Abbas Panakkal is a historian currently affiliated with the School of History at the University of St. Andrews, UK. He holds directorial positions at the Ibn Battuta International Centre of Intercultural Studies and the International Interfaith Initiative, and he serves on the advisory board for the Religious Life and Belief Centre at the University of Surrey, UK. Previously, he was a fellow at Griffith University, Australia. Dr. Panakkal’s published works include Matrilineal, Matriarchal, and Matrifocal Islam (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). His research spans a diverse array of topics, including language, religion, law, indigenization, integration, interreligious engagements, and intercultural cooperation.