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Experts Say in US Outreach to Islamic World, Actions Matter Most
By Mohamed Elshinnawi | Voice of America
As President Obama prepares to address the Muslim world in a scheduled June 4th speech in Cairo, Egypt, a diverse group of policy experts from academia and the U.S. government gathered in Washington to discuss specific steps the United States can take to improve its relations with the worldwide Muslim community.
Setting the theme at the annual meeting of the non-profit Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, center President Radwan Masmoudi said he applauds the Obama administration's efforts to speak directly to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims. But Masmoudi said the United States must also listen to what the world's Muslims have to say.
"...the U.S. needs to engage the Muslim world in a serious dialogue, and we need to listen, to listen to their concerns, to their aspirations. And dialogue will open many channels and many opportunities for peace, for reconciliation, for democracy and human rights."
Actions must match words
Masmoudi said he believes there are high hopes among many Muslims around the world that the Obama administration will match its rhetoric about closer ties with the Muslim world with concrete actions, especially in pursuing peace in the Middle East.
That point was echoed by Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland. Telhami said no matter how soothing President Obama's rhetoric might be, many Muslims around the world still perceive America's eight-year-old War on Terror as a veiled assault on Islam. In Telhami's view, Muslims are going to make their judgments about the United States based on U.S. policies and how they affect the issues central to their lives.
"The issues that they care about are very obvious. First is the Arab-Israeli issue, second, the wars that the U.S. is conducting in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan," he said. "And the third is the presence of American forces in the region. And then of course there are a lot of other issues pertaining to the relationship with different countries and different regimes."
Indeed, sustained U.S. efforts to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict will be key to improving U.S. relations with the Muslim world, says Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Congress.
Ellison said he believes President Obama has the political muscle to convince pro-Israel members of Congress that a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in the Middle East would serve the interests not just of the Palestinians and the region's Arab states but of Israel as well.
Support for human rights, democracy crucial
Harvard University visiting professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a well-known Egyptian human rights defender and democracy activist, believes another barrier to better U.S. relations with the world's Muslims is continued U.S. support of undemocratic regimes in some Islamic countries. Ibrahim told the Washington gathering that President Obama must offer Muslims some basic reassurances.
"That he is on the side of human rights and democracy for all and that he will cooperate on this basis and that will be at least one of the principle pillars of American foreign policy. That's very important to adopt, to realize and to announce very early on," he said. "The challenge now is to sustain that drive and to stay the course to the very end and not to give up midway as George Bush did."
The Washington-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy has sent an open letter to President Obama, signed by hundreds of Muslim leaders and scholars. It urges the president to make democracy promotion a priority in his bid to improve relations between the United States and communities of Muslims around the world.
Full Article
Listen to the Interview of Dr. Masmoudi with NPR
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Obama Told to Support Mideast Democracy
By Muhammed Qasim, | IOL Correspondent
As US President Barack Obama readies to fly to Egypt for a long-awaited speech to the Arab and Muslim world, human rights activists, experts and politicians are asking him to remain faithful to promoting rights and democracy in the region.
 "We believe that it would be a terrible mistake if the new administration, in its attempt to distance itself from the failed policies of the Bush administration, would go back to the previously tried and failed policies of supporting oppressive regimes and dictators," Radwan Masmoudi, President of the Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID), told IslamOnline.net.
In an open letter, more than 1,550 human rights activists, experts and politicians are urging Obama to make the case for democracy and human rights during his upcoming speech, to be delivered from Cairo on June 4.
"We wanted to demonstrate that there is wide-ranging support in both the Washington DC policy community as well as the Muslim world for a more pro-active US engagement in support of substantive political reform," Shadi Hamid, Director of Research, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), told IOL.
Democracy, Islamists
Masmoudi said the aim is to encourage the Obama administration to press hard for promoting democracy and human rights in the volatile region. "The peoples of the region, especially the youth who represent a majority of the population, want to have a voice in determining their own future and in electing their rulers and holding them accountable," he told IOL.
"We also wanted to emphasize in the letter that moderate Islamist parties must be allowed and encouraged to participate in the political process in their countries, and that real democracy can never be developed or sustained by excluding the largest and most popular political or religious movements in the region."
Neil Hicks, the Director of International Programs at Human Rights First, says people in the region will be closely watching the events of the next few weeks when Obama meet many leaders from the region.
"If people in the region come to believe that the US government is interested in promoting greater freedom and democracy for them, then the reputation of the US in the Muslim world will improve," believes Hicks, the director of International Programs at Human Rights First.
Full Article
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The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID) and the
Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) cordially invite you to a
Panel Discussion on:
Analyzing Obama's Speech to the Muslim World
On Thursday in Cairo, President Obama will give a major, long-awaited address to the Muslim world. His words will be followed closely by millions of Arab and Muslims looking for signals about U.S. policy, including the extent to which democracy and human rights will be a core concern of the Obama administration. As many of you know, CSID and POMED helped organize an open letter to President Obama, now signed by more than 1500 policy experts, analysts, and other voices from more than 60 countries, urging him to make support for democracy and human rights in the Middle East a priority of his administration.
Please join us only hours after Thursday's address is delivered in Cairo for a discussion with leading American and Arab experts to examine the speech and what it may signal about the Obama administration's approach to the region.
Does the president's speech signal a shift in U.S. policy toward the Arab and Muslim world? Has the speech outlined specific steps the U.S. will take to restore its credibility in the region? How was the president's speech perceived in the Arab street? To what extent does the speech address issues of human rights and democratic reform? How does the choice of a venue impact the reception of Obama's message by Arab audiences? Please join us for a discussion with:
Ahmad Moussalli
American University of Beirut
Fouad Makhzoumi
President, National Dialogue Party of Lebanon
Geneive Abdo
The Century Foundation
Will Marshall
Progressive Policy Institute
Richard Eisendorf
Freedom House
Moderated by:
Radwan A. Masmoudi
CSID
Thursday, June 4, 2009
2:00 - 3:30 pm
1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 601
Washington DC, 20036
Please RSVP by Wednesday 5 PM to: rsvp1@islam-democracy.org |
The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID) cordially invites you to:
How to Improve Relations with the Arab World
 A prominent member of the Tunisian opposition, Chebbi has long advocated for a transparent political process, good governance and sustainable economic growth. In 1983, he founded the PDP, known until 2001 as the Progressive Socialist Rally (RSP). A lawyer by training, Chebbi led a vigorous campaign to prevent President Ben Ali from seeking his fourth term in 2004. He was also instrumental in founding the October 18 Movement, which unites diverse members of the opposition to demand respect for freedom of expression and speech, as well as the release of imprisoned journalists and politicians from the opposition. After passing on leadership of the party to current Secretary General Maya Jribi in 2006, Chebbi still remains a prominent member of the PDP and heads the party's Al Mawkif newspaper. He announced his candidacy for president last August despite being officially barred from participating in the election under a revised electoral law requiring presidential candidates to be the elected secretary general of a recognized party.
Please join us for a discussion with:
Néjib Chebbi
Progressive Democratic Party in Tunisia
Moderated by:
Radwan A. Masmoudi
CSID
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
10:00 - 11:30 am
1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 601
Washington DC, 20036
Please RSVP by Tuesday, 5 PM to: rsvp2@islam-democracy.org |
IRAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Expanding Influence, Accelerating Arms Race: Myth or Reality?
Iran's growing religious and political influence in the Middle East is alarming the United States, Israel and Arab states. As Israel considers launching a military attack, Arab leaders warn of a developing arms race in the region. What are Iran's objectives and how will fear of Iran affect the future of the Middle East? The Century Foundation, The Heinrich Böll Stiftung, and The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding will host a symposium to discuss these issues.
June 10, 2009, 12:00-4:00pm
Buffet Lunch, 12:00pm
The Century Foundation
1333 H. Street N.W., 10th Floor
Washington, DC
Featured Speakers:- Jasim Husain Ali, Member of Council of Representatives, Kingdom of Bahrain
- Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Director of North American Studies, University of Tehran
- Saad Mehio, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Beirut, Lebanon
- Neil Crompton, Former Chargé in Tehran, British Embassy
- Alex Vatanka, Editor, Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst
- Geneive Abdo, Moderator, The Century Foundation
RSVP: iranconference@tcf.org or call 202-741-6270 by June 5, 2009 |
Obama in the Muslim World
By Ayman Nour
Founder and leader of El Ghad liberal party; former member of the Egyptian Parliament
 Barack Obama's visit may influence the future of this part of the world. Will he use this historic opportunity to say that the world we shape for our children should be one of democracy, justice and peace, or will he favor a world of oppression, injustice and suffering by clinging to oppressive regimes and aggressive hard-liners?
Every day Obama confronts the challenges of the global economic crisis and the deteriorating situations in Gaza, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He must know that reports of human rights abuses or assaults on democracy are as serious as those warning of front-line skirmishes. In fact, they are related; as leaders abandon the values of justice and liberty, they set the stage for conflict.
Will Obama carry his message of change to this region? Will he confirm his commitment to democracy, or will he appease dictators and aggressors? Will he hold fast to his ideals, and continue to tell oppressive regimes that they are marching on the wrong side of history, or will he fall victim to expediency and short-term pragmatism? Will Obama vow a true commitment to solving the Palestinian problem or will he endorse endless rounds of fruitless negotiations? Will Obama work to strengthen our common security by investing in our common humanity, or will he declare a bankruptcy of hope?
We in the El Ghad Party refuse to believe that these great values are bankrupt. We refuse to believe that freedom, democracy, justice and prosperity are exclusively Western products. We refuse to believe that some of us are more equal than others. We believe that freedom is as natural to every man and woman in Cairo as it is in Washington, London or Gaza.
When justice and democracy are traded for short-term political gains, we lay the bricks for a world of oppression, tyranny and conflict. Sticking to our ideals today will lead to security and prosperity. Selling out these ideals places our future in the hands of tyrants, dictators and war-mongers, unfortunately guaranteeing future loss of human life.
Full Article
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Mr. Obama in Egypt
Washington Post Editorial | Thursday, May 28, 2009
 One of Egypt's foremost democratic dissidents, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, published an article on the opposite page in December urging Mr. Obama to choose Indonesia or Turkey, both modernizing liberal democracies, for his address, arguing that "democracy should be central to Obama's message -- and to his choice of where to deliver it." Mr. Mubarak's ruling party responded by bringing criminal charges against Mr. Ibrahim -- adding to a host of previous charges and an outstanding prison sentence that have kept the 70-year-old professor in exile since 2007.
On Monday, just 10 days before Mr. Obama's arrival, Mr. Ibrahim's conviction was overturned, and most of the charges against him were dropped. That -- and the release from prison in February of Ayman Nour, another leading democratic dissident -- spared Mr. Obama from the potential embarrassment of honoring a Muslim regime even as it was persecuting its most pro-American opponents. But Mr. Mubarak's concessions should not prevent Mr. Obama from raising human rights and democracy in his address. If the past decade has proved anything, it is that real partnership between the United States and the Muslim world will require the common embrace of values such as freedom of speech and religion, free elections, and the renunciation of torture.
So far the Obama administration has stoutly resisted that lesson -- partly because of a misguided reaction to the failures of the Bush administration. Yet if it chooses to uncritically embrace autocrats such as Mr. Mubarak -- as it has so far -- the administration will merely repeat the failures of earlier U.S. administrations, which for decades propped up Arab dictators and ignored their human rights abuses, only to reap the harvest represented by al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. It will accomplish the opposite of what Mr. Obama intends, by alienating a young generation of Arabs and Muslims that despises the old order and demands the freedoms that have spread everywhere else in the world.
The president should speak to those Muslims -- not to the strongman who invited him.
Full Article
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Obama gives pledge on US 'values'
 U. S. President Barack Obama has told the BBC that the US cannot impose its values on other countries.
But, in his first interview with a UK broadcaster, he said the rule of law, democracy and freedoms of speech and religion were "universal values". "These are values that are important, even when it's hard," he said.
Speaking ahead of a trip to the Middle East and Europe, Mr. Obama said closing the Guantanamo Bay prison was a way that America could set a good example.
Mr Obama told BBC North America Editor Justin Webb that he wanted to deliver the message "that democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion ... are not simply principles of the West to be hoisted on these countries".
He said there were "obviously" human rights issues to address in some Middle Eastern countries, but there were some "universal principles that they can embrace and affirm as part of their national identity".
"The danger, I think, is when the United States, or any country, thinks that we can simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture," he said.
Nuanced message
Asked whether he would be encouraging the countries he will visit to adopt such values, Mr Obama said "absolutely we'll be encouraging".
But he said that the most important thing for the US was to "serve as a role model".
"That's why, for example, closing Guantanamo from my perspective is as difficult as it is important." "Part of what we want to affirm to the world is that these are values that are important even when it's hard, maybe especially when it's hard and not just when it's easy."
Full Article Hear the Interview on BBC
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Obama's Realism May Not Play Well in Cairo's Streets
By JAMES TRAUB | The New York Times
 This Thursday, when President Obama delivers a much-anticipated speech in Cairo, he will be addressing so many audiences, and seeking to advance so many agendas, that even his oratorical gifts are likely to be taxed. He will surely express his respect for Islam and the Islamic world, as he has before; articulate his broad policy goals in the Middle East; and offer proposals to increase the prospects, now quite dim, for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But the president has chosen to deliver this speech in Cairo, and so he must also address the Egyptian people, who live - like the citizens of virtually all Arab countries - in an authoritarian state, and who have grown increasingly restive as President Hosni Mubarak has snuffed out flickering hopes for change.
On this set of issues, as on so many others, President Obama has declined to come down on one side of an either-or choice. During the campaign, he spoke eloquently about democracy at home and abroad, and in an interview before taking office asserted that the promotion of democracy "needs to be at a central part of our foreign policy." But he recoiled before the kind of missionary rhetoric that President Bush so often deployed; instead, he praised "realist" statesmen like Brent Scowcroft, and cautionary cold-war thinkers like Reinhold Niebuhr.
But at the same time, President Obama has stirred listeners abroad with the clarion language of hope. In an April speech in Prague, he invoked the Prague Spring of 1968, when "the simple and principled pursuit of liberty and opportunity shamed those who relied on the power of tanks and arms to put down the will of a people."
It may be the imperative of building a global order for the 21st century that accounts for the strikingly realist cast to the Obama administration's conduct of foreign affairs. Both the president and his chief aides have steered clear of the language of democracy. In China in March, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said bluntly that America's concern about human rights "can't interfere" with progress on the global economy, climate change and other issues. Egypt, too, occupies an important place in Mr. Obama's strategic calculus, which aims to lay the groundwork for peace in the Middle East by shoring up "moderate" states while coaxing Iran and Syria into the fold.
The White House has accommodated President Mubarak by eliminating American funding for civil society organizations that the state refuses to recognize, and by stating publicly that neither military nor civilian funding will be conditioned on reform. This has provoked alarm from liberals, from scholarly experts and from activists in the region.
Full Article
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Wake Up, Israel
By Alon Ben-Meir
 The challenges and opportunities that Israel faces today will undoubtedly lay the ground for its future coexistence both in the Middle East and as an ally to the West. With new US and Israeli leadership in office comes a renewed prospect to solve the old struggles, and to address once and for all the Palestinian question of statehood.
Israel must wake up and heed the call of the international community, rise to the occasion and use the support it has now and its overwhelming power to make the necessary sacrifices for peace. Above all though, Israelis must look introspectively and ask themselves where they want to be in 10, 15 or 20 years from now. Do they want to live in peace with security and prosperity or do they wish to continue the struggle, which is becoming increasingly more threatening if not existential? I believe that Israel is approaching that fateful hour.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to Washington raised many hopes-but then quelled just as many expectations. It appears he was neither ready to deal with the hard choices presented to him by President Obama, nor was he prepared to offer credible alternatives to deal with the simmering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At this point in the process, coming to Washington to discuss Arab-Israeli peace without acknowledging the two-state solution only hurt Netanyahu's standing with the new American administration. President Obama and Secretary Clinton have made it clear that there will be no peace without a Palestinian state, and there will be no Palestinian state with the continued expansion of the settlements. President Obama's demand that there will be a moratorium on settlement building and expansion is rooted in the simple logic that the settlements not only impede the viability of a Palestinian state, but they rob the Palestinians of any hope that they have a partner in peace who respects their claims to the land. The settlements, furthermore, tell twenty-two Arab states that Israel is not interested in their peace initiative.
It is time for Israel to wake up; do not allow this historic chance for peace to slip away because of complacency or lack of courage. The US and international communities are offering an unprecedented opportunity that cannot afford to be squandered this time around. America has offered its utmost support and the Arab states are ready to assume their responsibility. If Israel is destined to bring light onto other nations, this is the moment.
Full Article
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Job Opportunity
Hollings Center for International Dialogue
Washington, DC
Position Description: Program Manager
The Hollings Center for International Dialogue, an NGO promoting dialogue and exchange between the United States and Muslim-majority countries, seeks a Program Manager to oversee key programmatic and administrative activities. The Center is based in Washington, DC and convenes its programs in Istanbul, Turkey. As one of only three full-time employees, the Program Manager will work closely with the Center's Executive Director and its Istanbul-based Program Coordinator. The position has significant responsibility across all areas of the Center's work and requires a diverse skill-set. Regular overseas travel is involved. See www.hollingscenter.org for more information about the Center.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 3 years' experience in the international affairs/nonprofit sector
- Master's degree preferred
- Experience with U.S.-government funded programs and budgets
- Superior skills in Microsoft Word and Excel
- Ability to manage multiple complex projects with tight deadlines
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills
- Highly professional demeanor and meticulous attention to detail
- Knowledge of key issues in U.S.-Muslim world relations, Middle East politics
- Experience with event planning a plus
To apply:
Please send resume and cover letter to recruiting@hollingscenter.org
by June 19, 2009.
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Job Opportunity
International Development Law Organization
Cairo, Egypt
Position Description: Program Development
I attach a position description that my organization is recruiting for, for our Cairo office. This person would work for me in Program Development, but be based in Cairo. Since you know almost everyone in the world, please feel free to post on your website/listserv or send to anyone you think might be suitable and interested.
All best regards and keep on doing the great work that you do!
Karen Widess
IDLO
For more details, please go to http://www.idlo.int/docjob/113.pdf
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National Endowment for Democracy
Call for Applications:
Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship Program at the Washington, D.C.-based National Endowment for Democracy invites applications from candidates throughout the Middle East and North Africa for fellowships in 2010-2011. The program enables democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change. Dedicated to international exchange, this five-month, residential program offers a collegial environment for fellows to reflect on their experiences and consider lessons learned; conduct research and writing; develop contacts and exchange ideas with counterparts in Washington, D.C.; and build ties that contribute to the development of a global network of democracy advocates.
The program is intended primarily to support activists, practitioners, and scholars from developing and aspiring democracies; distinguished scholars from established democracies are also eligible to apply. A working knowledge of English is required. All fellows receive a monthly stipend, health insurance, travel assistance, and research support. The application deadline for fellowships in 2010-2011 is Monday, November 2, 2009.
For more information & application instructions, please visit here.
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To become a member of CSID, please click here. To make a donation, please click here. Please remember that CSID needs your membership and support to continue its mission of promoting a greater understanding of Islam in the US, and a better understanding and implementation of democracy in the Muslim world. With our best wishes and regards,
Sincerely,
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Radwan A. Masmoudi
President
Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy |
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