Twelver or Imami Shīa Islam (Athnā‘ashariyyah or Ithnā‘ashariyyah, Arabic: اثنا عشرية‎) is the largest branch of Shī‘ī (Shi'a) Islam. Adherents of Twelver Shī‘ism are commonly referred to as Twelvers, which is derived from their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imāms and their belief that the Mahdi will be none other than the returned Twelfth Imam that disappeared and is believed by Twelvers to be in occultation. Approximately 85% of Shī‘a are Twelvers, and the term Shi'a Muslim as commonly used in English usually refers to Twelver Shī‘a Muslims only.

Twelvers share many tenets of Shī‘ism with related sects, such as the belief in Imāms, but the Ismā‘īlī and Zaydī Shī‘ī sects each believe in a different number of Imāms and for the most part, a different path of succession regarding the Imāmate. They also differ in the role and overall definition of an Imām.

The Twelver faith is a majority in countries like Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and Lebanon. Alevis in Turkey and Albania and Alawis of Syria also regard themselves as Twelvers, but hold significantly different beliefs from mainstream Twelver Shiites. The Twelver faith also forms a large minority in India,Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Smaller minorities of Twelver also exist in Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Indonesia, Malaysia and in many other countries of the world, including Europe and the Americas.

Rabee' Ibn Haadee 'Umayr al-Madkhalee (ربيع بن هادي عمير المدخلي) is a the former head of the Sunnah Studies at Islamic University of Madinah, a well-known Muslim scholar, and a proponent Sunni of the Salafi movement

Rabee' Ibn Haadee 'Umayr al-Madkhalee was born in 1931 in al-Jaraadiyah, a small village to the west of the town of Saamitah, in the southern area of Saudi Arabia.

As a child, Rabee' studied with a number of teachers including Shaibaan Al-'Areeshee, Al-Qaadee Ahmad bin Muhammad Jaabir Al-Madkhalee, Muhammad bin Husain Makkee, and Muhammad bin Muhammad Jaabir Al-Madkhalee. Afterwards he studied at the larger town of Saamitah with scholars including Naasir Khaloofah At-Tiyaash Mubaarakee, Haafidh bin Ahmad Al-Hakamee and his brother Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Hakamee, Muhaddith Ahmad bin Yahyaa An-Najmee, Dr. Muhammad Amaan bin 'Alee Al-Jaamee, Muhammad Sagheer Khameesee.

In 1961 he entered the Faculty of Sharia in Riyadh for two months and then switched to the Faculty of Sharia at the Islamic University of Madinah, graduating four years later. While there he studied under Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baaz, Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee, 'Abd al-Muhsin al-'Abbaad, Muhammad al-Amin ash-Shanqeetee, Saalih al-'Iraqi, and 'Abd al-Ghaffar Hasan al-Hindi. Afterwards, he completed his Phd at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah.

Michael Coren (born January 15, 1959) is an English-Canadian columnist, author, public speaker, radio host and television talk show host. He hosted the television talk show The Michael Coren Show on the Crossroads Television System from 1999 to 2011 when he moved to the Sun News Network to host an evening talk show, The Arena with Michael Coren. He has also been a long-time radio personality, particularly on CFRB radio.

He has written more than ten books, including biographies of G.K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and C. S. Lewis. His latest book, Why Catholics are Right, was published in 2011.

Coren was born in Essex, England. After obtaining a degree in politics from Nottingham University, he moved from the UK to Canada in 1987. For several years, he was a columnist for Frank and then The Globe and Mail, before he began syndicated columns for the Financial Post and Sun Media in 1995. Following his departure from Frank, he became a favourite target of that publication, culminating in a spoof ad contest to "deflower" Michael Coren (a nod to Frank's notorious "Deflower Caroline Mulroney" contest, and a satirical jab at Coren's conservative leanings.) Coren had also been a favorite target of Frank back in the days before he began writing for them. Coren took exception to being labelled a "literary prostitute" during a 1994 interview.

Aurel Braun is Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the University of Toronto. He is also a senior member of the Centre for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and of the Centre for International Studies, and a Fellow and Senator of Trinity College at the University of Toronto. Professor Braun has twice been appointed a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Professor Braun received his Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics (London, England). He is a Canadian citizen.

N.B.: Category:Year of birth missing. Also missing: (1) His country of origin before becoming a Canadian citizen,although with his first name a very common Romanian one, his origins could be Romanian and (2) Year of Canadian citizenship.