Abid Raja is a Member of Parliament of the Parliament of Norway (Stortinget) and the current Chair of the IPPFoRB Steering Group. Previously, Raja has been the Minister of Culture and Equality (2020-2021) in the Norwegian government. First elected in 2013 in the Norwegian Parliament, currently, Abid is a member of the Norwegian Parliament delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and a member of the Education and Research Committee in the parliament. With a background in law, educated from University of Oslo and Oxford, he worked many years as civil rights lawyer, and was also board leader of Norwegian Immigration Appeals board. Abid establish the political think tank Minotenk.
He has long been a defender of freedom of religion or belief, both in Norway and internationally. In addition to being one of the founding members of IPPFoRB, he was a member of the IPPFoRB Steering Group until 2020. In Norway, Abid has contributed to discussions on integration, equality and immigration and in relation to his work with the youth, he received the Fritt Ord prize in 2010. He was also awarded the International Religious Liberty Association Award in 2017. Abid has authored three books (Spokesman, 2008; Dialogue, 2010 and My Fault, 2021) and been active in debates on freedom of religion or belief, integration, and justice.