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Dear Friends, Members, and Colleagues of CSID:
Please forward this invitation and e-mail Bulletin to all your friends, and invite them to join CSID and/or join us at our Annual Iftaar Dinner, next Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Afghan Restaurant. We look forward to seeing you there! |
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CSID Ramadan Iftaar Dinner
The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID) cordially invites you to our Annual Ramadan Iftaar Dinner:
Before it's too late:
Peace and Reconciliation between Shias and Sunnis
What can American Muslims do to unite Muslims and bring peace and reconciliation among Sunnis and Shias?
Keynote Speaker:
Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM
Iftaar at 7:00 PM and Program starts at 8:00 PM
at the Afghan Restaurant
2700 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Alexandria, VA - (703) 548-0022
 Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the world's leading experts on Islamic science and spirituality, is University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. He is one of the most important and foremost scholars of Islamic, Religious and Comparative Studies in the world today. Author of over fifty books and five hundred articles which have been translated into several major Islamic, European and Asian languages, Professor Nasr is a well known and highly respected intellectual figure both in the West and the Islamic world. An eloquent speaker with a charismatic presence, Nasr is a much sought after speaker at academic conferences and seminars, university and public lectures and also radio and television programs in his area of expertise. Possessor of an impressive academic and intellectual record, his career as a teacher and scholar spans over four decades. Professor Nasr is the author of numerous books including Man and Nature: the Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man (Kazi Publications, 1998), Religion and the Order of Nature (Oxford, 1996) and Knowledge and the Sacred (SUNY, 1989).
Purchase your ticket online, or fill out the form below and send it with your payment/check to: CSID, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 601, Washington DC, 20036, no later than 5 PM Monday Sept. 14, 2009.
Ticket Reservation Form
Name: __________________________________________
Institution: _______________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
City: ________________ State:________ Zip:__________
Tel: ____________________ e-mail:__________________
Please Reserve:
Members Non-Members
____ Dinner Tickets x $40/person x $50/person = _______
____ Dinner Tickets x$60/couple x $80/couple = _______
_____Reserved Table$500 for a table of 8 _______
_____Donation _______
Total: _______
Signed:__________________________________________ Dated:_________
Title:____________________________________________
Please forward this invitation to all your friends and colleagues who might be interested in this event. Seats are limited, so please reserve your ticket as early as possible.
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Film Screening followed by Ramadan Iftaar Dinner at Georgetown University
Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam 
To uncover the new status of Muslims in America, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed set out with a team of researchers on a nine-month fieldwork journey across the United States, visiting over 75 cities and more than 100 mosques to interview thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims from all walks of life. This screening features stories and analyses from the project, and a chance to meet Dr. Ahmed and his team. The book Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam (Brookings Press, 2009) is forthcoming.
Tuesday, September 15
Film screening: 6:00 pm ICC Auditorium
Dinner and Discussion: 8:00 pm, McShane Lounge
Please RSVP to berkleycenter@georgetown.edu
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Moataz-Bellah
Abdel-Fattah explains to Gihan Shahine why democracy is severely
lacking in Muslim-majority countries even though its principles are
deeply-rooted in the basic tenets of Islam
By Moataz-Bellah Abdel-Fattah | Al-Ahram Weekly
 As a firm believer in the benefits of democracy, Moataz-Bellah Abdel-Fattah attempts to find answers to the tough question of whether the attitude of ordinary, educated Muslims constitutes a barrier to the adoption of democracy. What is interesting about Democratic Values in the Muslim World -- and was probably the reason why the study was chosen as one of the most outstanding books in 2006 by Choice Academic Review -- is the fact that Abdel-Fattah allowed Muslims to speak for themselves rather than draw conclusions about them by equating all Muslims to "a group of extremists and anti-modernity radicals" who, according to Abdel-Fattah, "have been very vocal in their criticism of democracy".
Although some Muslim countries like Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, and to a lesser extent Senegal and Mali, have restored their civilisational direction through taking steady steps towards modern education, democratisation and economic development, the real challenge is in the Arab world, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, central Asia and Muslim minorities in other African and Asian countries. "That is where we are very close to bottom," Abdel-Fattah said. "This last group of countries are plagued by the diseases of fake modernisation such as urbanisation without industrialisation, verbal education without productive training, secularisation without scientification (ie decline of religious ethics without the rise of science and respect for law), and capitalist greed without capitalist discipline and spirit."
Abdel-Fattah heartily argues that democratization is the only way Muslims can catch up with the Western civilization since "it empowers people and fights corruption". Once the West managed to adopt one form of democracy or other, they moved ahead with higher levels of development, progress, scientific leaps and so on.
Full Paper
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World Council of Churches
WCC calls to freeze and dismantle Israeli settlements
 In a public "Statement on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" passed today in Geneva, Switzerland, at the end of its 26 August - 2 September meeting, the WCC central committee called "upon the government of Israel to urgently implement an open-ended freeze in good-faith on all settlement construction and expansion as a first step towards the dismantlement of all settlements".
The committee considered some 200 settlements with more than 450,000 settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories to be "illegal, unjust, incompatible with peace and antithetical to the legitimate interests of the state of Israel".
Even as "Israel's own right to exist in security evokes sympathy and solidarity around the world", the committee states, "its policies of expansion and annexation generate dismay or hostility". For the committee there is a clear distinction to be made "between the legitimate interests of the state of Israel and its illegal settlements".
The statement "reiterates the need for an international boycott of settlement products and services". WCC member churches "must not be complicit in illegal activities on occupied territory" and therefore should "practice morally responsible investment in order to influence businesses linked to the Israeli occupation and its illegal settlements", the statement says.
Full Statement |
Who is your favorite Arab moderate?
ByBikya Masr
 Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of modern Arab studies at
Columbia University and author of numerous books on the Middle East,
argues that the concept "moderate" needs to be reexamined as whole.
"In this context [moderate] almost always means someone who does as
they are told and does not oppose what Washington wants," said the
author of the upcoming book, "Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American
Dominance in the Middle East."
He believes that leaders across the region are treated differently
based on their appeasement of America's vision of the Middle East. This
creates a misunderstanding among Western elites on how the region is
viewed.
"We want change. That is what Kifaya is doing, but Washington
continues to support the regime here and allow them to detain leaders,
such as Ayman Nour and others who disagree with the government," he
began at his downtown Cairo office.
"If they are not careful, considering the recent Israeli war on
Gaza, many Egyptians will become even more angry at America for its
decisions to allow this horrible government to do what it wants. We are
ready for change, but there has to be pressure from [President] Obama."
The question then is what can be done in order to not alienate the
"moderates." Khalidi, who has written and talked extensively on
democratic change in the region, says that "true democracy" must be
undertaken and supported by Washington.
"The only thing that can be done is to encourage true democracy in
countries allied with the United States like Egypt, Jordan and Morocco
where Islamic movements are powerful. Whether these movements will
continue to play by democratic rules where democracy is systematically
foiled by the state with the support of the US is unknowable, but the
alternative - opening up the political system - seems preferable to
me," he argued.
Full Article |
Administration Seeks to Keep Terror Watch-List Data Secret
By Ellen Nakashima | The Washington Post
Advocates for civil liberties and open government argue that the administration has not proved the secrecy is necessary and that the proposed changes could make the government less accountable for errors on watch lists.
Rather than expanding the list of FOIA exemptions, Congress should pay more attention to improving the procedures for helping people who have been improperly included on the watch list, Sobel said. "There's a serious redress problem," he said. "That's the issue that needs to be addressed."
A consolidated government watch list was created in 2004 and is housed at the Terrorist Screening Center. As of last September, it included about 1.1 million names and aliases corresponding to 400,000 individuals. The TSC feeds names and other data to the Transportation Security Administration's air passenger "no-fly" list, the State Department's Consular Lookout and Support System list, and the FBI's Violent Gang and Terrorist Organizations File, as well as to state and local agencies.
A May report by the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General found the watch-list process to be flawed, with the FBI failing to "update or remove watch list records as required." In one instance, an individual remained on the list nearly five years after the after the underlying terrorism case had been closed, the report found.
Kolton noted that fewer than 5 percent of the 400,000 people whose names are on the watch list are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. "The vast majority of people on the watch list are not currently in the U.S.,'' he said.
Full Article
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Nothing to celebrate in Libya today
By Rami G. Khouri | Daily Star staff
 If there is a moment, a place, a person, and a legacy that come together to bring sadness to all Arabs, they are upon us this week in the 40th anniversary of the September 1, 1969 revolution that brought Moammar Gadhafi to power. There is nothing to celebrate today in Libya, other than a colossal waste of that country's human and natural resources over four decades.
Gadhafi's Libya is everything we always dreaded we would become, as independent states, societies, governing systems and leaderships. It is hard to know where to start in listing the reasons that the 40th anniversary of Gadhafi's rule is a hollow celebration. He and his small circle of ruling partners have managed, remarkably, to accomplish virtually every failure that can possibly be envisaged in the world of statehood and governance.
The litany of four decades of failure in Libya is long and thick, and hard to believe were it not true. Now we are asked to believe that Gadhafi's sons and presumed heirs embrace democracy and liberalism; yet somehow that proposition is hard to take seriously, as power continues to be exercised without any real accountability. This is a sad anniversary for a rich land that has mostly experienced derision, indictment, isolation and underachievement in recent decades.
The Arab world watches silently, knowing that the Libyan tale is not so alien to our region - it is merely the most severe example of a management style that has made underachievement the hallmark of the modern Arab world. The West, meanwhile, looks to Libya for more opportunities to sign lucrative new contracts, oblivious to both the moral legacy of its own history in the Middle East or the desperate quest for simple dignity by the ordinary Arab citizen. There is nothing to celebrate today - 40 years and $400 billion later - there is nothing to commemorate other than monumental sadness.
Full Article
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Advocating Constitutional Democracy in Libya
On the occasion of Gaddafi's visit to New York on the 23rd September, to attend the 64th opening ceremony of the UN General Assembly, the American Libyan Freedom Alliance (ALFA), jointly with the Association of Libyan Expatriate Communities (ALEC) will sponsor a protest rally outside the U.N. Headquarters in New York.
Hammarskjold Plaza, East 47th Street, Between 1st and 2nd Avenues
New York City, New York
September 23, 2009 - 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
We must raise our voices loud and clear in support of justice and democracy, and an end to oppression in Libya. All Libyans, Americans, alongside all people of conscience must make a firm stand in the face of tyranny.
For more information, please contact:
Websites: http://www.alfa-online.net/
e-mails: info@alfa-online.net
Sincerely,
Mohamed M. Bugaighis, Ph.D
Chairman, American Libyan Freedom Alliance (ALFA)
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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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