Father Christiaan van Nispen supported the foundation of the RNSAW/AWR from the very first moment and provided strong intellectual input. Not many people are as well acquainted with Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt as Father van Nispen who has been in Egypt since 1962, studied Arabic and Islam and now serves as professor of Philosophy and Islam at the Coptic Catholic Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. He is also closely involved, although indirectly, in the dialogue between the Vatican and the Azhar, the largest and most prominent institute of learning for approximately one billion Sunni Muslims.