The Banu Qurayza (Arabic: بني قريظة; بنو قريظة‎ alternate spellings include Quraiza, Qurayzah, Quraytha, and the archaic Koreiza) were a Jewish tribe which lived in northern Arabia, at the oasis of Yathrib (presently known as Medina), until the 7th century. In February/March of 627 AD, their conflict with Muhammad led to a 25-day siege of Banu Qurayza ending in the tribe's surrender. The Banu Qurayza refused to submit to Muhammad's judgment and so asked the Auws, (also spelled Aws) tribe to intervene on their behalf. Muhammad not wanting to antagonize the Auws deferred the issue to them. The leaders of Banu Qurayza were gathered and were asked by the Auws what the punishment is for a traitor in their own religion. They bowed their heads and stated according to the Torah the punishment is death. So on the order of Sa'd ibn Mua'dth (leader of the Auws tribe), the men were executed, while the women and children were enslaved. There is much debate about the number executed with some estimating that around 400-900 men were beheaded, while the Sunni hadith simply state that all male members were killed, without specifying a figure, and one woman.

Rageh Omaar ( /ˈræɡi ˈoʊmɑː/; Somali: Raage Oomaar, Arabic: راجح عمر‎), (born 19 July 1967) is a Somali born British journalist and writer. His latest book Only Half of Me deals with the tensions between these two sides of his identity. He used to be a BBC world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from Iraq. In September 2006, he moved to a new post at Al Jazeera English, where he presented the nightly weekday documentary series Witness until January 2010. The Rageh Omaar Report, first aired February 2010, is a new one-hour, monthly investigative documentaries in which Rageh Omaar reports on the world's most important current affairs stories.

Rageh was born in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. He is the son of a wealthy businessman from the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia. A Muslim, Rageh's family is originally from Hargeisa.

Rageh moved to the United Kingdom when he was two years old. He was educated at two independent schools: the Dragon School in Oxford, Oxfordshire and Cheltenham College in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He later studied Modern History at New College at the University of Oxford.

Tarek Fatah (Urdu: طارق فتح) (born November 20, 1949), is a Canadian political activist, writer, and broadcaster. He is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State published by John Wiley & Sons. In the book Fatah challenges the notion that the establishment of an Islamic state is a necessary prerequisite to entering the state of Islam. He suggests that the idea of an Islamic state is merely a mirage that Muslims have been made to chase for over a millennium. Chasing a Mirage was shortlisted for the $35,000 Donner Prize for 2008–09.

Fatah's second book, titled The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism, was published by McClelland & Stewart in October 2010. The book won the 2010 Annual Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Book Award in Politics and History.

In May 2009, Fatah joined CFRB 1010. Later that fall, he joined John Moore's morning show as a contributor. Currently, he hosts "The Tarek Fatah Show" on CFRB NewsTalk 1010' on Sundays.

Imam Shabir Ally is the president of the Islamic Information & Dawah Centre International in Toronto, Canada. He is a Muslim activist, preacher and speaker on Islam and Muslims.^{[citation needed]} He is also a debater engaging in regular debates in different parts of the world.^{[citation needed]}

He holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, with a specialization in Biblical Literature, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Toronto with a specialization in Quranic Exegesis.^{[citation needed]} He is now in his fourth year of PhD studies in Quranic Exegesis at the University of Toronto.^{[citation needed]} He currently teaches Arabic at the University of Toronto.

Ally is known for accepting literal interpretation of the Quran verses, but seeks to find their justification in similar expressions within the Christian Bible. To this end he has participated in a number of debates and lectures.^{[citation needed]} Some of the more notable debates include:^{[citation needed]}