Photographer Ali Kazuyoshi Nomachi is known for his exhaustive research and field work covering the Arabian peninsula. His photographs have been featured in Life, National Geographic, and Stern, among other leading magazines. Nomachi is the recipient of many awards, including the Annual Award 1997 from the Photographic Society of Japan.

Author Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, born in Iran, was educated at MIT and Harvard University and is now Professor of Islamic Studies at The George Washington University. He has taught and lectured extensively throughout the Islamic world, Western Europe, North and Central America, India, Japan, and Australia. Dr. Nasr is the author of more than twenty books, including Islamic Art and Spirituality, Islamic Life and Thought, and Traditional Islam in the Modern World.