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In This Issue
CSID Seminars in Morocco and Algeria on Democracy and Human Rights in the Arab World
A Mosque in the Bible Belt
CBS and NBC rightly reject inflammatory ad about NY mosque
Muslims In U.S. Face Challenges Erecting Mosques
Racism veiled as liberation
Liberty U. removing Ergun Caner as Seminary dean
Egypt's Persecuted Christians
ISLAMOPHOBIA WATCH:...Alliance Of Civilizations Expert Database Heavily Weighted Toward Global MB
The Makings of History:...A personal and collective war
Palestinians seek new partner: American Jews
A Squandered Opportunity
ISLAM AND THE WEST...What does Obama want?
About CSID
CSID Seminars in Morocco and Algeria on:

Democracy and Human Rights in the Arab World


 
CSID is pleased to announce that it will be organizing two seminars on:

July 24, in Rabat, Morocco
and
July 26 in Algiers, Algeria

Democracy and Human Rights in the Arab World

The main themes of these two seminars are:
  1. What are the main obstacles and challenges facing political reforms and human rights in the Arab World?
  2. What has been accomplished so far in the last 10 years?
  3. What are the main priorities that must be emphasized in the next 5 years?
  4. What has dialogue between moderate Islamists and secularists achieved and how can dialogue and collaboration be strengthened?
  5. Drafting and launching a New Appeal to the regimes and the rulers for greater emphasis on political reforms, democracy, and human rights in the Arab world.

Leading scholars, politicians, and activists have been invited to attend and participate in these two seminars.  If you are interested in attending, please send an e-mail (with a brief bio or description of your organization) by Tuesday, July 20th, to:  info@islam-democracy.org


A Mosque in the Bible Belt



By Lee Wishing | World Magazine


Mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Mosque in Murfreesboro
A
re Muslims making a bold statement by building a 52,000-square-foot Islamic Community Center in the town known as the "buckle of the Bible Belt?" If so, what is that statement and how should the people of Murfreesboro, Tenn., deal with it?

What would you do if a plan for a large Islamic campus featuring a mosque, an imam educated in Egypt, an education area, a soccer field, a tennis court, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, and a cemetery came to your community? Would you be enthusiastic, angry, ambivalent, scared about the potential establishment of a separate community governed by Sharia law or the decline of property values? What would you expect your pastor to do? Your local newspapers? Your political leaders? It sounds like a case study for a graduate school program in sociology or religion. For the residents of Murfreesboro, however, this is real life.

Murfreesboro is a community in turmoil today. If the Rutherford County Commission allows the project to go forward, how then should the town's Christians respond?

First, recall Christ's commandment to love our neighbors. Also, recognize that there are several moderate Muslims who are doing good work to promote a peaceful interpretation of the Qur'an consistent with democratic life. Radwan Masmoudi of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy is perhaps the leading light of this movement. He wrote, "The reformation of Islam will require freedom and democracy, and right now, the only place where we have them is in the West." A conversation with Masmoudi may be a positive step forward. A thoughtful Christian scholar on this matter is Regent University's Joseph Kickasola, who teaches that there is a culture clash taking place within Islam, with moderates caught between radical secularists and radical Islamists. Moreover, it may be salutary to learn Muslim cultural customs in order to enhance Christian-Muslim dialogue. Remember, the apostle Paul was able to gain an audience among the Greeks because he took time understand their society and address them within their cultural comfort zone. Acquiring an understanding of the local imam's education at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo as well as his graduate school theses may shed light on his beliefs and intentions.

Whether or not it was intended, Muslims are making a bold statement in Murfreesboro. Christians can make a bold statement too by learning about their Muslim neighbors and their goals, by seeking to engage them in dialogue, and by loving them and showing them the peace that Christ offers. This Bible Belt town could one day serve as a template for Christian-Muslim relations in America.


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CBS and NBC rightly reject inflammatory ad about NY mosque


By Cynthia Tucker | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Given that the United States takes pride in a diverse culture that honors mainstream religions, it is downright un-American to smear Muslims by suggesting that they are all murdering jihadists. Yet, that's what some groups have done with an ugly attack on a group that wants to build a mosque two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center.

View the Controversial Ad against the NYC Mosque here.
Ad against Mosque in NYC
The National Republican Trust PAC has a vicious advertisement against the mosque which, in essence, accuses all Muslims of participating in the 9/11 atrocities. CBS and NBC have used very good judgement in refusing to air it.

In her letter rejecting the spot, NBC Universal advertising standards manager Jennifer Riley wrote:

"An ad questioning the wisdom of building a mosque at ground zero would meet our issues of public controversy advertising criteria. However, this ad which ambiguously defines 'they' as referenced in the spot makes it unclear as to whether the reference is to terrorists or to the Islamic religious organization that is sponsoring the building of the mosque. Consequently, the ad is not acceptable under our guidelines for broadcast."


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Muslims In U.S. Face Challenges Erecting Mosques


NPR Interview with CSID Board Member Akbar Ahmed


Listen to the Story

All Things Considered - July 15, 2010

Akbar Ahmed
Akbar Ahmed
M
uslims all across the country have run into local opposition when they've tried to build new houses of worship. Robert Siegel speaks with Akbar Ahmed, a professor of Islamic studies at American University and author of Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam, about the experiences of Muslims in the U.S.

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:  It turns out that the story of a Muslim community hoping to build a mosque and running into opposition is hardly limited to Ground Zero. All across the country, there are congregations that turned old storefronts into mosques. The congregations have grown. They want to build new houses of worship. And the zoning process often attracts local opposition.

SIEGEL: Have I described a fairly common experience for American Muslims?

Prof. AHMED: You have, Robert. I have traveled with my research assistants for about a year in America, until last year. We visited a hundred mosques and what we found was that the attacks - and Im not saying that they're attacks in terms of physical attacks, they may be just some pressure, they may be some phone calls, they may be some swastika kind of graffiti painted on mosques. These are, A, widespread, and B, increasing in frequency.

Akbar Ahmed is a professor of Islamic studies at American University. His book is called "Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam."


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Racism veiled as liberation

Whose 'way of life' is France's lower house protecting? Not the women who wear niqabs



By Madeleine Bunting
| The Guardian

It sends a shiver down the spine. France's lower house has passed a law banning the wearing of the full Islamic veil - covering the face - in public places. The hope has to be that this extraordinary decision never actually reaches the statute book given that France's highest constitutional body, the council of state, warned some months ago that a ban would infringe constitutional rights and the measure could be challenged in the European court of human rights. Belgium and Spain are also considering bans on the veil. What makes the decision in France so disturbing is that it fits into a pattern emerging across Europe of a particular paranoia, as an open letter published today on Comment is Free and signed by more than 30 academics and commentators warns.

A Woman in Niqab
A Woman in Niqab
Let's be clear: the niqab and burqa are extreme interpretations of the Islamic requirement for modest dress; few Islamic scholars advocate their use, and many - including Tariq Ramadan - have urged women not to use them. They are as alien to many Muslim cultures as they are to the west.
And yes, there are instances of patriarchy where some women might be encouraged or even forced to wear a full veil by their husbands or fathers. But generalizations don't fit. Increasingly, young women are choosing to wear the full veil, seeing it as a powerful statement of identity.

Invoking the full weight of the state to police dress codes in public is an extraordinary extension of state powers over an aspect of citizen behaviour which is largely regarded as your own business. Provided you are wearing some clothing, western public space is a free-for-all, and across every capital in Europe that is strikingly self-evident.

Women wearing the skimpiest of mini-skirts sit down on buses next to other women in saris, business suits, salwar kameez. None of these cultural codes expressed in dress are regarded as the business of the state. Nor should they be. Public space in the west has been crucial to the generation of a civic culture of tolerance; this is where strangers rub shoulders, sometimes sharing nothing but geographical space for a period of time - five minutes in a bus queue. We have negotiated and tolerated differences - of class, culture, nationality and race - in our streets and squares, and the lapses from that crucial ambition have been shaming.

It is not difficult to see the racism which permeates this debate. It is about assertion of identity - under the soubriquet of protecting "our way of life" - and crucial to that is forcing a choice: do you subscribe or don't you? Sign up or get out. But such choices are notoriously slippery. Who gets to decide what our way of life is exactly?


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Liberty U. removing Ergun Caner as Seminary dean


By William Wan and Michelle Boorstein | Washington Post



A
s he told it to church audiences across the country, Caner was entrenched in Muslim extremism when he moved to the United States from Turkey as a teenager and found Jesus. He wrote books and, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, developed a reputation for his impassioned speeches on Muslim radicalism to largely evangelical audiences. Liberty founder Jerry Falwell Sr. chose Caner -- a bold man with a big shaved head, double-barrel chest and the personality to match -- in 2005 to be the face of his seminary. Under Caner, the seminary tripled its enrollment.

Ergun Caner
Ergun Caner
But now, few want to talk about Caner. Mention his name, and seminary staff turn cold. University leaders politely shake their heads and show you the door.

The biography of Caner, 43, has become shrouded in doubt after apparent exaggerations were brought to light by an unusual alliance of Muslim and Christian bloggers. They have pored through his sermons, books, speeches and court documents, finding contradictions in his narrative. His expertise on Islam and his claim to having been raised as a radical Sunni Muslim in Turkey have been questioned.

Wednesday is Caner's last day as dean; Liberty announced he was being removed because of "factual statements that are self-contradictory." Although he will no longer be dean, Caner will continue as a professor. Critics say the school's explanation falls short.

When Caner was appointed seminary dean five years ago, his selection was seen as daring. Although not a prominent theologian, his charisma and dramatic conversion story made him an overnight star. He was booked years in advance on a circuit of evangelical churches and schools, and his books sold well after the Sept. 11 attacks as many evangelicals sought to learn more about Muslims.


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Egypt's Persecuted Christians

Violence against Copts is on the rise and all but ignored by the state.


By MOHEB ZAKI | OP-ED in the WSJ



Coptic Church in Egypt
Coptic Church in Egypt
A
few weeks ago in the coastal city of Marsa Matrouh, an enraged mob of some 3,000 angry Muslims gathered after Friday prayers. After the mosque's imam exhorted them to cleanse the city of its infidel Christians, called Copts, they went on a rampage.  The toll was heavy: 18 homes, 23 shops and 16 cars were completely destroyed, while 400 Copts barricaded themselves in their church for 10 hours until the frenzy died out.

This was only the latest of more than a dozen such attacks during the past year, including in the village of Kafr El-Barbary on June 26, the town of Farshout on Nov. 21, and the village of Shousha on Nov. 23. Then came Naga Hamadi, where passengers in a drive-by car fired at random into Christians leaving a Coptic Christmas service on Jan. 6. The massacre killed seven and left 26 seriously wounded.

Although the Copts have long been the target of sporadic attacks, the violence of the last few years is more like a purge, as waves of mob assaults have forced hundreds, sometimes thousands of Christian citizens to flee their homes. In each incident the police, despite frantic appeals, invariably arrive after the violence is over. Later the injured are coerced by the special security police forces into accepting "reconciliation" with their attackers, in order to avoid the prosecution of the guilty. No Muslim to date has been convicted for any of these crimes.

Egypt's Christian Copts, about 12% of the population, have long been subject to customary and official discrimination. No church, for example, can be built or even repaired without a presidential decree. Copts are excluded from the intelligence and security services because they are deemed a security risk. This discrimination springs from a belief deeply grounded in the social psyche of the ruling elite and large sectors of the Muslim community that it is unreasonable in an Islamic society to expect strict equality between Muslims and the infidels.

But the dhimmi status of the Copts will not be changed by sweet persuasion. It will only change by persistent domestic struggle supported by vigorous international pressure. The Copts do not demand the tolerance of Muslims but equal rights with them.

Mr. Zaki is a former managing director of the Ibn Khaldun Center, a nonprofit organization that supports democracy and civil rights in Egypt and the Middle East.


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ISLAMOPHOBIA WATCH:

Alliance Of Civilizations Expert Database Heavily Weighted Toward Global Muslim Brotherhood

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/9782
http://globalmbreport.org/?p=3266


The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Media Program announced the launch of a new version of its Global Expert Finder, an online resource aimed at connecting journalists, editors, and producers with experts on political, religious, and cultural issues and crises.The UN Alliance said Global Expert Finder offers commentary and analysis on topics including politics, terrorism, human rights, women's rights, globalization, religion, and culture, allowing users to search experts based on areas of expertise, location, and language, as well as to sign up for media alerts. Podcasts and video interviews were also added to the site.

Among experts contributing to Global Expert Finder: Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University economist and fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations; Karen Armstrong, British religious scholar, author and TED prize winner in 2008; Kjell Magne Bondevik, former prime minister of Norway; Gareth Evans, former foreign minister of Australia; Ken Roth, director of Human Rights Watch; Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies; Richard Barrett, coordinator of the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Unit; and Andre Azoulay, chief adviser to His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

A search of the new Expert Finder under the categories of religion and terrorism reveals that it list numerous individuals either tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood or highly supportive of the global Brotherhood including:
  • John Esposito (US AOC rep, Georgetown University academic and long-time global Brotherhood supporter)
  • Karen Armstrong (US APC rep. religion writer with strong ties to the USMB (see below)
  • Dalia Mogahed (Obama Administration faith adviser with family ties to the Global Muslim Brotherhood, Esposito colleague)
  • Alistair Crooke (former UK intelligence operative, Head of Conflicts Forum andauthor of books raising Hamas and Hezbollah)
  • Oliver McTernan (supportive of INTERPAL, the UK Good member organization)
  • Abdulaziz Sachedina (Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID)
  • Sara Silvestri (UK academic favorable toward Global Muslim Brotherhood)
  • Joel Beinin (far-left Stanford academic, supported Sami Al-Arian, the Islamic JIhad leader in the US)
  • Abdeslam Maghraoui (United States Institute of Peace, participant in 2006meeting in Belgium with US and European Muslim Brotherhood)
  • Abdallah Schleifer (Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID)
  • Asma Afsaruddin (Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID)
It should be noted that the Alliance of Civilizations (AOC) Expert Finder does contain the name of several individuals who would likely be critical of the Global Muslim Brotherhood including French journalist Caroline Fourest, French academic Gilles Kepel, and French Islamic scholar Mohammed Arkoun, they are far outnumbered by the individuals listed above and all from one country.

As discussed in an earlier post, the Obama administration was preparing to join the AOC which is represented in the US and Europe by individuals sympathetic to the global Muslim Brotherhood including two listed above:
  • Prof. John Esposito (United States)
  • Rabbi Arthur Schneier (United States)
  • Hubert Védrine (France)
  • Karen Armstrong (United Kingdom)
As discussed in an earlier post, the AOC itself has taken positions consistent with those of the Global Muslim Brotherhood and lauded the work of three organizations tied to the global Brotherhood. As that post noted, the AOC has cited the work of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), an organization initiated by Dr. Espositio in 1998 and also tied to the global Brotherhood. As identified above, several of the AOC experts are affiliated with CSID.

___________________

Editor's Note: CSID categorically denies that it has any ideological or organizational links with the Muslim Brotherhood, although we see it as a legitimate political and religious movement that has denounced violence and has every right to participate in the political process in the countries in which it exists (Egypt and most of the Arab countries).  We also call on the so-called  "Global Muslim Brotherhood Report" to step out from behind a veil of total anonymity and to source the claims they make. Their work represents wholly unaccountable rumor-mongering that others end up parroting as fact.


The Makings of History:  A personal and collective war

U.S. envoy Hannah S. Rosenthal believes that Jews cannot fight anti-Semitism by themselves and Muslims cannot fight the hatred they experience by themselves: There is need for a joint war against racism in general.


By Tom Segev |  Haaretz

U.S. envoy Hannah S. Rosenthal
Hannah S. Rosenthal
H
annah S. Rosenthal's calling card bears the golden eagle emblem - the symbol of the United States - with 13 stars arranged in the shape of a six-pointed star. It looks like a Star of David. Her official title is extremely wordy: "the special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor." Appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rosenthal fearlessly identifies with the Jewish left in America; before assuming her present position, she was active in Americans for Peace Now, among other things. Fortunately for Rosenthal, her middle name is not Arabic, as opposed to that of the president, but still right-wing Jews curse her on the Internet as though she were a representative of Islamic Jihad, if not worse.

A few weeks ago, the presidential envoy participated in a conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan; also present was the State Department's special representative to Muslim communities, Farah Anwar Pandith. Rosenthal, a woman of 59 with a mischievous sense of humor, said to herself that it would be of no interest if she spoke at the conference against Jew-hatred while Pandith spoke against Islamophobia; it would be much more interesting if the opposite were to take place. She suggested to Pandith that they exchange the speeches they had brought with them from Washington, and they did so: Pandith condemned anti-Semitism, Rosenthal condemned hatred of Islam.

It wasn't just a gimmick. Rosenthal believes that Jews cannot fight anti-Semitism by themselves and Muslims cannot fight the hatred they experience by themselves: There is need for a joint war against racism in general.

Not long after their speeches, there was an uproar on the Internet. Rosenthal's political opponents are now demanding her ouster. She knows how to relate to them with a sigh and a smile - that's how she treats other events, too.



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Palestinians seek new partner: American Jews


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' meeting in June with a group of influential American Jewish leaders and political heavyweights reflects a realization that courting American Jews could benefit the Palestinians.

By The Associated Press


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
T
he Palestinians have long feared the Jewish lobby in Washington. Now, they are embracing it.  During a swing through the U.S. capital this month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was the guest of honor at a dinner with a small but influential gathering of more than 30 Jewish American leaders and political heavyweights. In what participants on both sides have described as a highly successful meeting, Abbas patiently fielded questions for more than 90 minutes, discussing such touchy topics as Mideast peace talks, anti-Israeli incitement in the Palestinian media, violence and terrorism and the Holocaust.

It was a dramatic departure for the Palestinians, who have traditionally viewed the American Jewish leadership with a mixture of awe, animosity and envy for its political skills and influence over what is seen as a pro-Israel U.S. policy.  Palestinian officials say it was the first time Abbas has met with such a large and diverse group of Jewish leaders, and reflected a realization that courting American Jews could benefit the Palestinians.

"I think it's a mistake to ignore these institutions and communities by saying that they are against us, and that we should not talk to them," Abbas told The Associated Press. "No, we should sit with them, and we should try to convince them by talking to them."

Abbas said he hoped to continue the dialogue by inviting the group to visit the West Bank. He also hopes to hold a similar meeting with Jewish leaders in France in the near future.

"I talked to them in the same language that I speak on the Palestinian street. I found them accepting what I was saying, and this is good," Abbas said.


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A Squandered Opportunity



By Mohamad Bazzi | Khaleej Times



Obama as a puzzleWhen he took office, US President Barack Obama made it a priority to restore US credibility after the damage done by his predecessor. Obama pledged to revamp America's relationship with the Arab and Muslim worlds, raising hopes for a dramatic change in US policy.

Unfortunately, his administration's actions have fallen well short of his eloquent words. People in the Middle East are accustomed to soaring rhetoric that leads nowhere. There's a useful term for it: haki fadi-empty talk.

More than a year after his much-celebrated speech in Cairo, Obama is dangerously close to being full of haki fadi. He has failed to deliver on a crucial ambition: advancing democracy and human rights in the Arab world.

The Obama administration inherited a decades-old US policy of supporting autocratic regimes in exchange for political acquiescence. Many governments in the region rely on vast secret police agencies to keep them in power, using the "war on terror" as a cover to silence any opposition. These regimes put on a veneer of stability for the West, but in reality their political systems are weak, corrupt and calcified.

It is these contradictions between US rhetoric and actions that lead people in the Middle East to distrust the United States and spin conspiracy theories about its motives.

When the United States continues backing autocrats, against the will of their people, then Washington loses much of its leverage to demand reform from other regimes like Iran and Syria.

It is not too late for Obama to change course. Egypt has two important elections coming up: a parliamentary vote in November and a presidential ballot a year later. The US administration must insist that the regime allow free and open elections, where opposition groups are able to field candidates without intimidation or the threat of arrest.

Obama has a tremendous capacity to elicit empathy. He has an opportunity to fundamentally change the Arab world's perception of America. If he can make the United States a more sympathetic power - a country that sticks up for the little guy and does not tolerate repression - that will better serve American interests and security in the long run. But the last thing the Middle East needs is more empty talk.



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ISLAM AND THE WEST:

What does Obama want?




By Daniel Brumberg | newsweek.washingtonpost.com



In the 20th century, crackdowns against civil society frequently occurred under the guise of ideology. Since the demise of Communism, most crackdowns seem to be motivated... by sheer power politics. But behind these actions, there is an idea, an alternative conception of how societies should be organized. And it is an idea that democracies must challenge.

--Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Speech before the Community of Democracies, July 3, 2010

Mariem and Obama in CharlotteI couldn't agree more with our Secretary of State: the U.S. and its democratic allies must challenge the efforts of autocrats to disseminate an "alternative conception of how societies should be organized."

But how are we to go about this in the Arab world, where regimes closely associated with the U.S. offer their own philosophical justifications for the repression of civil society? Are we ready to criticize the autocratic actions of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak or Tunisia's Ben Ali when, in effect, we count on a "Community of Autocracies" to help the U.S. tackle strategic threats such as Islamist radicalism or Tehran's bid to enrich uranium?

The Obama administration has tried to balance its strategic and democratic commitments by embracing an ingenious solution: channel the lion's share of our democracy aid to civil society groups in the hope that their demands for change will eventually compel Arab governments to democratize -- while avoiding the strategic discomfort of placing too much pressure on our autocratic allies to pursue genuine political reform.

One key problem with this approach is that it skirts the task of getting states to initiate the political, legal and constitutional reforms without which civil society groups can have little impact.  However valiant and determined, these groups face a debilitating Catch-22: they cannot advance democracy absent the legal and constitutional protection of a state that is already committed, at least in part, to democracy itself.

From Casablanca to Amman, a multitude of small -- and often highly fractious -- civil society groups are constantly battling the efforts of powerful autocratic regimes to co-opt, silence or neutralize them.  As a result, these NGOs cannot possibly realize the democratizing mission that many well-meaning American policy makers expect of them. Without pressure on regimes for sustained democratic reforms, a policy that ultimately relies on NGOs to transform autocracies will hardly rattle the cages of Arab autocracies.

Well aware of this fact, Arab leaders have little reason to fear from Clinton's July 3 speech. While boldly assailing the efforts of autocratic leaders around the globe to stifle civil society groups, when it comes to the Arab world, there was little in her talk to suggest that the administration is breaking with an assistance strategy that looks to the romance of civil activism for most answers.

The technology of grass roots free expression cannot be secured by technological innovations that by design or default by-pass states. For societal pluralism to make a real democratic difference, our highest policy makers must make it clear to Arab leaders that the apparatus of state autocracy itself remains a vital and serious problem.

Will Obama take the plunge? As he and the Secretary of State ponder this question, they might well remember that their success as community activists -- to which Clinton referred in her speech -- was made possible by a democratic infrastructure that has no analogue in Arab states. In these states, some of our closest allies spin "alternative conceptions of society" that promise freedom of speech -- while providing no guarantee of freedom after speech.

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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.


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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.


"Today, more than ever, we in the United States of America and beyond need to hear, understand, and promote the voices of reason, moderation, and democracy among Muslims. The CSID is one of the most articulate platforms serving this need. Through the CSID we can and have been tackling the deficit of democracy, human rights, especially women's rights in many Islamic societies. By supporting CSID we help support dialogue and understanding, instead of clash, among civilizations."

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                               Professor & Department Chair
                               Women's Studies, CSUN & UCLA


"There are few issues of greater concern to the future of the Muslim world than the prospects for democracy. CSID has pioneered the promotion of democracy at the practical level, and in this regard has provided invaluable service through education and social activism."

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Naval Postgraduate School


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