colleges in the UK, Canada, the U.S and Australia.
• Member of the Anglican and Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC-II).

Bishop Nazīr-^cAlī is seen as belonging to the evangelical wing of the Anglican Church, describing himself as an evangelical and a catholic and is concerned with thinking about the Christian mission in a changing world.

Bishop Nazīr-^cAlī has become a prominent spokesman for cooperation between Christianity and Islam. Since his entrance into the House of Lords, he has become a relatively prominent figure in public British life, advocating a more effective integration of ethnic communities.

Bishop Michael Nazīr-^cAlī once stated that there are virtually two religions in the Anglican Church. He believes that there are irreconcilable divisions between the liberal and conservative factions. According to him, “The right choice is in line with the Bible and the church’s teaching down the ages, not some new-fangled religion we have invented to respond to the 21^st Century.” ⁽¹⁾ It is important to note that he has been entrusted with the difficult role of chairing the committee which decides how the Church of England should deal with problems when it appoints women bishops.

The bishop strongly supports the ordination of women but does not agree with the ordination of active homosexuals. Both these positions he defends on biblical grounds. He says that, "Men and women have both been created in God's image and have the same inherent dignity. Human sinfulness, personal and social, has resulted in the subjugation of women in many societies but this is not God's will and purpose. There can, therefore, be no discrimination in the church on the basis of gender." ⁽²⁾ But when God created men and women, he created them so that they could get married, which is for the sake of the family.

Bishop Nazīr-^cAlī was the first non-white senior bishop in the Church of England on his appointment. There were issues raised about him having a leading role in the church and worries over the prospect of a “non-white archbishop”. Some noted that if this happened, it will indicate how far society has changed, with even the church trying keep pace.

In line with comments by the Pope Benedict XVI⁽³⁾ and the head of the Ecumenical Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, he attacked the onset of secularism in Western society, saying that the institutions of British society are rooted in biblical values. He believes that the British monarchy and legal system both emerged from Judaeo-Christian ethics. ⁽⁴⁾

Parallel to that, he calls for recovering Christian values because he believes that the enlightenment by consigning Christianity to the private sphere, also removed the basis and justification for these values in the public sphere. According to him, these values arise out of the Christian faith and its vision of personal and common good. In an article written in August 2006 Bishop Nazīr stated that: “It is this basis and justification that needs to be recovered if values are to be secured, and if they are to help inculcate the virtues of generosity, loyalty, moderation and love that lead to personal fulfillment and social wellbeing.” ⁽⁵⁾

His views on the global future of Christianity are considered slightly controversial. In 1998, he said that the center of Christianity, which shifted from the Eastern Mediterranean to Western Europe with the rise of Islam, was now shifting again to Africa and East Asia, and that the dominant model of the future would be Chinese Christianity which is conservative, pragmatist and evangelical.

Bishop Nazīr-^cAlī is known as an advocate of inter-faith dialogue. He considers the nature of dialogue as the history of relations between people of different faiths, particularly Muslims and Christians. The bishop has also written extensively on the relationship between Christianity and Islam and has called for a greater understanding between the two religious communities. Added to that, he promotes the idea of a wider exchange between cultures and countries while maintaining respect for the integrity of religion and culture.

He believes that Islam is not a monolithic entity, but it is a religion that can be expressed in almost as many ways as Christianity. Both religions could use the other to bring out the best in themselves. He said that, “The one reality is that both Islam and Christianity are missionary religions, both are operating in Africa and East Asia, so the potential for conflict between them is great-but the need for getting along is greater. That's the crux.” ⁽⁶⁾

The bishop believes we should set stereotypes aside. He has said that media images of Islam are violent and intolerant; however “we have to ask whether these are the only available images of Islam. What else can we say about a great world faith, which has given rise to so many civilizations?” ⁽⁷⁾

Some believe his vision of Christianity is profoundly influenced by his knowledge of the third world. In addition to that, he is sensitive to the difficulties faced by Christians in countries ruled by Islamic regimes.

In his criticism of multiculturalism, he believes that, “The multiculturalism beloved of our political and civic bureaucracies has not only failed to deliver peace, but is the partial cause of the present alienation of so many Muslim young people from the society in which they were born, where they have been educated and where they have lived most of their lives.” ⁽⁸⁾ And thus he calls for a greater encouragement of what he believes to be “moderate Muslim voices” to be heard more clearly. He also calls for Muslims to make sharī^cah flexible and adaptable in order to avoid a clash of civilizations or clashes within civilizations.