Summer Intern Kevin
Duewel reorganized our daily news
and analysis into a separate announcement list. Sign up for direct
delivery to your inbox on our home page.
We had an
informational table at the CMSA hosted Muslim Organizations Information
Fair for the first annual “D.C.-Region MSA Day on Capitol Hill” and
distributed copies of the Directory of Experts on Islam and Muslim
Affairs to Congressional aides.
Dr. Ahmad gave a
talk on “Islam and the Free Market” at a GWU event hosted by the Muslim
Students Association and the Liberty Society.
Dr. Ahmad was
interviewed by David Byrd of Voice of America on the National Day
Prayer controversies regarding Franklin Graham’s disinvitation from the
Pentagon and the challenge to the constitutionality of the Day of
Prayer itself.
Tariq Ramadan
addresses the Minaret of Freedom Institute 2010 annual dinner.
Dr. Ahmad with GWU students.
Dr, Ahmad
participated in the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and The Becket
Fund for Religious Liberty roundtable discussion on “Combating
Anti-Muslim Bigotry: Social and Legal Responses.”
Dr. Ahmad was
interviewed by Judith Latham on Voice of America on new flight security
measures.
Dr. Ahmad
participated in a panel discussion of “Principles of Respect” from Dr.
Crane’s book, “Natural Law of Compassionate Justice, An Islamic
Perspective” on “The Scholars Chair” TV program.
A crew era filmed a
biographical sketch of Dr. Ahmad at the Minaret of Freedom Institute
offices for an al-Jazeera TV series.
Dr. Ahmad attended
an American Muslim Association program on Pakistani-American relations
and asked panelist Wendy Chamberlain how the government’s strategy for
Afghani development takes into account the particular difficulties of
the FATAs.
Dr.
Ahmad
gave
a
presentation
on
“Misconceptions
About
Islam”
to
young
Latin
American
social
entepreneurs
at
the
Poder
/
Americas
Business
Council
Foundation’s
“Americas
Forecast
2010-2020”
convention
in
Miami.
Dr.
Ahmad
wrote
book
review
of
Asma
Afsaruddin’s
The
First
Muslims
for
the
American
Journal
of
Islamic
Social
Sciences.
EBRU-TV
mentioned
Dr.
Ahmad's
speech
on
the
importance
of
education
to
promote
tolerance
and
peace
in
its
coverage
of
the
conference
on
Preventing
Violence
and
Achieving
World
Peace"at
the University of Maryland
College Park.
Dr.
Ahmad
spoke
about
tolerance
in
Islam
at
the
Muslim
Community
Center’s
iftar
for
Montgomery
County
Public
Schools
faculty
and
administration.
We
published
“Freedom, Not
Fashion, Is the
Issue,”
Khalid Blankenship’s rebuttal to Elham Manea’s criticism of Obama’s
defense of
Muslim women’s right to wear a headscarf on our blog.
Dr.
Ahmad
broached
the
subject
of
Somali
pirates
with
Sheikh
Sharif
Sheikh
Ahmed
at
a
MAS
reception
for
the
Somali
president.
Dr. Ahmad addressed
the Islamic Society of the
Washington Area on “Improving the
World” at
their Lailat-ul-Qadr observance.
The
inaugural meeting of the Islamic
Resource Bank for the Directory of Policy Experts on Islamic studies
and Muslim
Affairs was held at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and
covered
by Atlas
Economic
Research
Foundation
Network
News and by Rima Abdulhady of
Russia
Today’s Arabic service (posted
online).
We met with
Francine Kiefer of the Christian
Science Monitor’s Washington Bureau to discuss the Islamic
Resource
Bank and the work of the Minaret of Freedom Institute.
We advised the conveners of a conference in
Dallas on Muslim engagement in public diplomacy.
Dr. Ahmad
spoke with Suhail Hishma on banking
Dr. Ahmad was
interviewed by Alex Sarotin of Radio Free Europe on “home-grown
terrorism.”
Mauri
Saalakhan's discussion on his book The Palestinian Holocaust,
followed
by
commentary
from
Mohamed
Nimer
at
one
of
our
brown
bag
luncheons was
posted
on
our
videos
page.
Pecki
Witonski's talk about her book The Cave of Reconciliation
on reconciling the Jewish and Muslim narratives of religious history
was posted on our videos
page.
May 2009
“Religious or Policy Justification for
Violence?: A
Quantitative Content Analysis of Bin Ladin’s Statements” at the annual
meeting of the Center for the Study of Islam and
Democracy.
We counseled Hussein Ezzeldin of the
University of Maryland on an “Islam Awareness Year.”
We were interviewed by Mounir Azzoui, a
Ph.D. student from Germany on the Muslim Community in America for his
dissertation.
We responded to an inquiry from Michelle
Jeffress (Fund for American Studies) on Islamic
Banking.
Dr. Ahmad and Alejandro Beutel attended
an al-Waref conference on
“Separation of Church and State” for the Muslim
World.
We provide imput for an article for Egypt
on the Future of Islam in the Middle East written by a Free Market
advocate.
Dr. Ahmad spoke at the Rumi Forum
Friendship dinner on the contributions of the Rumi Forum and MFI to
interfaith dialog.
We met with Michael Strong (a
writer and entrepreneur) and
Maggate Wade (a Senegalese entreppreneur) to discuss promotion of
Minaret of Freedom Institute and
possible collaboration.
Dr.
Ahmad introduced Dr. Norman Finkelstein, who is speaking on
"Palestine and Israel: Roots of Conflict and Prospects for Peace" at
University of Maryland
Dr.
Ahmad spoke at UMBC on April 6 on "Science in the
Heavens."
Dr.
Ahmad's talk on religion and science at the Metanexus
Institute has been posted online
Dr.
Ahmad spoke on Arab-American accomplishments at the Arab
Heritage Month program at the Executive Office Building in Montgomery
County, Maryland.
Azzam Khamisi spoke on “An Example of
Peacemaking Through Forgiveness in Islam” for our brown bag lunch
series.
Dr.
Ahmad participated in a panel discussion of "Community-Based
Approaches of Engaging Muslims in the U.S." meeting with Muslim
visitors from Indonesia and the Philippines at the Prince Waleed bin
Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding
Dr.
Ahmad represented MFI at the Heritage Resource Bank in Los
Angeles.
Dr.
Ahmad represented MFI at the Atlas Economic Research
Foundation liberty workshop in Los Angeles, meeting with
representatives of free-market think tanks from Egypt, Afghanistan,
Syria, and Turkey.
March 2009
MFI president Dr.
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad appeared on
an episode of EBRU-TV's World
Affairs on the "Financial Crisis."
MFI junior
fellow Alejandro Beutel testified in
favor of SB256 (against domestic spying) in Annapolis.
Dr.
Ahmad appeared on an episode of EBRU-TV's World Affairs on the
"Financial Crisis."Azim Noordin
Khamisa spoke on "An Example
of Peace Through Forgiveness in Islam" at a brown bag lunch.
Ashrah Nubani
gave a brown bag lunch presentation
on the Sami al-Arian case
February 2009
MFI president Dr.
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad gave a
presentation about the Middle Eastern
community to Montgomery County employees in Rockville, MD.
Attorney
Ashraf W. Nubani gave a brown bag lunch presentation
on the latest developments in the trials of Sami Al-Arian and their
implications for the civil liberties of Muslims in America.
Dr.
Ahmad posted
his
summary of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian
Understanding's panel discussion on "Obama in the Middle East"
on
our blog.
MFI president Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
provided commentary at a
Q&A session on the "The Power of Nightmares"(the BBC expose on
the neoconservatives and al-Qaida) at the Holiday Park Multi-Service
Senior Center.
