I am a Professor in Interreligious Studies at the Faculty of Theology (Det teologiske fakultet), University of Oslo. My fields of research and teaching are Islam, Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Inter-Religious Dialogue in general, Religion and Society, and Systematic Theology.

After graduating from the Norwegian School of Theology (Det teologiske Menighetsfakultet) in 1979, I was ordained as a minister in the Lutheran Church of Norway. During my studies, I lived for some years in the village of Aust-Torpa, at the Student Christian Movement's conference centre Haugtun. My first job was as General Secretary of the Student Christian Movement in Norway. I then served for ten years as a parish minister in Paulus kirke (St. Paul's church), which is located in the multicultural city district of Grünerløkka, Oslo. After that, and until 1996, I was the director of the Emmaus centre for dialogue and spirituality, Oslo. Since the 1980s, I have been involved in inter-religious dialogue in different contexts, with a particular focus on Christian-Muslim dialogue. I am a founding member of the national Contact Group between the Church of Norway and the Islamic Council of Norway (from 1993).