Militant Islam Monitor > Weblog > The United States Institute of Peace promotes radical Islam with Muslim World Initiative and tax payer funding
The United States Institute of Peace promotes radical Islam with Muslim World Initiative and tax payer funding
June 5, 2006
The United States Institute of Peace aka the Ummah Shari'a Islamist Propagation Institute, is working together with radical Islamists promoting fundamentalism under the guise of their new 'Muslim World Initiative'.The USIP's new Saudi backed Islamist affiliates include CAIR, MPAC, ISNA and the CSID. Among the board members are CAIR's Nihad Awad, Ahmed Younes of MPAC, and the CSID's Radwan Masmoudi, as well as Imam Hassan Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America and Democratic Senator Larry Shaw a Muslim who is also a board member of CAIR. http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1972&theType=NR
After infilitrating the USIP, Abdelsalem Mahgrouhi, the head of the Muslim World Initiative authored a USIP briefing coyly entitled: "What do Islamists really want? 'An Insiders discussion with Islamist leaders', in which he made the absurd claim that there were moderate Islamists:
An important distinction can be drawn between moderate and radical Islamists. Moderate refers to political parties and movements that use Islamist principles, Islamic law, and/or Islamic referents to participate peacefully in the political process. Radical, extremist, Wahhabists, Salafists, or Jihadists are terms for those who eschew nonviolence in the name of their Islamic beliefs....The most effective strategy to engage Islamists on normative democratic issues is to refer to Islam's progressive and humanistic traditions, not to Western liberal democracy.
MIM: In the Islamofacist weltaanschauung of Maghroui and the USIP's Muslim World Initiative:
Moderate Islamists support Hamas' right to resist occupation and consider its government democratic and legitimate.
Moderate Islamists therefore see no contradiction between Hamas being in charge of the Palestinian Authority and attacking Israel.
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2006/0522_islamists.html (see complete briefing below)
The inclusion of Saudi funded terrorist tied groups under the aegis of the USIP, and the premise that there are radical and moderate terrorists, indicates that The United States Institute of Peace has morphed into the Ummah Shar'ia Islamist Propagation Institute. The federal government is now funding the spread of radical Islam. The USIP's Islamist leanings are nothing new, put the new addition of Saudi funded radical Islamist organisations with documented terrorist ties, demands that the public contact their elected officials and demand that they reassess and cut their government funding and political support to the USIP.
In 2004 then board member of the United States Institute of Peace, Dr. Daniel Pipes, wrote an article criticising the USIP's invitation of Islamists to the Institute called "The USIP Stumbles".
Investigative journalist Kenneth Timmerman of Insight magazine further highlighted the dangers of the USIP hosting terror tied groups, and echoed Dr. Pipes concerns in a piece entitled "Pipes Objects to the Fox in the Henhouse"and quoted Dr.Pipes' who told him that:
"I believe that President [George W.] Bush appointed me to the USIP board in part to serve as a watchdog against militant Islamic groups. Unfortunately the management of USIP is not listening to my advice. I cannot be associated with the event today which associates USIP with some of the very worst militant Islamic groups." http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1650 (see complete article below)
Both writers pointed out that the CSID, (The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy) a Saudi funded Wahabbist enterprise, operating under the guise of a think tank, was promoted an Islamist agenda.
Dr.Pipes wrote that:
"...Most of CSID's Muslim personnel are radicals. I brought one such person in particular, Kamran Bokhari, to the attention of USIP's leadership. Mr. Bokhari is a fellow at CSID; as such, he is someone CSID's board of directors deems an expert "with high integrity and a good reputation." As a fellow, Mr. Bokhari may participate in the election of CSID's board of directors. He is, in short, integral to the CSID.
Mr. Bokhari also happens to have served for years as the North American spokesman for Al-Muhajiroun, perhaps the most extreme Islamist group operating in the West. For example, it celebrated the first anniversary of 9/11 with a conference titled," Towering Day in History." It celebrated the second anniversary by hailing "The Magnificent 19." Its Web site currently features a picture of the U.S. Capitol building exploding. (If the site changes, an archived copy is available.)
Nor is Al-Muhajiroun's evil restricted to words and pictures. Its London-based leader, Omar bin Bakri Muhammad, has acknowledged recruiting jihadists to fight in such hotspots as Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Chechnya. At least one Al-Muhajiroun member went to Israel to engage in suicide terrorism. Al-Muhajiroun appears to be connected to one of the 9/11 hijackers, Hani Hanjour.
USIP's indirect association with Al-Muhajiroun has many pernicious consequences. Perhaps the most consequential of these is the legitimacy USIP inadvertently confers on Mr. Bokhari and CSID, permitting radicals to pass themselves off as moderates. http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1659 (complete article below)
MIM: The USIP has now gone from '"inadvertently conferring legitmacy " on radical Islamists to actively aiding and abetting them.
------------------------------------------------
MIM: The peridiousness of having radical Islamists operating with the US goverment seal of approval via the taxpayer funded USIP is compounded by the way the Muslim World Initiative is disseminating disinformation about the Arab Israeli conflict using the USIP for legitimacy.
One example of the propaganda on offer is the study by the brother of PIJ head Fathi Shikaki, who was assassinated by the Mossad in 1995 Khalil Shikaki, whose January 2006 pseudo study pre election study entitled "Palestinian Public Opinion and the Peace Process" misled many in the U.S. government into believing Hamas would not stand a chance to win if allowed to participate in the elections.
Shikaki 'con'cluded that :
- Palestinian public opinion is not an impediment to progress in the peace process; to the contrary, over time the Palestinian public has become more moderate. Palestinian willingness to compromise is greater than it has been at any time since the start of the peace process. This increased willingness to compromise provides policymakers with greater room to maneuver.
- For the first time since the start of the peace process, a majority of Palestinians support a compromise settlement that is acceptable to a majority of Israelis.
The post-Arafat era shows more public optimism about the peace process and more willingness to compromise. Support for violence against Israelis, while still high, is declining.... http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr158.html
MIM: According to the Muslim World Initiative/USIP website :
The United States Institute of Peace's Project on Arab- Israeli Futures is a research effort designed to anticipate and assess obstacles and opportunities facing the peace process in the years ahead.
MIM: A picture under the heading "Arab -Israeli Relations' on the MWI site by the same name shows a 'departing Jewish settler' folding up the Israeli flag on the roof of his house , indicating that the 'Arab Israeli future' being propagated by the Muslim World Inititative is one that is Judenrein. The continued existence of Jews is a thorn in the side of the MWI/USIP who postulate that the dismantling of their communities has resulted in new "obstacles" to peace!
As Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank, new opportunities have emerged for reviving the Middle East peace process—as well as new obstacles.Israeli disengagement poses a series of urgent policy questions for the United States and the international community. http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/arab_israeli.html
MIM: Form the 'Arab Israeli Relations' website homepage:Caption: "A Jewish settler removes the Israeli flag from the roof of his house as he prepares to leave a settlement in the Gaza Strip on Aug. 9, 2005." (Courtesy AP/Wide World)
http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/arab_israeli.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIM: The United States Institute of Peace and the radical Islamists of the Muslim World Initiative are actively endorsing terrorism outside their organisations by hosting forums in the US and abroad with radical Islamist speakers under the guise of "Engaging Muslim Communities in Europe"
The Muslim World Initiative (MWI) began to explore the possibility of engaging European Muslim communities and their youth as an effective strategy to fighting extremism. As part of this effort, the MWI recently co-sponsored a series of conferences and workshops in Europe.
.MIM: A USIP/MWI recent event in the UK was ironically entitled: 'Towards a community based approach to counter terrorism'. In an article on the USIP/MWI website Brandeis professor Jytte Klausen , apparently oblivious to the absurdity gushed about 'an interesting panel' in which 'salafists talked to extremists' to try to dissuade them from terrorism.
A particularly interesting panel was devoted to the discussion of faith-based counter-terrorism. A spokesperson for a salafist mosque described the mosque's efforts to engage in dialogue with the extremist and change their mind.
In the course of the discussions, "good theology against bad theology" emerged as the capsule description of community-based counter-terrorism. Not all participants agreed that the implied understanding of the nature of the threat was correct. http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/projects/muslim_youth/uk_report.html
-------------------------------------------------
MIM: Information from the USIP/Muslim World Intiative website
About the Muslim World Initiative
http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/about.html
Drawing on USIP's unique combination of capabilities for scholarly research, policy analysis, and practical involvement in peacemaking, the Initiative has two overarching objectives:
- To enhance U.S. engagement with the Muslim world through informed policy guidance and public education efforts focused on the most pressing issues and challenges; and
- To promote peace and stability within the Muslim world through activities that directly contribute to the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict.
In pursuit of these goals, the Muslim World Initiative places particular emphasis on several cross-cutting themes:
- "Bridging the Divide" — explores and encourages efforts to diminish the sources of mistrust and misunderstanding that harm relations not only between the United States and parts of the Muslim world but also within many communities in the region;
- "Mobilizing the Moderates" — supports activities designed to help give voice to and empower those who advocate cooperation and non-violent solutions to conflict in the Muslim world; and
- "Marginalizing the Militants" — promotes efforts to isolate and reduce the influence of extremists who advocate intolerance and violence.
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/projects/advisory_instbios.html
Advisory Committee on U.S.-Muslim World Relations Participating Institutions
Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID)
Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, President
Dr. Asma Afsaruddin, Board of Directors
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) was started in 1999 by a group of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, policy makers, and activists to examine the relationship between Islam and democracy. CSID has held workshops and international conferences in Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Iran, Jordan, Turkey, Algeria, Bahrain, and many other countries. Each of these workshops and events featured not only top policy makers but also leading Islamic scholars, secularists, and democracy advocates. CSID believes its success lies in inviting all to the table, including moderate Islamists (who are open to dialogue) and secularists.
As a U.S.-based think tank with strong ties to academics, activists, and institutions in the Muslim world, CSID is extremely well positioned to foster the development of democratic thought and institutions in an Islamic context.
Our outreach demonstrates the fundamental compatibility of democratic and Islamic principles. Our organization has a stellar complement of Muslim and non-Muslim presenters who speak in a cultural vernacular more persuasive to the political and religious leaders of the Muslim world than programs which attempt to export Western democracy in Western terms.
CSID is committed to the long-term project of educating the masses, leaders of the civil society, and government leaders in the Muslim world about democracy, and planting the seeds for a future where all Muslim societies can enjoy the fruits of democracy and good governance. CSID realizes that, by having the majority of the organizers and discussion leaders as Muslims, our program demonstrates the message that there is nothing 'alien' to Islam about democracy, human rights, and rule of law.
Mr. Hady Amr, Founder and Chairman
Mr. Hady Amr is the founder and chairman of The Amr Group. The Amr Group implements innovative solutions for institutional clients such as the World Bank, United Nations agencies, foundations, private sector corporate clients, and government agencies, as well as political candidates and heads of agencies. They write leading reports, manage projects, and implement solutions. The Amr Group has been increasingly called upon to bring their expertise to bear on projects in the Arab World and on U.S.-Arab relations.
Dialogues: Islamic World - U.S. - The West, Remarque Institute, New York University
Dr. Mustapha Tlili, Founder and Director
A program of New York University's Remarque Institute, Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S. - The West was established three years ago at the World Policy Institute of New School University in response to the tragedy of September 11, 2001, which highlighted the urgent need for greater communication among and about the Islamic World, the United States, and the West at large. The failure of the media to explain the roots and background of Islamic political and social movements demonstrated a widespread lack of understanding of the complex world of Islam—especially in the U.S. The program was launched as a structured forum for sustained dialogue involving voices from the various religious, intellectual, economic, and political sectors of Islamic and American/Western societies, including those non-elite Islamic figures with proven credibility in their communities who are too often unheard in the West.
Dialogues is funded by Carnegie Corporation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the State of Qatar. The conference in Granada received additional support from the Spanish foundation El Legado Andalusí, while the Amman workshop on Islam and elections was funded in large part by Majlis El Hassan, the non-governmental organization of His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan.
World Economic Forum, C-100 West-Islamic World Dialogue Initiative, Search for Common Ground
Hady Amr, Senior Advisor
The World Economic Forum convenes senior corporate, political, and civil society leaders on a regular basis and facilitates cross-sectoral cooperation between them aimed at addressing major issues of global concern. The C-100 is one of these initiatives. Idriss sits on the coordinating committee for the C-100 and lead a partnership between the Forum and SFCG that implements the action-oriented projects that develop from those dialogues. SFCG is the world's largest international conflict resolution organization with staff of 375 worldwide and offices in thirteen countries. Idriss served as the organization's Chief Operating Officer prior to his current position.
Idriss meets regularly, both under the auspices of the World Economic Forum and under those of SFCG with senior US officials, but primarily on the funding side - i.e. Assistant Secretaries of State in charge of the Middle East Partnership Initiative or the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor. SFCG publishes a quarterly newsletter that goes out to about 20,000 supporters. The Forum puts out regular publications that reach millions globally - with particular emphasis on the elites to which the organization caters.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council
Ahmed Younis, National Director
The Muslim Public Affairs Council was founded in 1988 as an American Muslim representation and interface with go vernment and the public. As a policy, MPAC has never accepted funding from sources outside of the United States. MPAC believes that there is neither dissonance nor friction between the founding principles of Islam and those of the United States. MPAC is a policy-oriented organization as opposed to a grassroots civil rights one; consequently MPAC works to create opportunities for constructive engagement with the US government. MPACs newsletters and press releases go out to more than 8,000 people as well as all representatives of government in Washington.
Over the years MPAC has met with a large array of government officials including Presidents George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W Bush. MPAC has also worked closely with the departments of State (foreign policy/ public diplomacy), Treasury (terrorist financing), Homeland Security (effective counterterrorism policy) etc. MPAC frequently publishes Policy Papers such as its Counterterrorism Policy: An American Muslim Perspective, and institutes campaigns such as the National Grassroots Campaign to Fight Terrorism. MPAC leadership serves frequently as speakers and guests on most major national media outlets including CNN, FOXNEWS, MSNBC, PBS and others.
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, Executive Director
ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs and fostering good relations with other religious communities, and civic and service organizations. The goals include: Imam Training and Leadership Development; Involvement of Youth; Interfaith and Coalition Building; and Community; Development.
The Annual ISNA Convention is the largest gathering of Muslims in North America. This Convention brings together more than 40,000 attendees that include individuals, families, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and people of other faiths. Other ISNA conferences encompass issues such as:
- Islam in America
- Islamic Education Forum
- Muslims against Domestic Violence
- Islam among Latino Americans
- Muslim Refugees in America
- Muslim Youth of North America
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Dr. Nihad Awad, CAIR Director
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a non-profit, grassroots membership, organization, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. Since its establishment in 1994, CAIR was established to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America. CAIR is dedicated to presenting an Islamic perspective on issues of importance to the American public through media relations, lobbying, education and advocacy. In offering that perspective, the organization seeks to empower the Muslim community in America through political and social activism.
CAIR is active in monitoring legislation and government activities and then responding on behalf of the American Muslim community. CAIR representatives have testified before Congress and have sponsored a number of activities designed to bring Muslim concerns to Capitol Hill. The Civil Rights Department counsels, mediates and advocates on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation or hate crimes, while its research division conducts empirical research studies on subjects relevant to the American Muslim community, including gathering and analyzing data for the annual civil rights report.
Muslim World Initiative
Contact
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/projects/members.html
Advisory Committee on U.S.-Muslim World Relations: Members
Asma Afsaruddin
Professor of Islamic History, Department of Classics | University of Notre Dame
Hady Amr
Senior Advisor, World Economic Forum | Search for Common Ground
Nihad Awad
Executive Director | Council on American-Islamic Relations
Zahid H. Bukhari
Project Director, American Muslim Studies Program | Georgetown University
Sumaiya Hamdani
Professor of History and Art History | George Mason University
Qamar-ul Huda
Program Officer, Religion and Peacemaking Initiative | United States Institute of Peace
Ahmad Iravani
Ayatollah | Professor of Islamic Law, The Catholic University of America
Sherman A. Jackson
Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies | Visiting Professor of Law, The University of Michigan
Amaney Jamal
Professor of Middle East Politics | Department of Politics, Princeton University
Abdeslam M. Maghraoui (Chair of the Committee)
Director, Muslim World Initiative, Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention | United States Institute of Peace
Radwan A. Masmoudi
President | Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID)
Ferial Masry
Candidate for 37th Assembly District | California
Ghiyath Nakshbendi
Principal Consultant | Sangamore Group
Sulayman S. Nyang
Professor of Political Science | Howard University
Hassan Qazwini
Imam | Islamic Center of America
Senator Larry Shaw
North Carolina Senate | 21st District
Sayyid Muhammad Syeed
Secretary General | Islamic Society of North America
Mustapha Tlili
Director, Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West | New York University, Remarque Institute
Ahmed Younis
National Director | Muslim Public Affairs Council
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usip.org/specialists/bios/current/maghraoui.html
Abdeslam E.M. Maghraoui
Director, Muslim World Initiative
North Africa | Middle East | Muslim Communities in Europe | Islam | Culture and Politics | Human Rights | Democratizatio 
Phone: (202) 429-3849
E-mail: amaghraoui@usip.org
Abdeslam Maghraoui joined USIP as the director for the Muslim World Initiative, part of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, in 2004. His research focuses on political power, authority, and legitimacy in contemporary Muslim societies.
Prior to joining the Institute, Maghraoui was visiting lecturer and resident scholar at Princeton University's Department of Politics and the Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.
Previously, he was director of Al-Madina, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountable governance in the Arab world. As director of Al-Madina, Maghraoui developed research and managed programs on building the capacity of civil society associations in North Africa.
He holds a Ph.D. in comparative politics from Princeton University.
Publications:
- What Do Islamists Really Want?
USIPeace Briefing, May 2006 - Liberalism without Democracy: Lessons from Egypt's Experiment, 1922-1936 (2006).
http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/projects/advisory_bios.html
Advisory Committee on U.S.-Muslim World Relations Members
Abdeslam Maghraoui joined the Institute as the associate director for the Muslim World Initiative in 2004. His research focuses on political power, authority, and legitimacy in contemporary Muslim societies. Prior to joining the Institute, Maghraoui was visiting lecturer and resident scholar at Princeton University's Department of Politics and the Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. Previously, he was director of Al-Madina, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountable governance in the Arab world. As director of Al-Madina, Maghraoui developed research and managed programs on building the capacity of civil society associations in North Africa. He holds a Ph.D. in comparative politics from Princeton University. His publications include: "Ambiguities of Sovereignty: Morocco, The Hague, and the Western Sahara Dispute," Mediterranean Politics, Spring 2003, and "Depoliticization in Morocco," Journal of Democracy, October 2002.
Asma Afsaruddin is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Department of Classics at the University of Notre Dame. Her fields of research are Islamic political and religious thought, Qur'an and hadith, intellectual history, and gender issues. She is the author and editor of three books, the most recent being Excellence and Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership (Leiden, 2002). She has written numerous articles on Islamic thought and has lectured in the U.S. and abroad. She previously taught at the Johns Hopkins and Harvard Universities and was a visiting scholar at the Centre for Islamic Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, UK, in fall 2003. Afsaruddin serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy and is a member of the advisory board of Karamah, a women's human rights organization, both based in Washington, DC. She has been a fellow of the American Research Center in Egypt, Cairo and the American Research Institute in Turkey, Istanbul. Her research has won support from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation, among others.
Mr. Hady Amr is the Founder and Chairman of the Amr Group, and the Co-President of the Arab Western Summit of Skills. He is the cofounder and first executive director of World Links Arab Region, which works to integrate technology in the classroom across the Arab World. Hady has been the lead author of several UN reports including UNICEF's State of the Arab Child. He recently participated in UNDP's follow-up planning meeting for the Arab Human Development Report. In 2004, he authored The Need to Communicate: How to Improve US Public Diplomacy with the Islamic World for the Brookings Institution. Previously, he served in the Clinton Administration as an appointee at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, and as National Director for Ethnic American Outreach for Al Gore's Presidential Campaign. In 2005 he co-presented at Princeton University with Gov. Tom Keane Chair of the 9-11 Commission and Bob Hutchings, Chairman of the US National Intelligence Council on recommendations for US ? Islamic World relations. He serves on the Board of Commissioners of the Virginia Public Schools Authority and on the Virginia Task Force on Business Development with the Near East. He earned his MA in Economics and Development from the Wilson School at Princeton University.
Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang has taught at the Department of African Studies at Howard University since 1972. He served as the Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Gambia to seven Middle Eastern and North African countries from 1975-1978. In the 1980s, Dr. Nyang served as a board member and Chairman of the Africa and International Committee of the Montgomery County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He also served as co-director with the late Dr. James C. Moone of the NAACP of a research project on Black Leadership in Montgomery County sponsored by the Maryland Council for the Humanities in the 1980s. In 1986 he was appointed chairman of the Department of African Studies. He served for seven years and then stepped down in 1993 to assume the position of Lead Developer and Senior Consultant of the African Voices Project at the Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1997, Nyang became the first scholar to be named the Henry Luce Professor for Abrahamic Religions at the University of Hartford and the Hartford Seminary. From 1999 to 2002, he served as a principal investigator and co-director of the Muslims in the American Public Square (MAPS) project. He has written extensively on African, Islamic and Middle Eastern affairs. His most widely known book is Islam, Christianity and African Identity. Nyang has also written chapters in forty-two books and encyclopedias edited by colleagues in the academy as well as scholarly articles in American, African, Asian and European journals and magazines. Professor Nyang served as the first American Muslim president of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Amaney Jamal is an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University. Her current research focuses on democratization and the politics of civic engagement in the Middle East. She extends her research to the study of Muslim and Arab Americans, examining the pathways that structure their patterns of civic engagement in the US. Jamal is currently working on two books. The first explores the role of civic associations in promoting democratic effects in the Middle East. Her second book, an edited volume with Nadine Naber (University of Michigan), looks at the patterns and influences of Arab American racialization processes. Jamal is principal investigator of "Mosques and Civic Incorporation of Muslim Americans," funded by the Muslims in New York Project at Columbia University; and co-PI of the "Detroit Arab American Study," a sister survey to the Detroit Area Study, funded by the Russell Sage Foundation.
Mustapha Tlili is a Senior Fellow at the Remarque Institute of New York University and NYU Research Scholar. Previously, he was Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute of New School University and Director of its UN Project, as well as Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He is a former senior United Nations official, having served the organization in various capacities over a long career. In particular, he was the director of the UN information center for France, located in Paris, chief of the Namibia, Anti-Apartheid, Palestine and Decolonization programs in the Department of Public Information at UN Headquarters in New York, and principal officer/director in charge of communications policy in the same department. An established novelist, Tlili is a knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters. In addition, he edited and contributed to For Nelson Mandela (Henry Holt, 1987) and published an essay on Machiavelli's Theory of Government in the Sorbonne's Revue de Métaphysique et de la Morale. Mustapha Tlili is a member of the Human Rights Watch Advisory Committee for the Middle East and North Africa. He is also regularly contacted by media outlets seeking his point of view on issues concerning U.S. interaction with the Muslim world, including terrorism, the war in Iraq, and the Bush administration's policies toward the Middle East. He has made television appearances on CNN, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and France's Arte; frequently gives radio interviews to Radio Free Europe, Radio Canada, and Wisconsin Public Radio; and has contributed to the Op-ed section of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Ahmed Younis is a graduate of Washington & Lee School of Law in Lexington Virginia. He is the author of a book entitled American Muslims: Voir Dire (Speak the Truth), a post-September 11 look into the reality of debate surrounding American Muslims and their country. His book was translated into Arabic and widely distributed. Earlier this month, Younis organized an MPAC delegation of American Muslim professionals and activists to attend a U.N. sponsored seminar on "Confronting Islamophobia." His numerous endeavors before joining MPAC include an internship at the Office of the Legal Counsel of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations. He was assigned to the Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Iraq. Ahmed has studied in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Cuba. Ahmed has numerous academic publications and served as Assistant Director of the Commission on the Status of Women for the National Model United Nations, one of the largest global student conferences.
Ghiyath Nakshbendi is the Principal of the Sangamore Group, a real estate asset management company based in the Washington, D.C. area. Throughout his career, Ghiyath has developed expertise in multiple disciplines, including real estate asset management, developmental financing, consulting and teaching. His professional associations includes: The Kuwait Investment Authority (the manager of the State of Kuwait's investments world wide), The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium, Newfield Enterprises International, Public Institution for Social Security (Kuwait), Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce (Kuwait). His professional academic associations include: Montgomery College, George Mason University, King Saud University (Saudi Arabia) and the Washington Center for Internships & Academic Seminars. Ghiyath teaches accounting, management and international business courses and wrote and translated articles in business and finance. He lectures in international conferences in finance, economic development. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from American University, earned a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Commercial Sciences from Aleppo University. Ghiyath belongs to the Nakshbendis — a Moslem Sufi tariqa spread all over the world, mainly in Asia (17 million according to Al Arabi Magazine of Kuwait in 1978). While a Professor at Montgomery College, he started a Masjid in 1973, where Moslem students prayed on Fridays. This was one of the first in an academic institution in the Washington, DC area. He has practiced religious tolerance in the West since the mid-1960s.
Dr. Zahid H. Bukhari is the Director of American Muslim Studies Program (AMSP) and Fellow at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU) at Georgetown University. From 1999-2004, he was Director of Project MAPS: Muslims in American Public Square, which examined the role and contribution of the Muslim community to the American public life. From 1978-1983, he was the executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Public Opinion (PIPO), in Islamabad, a member of Gallup International. He has published and presented papers on Islam and development, Muslim public opinion in the US and other related topics in national and international forums. He is also editor of two volumes of the Project MAPS: Muslims' Place in the American Public Square: Fears, Hopes and Aspirations and Muslim in America: Engaging Polity and Society in Post 9/11 Era (forthcoming). Bukhari was one of the founders of the National Islamic Shura Council, a representative body of the American Muslims consisting of four national Islamic organizations. Since 1996, he has been a member of Mid-Atlantic Catholic-Muslim Interfaith Dialogue sponsored by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). From 1990-1995, he served as Secretary General of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). Dr. Bukhari was also Chairman of the ICNA Relief/Helping Hand, a non-for-profit relief organization, which operates national and international projects. Dr. Bukhari has a Masters in Economics from the University of Karachi and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut.
Nihad Awad is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In 1997, Mr. Awad served on Vice President Al Gore's Civil Rights Advisory Panel to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. In his professional capacity, he has also personally met with Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell to discuss the needs of the American Muslim community. For the 2000 presidential election, Mr. Awad was key figure in the American Muslim Political Coordinating Committee (AMPCC), an umbrella organization of the largest American Muslim organizations, which helped create the first Muslim voting bloc for a presidential election. Mr. Awad is a regular participant in the U.S. Department of State's "International Visitors Program" for foreign dignitaries, journalists and academics who are currently visiting the President of the United States. A few days after 9/11/2001, Mr. Awad was one of the American Muslim leaders invited by the White House to join President Bush in a press conference at the Islamic Center of Washington, the oldest mosque in Washington DC. Mr. Awad has testified before both houses of the U.S. Congress, most recently at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on matters involving Muslims in America. He has spoken at prestigious educational institutions, including Harvard, Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities. He was a featured speaker at the 2002 Reuters Forum on global cooperation at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. He works with local and national interfaith leaders and organizations to promote positive relations among people of diverse faith.
Sumaiya A. Hamdani is an Associate Professor of History at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Sumaya received her B.A. at Georgetown University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University in 1995. She is the author of Between Revolution and State: The Construction of Fatimid Legitimacy published in London, England in 2005, and numerous other articles and book reviews on Islamic law, history and women in Islam. She is also the director of Islamic Studies Minor Program at George Mason University, and the book review editor for the journal Hawwa: Journal of Middle East Women's Studies. She is a member of several scholarly organizations, including the Middle East Studies Association, a non-political association that fosters the study of the Middle East and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications and services that enhance education, and the Middle East Medievalists (MEM), an international professional non-profit association of scholars interested in the study of the Islamic lands of the Middle East during the medieval period.
Alaa Bayoumi is the Director of the Arabic Affairs Department at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest non-profit Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Mr. Bayoumi is an activist and writer on issues related to the American Muslim community and to the relationship between America and the Muslim world. His English writings have appeared in leading American and international newspapers, such as the International Herald Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Since 9/11, Mr. Bayoumi has written extensively in the Arabic press calling for more dialogue and understanding between the Arab and Muslim peoples and the American people. He has been interviewed by leading Arabic media outlets, including Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyah and has contributed to numerous leading Arabic newspapers and publications, including Al-Hayat, Al-Sharqalawsat, Al-Jazeera-Net, and Al-Ahram Al-Arabi. He has a MA degree in conflict resolution and a BA in political Science.
Dr. Ahmad Iravani is Director for Islamic Studies and Dialogue at the Center for the Study of Culture and Values at the Catholic University of America. Prior to that he was Mofid University's Representative to the United Nations (2000-2002) and the Dean of the Philosophy School, Mofid University (1996-2000). He received the first stage of Khareg, (equal to Ph.D.) in Islamic Studies, Islamic University, in Qom, Iran, in 1992. He is currently a PhD Candidate in Philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He received his MA in Philosophy from Allamah tabatabaii University, in Tehran, Iran, in 1998 and his BA in Philosophy from Tehran University in 1995. Iravani has been a Research Associate at the Catholic University of America and has been involved in research on Human rights in Islam, comparative issues between Islam and Christianity, and the clash of civilizations. He has also conducted research on the role of Democracy on Iranian Society, Mofid University, Iran, and has been involved in Seminar on Religion and Hermeneutics, in Mofid University, Iran. His professional affiliations include memberships at the Center for International Social Development, The Catholic University of America, the Center for the Study of Cultures and Values (CSCV), and the American Philosophical Association (APA). His publications include: Ian G. Barbour, Religion in age of Science, translation and commentary by Ahmad Iravani. Tehran: Hamid Publication, 2001; a comparative study between Tomas Aquinas and Avicenna (forthcoming) and Freedom according to Islam (forthcoming).
Qamar-ul Huda is the Program Officer for the Religion and Peacemaking Initiative at United States Institute of Peace. Prior to joining USIP he taught Islamic Studies and Comparative Religion at Boston College's Theology Department and in Religious Studies Department at the College of the Holy Cross. His area focuses on Islamic theology, intellectual history, ethics, mysticism and the history of Qur'anic hermeneutics. He is currently examining comparative ethics, the language of violence, conflict resolution and non-violence in juristic and non-juristic Muslim authorities in contemporary Islam. His earlier work on Islamic mysticism, specifically on political, theological and social history of the Suhrawardi Sufism was published as Striving for Divine Union: Spiritual Exercises for Suhrawardi Sufis (Routledege Curzon Press, 2003). He has written extensively on medieval Islamic texts and mystical treatises. His articles on Islamic theology and mysticism have appeared in appeared in The Journal of the American Academy of Religion, The Muslim World, Theological Studies, The Journal of Islam and Christian-Muslim Affairs, Journal of Islamic Studies and several other journals. In addition to contemporary Islamic ethics and thought, he is translating a number of texts related to Suhrawardi, Chishti, and Naqshbandi Sufism. Dr. Huda earned his doctorate in Islamic intellectual history from UCLA, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University in International Relations and Comparative Relations. He has done extensive academic studies and research in the Middle East and South Asia.
- "Negotiating Political Identity: Clues from Psychoanalytic Theory," Journal of Mediterranean Studies (Vol. 14, No. 1 &2, 2004).
- "Ambiguities of Sovereignty: Morocco, The Hague, and the Western Sahara Dispute," Mediterranean Politics (Vol. 8, No. 1, Spring 2003).
- "Depoliticization in Morocco," Journal of Democracy (Volume 13, Number 4, October, 2002).
----------
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2006/0522_islamists.html
What Do Islamists Really Want?
An Insider's Discussion with Islamist Leaders
By Abdeslam Maghraoui
May 2006
Throughout the Muslim world, Islamist parties have emerged as major power brokers when allowed to compete in free elections. Yet their positions on many crucial governance issues remain unknown or ambiguous. Most debates on the potential to moderate and integrate Islamists in the democratic process have focused on Islam's compatibility with democracy or on debates over Islamists' normative commitment to democracy separately from the mechanics of achieving political power.
More from usip.org
As part of its "mobilizing the moderates" theme, the Muslim World Initiative of USIP organized an off-the-record roundtable discussion on May 5, 2006, on the viability of democratic politics within an Islamic framework. Specifically, the discussion focused on the Islamists' political strategies while in opposition and their commitment to democratic procedures and principles once in power. The meeting brought together the leaders of three moderate Islamist parties and movements from Arab countries as well as U.S. government officials, scholars, and independent policy analysts.
This USIPeace Briefing highlights the central themes and questions that emerged during the discussions. There is a great diversity among moderate "Islamist parties," and their strategies are the products of local power relations. Caution is thus in order in applying these general comments to various Islamist parties.
A Brief Note on Terminology:
For the purposes of this paper:
- Islamic refers to institutions, practices, beliefs, and so on, that have no specific ideological or political connotations. Thus: Islamic architecture, Islamic ceramics, Islamic philosophy, and so on.
- Islamist refers to political parties and movements that seek to legitimate or subvert a political order on the basis of their interpretation of Islamic principles. Though these movements go back to the 1940s and 1950s (in Egypt), the term became more commonly used in the 1980s, after the Khomeinist revolution of 1979.
- An important distinction can be drawn between moderate and radical Islamists. Moderate refers to political parties and movements that use Islamist principles, Islamic law, and/or Islamic referents to participate peacefully in the political process. Radical, extremist, Wahhabists, Salafists, or Jihadists are terms for those who eschew nonviolence in the name of their Islamic beliefs.
The Islamists' Positions
The three Islamist leaders made the following points during the short presentations and responses to questions during the meeting and in substantive discussions before and afterwards. They represent Islamists' views of themselves, or at least their self-representations before a critical, Western audience. In some instances, interviews, articles, and speeches by one or more Islamist panelists were consulted to have a better sense of their positions on key issues.
Rising Confidence in Democratic Participation and Procedures:
- Moderate Islamist parties see themselves as modern, credible, and reformist political actors, not traditional religious preachers with a moral agenda.
- They portray themselves as pragmatic parties that can respond effectively to autocratic regimes, deteriorating social and economic conditions, and increasing extremism.
- They seek power through peaceful means and, in many countries, are confident that they will win if free and fair elections are held.
- As evidence of their political skills and willingness to work within the system, they boast broad and solid social support (including among youth, women, and professionals), vast national networks, good performance in local government, positive relations with entrepreneurs, and willingness to cooperate with secular parties and NGOs.
- They are confident about the prospects for democratic reform and political change despite continuing institutional political constraints and, in some cases, clear repression.
- They value the benefits of democratic participation, including competitive elections, legal opposition politics, and the alternation of power.
- Islamists dismiss the fear that they might monopolize political power or religious authority if they win wide majorities.
- They counter that existing centers of power (civil societies, ruling monarchies, powerful security and military institutions, or traditional religious establishments) prevent such a scenario.
Commitment to Democratic Norms, Compatible with Islam:
- Islamist leaders assert their commitment to democratic principles, including minority rights, religious tolerance, women's equality and participation, cultural diversity, and political pluralism.
- They underline their commitment to popular sovereignty and qualify the meaning and importance of divine sovereignty.
- Their objective is to make Islamic principles more responsive to modern, practical political needs.
- Moderate Islamists insist that their normative visions draw on Islamic principles such as justice, equality, accountability, and limits on the powers of rulers.
- These principles, they argue, are compatible with Western democratic norms, but not necessarily with liberal values that privilege individual freedom over community rights.
- The question of governance in Islam is open and has not been clearly delineated in Islamic texts.
- It is inaccurate, they say, to argue that Islamic political principles are incompatible with democratic norms.
- Some party leaders reject the "Islamist" label. They prefer to describe their party as a "party with an Islamic reference point."
- The example moderate Islamists often use as a model for their case are Europe's Christian democratic parties.
Flexibility on Application of Sharia:
- On the question of applying sharia, or Islamic law, moderate Islamists show some flexibility.
- None of the panelists advocated the traditional application of sharia.
- They all invoke the important role of ijtihad, reinterpretation of sacred texts, to adapt Muslim practices to modern needs.
- They refer to liberal Islamic precedents concerning the positive treatment of religious minorities.
- However, Islamist leaders don't discard sharia or see it as incompatible with modern democratic principles.
- They consider the application of Islamic law in some instances as a social necessity, not a fervent fulfillment of a religious duty.
- They consider religious moral values and Islamic law effective deterrents against social deviance and political decay.
Cautious on Relations With the United States:
- In general, constructive but cautious engagement best describes how moderate Islamists envision their relations with the United States.
- Notwithstanding major disagreements over U.S. foreign policy, moderate Islamists are conscious of the importance of America as a global superpower.
- U.S. support for their integration into the political process is key to their strategy.
- They also cite the role of religion in public life in America as an example of how religion and politics can coexist.
- However, moderate Islamist parties prefer to engage the United States multilaterally and in the framework of international laws and conventions—rather than bilaterally.
- Moderate Islamists don't seem to have any plans for bilateral cooperation on "big issues" such as combating terrorism, promoting democracy, or resolving pivotal conflicts (Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Sudan).
- Islamists have strong reservations concerning most U.S. policies in the Middle East.
Attitude toward Hamas and Relations with Israel:
- Moderate Islamists support Hamas' right to resist occupation and consider its government democratic and legitimate.
- Though not all moderate Islamists necessarily consider Hamas' electoral victory a triumph for democracy, they highlight the occupation's mitigating circumstances.
- Moderate Islamists therefore see no contradiction between Hamas being in charge of the Palestinian Authority and attacking Israel.
- They argue that Islamist-led governments would fully cooperate with Hamas and will help it shore up international support.
- Moderate Islamists view Israel as a hostile occupying force that oppresses Palestinians. But they embrace a two-state solution.
- They do not foresee playing a moderating role between Israel and Hamas or normalizing relations with Israel in the near future.
Major Concerns
During the meeting, a number of participants raised questions about the Islamist commitment to democracy and noted a number of tensions between what Islamist leaders say and what they actually do or might do if they achieve power. Some participants sent follow-up questions and comments after the meeting. What follows covers the range of issues raised during and after the meeting.
Participation in the Democratic Process is Strategically Motivated:
- Some participants expressed concern that Islamists are willing to participate in the democratic process because it favors them, not because they embrace democratic norms.
- These participants worry that there are no guarantees that Islamists will abide by the rules of the game if they come to power.
- They also fear that Islamists can find religious justifications to exercise absolute power once in office.
- It is not clear, they said, whether moderate Islamists could maintain their popularity and credibility if they participate in a constrained political framework imposed by the regimes.
- Nor is it clear how moderate leaders would deal with more conservative party rank-and-file on key issues such as pre-negotiating a political outcome with governments, building coalitions, and moderating their views on key issues such as the application of Islamic law.
Contradictory Commitments to Democratic Norms:
Among the questions these skeptics had about Islamist parties, a number focused on their apparent inconsistencies regarding democratic norms.
- Some participants wondered whether moderate Islamists are truly committed to democratic norms, including fundamental civil and political liberties, and if so, then what then makes their parties Islamic.
- They questioned how Islamists' verbal commitment to the full range of civil and political rights would play out in the real world.
- They observed that while Islamist leaders qualify the relevance of "divine sovereignty" and emphasize the role of elected rulers, that does not necessarily guarantee that they will respect modern democratic rights. Anti-democratic norms and restrictions can be imposed in the name of a conservative majority that believes ultimate sovereignty rests with God.
- Islamist leaders, they said, are not clear about whom they represent: "The people" as a whole? A moral majority? Or constituencies with the usual social demands and political priorities?
- Some Islamic principles may well be compatible with modern democratic norms, they argued, but the proof of the pudding will be in how Muslims choose to apply them.
- The possibility exists that different, even contradictory, interpretations of Islamic principles can arise and, in the absence of institutionalized religious authority accepted by all, lead to the subversion of democratic norms.
Ambiguities Surrounding Application of Sharia:
- Given that the most important characteristic of legitimate "Islamic government" is implementation of Islamic law, where, asked some participants, do moderate Islamists exactly draw the line?
- Moderate Islamists, they said, fail to address in specific terms what portions of sharia, if any, are "dispensable" and what portions are both binding and adaptable to modern needs.
- If elected Islamists legislated on matters of public morality and modesty (which could cover a wide range of issues including the hijab, freedom of speech, and alcohol consumption), they would be acting both as modern legislators and as religious scholars and jurists.
- This accumulation of religious authority and political power subverts both democratic norms and the separation of powers essential to the functioning of a democracy.
Implications for U.S. Policies
On the basis of these discussions it becomes clear that moderate Islamists need to sort out several tensions and make some hard choices. A key concern, their professed commitment to modernize and democratize Muslim polities within the context of their religious identity, may take some time to resolve. Yet, the Islamists' ultimate objective of ousting ruling autocrats through free and transparent elections is real and cannot be dismissed as a political ploy. This is also, ironically, a major U.S. objective but in the consensus opinion of the participants, the United States has as yet no clear policy on engaging Islamists.
In the final part of the meeting, participants offered their thoughts on how the United States should proceed.
Should the United States Engage with Islamists and Support Their Bid for Democratic Politics?
- It remains unclear whether moderate Islamist parties would respect democratic rules and norms once elected to office. Experiments with Islamists in the democratic process are too rare, recent, or the product of exceptional circumstances to withstand generalization.
- Yet, given the Islamists' popular appeal, efficient organization, and political potential, the United States cannot afford to ignore them.
- The professed U.S. democracy promotion strategy is neither credible nor likely to succeed without the cooperation and participation of Islamists.
- In addition to reinforcing secular NGOs and political parties, the United States should support and train Islamist parties, invite their influential figures to Washington, and expand exchange programs with the next generation Islamist leaders.
- Rather than imposing external political conditions on engaging Islamists, the United States would be in a better strategic position if it appears "neutral" among competing political visions.
- The United States should let local political actors negotiate the incentives, constraint mechanisms, and red lines to ensure a successful and sustainable democratic outcome.
- U.S. democracy programs should support programs to foster internal debates between conservatives and moderates within the Islamist parties; dialogue between Islamists and secular parties and NGOs; and a constructive negotiation framework between governments and Islamist opposition groups.
Should the United States Engage Islamists on Normative and Religious Issues?
- The consensus view among U.S. policymakers now is that the United States cannot and should not pursue policies that involve normative/theological issues.
- Proponents of this view argue that the United States would be violating the separation between state and religion and would get bogged down in "esoteric" discussions with no clear end results.
- Others argue that many U.S. programs (such as the revision of textbooks, the modernization of education, and the empowerment of women) already involve normative issues.
- They contend that relying on procedural mechanisms alone to mitigate the Islamists' monopoly of political power is not enough and actually involves some serious risks.
- Taking Islamists on in the cultural and normative dimensions is especially important because those are the fields in which Islamists have their greatest influence.
- One reason why Islamists are so influential in these domains is that procedural constraints may bar Islamists from changing a country's constitution, civil and criminal laws, or even its civil-military relations; but Islamists can control sensitive cabinets such as education, culture, the media, and social services. These cabinets are not crucial to the immediate survival of authoritarian regimes and thus they might more easily relinquish them. But Islamists can use these portfolios to exert tremendous ideological influence.
- Another concern is that institutional constraints might be used by authoritarian regimes to forestall meaningful democratization. These constraints could de-legitimize moderate Islamist parties, and benefit radical groups who reject the democratic process altogether.
- For these reasons, the consensus view of the participants—regardless of their degree of skepticism toward moderate Islamists—was clear: the best long-term strategy for the United States, if it seeks to bring peaceful democratic change to the Middle East, is to engage Islamists on normative grounds.
- The most effective strategy to engage Islamists on normative democratic issues is to refer to Islam's progressive and humanistic traditions, not to Western liberal democracy.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Muslim Communities Participating in Society: A Belgian-U.S. Dialogue
November 16-18 2005 | Brussels, Belgium
- MIM: The USIP goes global:
- http://www.usip.org/muslimworld/projects/muslim_youth/brussels_report.html
As part an ongoing effort to engage Muslim communities in Europe, USIP's Muslim World Initiative (MWI) co-sponsored a conference entitled "Muslim Communities Participating in Society: A Belgian - U.S. Dialogue," from November 16-18, 2005, in Brussels. The event was organized and convened by Tom Korologos, the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. In addition to USIP and the U.S. Embassy in Belgium, the co-sponsors included Belgium's Royal Institute for International Relations and the Daimler-Chrysler Corporation.
The MWI contributed financial support; provided the organizers with its U.S.-Muslim World Advisory Committee list; participated in small workshop discussions; and made concrete proposals for the concluding session. USIP was also featured in an on camera interview with Abdeslam Maghraoui for a documentary on the Brussels conference. Ambassador Korologos testified at a hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations on April 5, 2006.
The conference brought together some 100 American and Belgian Muslim community leaders, imams, educators, media experts, artists, educators, social workers, and elected officials to exchange views and concerns about Muslims' integration and political participation in Belgium and the United States. U.S. official participants included: Dan Fried (Assistant Secretary, DOS), Michael Guido (Mayor, City of Dearborn, MI), Colleen Graffy (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy), Farah Pandith (White House/NSC), and Larry Shaw (Senator, North Carolina).
The conference concluded with a series of initiatives to illustrate the participants' commitment to continuous dialogue and concrete cooperation. The following programs were announced at the end of the conference:
- Dearborn, MI – Genk, Belgium Sister Cities Agreement.
Both Dearborn and Genk have large Muslim communities and share similar challenges and opportunities. Mayors Michael Guido and Jef Gabriel (of Genk) signed an agreement to enter into a sister cities relationship. Areas of collaboration include business, education, good practices of local governance, and minority integration. - Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Exchange Initiative.
ISNA, a member of USIP's U.S.-Muslim World Advisory Committee, announced a series of exchange scholarships and support programs to develop ties between U.S. and Belgian Muslims. The exchange program includes sponsoring:- A Belgian recipient to visit the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University for one year;
- Ten educators from full-time Islamic schools in Belgium to attend ISNA's annual Islamic Education Forum;
- Five Belgian imams to attend ISNA's Summer Imam Training Program;
- Six Belgian Muslim youth (3 Turkish, 3 Moroccans) as summer interns at ISNA headquarters;
- A delegation of Belgian community leaders (5 men, 5 women, 5 youth) to attend ISNA's annual convention in Chicago.
- KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, Leadership Development Program.
KARMAH is a non-profit organization devoted to empowering next generation Muslim women through education, research, and civic training in the U.S. and abroad. KARAMAH will (i) sponsor Belgian Muslim women to participate in training programs in the U.S. and (ii) support the development of Muslim women leadership programs in Belgium. - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Training Program.
CAIR, a member of USIP's U.S.-Muslim World Advisory Committee, announced media and legal training programs for 5 Muslim Belgians at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the program is to help Belgian Muslims track and confront discrimination in the media and the public sphere. - Muslims in the American Public Square Project (MAPS) Research Project.
Dr. Zahid Bukhari, Co-Director of MAPS and a member of USIP's U.S.-Muslim World Advisory Committee, announced a cooperative survey research of the Muslim community in Belgium in partnership with the U.S. research group Intermedia and a Belgian partner. The purpose of the project is to provide a comparative context to better understand the similarities and differences across Muslim communities in the West.
USIP's support of the Brussels meeting is part of a series of activities on "Muslim Communities in Europe" that the Muslim World Initiative launched in February 2005. Read about a conference on "Muslim Youth in Europe: Addressing Alienation and Extremism," held in Wilton Park, United Kingdom, from February 7-10, 2005.
-----------------------------------
U N I T E D S T A T E S I N S T I T U T E O F P E A C E
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The U.S. Institute of Peace Stumbles
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1659
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
March 23, 2004
Last week, I became a whistleblower. (According to Merriam-Webster, a whistleblower is someone "who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority.")
This is not a role I expected or sought, but I felt compelled to go public when the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington, D.C., the taxpayer-funded organization to whose board President Bush appointed me, insisted on co-hosting an event with a group closely associated with radical Islam.
That group is the Washington-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy; the event was a workshop that took place — over my strenuous objections — on March 19.
Most of CSID's Muslim personnel are radicals. I brought one such person in particular, Kamran Bokhari, to the attention of USIP's leadership. Mr. Bokhari is a fellow at CSID; as such, he is someone CSID's board of directors deems an expert "with high integrity and a good reputation." As a fellow, Mr. Bokhari may participate in the election of CSID's board of directors. He is, in short, integral to the CSID.
Mr. Bokhari also happens to have served for years as the North American spokesman for Al-Muhajiroun, perhaps the most extreme Islamist group operating in the West. For example, it celebrated the first anniversary of 9/11 with a conference titled," Towering Day in History." It celebrated the second anniversary by hailing "The Magnificent 19." Its Web site currently features a picture of the U.S. Capitol building exploding. (If the site changes, an archived copy is available.)
Nor is Al-Muhajiroun's evil restricted to words and pictures. Its London-based leader, Omar bin Bakri Muhammad, has acknowledged recruiting jihadists to fight in such hotspots as Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Chechnya. At least one Al-Muhajiroun member went to Israel to engage in suicide terrorism. Al-Muhajiroun appears to be connected to one of the 9/11 hijackers, Hani Hanjour.
USIP's indirect association with Al-Muhajiroun has many pernicious consequences. Perhaps the most consequential of these is the legitimacy USIP inadvertently confers on Mr. Bokhari and CSID, permitting radicals to pass themselves off as moderates.
That legitimation follows an assumption that USIP carefully vetted CSID before working with it. But USIP did nothing of the sort.
When its leadership insisted on working with CSID, it explained its reasons: "The CSID is assessed by relevant government organizations and credible NGOs supported by the Administration to be an appropriate organization for involvement in publicly funded projects organized by both the government and NGOs, including the Institute."
Translated from bureaucratese, this says: "Others have worked with CSID, so why not us?"
But such buck-passing means that in fact no one does due diligence — each organization relies on those that came before. Once in the door, a disreputable organization like CSID acquires a mainstream aura.
Or it does until its true identity becomes clear. Over and over again, branches of the American government have been embarrassed by their blindness to jihadist Islam.
- Ask the presidential candidate who had himself photographed smiling side-by-side with an Islamist who soon after was imprisoned for terrorist activities.
- Ask the U.S. military, which has arrested or convicted at least seven Islamists for criminal activity connected to jihad.
- Ask the New York State prison system, which recently awoke up to the fact that one of its chaplains announced that God had inflicted 9/11 as punishment on the wicked — and the victims got what they deserved.
- Ask the mayor of Boston who had city land sold to the Islamic Society of Boston for less than 10% of market value, only to learn later that the organization is closely associated with one jihadi extremist banned from entering America, another sitting in federal prison, and a third who welcomes suicide bombings against Israelis as "glad tidings."
In all these cases, no one was minding the store. The lesson is simple but burdensome: each governmental institution must do its own research.
In the war on terror, it is not enough to deploy the police and the military; it is just as necessary to recognize and reject those who develop the ideas that eventually lead to violence. The American government needs to wake up to those elements in its midst whose allegiance in the war on terror is on the other side.
Response from the USIP
Subject: Center for Islam and Democracy
From: Kay King
To: xxxx
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Dear xxxx:
Dr. Richard Solomon asked me to respond to your e-mail regarding the Institute's March 19 workshop on "Ijtihad: Reinterpreting Islamic Principles for the 21st Century," which we co-sponsored with the Center for Islam and Democracy (CSID).
The purpose of the workshop was to provide an occasion for Muslim scholars committed to the reform of Islam and the advancement of a moderate Islamic agenda to address some of the most troublesome obstacles to adapting Islam for life in the 21st century, with implications for the status of women, the role of democracy in the Muslim world, and the nature of interfaith relations. The panelists, who are well established and highly regarded moderate Muslim scholars, presented very thoughtful and reformist positions. We invite you to view the event on our website at http://www.usip.org/events/2004/0319wksislam.html.
The Institute was aware of and took seriously the accusations made against CSID and some of the speakers at the event. These allegations were investigated carefully with credible private individuals and U.S. government agencies and found to be without merit. The public criticism of CSID and the speakers was found to be based on quotes taken out of context, guilt by association, errors of fact, and innuendo.
The speakers invited to the event have well-established records of promoting moderate Islamic perspectives, advocating democracy within the Muslim world, and opposing terrorism. One speaker, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, was invited by President Bush to lead a Muslim prayer at the Interfaith Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral after 9/11. He is also the leading Muslim participant in the Catholic/Muslim dialogue with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and has been very actively involved in other interfaith projects.
CSID, which co-sponsored the event, is judged by senior officials at the State Department and the National Endowment for Democracy, who have spoken from CSID's platform, to be a moderate organization dedicated to promoting Islamic reform and the establishment of democracy in Muslim countries. It strongly opposes dictatorship everywhere in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
With regard to the concern about Kamran Bokhari, this individual was not involved in the March 19 workshop in any way. He severed his ties to the al-Muhajiroun organization five years ago, prior to joining CSID, and has publicly denounced terrorism and political violence.
The Institute, in accordance with its Congressional mandate, and as requested by the Administration, is focusing on the full range of issues associated with relations between the United States on the one hand, and the varied countries of the Muslim world on the other hand. Institute programming does not represent endorsement of particular views. Our events intentionally bring together those of differing perspectives to highlight critical issues and provide guidance to policymakers. That said, there are clear limits regarding whom we will allow to use the Institute's podium. Advocates of violence are among those we would refuse to provide a platform.
Again, we appreciate your having taken the time to contact us with your concerns.
Kay King
Director, Congressional and Public Affairs
U.S. Institute of Peace
_________
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/215
MIM: Dr. Pipes response to the USIP critique points out the inaccuracies of their claims and set the record straight.
"The USIP responds to my critique"
I wrote an article last week in protest of the U.S. Institute of Peace's "co-hosting an event with a group closely associated with radical Islam," that being the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. In addition, Kenneth Timmerman wrote a critique of this event, based in part on information from me.
Today the USIP has sent out a form letter in reply, signed by Kay King, its director of Congressional and Public Affairs. She writes that "The public criticism of CSID and the speakers was found to be based on quotes taken out of context, guilt by association, errors of fact, and innuendo."
This withering repudiation prompted me to reread my New York Sun article, and though I may be biased, I don't quite see how Ms King's statement stands up to scrutiny. Here are my replies to her:
- Quotes taken out of context: There are no quotes at all in my article, much less any taken out of context.
- Guilt by association: If Kamran Bokhari has been a leader of Al-Muhajiroun, an organization that everyone agrees is wildly beyond the pale, and he is also an integral part of the CSID, surely this casts important light on CSID and cannot be so lightly dismissed.
- Errors of fact: Ms King's paragraph on Bokhari does not in any way contradict my own.
- Innuendo: A vague term that I cannot respond to.
More broadly, I regret that the USIP leadership remains in denial of its mistake on March 19 and even feels compelled to lash out against a board member interested in protecting both its reputation and the country at large from the scourge of militant Islam. (March 31, 2004)
May 14, 2004 update: My critique of USIP jointly sponsoring the event with CSID on March 19 focused on CSID's ties to one Kamran Bokhari, the North American spokesman for Al-Muhajiroun, which I characterized as "perhaps the most extreme Islamist group operating in the West." Today CSID sent out invitations to its 5th annual conference on May 28-29 and announced a talk then by that very same Kamran Bokhari, on "Justice and Political Legitimacy in Islamic Political Thought." Had the USIP done the right thing in March, this radical would probably not be invited in May.
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1650
Pipes Objects to Fox in the Henhouse
by Kenneth R. Timmerman
Insight Magazine
March 19, 2004
The congressionally funded United States Institute of Peace will host an event today in Washington on reforming Islam, with a guest panelist who has threatened the United States and openly supported terrorist groups, Insight has learned.
Among the guests in this afternoon's panel discussion is Muzammil Siddiqi, who until November 2001 was president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a leading Wahhabi front organization in the United States. Wahhabism is a radical form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia and advocated by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his terrorist leaders.
Siddiqi has accompanied visiting Saudi officials from the Muslim World League on fund-raising tours across America, and is listed on its Website as the organization's official representative in the United States. Offices of the Muslim World League in Herndon, Va., were raided by a federal antiterrorism task force in March 2002 because of suspected ties to al-Qaeda.
During an anti-Israel rally outside the White House on Oct. 28, 2000, Siddiqi openly threatened the United States with violence if it continued its support of Israel. "America has to learn ... if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come. Please, all Americans. Do you remember that? ... If you continue doing injustice, and tolerate injustice, the wrath of God will come." By "injustice," he meant U.S. support for Israel.
Siddiqi also has called for a wider application of sharia law in the United States, and in a 1995 speech praised suicide bombers. "Those who die on the part of justice are alive, and their place is with the Lord, and they receive the highest position, because this is the highest honor," he was quoted as saying by the Kansas City Star on Jan. 28, 1995.
A Bush appointee to the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) says he must distance himself from today's event because it associates the USIP with groups "on the wrong side in the war on terrorism." USIP board member Daniel Pipes tells Insight that, in addition to his objection to Siddiqi, he has warned the USIP about the presence of the U.S. spokesman of al-Muhajiroun, a London-based group that claims to be recruiting jihadis for a worldwide "Mohammed's army" faithful to bin Laden.
Pipes tells Insight: "I believe that President [George W.] Bush appointed me to the USIP board in part to serve as a watchdog against militant Islamic groups. Unfortunately the management of USIP is not listening to my advice. I cannot be associated with the event today which associates USIP with some of the very worst militant Islamic groups."
Kay King, a spokesperson for USIP Chairman Richard Solomon, said USIP was "not aware of the allegations about Siddiqi, and we will look into them." However, she pointed out that Siddiqi "has attended Bush administration events with the president, and was invited to lead a prayer" at the national prayer breakfast following the September 11 attacks.
The March 19 event is cohosted by USIP and the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), a U.S.-based group that was created by board members and former staff of the American Muslim Council (AMC), a radical pro-Saudi group that largely ceased operations after its former chairman, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, was jailed last October on terrorist-related charges.
Pipes raised his concerns with USIP Chairman Chester Crocker and President Richard Solomon over the "extremist nature of CSID itself" starting last November. In addition to board members and an executive director who shifted over to the new group from AMC, Pipes pointed out that CSID fellow Kamran Bokhari has ties to al-Muhajiroun, an al-Qaeda support group. Until last year, Bokhari was the self-acknowledged North American spokesman for al-Muhajiroun.
Insight reported on the group's first anniversary "celebration" of the 9/11 attacks, held at the radical Finsbury mosque in London, where al-Muhajiroun showed off a poster that portrayed a burning World Trade Center under attack and called September 11 "a towering day in history."
At the group's second anniversary 9/11 "celebration," its members distributed a poster with photographs of all 19 hijackers, calling them "the magnificent 19."
CSID "fellows" are not research assistants, but integral members of the leadership of the organization. According to a copy of the CSID bylaws Insight has obtained, CSID fellows are responsible for electing the group's board of directors. All board members must first be fellows.
Bokhari has issued a statement denouncing political violence and al-Qaeda, and referred to himself as a "former Islamist activist." But given his leadership role with al-Muhajiroun, Pipes says, such statements were "deeply insufficient to rehabilitate him ... or make him someone suitable to be associated with USIP."
Pipes first raised concerns over the planned event in November, when the USIP initially had invited Taha Jaber Al-Alwani to speak on a panel to discuss reforming Islam. Al-Alwani was publicly identified in an affidavit by U.S. Customs special agent David Kane, unsealed just weeks earlier, as a director of "Safa Group companies including International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), FIQH council of North America, Graduate School of Islamic & Social Sciences ... and Heritage Education Trust."
The IIIT offices were raided in March 2002 as part of Operation Greenquest, a joint federal antiterrorism task force. IIIT has received money and sponsorship from the government of Saudi Arabia, and according to the affidavit had sponsored Basheer Nafi, "an active directing member of [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] front organizations" in the United States.
Following Pipes' objection, the USIP postponed the initial event and canceled its invitation to Al-Alwani to join the panel discussion, but continued to work with CSID despite Pipes' claims that the group included among its leadership individuals who were on the "wrong side" in the war on terror.
USIP spokesperson Kay King says the institute has "done due diligence" on CSID and found the group to be "moderate" and "responsible."
"We know that CSID has gotten grants form the State Department and from the National Endowment for Democracy," she said. "They are an organization that has been found appropriate by U.S. government agencies."
CSID showcases moderate Muslim thinkers such as professor Abdulaziz Sachedina of the University of Virginia. However, many board members have either led or worked for groups that were targets of a federal antiterrorist task force raid in March 2002.
CSID founding board member Jamal Barzinji headed the "500 Grove Street" charities in Herndon, Va., that were the target of the Greenquest task force. He left the CSID board in April 2003.
Another CSID founding board member, Louay M. Safi , is director of research at IIIT, according to the biography posted on the CSID Website. He is reported previously to have worked at an IIIT offshoot in Malaysia.
The CSID board also includes Muslim leaders who are former or current board members of the American Muslim Council, starting with CSID chairman Ali A. Mazrui. "CSID is part of the militant Islamist lobby," Pipes tells Insight. "It is well-disguised, and has brought in all the Islamist trends, giving them a patent of respectability."
The group's executive director in 2002 was Abdulwahab Alkebsi, a former AMC staff member. Alkebsi also is reported to have worked for the Islamic Institute in Washington, and now runs democracy programs in Iraq for the National Endowment for Democracy that have promoted, among others, the Iraqi Communist Party.
Kenneth R. Timmerman is a senior writer for Insight.
This is the html version of the file http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr159.pdf.
G o o g l e automatically generates html versions of documents as we crawl the web.
To link to or bookmark this page, use the following url:http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:xbNfUdiVNeIJ:www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr159.pdf+islamic+education+in+the+united+states+nimer&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1Google is neither affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its content.
These search terms have been highlighted:
islamic
education
united
states
nimer
www.usip.org
1200 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063
S
pecial
R
epoRt
159
F
ebRuaRy
2006
UNiteD StateS iNStitUte of PeaCe
SPeCial RePoRt
theviewsexpressedinthisreportdonotnecessarily
reflecttheviewsoftheUnitedStatesinstituteofPeace,
whichdoesnotadvocatespecificpolicypositions.
c
ontentS
Introduction 2
OverviewofAmericanMuslimNongovernmental l
Organizations 2
PewResearchStudyonIslamicExtremism 4
NationalFatwaCondemningTerrorism 4
ReligiousandInterfaithOrganizations 5
CivicandPoliticalOrganizations 9
LegalOrganizations15
ViewsofAmericanMuslimScholars16
Conclusion:MultiprongedConflictPrevention17
a
bout the
R
epoRt
Withthewaragainstterrorismandanincreased
attentionontheMuslimworld,thisreportanalyzes
waysMuslimsintheUnitedStatesunderstandtheir
rolesasAmericansincombatingterrorismandtheir
uniquecontributionstowardconflictprevention
andpeacemaking.Theassimilationandintegration
ofAmericanMuslimshaseffectivelyenabledthe
flourishingofdozensofnationalandregional
organizationstoworkinareasofcivilrights,human
rights,interfaithdialogue,education,charity,public
diplomacy,politicalactivism,andotherreligiousand
secularactivities.Despitethepost9/11scrutiny
oftheMuslimcommunity,AmericanMuslimgroups
havedevisedsophisticatedgrassrootscampaignson
counter-terrorismandanti-extremistideology.
Qamar-ulHudaistheSeniorProgramOfficerinthe
ReligionandPeacemakingProgramattheUnited
StatesInstituteofPeace.Formerlyaprofessorof
IslamicStudiesandComparativeTheologyatBoston
College,heexaminesethics,violence,conflict
resolutionandnonviolenceinjuristicandnonjuristic
MuslimauthoritiesincontemporaryIslam.Thisreport
ispartofalargerbookprojectonAmericanMuslim
identityformationandIslamicapproachestoward
mediationandpeacebuilding.
Qamar-ul Huda
theDiversityofMuslims
intheUnitedStates
Viewsasamericans
Summary
• There are approximately 6 to 7.5 million Muslims in the United States who identify
themselves as Americans. The community consists of a combination of immigrants
and second- and third-generation Arab, Latino, Asian, European, African, and African-
American Muslims.
• The growth of the American Muslim community has fostered the development of a
variety of religious, civic, political, cultural, economic, social, ethnic, feminist, artis-
tic, and professional organizations.
• The diversity of American Muslim organizations provides a vast number of voices
addressing such issues as terrorism, democracy, peacemaking, and human rights.
• American Muslims do not see contradictions between Islam and such ideals as democ-
racy, pluralism, or political activism; rather, in recent years several national groups
have made it their primary mission to reconcile all three with Islamic values.
• Some leaders see the blending of Islamic values with the American experience as
a solid bridge to mutual understanding between the United States and the Muslim
world.
• American Muslim advocacy organizations often collaborate with the White House and
law enforcement authorities to devise strategies on public policy, civil rights, the war
against terrorism, and other related issues.
• Many organizations emphasize the importance of self-scrutiny and education in rela-
tion to the larger Islamic heritage.
• Interfaith dialogue has taken the forefront on the agendas of many American Muslim
organizations, demonstrating a belief that building trust, peace, and reconciliation
will ultimately lead to harmonious interfaith relations in the United States.
• American Muslim scholars advocate greater involvement by Muslims in the political,
social, economic, and cultural spheres of American society.
2
a
bout the
i
nStitute
The United States Institute of Peace is an inde-
pendent, nonpartisan federal institution created
by Congress to promote the prevention, manage-
ment, and peaceful resolution of international
conflicts. Established in 1984, the Institute meets
its congressional mandate through an array of
programs, including research grants, fellowships,
professional training, education programs from
high school through graduate school, conferences
and workshops, library services, and publications.
The Institute's Board of Directors is appointed by
the President of the United States and confirmed
by the Senate.
b
oaRd oF
d
iRectoRS
J. Robinson West (Chair), Chairman, PFC Energy, Wash-
ington, D.C. • María otero (Vice Chair), President, ACCION
International, Boston, Mass. • Betty f. Bumpers, Founder
and former President, Peace Links, Washington, D.C. •
Holly J. Burkhalter, Director of U.S. Policy, Physicians
for Human Rights, Washington, D.C. • Chester a.
Crocker, James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic
Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
• laurie S. fulton, Partner, Williams and Connolly,
Washington, D.C. • Charles Horner, Senior Fellow, Hudson
Institute, Washington, D.C. • Seymour Martin lipset,
Hazel Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University
• Mora l. Mclean, President, Africa-America Institute,
New York, N.Y. • Barbara W. Snelling, former State
Senator and former Lieutenant Governor, Shelburne, Vt.
M
eMbers ex officio
Michael M. Dunn, Lieutenant General, U.S.
Air Force; President, National Defense University •
Barry f. lowenkron, Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor • Peter W. Rodman,
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security
Affairs • Richard H. Solomon, President, United States
Institute of Peace (nonvoting)
• American Muslim scholars believe Muslims have an enormous responsibility and talent
for resolving conflict and being agents for peace.
introduction
With recent attention on European Muslims in France, Belgium, Germany as well as with
the London bombings of July 7, 2005, there is a focus on how Western Muslims integrate,
assimilate, and contribute to society. This Special Report examines how American Muslims
have expressed themselves as Americans in a post 9/11 world of suspicion. In doing
so, this study analyzes different, major American Muslim organizations' activities and
their distinguishing views on violence, terrorism, and conflict resolution. The objective
of this Special Report is to identify key trends in American Muslim organizations; their
major religious and secular activities, as well as understand the ways in which American
Muslims are carving out a distinct American identity as citizens. This report demonstrates
that unlike Muslims in Europe, American Muslims do not feel marginalized, isolated, or
locked out of political participation. Social-economic mobility is far more obtainable. For
the most part, American Muslims have successfully created professional, cultural, human
rights, civil rights, educational, and political organizations as an expression of feeling
included in the larger spectrum of American society and liberal democracy. The analysis
presented here illustrates that American Muslims' contribution to the United States is a
product not only of their own diversity, but also of the diversity of views in understanding
themselves as Americans.
American Muslims face a range of challenges to which Muslim organizations are
responding. After 9/11, American Muslims have had to confront widespread suspicion,
challenges to civil liberties, a Muslim-specific response to Muslim radicalism (domestically
and internationally), and the war on terrorism. In doing so, Muslim and Arab Americans
have created a variety of new organizations and invigorated existing ones. The material
in this report describes and analyzes the programmatic responses of key American Muslim
organizations to these challenges. In addressing these challenges, these organizations
walk a fine line between reassuring the American public about Muslims and Islam, while
not alienating their constituents on issues important to them.
overviewofamericanMuslimNongovernmentalorganizations
The American Muslim community consists of a wide range of ethnic, racial, cultural, and
professional groups, all of which contribute immensely diverse opinions on contemporary
issues, such as conflict and peacemaking. With the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as
the implementation of the Patriot Act, American Muslims no longer play an undefined role
in American policy; rather, many political analysts and congressional representatives are
seeking them out as sources of information. In the aftermath of 9/11, American Muslim
organizations became critical consultants for U.S. foreign policies toward Afghanistan
and Iraq. In addition to offering policy analysis, several American Muslim organizations
have made it a priority to work with law enforcement agencies in identifying intolerant
attitudes within the Muslim community. Some American Muslim organizations created in
the wake of 9/11 have a stated mission to support the armed forces unconditionally in
order to defeat the global threat of terrorism. Other organizations have devised alternative
strategies, such as fostering interfaith dialogue and examining ways to reconcile Islam
with democracy in Muslim societies as a means of dealing with violence and promoting
peacemaking.
The rich diversity of the American Muslim community illustrates that there is no single
responseorapproachtoconfrontingcontemporaryissues,suchascivilandhumanrightsvio-
3
lations,religiousintolerance,anddomesticviolence.Thereareseveralreligiousorganizations
—both Sunni and Shia—dedicated to the spiritual development and religious life of
American Muslims. Some prominent national civil rights groups based in Washington, D.C.
are committed to the protection of American Muslim civil rights and interests. Several
American Muslim legal organizations are also working toward increasing Muslims' legal
knowledge and expertise to help them develop greater awareness of the American judicial
system and the opportunities with democratic institutions. There are human rights and
feminist organizations devoted to improving the lives of women by battling domestic
violence in the United States and abroad. Several, new American Muslim organizations are
devoted to combining education and activism in order to foster identity, promote social
justice, achieve gender equality, and create a more meaningful interpretation of their
Islamic beliefs. Some recently formed groups believe that interfaith dialogue with Chris-
tians and Jews on both local and national levels is critical to understanding their religion
within a monotheistic tradition. Some organizations believe that for Muslims to be truly
Americans, they must be active partners in U.S. efforts to eliminate global terrorism and
radicalism, including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of bigotry.
The Pew Research Center for the People conducted a survey immediately following the