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In This Issue
Support CSID with a Tax-Deductible Donation
CSID Press Conference in Amman, Jordan
A Call For Democracy And Human Rights In The Arab States
How to Reform Islam?...Self-criticism is the key
Arab democracy...A commodity still in short supply
Hundreds protest Egypt elections result
Was Muhammad an Advent Prophet?
Fearing a Muslim Planet
About CSID
Compilation 2010

Dear Friends:

Please consider making a year-end tax-deductible donation to support CSID.  Your donation of $25, $50, $100, or more, will help support and strengthen democracy in the Arab/Muslim World, and will also help to educate the American people and decision-makers about Islam and the Muslim World.

For the past 12 years, CSID has been at the forefront of two major struggles:  supporting and encouraging freedom, human rights, and democracy in the Arab and Muslim Worlds, and educating the American people about Islam, Islamic cultures and civilizations, and Muslims.  These two struggles have never been as critical as they are today, but we cannot succeed without your moral and financial support.

We need your support to continue our efforts and activities in the U.S. and in the Muslim World. We're running behind right now, but we can get there if more donors begin pitching in and if current  members and supporters renew their support. If you appreciate what CSID does and want to see it continue, please support or join CSID today.

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Sincerely,

Radwan A. Masmoudi                            Asma Afsaruddin
President                                                  Chair of the Board
Photos compiled for the conference
CSID Press Conference in Amman, Jordan:

1,400 Arab Scholars, Leaders, and Politicians Sign Casablanca Appeal for Democracy and Human Rights



Amman Press Conference 3On Wednesday, Dec. 8th, CSID organized a press conference in Amman, Jordan to announce and publicize the Casablanca Call for Democracy and Human Rights.  The Casablanca Call was initiated on Oct. 24, 2010, and so far, over 1,400 Arab leaders, scholars, civil society activists, and politicians have signed the appeal.

Dr. Radwan A. Masmoudi stated during the press conference that the main purpose of the Call is to show that the push for democracy and human rights is "an internal rather than an external one", and that all Arab scholars and politicians agree that democratization and reforms are "an urgent and immediate necessity" in order to build a better future for all Arab countries, and to minimize the threats and the appeal of violence and extremism in the region.

Amman Press Conference 2The Casablanca Call also shows that politicians, scholars, and activists with different ideologies and political leanings can come together and work together for a common objective and that many of them share a desire to build a democratic system of government that respects the will of the people, protects their rights, and upholds basic freedoms and human rights for all citizens.


"To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that over 1,400 leading moderate Islamic and secular politicians have come together on a common platform of respect for human rights and democracy in the Arab World", said Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, President of the Center of the Study of Islam and Democracy.

The signers of the Call also appealed to democratic forces in the entire world "to put pressure on their own governments to refrain from supporting non-democratic regimes in the Arab world, and from adopting double standards in their relations with Arab regimes".


Read and Sign the Casablanca Call (in Arabic)

Read the Casablanca Call (in English)


Read the Casablanca Call (in French)

A Call For Democracy And Human Rights In The Arab States



By Randall Garton | The Albert Shanker Institute


Egyptian Elections 1On Oct. 22-23, a group of Arab intellectuals, politicians, and civil society advocates convened a Conference on the Future of Democracy and Human Rights in the Arab World in Casablanca. Citing the "dramatic and alarming backsliding of political reforms in the Arab world," they issued a remarkable, frank and courageous appeal to the Arab nations. The "Casablanca Call for Democracy and Human Rights" represents a powerful consensus among disparate political groups that democracy must be the foundation for social and political justice in the region. As such, it represents a signal event for Arab democrats and for friends of democracy around the world.

The appeal also takes aim at political divisions among Arabs that are rooted in disagreements over the role of religion in political life. It urges Arabs to address and recognize the "interconnectedness of political reform with the renewal of religious thought," and supports "the dialogue that began several years ago between Islamists and secularists at the local and regional levels." That dialogue, according to the statement, would provide a "solid ground for the protection of democracy and human rights." The appeal also calls for "ijtihad" - independent religious inquiry - in a "climate of complete freedom of thought, under democratic systems of government."

Why democracy is having difficulty taking root in Arab countries is puzzling because polls confirm that "Arabs show a clear preference for a democratic system...." The reasons for democratic failure are complex, according to specialists. Democratic transitions are difficult, and attended by many uncertainties. Distrust between competing groups, moderate Islamists, secularists, and others is widespread. It is the historic distrust among these groups that makes the "Casablanca Call" so impressive. While differences remain - differences which have religious and cultural dimensions - the "Call" reinforces the argument that these differences are not rooted in the belief that Islam and democracy are incompatible.

The statement's fearless call for self-examination and reform within the Arab world does not let the rest of the world off the hook. It also urges "democratic forces in the entire world to put pressure on their own governments to refrain from supporting non-democratic regimes in the Arab world, and from adopting double standards in their relations with Arab regimes".

Although the Casablanca participants did not single out the U.S., Muslim democrats have been disappointed with U.S. policy, under Presidents Bush and Obama, who are viewed as having put democracy and human rights issues on the backburner.


Read Full Article

How to Reform Islam?
Self-criticism is the key



By Ibn Warraq | National Review

There are signs of change. First came the Arab Human Development Report of 2003, in which leading Arab intellectuals lamented the poor state of the Arab Muslim world in every field of endeavor - from the scientific to the cultural. Then, in October 2010, came "The Casablanca Call for Democracy and Human Rights," a document published by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy urging governments and activists across the Middle East to continue working toward democratic reforms.

The Casablanca Call is a remarkable document for many reasons. It calls for separation of powers and endorses the principle of the sovereignty of the people - a truly democratic demand, since, in an Islamic state, sovereignty belongs to God and His Law. It also calls for:

  • [an] independent judiciary as a prerequisite for the protection of human rights and freedoms, and as the guarantor for the supremacy of the rule of law and state institutions; the immediate release of all political prisoners - numbering in the thousands in various Arab prisons - and putting an end to political trials of any kind, torture of political opponents, and the practice of kidnapping; enabling and encouraging political parties and trade unions to engage in their right to organize freely, use all available media outlets, take advantage of public funding, and be free of any interference of the state apparatus in their affairs; acknowledgment of the right of civil society organizations to perform their advocacy roles freely and effectively, having their independence and privacy duly respected, their internal affairs not disrupted, and their sources of financial support kept open and active.
And no declaration from the Islamic world could possibly leave out the religious factor; the authors reaffirm the "interconnectedness of political reform with the renewal of religious thought, which requires support for, and expansion of, the practice of ijtihad [that is, independent reasoning] in a climate of complete freedom of thought, under democratic systems of government."


  • Finally, the authors of the declaration "support the dialogue that began several years ago between Islamists and secularists at the local and regional levels and emphasize the importance of continuing such endeavors in order to provide solid ground for the protection of democracy and human rights from any political or ideological setbacks."
     

    Read Full Article                                                                                          Back to top
     
  • Arab democracy
    A commodity still in short supply

    The Economist | Middle East Studies


    Caricature of Arab DictatorsAUTUMN has been a busy season for Arab democracy - or at least the semblance of it. Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan have all run noisy general elections, and the Iraqi politicians elected last March finally, last month, came close to ending the haggling over how to share their spoils. Yet none of these exercises seems to augur deep democratic change.

    Even adding the elections held over the past few years in places as diverse as Algeria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen, the practice of democracy across the Arab world appears to produce much the same result: perpetuation of rule by well-entrenched strongmen, the demoralisation and sometimes radicalisation of the forces opposed to them, and the degradation of the word democracy, to the point where there is often little discernible difference between those Arab countries that make a show of practising it and those, like Saudi Arabia, that do not even pretend.

    Egypt's recent flawed election, which saw the ruling National Democratic Party push its parliamentary majority from 75% to 95% in a first round of voting, is a case in point. In the acerbic words of a columnist in al-Akhbar, a Lebanese daily, "the only progress witnessed by the electoral process was the rise in the value of the vote of the Egyptian voter from 20 [Egyptian] pounds [$3.50] to several hundred."

    As many opinion polls have shown, Arabs sound keen on the idea of democracy. But what is understood by democracy, in a region with so few examples of it, remains open to question. Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, once described the Egyptian army as an example of democracy, on the ground that a commander weighs opinions from his officers before making a decision. By this definition, his party may deserve its name.

    Islam as an ideology may be less of a factor. Though some strands of the faith, such as Salafism, reject the "rule of man", and therefore democracy, as incompatible with the "rule of God", quite a few non-Arab Muslim states, such as Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia, are fairly democratic. Still, lingering uncertainty over the proper relationship between religion and the state creates discord over how much space should be allowed for debate.


    Read Full Article
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    Hundreds protest Egypt elections result

    Press TV



    Hundreds demonstrate against election fraud in Cairo
    Riot policemen stand guard in front of opposition activists outside the high court in downtown Cairo on December 12, 2010, during a demonstration against the results of the general election.
    H
    undreds of political activists and opposition leaders in Egypt have protested against the outcome of the parliamentary elections, which has been marred by widespread allegations of fraud.


    "This is not our parliament. Down with the illegitimate parliament," said a placard held by a demonstrator.

    George Ishak, one of the leaders of the National Association for Change, a broad coalition of opposition groups and movements, said that dissidents intended to challenge the legitimacy of the new parliament.  "We will file complaints locally and nationally against this parliament," AFP quoted Ishak as saying.

    "This is a protest against what happened in the election, which proved to be forged," he added.  This is while some of the losing candidates have said they were organizing a parallel popular parliament.

    "I urge you to send a clear message to the regime that we will not take part in this farce next year," he added.  ElBaradei warned that the opposition could resort to violence unless political reforms were implemented in Egypt.

    "I hope that the regime understands that if they don't allow us this, the Egyptian people will be left by one choice only... there will be violence in Egypt and that is something no Egyptian wants," he said.

    Muslim Brotherhood opposition party has called for the dissolution of the new parliament. The party says it is gathering evidence of vote rigging.  Earlier, international and local human rights activists condemned the elections for widespread fraud.


    Read Full Article
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    Was Muhammad an Advent Prophet?


    By Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo | On Faith



    Anthony M. Stevens-ArroyoA
    dvent celebrates the scriptural words prophesizing the coming of the Lord. But should we Catholics also include the Muslim Prophet Muhammad as one of the witnesses to Jesus? Advent speaks not only of the birth of Christ, it also announces the fruits of his coming. So when passages in the Qur'an praise the Messiah and name him as Jesus Christ, they add a welcomed clarity to the Advent message.


    The Qur'an affirms Jesus as the Messiah: "When the angels said, 'O Mary, God gives thee glad tidings of a son through a word from Him; his name shall be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honored in this world and in the next, and of those who are granted nearness to God..." (Surah 3:45). That same passage affirms the Virgin Birth (v. 47) of Jesus to the Blessed Mother. Additionally, many Muslim commentaries on the Qur'an, like the 41st book of the Sahih Muslim Hadith, state that the Second Coming of Christ will bring the end of the world, which is also the Catholic belief.

    I do not think Catholic America should approach the Qur'an as if it belongs to a hostile religion. Muhammad considered himself a reformer of the Abrahamic faith found in both Judaism and Christianity. He felt called by God to purify the faith in both Testaments from extraneous practices and misguided interpretations so that the Arabs might inherit the promises made to Abraham and his descendants without submitting to secular powers. After all, as stated in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 16:15), Abraham's first-born son was Ishmael, patriarch of all Arabs. Moreover, Muslims accept the revelation of the Bible and the Gospels, which means Islam has a place alongside of Judaism and Christianity in the family of Abrahamic faith.

    Long ago, in 1076 Pope Gregory VII invoked the commandment of love between Christians and Muslims "because we believe in one God, albeit in a different manner, and because we praise him and worship him every day as the Creator and Ruler of the world." This precedent was cited by today's Benedict XVI who recognized "that Muslims and Catholics worship the same God and, more than that, have a common mission to give witness to the Almighty in an increasingly secular world." In accord with papal teachings and the affirmation of the II Vatican Council (Nostra Aetate 1, 3), Muslims worship the same God as we do.

    The reason we should include Muhammad in Advent is because we cannot bring Christ's peace to the world without Muslims. Pope Benedict has adjusted his vision of interfaith dialogue since he was Cardinal Ratizinger says theologian Gregory Baum, so reading from the Qur'an furthers the pope's aspirations for unity among people of faith in a century when secular politics predicts a "clash of civilizations."

    Consider my favorite in the Surah called "Maryam":

    "Jesus said, 'I am a servant of God. ...Peace was on me the day I was born, and peace will be on me the day I shall die, and the day I shall be raised up to life again." (Surah 19:30, 33).

    Amen.

    Read Full Article

    Fearing a Muslim Planet


    by Leon T. Hadar |
    The American Conservative

    Rep. Keith Ellison
    Rep. Keith Ellison

    It is not clear that bashing Islam and Muslims offers electoral rewards to Republican candidates
    . Angle was defeated in Nevada, which, to be sure, had more to do with her offending Hispanics rather than Muslims. Ellison, an African-American who was born and raised Roman Catholic and converted to Islam later in life - and who isn't actually the only Muslim member of Congress - was elected for a second term to represent a district with very few black or Muslim residents.

    Historically, the Republican Party has been the beneficiary of the Muslim vote, reflecting the conservative cultural values and business sense of a large number of American Muslims. Close to 80 percent of American Muslim voters backed George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. But by 2004 - three years after 9/11 and against the backdrop of American-led wars in two Muslim countries - the Republican president had lost about half of his support among Muslims. Indeed, 85 percent of Muslim voters backed Barack Obama in 2010, the most solid voting bloc among any major religious group. With 79 percent of them voting for Obama, American Jews, reflecting their traditional support for Democratic candidates, ended up being proportionally the second largest pro-Obama group, a sign that while pursuing the aggressive neoconservative agenda in the Middle East has antagonized American Muslims, it has failed to win over Jewish voters.

    The relationship between Islamic religious law and American law would probably require urgent attention if this country were being flooded by millions of Muslim immigrants. But according to no less an authority than the leading anti-Islam scaremonger, Daniel Pipes, the number of Muslim immigrants and their progeny in the U.S. is "somewhere above two million" - less than 1 percent of the country's population.

    Nevertheless, Pipes has been warning that Muslim militants "want to change America and make it Islamic." Pipes, together with Robert Spencer, the head of JihadWatch.org, and Frank Gaffney of the war-mongering Center for Security Policy, has been warning for years that these Muslim radicals are attempting to assert the primacy of the Sharia over American law. These professional Muslim-baiters have been joined lately by more mainstream figures like Newt Gingrich, who has called for a federal ban on Sharia law, as well as by local activists around the country who have been pressing for measures that would bar state judges from considering Sharia in formulating rulings.

    But what exactly does this have to do with the threat that al-Qaeda and other Muslim terrorist groups pose to America? For those who suggest that Islam by definition is the breeding ground for contemporary terrorism, the notion that Muslims could become law-abiding American citizens or American patriots is a contradiction in terms. As Reason's Jesse Walker notes, this fear of Islam echoes the Know-Nothings' anti-Catholic sentiments and the fear of the Vatican. The main difference between then and now is that the Know-Nothings of the 19th century were not advocating sending American troops to depose the pope and invade Catholic countries to force them to embrace American values.

    Muslim anti-Americanism and violence, on the other hand, is in large part a response to American attempts to establish domination over the Middle East. Interestingly enough, in his groundbreaking essay "The Clash of Civilizations," Samuel Huntington warned against the kind of policy that would inflame anti-Americanism in the Middle East and foment conflict between the U.S. and the Muslim world. The suggestion that Muslims are invading America and trying to force their values and law on us seems to be a form of projection bias - attributing our own impulses to the other side. We want to control Muslims in the Middle East, and we blame the Muslims for planning to control us here at home.

    Quote for Bulletin 1We would be better off recognizing that this imaginary entity, the Caliphate, consists in reality of many conflicting nation-states, ethnic groups, and religious sects. Some of them want to work and trade with us, and some don't. But sowing fear of a monolithic Islam serves the interests of our client states, defense contractors, and lobbyists who press for rising defense budgets and further military interventions. This anti-Islam narrative is also promoted by Republican activists and conservative-movement pundits who hope that like the Red Menace of old, the specter of a Green Peril could serve as a unifying force for the political right. But this kind of policy would only end up overextending the military, ballooning deficits, and devastating our economic base. That's exactly the kind of tea that conservatives and libertarians have sworn not to drink.

    Read Full Article

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