Category: Dr. Ahmad’s blog

[These are selected highlights excerpted from Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr.’s address to the Middle East Policy Council’s 86th Capitol Hill Conference. The complete video and transcript of the entire conference are available at: http://mepc.org/hill-forums/middle-east-and-next-administration.] The Middle East and the Next Administration: challenges, opportunities and recommendations [Excerpts selected by Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D., Minaret of Freedom Institute]…

The single biggest source of Middle East and Muslim resentment over American foreign policy is certainly aid to Israel, but it is a sacred cow to the major parties. As long as America gives unconditional foreign aid to the apartheid state it will never have an incentive to treat the Palestinians justly or to negotiate…

[These are my notes on the International Institute of Islamic Thought on-the-record fiqh forum on Organ Donation held in Herndon, VA on July 20, 2016. These notes are NOT a transcript, but a lightly edited presentation of  my perception of the discussion. Responsibility for any errors in the notes is mine alone.] Organ Donation in Islam Ms.…

[I was recently interviewed by Javier Méndez about the failed coup in Turkey for an article in Santiago’s  El Mercurio newspaper. Here are my answers to his questions.] Q. After the military coup attemp, Erdogan government has launched an intense repression in Turkey. Has Erdogan the political power to do that? A. In the aftermath of…

[I have been interviewed by two journalists on Sunday’s murderous attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando. Here are my responses to the questions posed.] Questions from free-lance journalist Abdel – Rahman Youssef for Al-Jazeera Q. What do you think the impact of of this incident on the US elections, either when it comes to voting for…

The Citadel is The Military College of South Carolina, a state institution. The reaction to the school’s decision to refuse to allow a Muslim student to cover her hair with a headscarf has unveiled a woeful ignorance of the nature of America’s strong Constitutional commitment to freedom of religion. I was especially disturbed by Asra Nomani’s…

[This is my perception of Katherine Zoepf’s presentation at the New America Foundation on January 21. 2016 regarding her examination of the complex lives of young women living in the Arab Muslim world. She is the author of Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women That Are Transforming the Arab World. This is not a verbatim transcript and…

[On December 3, 2015, I  attended a KARAMAH-sponsored event focusing on the current state of international religious freedom in the United States and Europe The following summary is a report only of my subjective impressions of the panel and is not intended as an exact transcript. Any errors are mine alone.] State of Religious Freedom in the US…

[On October 19, 2015, I  attended the 2015 C3 US-Arab Business Summit in New York City. The following is summary of a panel on finance. The affiliations of the speakers are for identification only and they were not speaking on behalf of their respective institutions. In any case, this is a report only of my subjective…

A Jewish college classmate of mine asked me if there are any Muslim voices willing to condemn today’s barbarous attacks in Paris. I told him that almost all Muslims condemn it. Here  are links to a couple of major Muslim organizations that have already published their condemnations: http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13236-cair-condemns-paris-terror-attacks.html http://www.icna.org/ Over the coming days virtually every…