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CSID Train-the-Trainer Workshops on:
Islam and Democracy - Towards an Effective Citizenship
The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy is organizing four "Train the Trainer" Workshops in Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, and Bahrain, on the following dates:
Workshop in Casablanca - November 13-15, 2009
Workshop in Tunis - November 20-22, 2009
Workshop in Amman - December 10-12, 2009
Workshop in Manama - December 17-19, 2009
 The training methodology is based on the textbook "Islam and Democracy - Towards an Effective Citizenship", which was written by 8 scholars and authors from the Arab World, in cooperation with CSID and Street Law, Inc. During the past four years, this training manual has been used to train over 4,000 civil society activists, teachers, journalists, religious leaders in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, and Sudan.
We invite all those who are interested in taking parts in one of these 3-day training workshops (in Arabic) to fill out and send their application form by Nov. 7. The number of steas is limited to 10 per workshop. There are no registration fees, but the participant must cover his or her own travel and accommodation expenses. Conditions for participation in these workshops are:
- Participation in a previous CSID regional or local workshop as a trainee on Islam & Democracy,
- Being an active member with a local civil society organization in your country,
- Having the desire, qualifications, and the means to become a trainer, and train other people.
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CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY
Call for Paper Proposals
U.S. Engagement with the Muslim World:
One Year After Cairo
CSID's 11th Annual Conference
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Washington DC
In a much-anticipated speech in June 2009, President Barack Obama, speaking from the Egyptian capital, sought a "new beginning" in U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Promising to move beyond terrorism and security to focus on issues of mutual interest, the President laid out an ambitious agenda for overhauling ties between his country and the world's 1.57 billion Muslims. Since the speech there has been considerable debate over its meaning and significance: were Obama's words to be accompanied by new programs and concrete initiatives, or were they merely intended to signal a new diplomatic posture towards the Muslim world? Muslim audiences tended to welcome the speech, but indicated that they would reserve judgment until it was translated into action. Months after the speech-with the U.S. administration bogged down by healthcare reform, economic recovery, and ongoing challenges in Afghanistan-the path towards improved relations with the Islamic world remains unclear.
CSID's most recent conference invited reflections on what might be possible for the U.S. and the Islamic world under a new U.S. administration. Following naturally from this previous theme, its 11th annual conference will assess the state of U.S.-Muslim world relations a year after the Cairo speech. What, if anything, has changed in terms of how the United States approaches its major policy challenges in the Muslim world? Do we see signs that governments and other actors in the Muslim world regard the U.S. differently since the new administration came into office?
Paper proposals are invited from prospective participants on the following four broad topics related to the main conference theme. Prospective presenters are also welcome to submit papers that fall outside these topics, but must establish their relevance to the broader conference theme:
A. The Cairo Speech Agenda: Fulfilled or Deferred?
How have U.S.-Islamic world relations fared in the year following President Obama's Cairo speech? Has the new U.S. administration delivered on its commitment to a "new beginning" with the Muslim world? Can we detect significant differences in how the United States is viewed by the Muslim world?
B. Democracy Development in the Muslim World: New Approaches or No Longer a Priority?
The previous U.S. administration placed a premium on democratization in the Middle East and Muslim world, but received mixed reviews on its implementation. Some argue that so far the Obama administration has largely abandoned the democracy agenda in favor of regional security interests. How does the current administration view democratization in the context of other challenges it faces in the Muslim world, and to what extent can we detect any policy shifts?
C. The Role of American Muslims in U.S.-Islamic World Relations
President Obama made special mention of Muslim Americans in his Cairo speech. What role have Muslims in the United States played in promoting ties with the wider Muslim world and to what extent do they serve to promote economic development, political reform, and new thinking? Will the appointment of a Special Representative to Muslim Communities at the State Department have significant consequences for outreach to American Muslims and beyond?
D. The U.S. and Conflict in the Muslim World
From Afghanistan to the Israel/Palestine conflict, much of the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world continues to be defined by ongoing conflicts. How has the Obama administration dealt with these situations and have we seen any signs of new thinking?
Paper proposals (no more than 400 words) are Due by December 10, 2009 and should be sent to:
Prof. Peter Mandaville
Chair, Conference Program Committee
E-mail: conference2010@islam-democracy.org
Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by January 22, 2010 and final papers must be submitted by March 15, 2010.
Selected panelists and speakers must cover their own travel and accommodations to participate in the conference, and pay the conference registration fee by March 15, 2010. Speakers and panelists coming from overseas will receive a contribution of $300 from CSID to defray travel expenses.
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Engaging the Muslim World
By Emile Nakhleh | Special to Gulf News
 President Barack Obama's election and post-inauguration statements on political Islam and his speeches in Turkey and Cairo have resonated well in the Muslim world, reflecting a willingness to move beyond the confrontational policy of the previous administration to a new era of "smart diplomacy".
Obama's Cairo speech and his elaboration on his vision of future relations with the Muslim world helped put to rest the perception that many Muslims held during the previous administration that the war on terror was a war on Islam.
Islamization of politics has changed qualitatively and quantitatively after 9/11, with growing demands for economic, educational, political, and social justice in Muslim societies, and numerous Islamic political parties and movements have become more engaged in the political process through elections.
By engaging mainstream Islamic political parties and other civil society institutions on the basis of mutual trust, respect and common values, the United States will help promote international peaceful cooperation and in the process further their interests and the interests of Muslim societies.
 Reaching out to the vast majority of people requires deep expertise, a thorough knowledge of the cultures involved, a coherent and carefully crafted message, and utilisation of credible indigenous Muslim voices. Islamic political parties in the Middle East and elsewhere are central to engaging the Islamic world.
As the Obama administration proceeds with implementing some of the principles enunciated by the US president in the Cairo speech, policymakers will have to find ways to convince regimes that engaging civil society institutions and non-state actors in those societies will not necessarily undermine those regimes.
If the people in a particular country have the right to choose their government freely, they will be more invested in social peace and political stability, which in the long-run such a development will minimise the tensions between state and society.
In the final analysis, engaging Muslim societies must go through Islamic parties and movements in those societies.
Read full Article here.
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 Middle Eastern Democrats and Their Vision of the Future
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
8:30a.m. - 2:00p.m.
Democrats in the Middle East have been fighting uphill battles to reform and open up their political space. Some governments have conceded to local demands for partial reform and relaxed political control and the advent of the internet and satellite television have provided additional safe space for emerging civic networks.
Given the considerable interest that the United States has in democratic progress in the Middle East, it is important that positive trends continue and that the prospect for democracy be fully appreciated. NED is holding this conference to give leading Middle Eastern democrats an opportunity to share their concerns with an American audience, and to highlight the challenges they believe lie ahead as well as their vision of the possibilities for democratic progress in the region.
Agenda
9:00 - 9:30am: Keynote Address
Congressman Howard Berman, Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
9:30 - 10:45am: Panel - "Toward Free and Fair Elections: Prospects and Challenges"
Panelists:
Ayman Nour , Head of the Egyptian El Ghad Party, former MP and Presidential Candidate
Dr. Aseel al-Awadhi, Member of Parliament, Kuwait (one of four women elected in May 2009)
Commentators:
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Wallerstein Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Drew University
Tamara Cofman Wittes, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution (invited)
Moderator:
Lorne Craner, President, International Republican Institute
10:45 - 11:00am Coffee Break
11:00am - 12:15pm: Panel - "Implementing Democratic Reform: The Role of Civil Society"
Panelists:
Ziad Baroud, Interior Minister, Lebanon; Founding Member, Democratic Renewal Movement
Musa Maaytah, Minister of Political Development, Jordan
Nouzha Skelli, Minister of Social Development, Morocco
Commentator:
Michele Dunne, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Moderator:
Ken Wollack, President, National Democratic Institute
12:15 - 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00 - 2:00pm: Luncheon Address
Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Near East Affairs (invited)
2:00pm: Adjournment
Full Announcement and to RSVP
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How should we understand Tunisia's polls?
By Rami G. Khouri | The Daily Star
 It is difficult to understand, rationally or emotionally, the full meaning of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's election victory for a fifth consecutive term Sunday, with 89.6 percent of the vote, after two decades in power. One wonders whether we should congratulate the president on his massive victory, or offer him expressions of sympathy because his share of the votes slipped below 90 percent for the first time since he took over power in 1987.
Tunisia's polls remind us that the most pressing priorities in all Arab countries are squarely anchored in distorted domestic systems. More precisely, the single biggest constraint to the development of the Arab world is the nonstop exercise of power by relatively small groups of men whose unchecked control of the security, police and military services allows them to define how all other sectors of society function, including the economic, education, and cultural dimensions of life, and the judicial and legislative branches of government. The entire governance system becomes a private domain of control and wealth whose sole function is to perpetuate itself and maintain calm.
The people and citizens of the Arab world have not been able to change this pattern of rule, and - with the exception of the controversial US-led attack on Iraq in 2003 - nor has the rest of the world seen it fit to do anything about it, either. The conclusion must be that life-long, non-democratic, self-appointed Arab presidents are an acceptable phenomenon in today's world, perhaps because the alternative is more frightening. The life-long presidents and rulers of our region claim that the stability they provide is the single most important requirement of their societies, and nobody seems able to challenge that claim or to change this pattern.
It seems obvious to any rational, honest person who knows the Arab region and other parts of our world, that this is an unnatural way to govern entire countries, because it results in complacent citizens that have been coerced and intimidated into their docile state of being. But hidden beneath the surface calm of the modern Arab security state are the immense indignities of not being allowed to exercise core elements of one's fundamental human rights - to speak freely, to hear opposing views, to express cultural and other identities, to organize and mobilize peacefully for social and political change.
Such indignities are suffered quietly, over many years and presidential terms, yet they accumulate over time in the hearts of men and women who appreciate stability, but who also yearn for the ability to exercise the total dimensions of their God-given faculties, to live as total, not partial, human beings.
Read Full Article.
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87-Member Minority Caucus:
Muslim 'Intern Spy' Hunt Smacks of McCarthy Era
By Justin Elliott | TPMMuckraker
 In a strongly-worded statement today, the Congressional Tri-Caucus, which represents three minority caucuses, denounced a call by four GOP lawmakers for an investigation into whether Muslim "intern spies" have infiltrated the Hill.
"These charges smack of an America of sixty years ago where lists of 'un-American' agitators were identified," said Reps. Michael Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). They are the chairs of the Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Black Caucus, and the Hispanic Caucus, respectively.
The statement names the four Republican members who filed a formal request with the sergeant at arms to look into whether the Council on American Islamic Relations, which they claim is tied to Hamas, has planted interns on national security committees. The charge is based on a book called Muslim Mafia, written by a man who the Tri-Caucus labels "an anti-Islamic activist."
The Tri-Caucus statement says: "The idea that we should investigate Muslim interns as spies is a blow to the very principle of religious freedom that our founding fathers cherished so dearly."
These charges smack of an America of sixty years ago where lists of "un-American" agitators were identified. We should be affirming the importance of diversity and tolerance for all interns and staff who serve in Congress without suspicion of being identified as "spies."
We ask these charges be disavowed and we issue a hearty welcome to interns and staff of all creeds, color, ethnicities and sexual orientation.
For the full statement, and article, click here.
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A NEW CEIP REPORT:
Boost democracy promotion with well-targeted aid reforms
Democracy is largely stagnant in the world and a growing number of governments exhibit hostility toward international democracy aid. Faced with this daunting context, President Obama and his foreign policy team have so far moved only cautiously to formulate an approach to democracy promotion.
Thomas Carothers says in a new Carnegie report that tackling longstanding problems with the basic structures of U.S. democracy aid would boost this effort. As the largest source of such assistance, USAID is an obvious starting point for deep-reaching reforms.
Key Conclusions
 With the Obama administration having launched major reviews of development policy, a critical juncture exists for substantial reforms of USAID and other key actors in U.S. democracy assistance, a domain that now consists of $2.5 billion a year of aid programs in more than 80 countries.
Although USAID has a long record of positive contributions to numerous democratic transitions, its accumulated institutional woes lead to democracy aid efforts that fall short due to lack of flexibility, stifled innovation, and lack of institutional commitment.
Fixing USAID's shortcomings will require determined, focused leadership at USAID, with active support from Congress and the Obama administration. As Congress and the administration take up the larger overhaul of U.S. development policy generally, they should not neglect the domain of democracy and governance support.
Click here to read or download the report.
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Egypt's Brotherhood is knocking
By Jeffrey Fleishman | The Los Angeles Times
Egypt is a trusted U.S. ally that has kept peace with Israel for 30 years. A rise in power by the Brotherhood, which supports armed resistance against the Jewish state, would upset that balance. The group also could instigate unrest and damage prospects for a smooth government transition after the 81-year-old Mubarak dies or steps down.
But Egypt's repression of the Brotherhood and other opposition groups weakens the Obama administration's credibility in the region. Washington has stressed wider political freedoms in Egypt but, wary of the Brotherhood's intentions, has not harshly criticized Mubarak for his country's poor human rights record.
 The Brotherhood is facing growing pressure from within and without. About 400 of its members, including several top figures, have been arrested in the latest crackdown. The organization is contending with internal divisions between conservatives and reformers and between those who support the Brotherhood's political ambitions and those who argue it should return to its roots as a religious and social movement.
The recent arrests appear to be a move by the ruling National Democratic Party to weaken the group ahead of 2010 parliamentary elections. Members of the Brotherhood, which is officially banned, ran as independents in 2005 and won 20% of the seats in parliament. Another strong showing next year could complicate what analysts believe is the NDP's plan to have Mubarak's largely untested son Gamal succeed his father.
The Brotherhood is working with other groups to block the succession. The organization claims it does not want to govern Egypt, but its street popularity gives it leverage secular opposition groups lack.
"I would not be exaggerating to say that Gamal Mubarak's succession to power will not take place without brokering a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood, allowing them to participate in political life and granting Gamal the popular cover he urgently needs," Khalil Anani, an expert on political Islam, wrote recently in the Daily News Egypt.
The Brotherhood does speak to the religious devotion that has been intensifying in Egypt since the 1990s. Its challenge, however, is finding a mix of religion and politics that will fit into the mainstream. That has been a problem since the group was founded in 1928 by a teacher who wanted to impose the Koran on all aspects of Egyptian life.
"We're not looking for power. We want to reform the country," said Essam Erian, a leading Brotherhood reformer who spent years in jail.
"Egypt is the best place to build an Islamic democracy because we're moderate," he said. "But the West still stereotypes and is afraid of Islam, and the [Mubarak] regime has convinced the West that dictatorship is better than Islamic democracy."
Read full article here.
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 State Department Internship Summary- Apply by November 2 deadline
- All college students can apply. There are internships for high school students as well.
- If you secure this internship, you can apply for a $6,000 fellowship as well.
- This announcement is for full time, paid and unpaid, internships for Summer 2010. Interns serve for a period of 10 consecutive weeks during the Summer. There are many vacancies throughout the world.
The U.S. Department of State offers opportunities to get first hand experience in the field of foreign affairs. Whether you work in the U.S. or at one of 265-plus posts around the world, you will help the Department create a more secure, prosperous and democratic world. Students from all majors can make a real difference by helping build and keep positive relationships between America and the rest of the world.
Internships are excellent preparation for future careers in both the Civil Service and the Foreign Service. The Department is looking for students with a broad range of majors, such as Business or Public Administration, Social Work, Economics, Information Management, Journalism, and the Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences, as well as those majors more traditionally identified with international affairs.
Key Requirements:
- A U.S. citizen
- A student, as defined in the Qualifications & Evaluation section
- In good academic standing in an accredited institution
Apply Here.
For questions about the internship program, please contact the Student Programs Office at 202-261-8888. Please DO NOT send an e-mail to State Department. You will not receive a response. |
Symposium on:
Religion & Democracy in the Foreign Policy of the Obama Administration
November 3, 2009 | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Copley Formal Lounge
Georgetown University
»rsvp required
The day-long event will consist of four panels, each of which will examine the question of religion and democracy in U.S. foreign policy from a different perspective. The panels will address the role of religious actors in U.S. democracy programs and policies; the "twin tolerations" and democratic stability in highly religious societies; emerging trends in the data concerning the relationships between religion and democracy; and the relationship between Islam and democracy in key Muslim countries.
Symposium Agenda
9:00 am - Opening Remarks
Thomas Banchoff, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs
9:10 - 10:30: The "Twin Tolerations" As a Model for Foreign Policy Thinking
Alfred Stepan, Columbia University
Jean Bethke Elshtain, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs
Timothy Samuel Shah, Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, Boston University
Moderator: Thomas Farr, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs
10:45- 12:00: New Trends in the Data on Religion and Democracy
Brian Grim, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
Harris Mylonas, George Washington University
Daniel Philpott, University of Notre Dame
Moderator: Allen Herztke, The Brookings Institution
12:15 - 1:00: Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar
1:15 - 2:45: Religion and Democracy Promotion in the Obama Administration
Gerald Hyman, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Thomas Melia, Freedom House
Eric Patterson, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs
Moderator: Jennifer Marshall, The Heritage Foundation
3:00 - 4:30: Thinking About Islam and Democracy
Hassan Abbas, Harvard University
Emile Nakhleh, Former Senior Intelligence Officer
Dalia Mogahid, Gallup
Moderator and Discussant: Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs
RSVP
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By supporting CSID, YOU:
- Create a better future for our children so they can have more opportunities for improving their lives and realizing their dreams.
- Educate and inform Americans about Islam's true values of tolerance, peace, and good will towards mankind, including peoples of other faiths.
- Improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world by supporting popular movements rather than oppressive tyrannies and corrupt regimes.
- Replace the feelings of hopelessness, despair, and anger in many parts of the Muslim world, especially among the youth, with a more positive and hopeful outlook for the future.
- Encourage young Muslim Americans, and Muslims everywhere, to participate in the political process and to reject calls for destructive violence and extremism.
- Build a network of Muslim democrats around the globe who can share knowledge and experience about how to build and strengthen democratic institutions and traditions in the Muslim countries.
Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy
Membership/Donation Form 2009-2010
Name: ___________________________________________________ Institution:________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ City____________________State______________Zip _____________ Tel.:______________________________________________________ Fax.:_____________________________________________________ E-mail:___________________________________________________ I would like to join CSID as: Student Member ❑$20 Newsletter Subscription ❑ $20 Institutional Member ❑ $200 CSID 500 Club ❑ $500 Associate Member ❑ $50 Founding Member ❑ $1000 Member ❑ $100 Lifetime Member ❑ $2500 National Advisory Board ❑ $1,000 International Advisory Board ❑ $5,000I would like to make a tax-deductible donation for: $__________ I would like to make a pledge to CSID for: ❑ $1000 ❑ $500 ❑ $200 ❑ $100 ❑ $50 Other________ I would like to pledge a monthly donation of _______over___months. Please mail, along with payment, to: CSID, 1625 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 601, Washington, D.C. 20036 The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy is a non-profit think tank, based in Washington DC - dedicated to promoting a better understanding of democracy in the Muslim world, and a better understanding of Islam in America. To achieve its objectives, the Center organizes meetings, conferences, and publishes several reports and periodicals. CSID engages Muslim groups, parties, and governments - both secularist and moderate Islamist - in public debates on how to reconcile Muslims' interpretation of Islam and democracy. CSID is committed to providing democracy education to ordinary citizens, civil society, religious and political leaders in the Muslim world, and has organized meetings, workshops, and conferences in over 25 countries, including Nigeria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Iran, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, etc.
" In just a few years, CSID has done remarkable work in facilitating the vital discussion about Islam and democracy in the United States and beyond. In so doing it has made an invaluable contribution to breaking down prejudice and misunderstanding and to meeting the crucial challenge of advancing human rights and democracy in the Muslim world." Neil Hicks
Human Rights Defenders Program
" The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) plays an absolutely vital role in creating a platform for the voices of democracy and reform throughout the Muslim World. Equally vital is the role they play in bringing a better understanding of the diversity within Islam to the people of America. CSID's advocacy of Islamic values coupled with democratic principles needs and merits our support." John D. Sullivan
Center for International Private Enterprise
For more on What they Say about CSID please visit our website: www.csidonline.org
Please support CSID with your membership and/or donation 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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