Gary Donald Bouma AM was an author and a professor of sociology at Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was a citizen of both the United States and Australia.
His primary research interests were related to the topics of multiculturalism and religious pluralism. He was also a priest in the Anglican Church. Bouma worked to promote communication and respect between religious communities. He commenced with Monash University in 1979 and served in leadership roles in the World Conference of Religions for Peace and the Christian Research Association. In an interview in 2004 he said:
The situation in the Middle East won’t be resolved until there is a religious solution. And groups like Al Qaeda, which are puritanical Muslims with a religious agenda, will continue their efforts until stopped by those Muslims who disagree with the aims of Al Qaeda, just like Cromwell in England.