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Dear Friends, Members, and Subscribers of CSID:
We invite you to support the Center's educational programs, and activities by making a tax-deductible* contribution to this campaign. Your gift will help enable CSID to build as many new bridges, and strengthen as many existing ones, as possible. Since 1999, CSID has been working hard to achieve the following four major objectives:
- Promote and strengthen the culture and institutions of democracy, freedom, and human rights in the Arab and Muslim worlds,
- Improve and strengthen religious freedom and interfaith relations and dialogue in the U.S. and across the globe,
- Improve relations and understanding between the U.S. and the Muslim World,
- Inform and educate the American people, media, and policymakers about Islam and the issues and concerns of Arabs and Muslims throughout the world.
Despite all the challenges, obstacles, and difficulties, we believe that CSID's efforts are paying off. Extremist groups and individuals are increasingly marginalized in the Arab and Muslim worlds as well as in the United States. However, there is still much work that needs to be done in order to consolidate these gains, and build a better future for all of us. We need your help and support to continue our mission and serve our community, our country, and the world at large by serving the cause of peaceful coexistence, respect, dignity, hope, good governance, and democracy.
Your TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION or your membership fee will help support and strengthen CSID in 2010. By becoming a member or donor of CSID, you will also receive the following benefits:
- Receive copies of CSID Newsletters, the quarterly Muslim Democrat and the monthly Democracy Watch,
- Receive invitations to all CSID events, conferences, seminars, and workshops, in your city or country,
- Special discounts on all paid CSID conferences, seminars, and workshops,
- Free copies of all CSID publications, books, and reports (upon request).
- Free membership in the Network of Democrats in the Arab World (NDAW), upon request.
- The right to run for office and to elect members of the CSID Board of Directors (for full members).
- Ability to network and connect with other members of CSID who share your views and concerns.
Please do not delay, and make a donation TODAY! If you send your donation or renew your membership by Dec. 31, you can deduct the full amount from your 2009 taxes.
Please donate $100 today, or whatever you can afford. Your contribution is vital to the continued success of CSID.
Thank you again for your support, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely;
Radwan A. Masmoudi, Ph.D.
Founder and President
Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy
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About CSID
By supporting CSID, you help to: - 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 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 ❑ $5,000
I 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________
Please mail, along with payment, to:
CSID
1625 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 601,
Washington, D.C. 20036
Please donate generously. Your contribution to CSID is both tax-deductible, and zakat-eligible. Your contribution will make a world of difference.
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.
"The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy has for ten years
played a critical role in setting out a vision of a Muslim world that
would be modern and democratic, in promoting debate about the political
development of the Middle East, and in promoting better appreciation of
Islam at a time when distrust and misunderstanding are rampant."
Francis Fukuyama
Johns Hopkins University
"The work the CSID is doing is remarkable. It works in and on one of
the most difficult regions of the world with patience, consistency and
commitment. CSID is a symbol that Islam and Democracy are not only
compatible but can be mutually reinforcing."
Razmik Panossian, Director
Rights & Democracy, Canada
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Fatwa on Zakat for CSID
"Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah. and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom". [al-Tawba, verse 60]
It is clear from the above verse from the Holy Qur'an that Zakat money can be given to one of these well-defined categories. The efforts and activities of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) fall under the category of "in the cause of Allah" (fi sabeel illah), since the Center was created for, and is working towards, resisting the negative effects of oppression and dictatorship which dehumanize people and control their lives and destiny. Working toward these objectives requires educating people about the dangers and negative aspects of oppression, the necessity of eliminating all manifestations and root causes of oppression, dictatorship, and injustice, and raising the awareness of the Muslim Ummah about how to get rid of oppression and oppressors. This kind of activity can be counted as a way of getting close to Allah swt (Qurba) and can be categorized as an activity "in the cause of Allah". Therefore, it is permissible for those who need to give their Zakat money to spend some of it to support CSID and its noble cause.
Dr. Taha Jabir Alalwani
Former President,
Fiqh Council of North America
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