Category: Dr. Ahmad’s blog

  • Iran: Historical Context and Latest Developments

    [On October 21, 2022, the Middle East Policy Council held a panel discussion on Iran moderated by retired Ambassador Richard J. Schmierer. The following is a summary of highlights and not intended as a transcript of the event]: Ms. Barbara Slavin, Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council. When she first went to Iran, shortly…

  • American Religious Leaders Meeting with Raisi

    When Ebrahim Raisi came to the United Nations last week to address the General Assembly, he also revived the traditional annual meeting between Iran’s president and American religious leaders of the Abrahamic faiths. The meeting this year was entitled “The Role of Religious Leaders in the World Crisis.” Three invited speakers were given eight minutes…

  • Innocent Until Proven Muslim

    [On August 10, 2022 the International Institute of Islamic Thought presented a book forum featuring Dr. Maha Hilal on her book Innocent Until Proven Muslim: Islamophobia, the War on Terror, and the Muslim Experience Since 9/11. The panel was Moderated by Mohammed Abu-Nimer (American University). Here follows our summary of highlights from that presentation. It…

  • Tunisia’s Authoritarian Turn

    [On July 19, 2022, the Cato Institute held a panel discussion on Tunisia’s Authoritarian Turn, moderated by Mustafa Akyol, Senior Fellow at Cato’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. These notes are a summary of the highlights of the discussion and are not intended to be a transcript of the event. Radwan A. Masmoudi (Founder…

  • Biden’s Excuses

    President Biden has received a great deal of criticism for including Saudi Arabia in his planned trip to the Middle East later this week. Today’s Washington Post features his answer in the form of an op-ed called “Why I’m Going to Saudi Arabia.” The first paragraph asserts that his purpose is to “advance important American…

  • What Can the U.S. Do to Restore Democracy in Tunisia?

    [On May 23, 2022, Radwan Masmoudi moderated a Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy panel discussion of what the United States can do to restore democracy in Tunisia. This is my summary of highlights of the program, not a transcript. Use of the first person is for convenience only. For a video of…

  • Transcending the Israel Lobby at Home & Abroad

    Transcending the Israel Lobby at Home & Abroad  [These are my notes from the 2022 conference on “The Israeli Lobby and American Foreign Policy” held at the National Press Club in Washington DC on March 4. These notes summarize my impression of highlights of the presentations and are not an attempted transcription  The use of…

  • When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom

    [In her book “The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom,” Sahar Aziz applies critical race theory to ask how it is that a country that privileges religious freedom has an open rabid Islamophobia. This is my summary of her ideas presented at an online book forum organized by the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center…

  • The Two State Solution Is Dead: What Next?

    [On January 13, 2022, Jonathan Kuttab moderated a Nonviolence International discussion of what comes next in Israel/Palestine now that the two-state solution is dead. Discussants were Jeff Halper, author of Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State, and Noura Erakat. author of Justice for Some: Law and the…

  • Religion and Populism

    [On January 6, 2022, the Council on Foreign Relations held an on-the-record discussion of the relationship between religion and populism, and how this relationship is affecting the politics of Europe and the United States, featuring Jocelyne Cesari, chair of religion and politics at the University of Birmingham, and Tobias Cremer, junior research fellow in religion…

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