The Secretary General of the Interreligious Council of Albania is Assoc. Prof. Dr. Genti Kruja, elected by the Presidential Council of the IRCA.
Prof. Genti Kruja graduated in 2003 in Sociology at Istanbul University, Istanbul's Faculty of Social Sciences. In 2007 he completed the Master of Science and Technology at the University of Tirana, the Sociology-Philosophy branch on "Dialogue and Interfaith Tolerance: Performance and Challenges". In 2015 he has completed doctoral studies at the University of Tirana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Philosophy branch, on intercultural dialogue.
Over the last few years, through various programs, it has made possible cooperation with several local and international organizations to organize promotional events of the values of the dialogue, with which have been organized several symposiums at the same time national and international conferences.
Prof. Kruja is the author of the books Albanians Facing the Challenges of Interreligious Understanding, The History of Interreligious Dialogue, co-author of several books, and editor of many other books.
Alongside various responsibilities, during the years 2010–2016, he served as Director of Culture and Interreligious Dialogue in the Muslim Community of Albania and as a member of the Executive Board of the Interreligious Council of Albania. From 2012–2022, he held the position of Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Zani i Naltë, founded in 1923 and reestablished in 2012 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of independence. From 2017–2022, he served as Head of the Department of Islamic Sciences and (2021–2022) Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Law at Bedër University.
Prof. Genti Kruja is currently a lecturer of Sociology of Religion, Intercultural Communication & Interreligious Dialogue at Bedër University, and an official expert in the fields of Sociology, Philosophy, Religious Studies & Interreligious Dialogue at ASCAL. He is also a member of the Institute of Sociology of Albania.
In 2020, he was selected to participate in the program “The Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) for Religious Pluralism in America” at Seattle University, Washington, USA, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
In 2021, he was accepted as an international external expert in the European Union program “Global Exchange on Religion in Society” (GERIS) in the field of religious and cultural diversity in education.
In 2022, he was appointed as an expert on Freedom of Religion at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
In 2023, he was selected as an International Fellow of KAICIID.
On February 15, 2024, Prof. Kruja was elected President of the European National Interreligious Bodies, and on January 7, 2025, he was elected President of Religions for Peace, Europe, cantered in Berlin, Germany.
Prof. Genti Kruja also leads the Institute for Dialogue PRIZMI, founded in 2003 in Tirana.
