Summary of MFI Activities

Upcoming Events

• The inaugural meeting of the Islamic Resource Bank for the Directory of Policy Experts on Islamic studies and Muslim affairs. The event will be an opportunity for experts to network with one another, to discuss emerging issues and effective communication techniques, and to learn from leaders in media, government, academia, and the policy world, how to pitch to them in order to provide responsible and knowledgeable expertise. The event is being held on from 5pm on July 24 to 5pm on July 25 at  the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, VA.(Admission by invitation only)
• Abdullah Schlieffer, veteran newsman, will give a brown bag lunch address at a date to be announced.
  

• Internships
• Fellowships

Current Projects 

• A special issue of the journal Economic Affairs on Islam and Market Economy edited by Dr. Ahmad will be published in June 2009.
  
• We initiated a collaboration with Thompson Ayodele of Nigeria for a conference on Islam and Markets for the benefit of African Muslims.   
• Planning a project to educate Muslims on civil liberties, civic participation, and basic American Law.
  
• Preparation of a book on disentangling culture from religion.
• Preparation of a pamphlet on "Women in Islam: Hard Questions: Intelligent Answers".
  
• Preparation of a paper on the politico-economy of the classical Islamic civilization.

Recently Completed Projects and Events

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.”   
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by El Mercurio on "Expectations for the Obama-Netanyahu Meeting" Posted on our blog.
  
• T.O. Shanavas gave a brown bag lunch presentation on Evolution and Islam.   
• Alejandro Beutel and Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad presented the paper
• We met with Lt. Col. Sareda Hosein to discuss relations between the Muslim community and U.S. armed forces.    
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Farspress on "The Crisis in Pakistan: Is There a Way Out?", posted on our blog.
  
• 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.   
• We created a video page for the website adding Mohammed Nosseir's Q&A session on "Market Reform in Egypt" and Azzam Khamisi's talk “An Example of Peacemaking Through Forgiveness in Islam” to the existing videos.   
• We initiated a twitter account (click here to sign up for minaret_freedom at twitter.com.
  
• Imran Malik opined on "Obama's First Hundred Days" on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad has posted the article "Rape at Abu Ghuraib -- State of Denial" on our blog.
  
• Imran Malik has posted an article on why "More Nukes Are Counter-productive for Pakistan" on our blog.

April 2009

• Dr. Ahmad and Imran Malik posted a summary of Ahmad Moussalli’s talk  on"The Role of Wahabis in Salafi Thought" on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad’s interview on The Evening Edition in January discussing the comments President Obama directed to the Muslim world was posted to our website.   
• Dr. Ahmad posted the article ’"Why Cant We Have A Public Debate About Aid to Israel" on our blog.
• Imran Malik posted an analysis of the recent "Elections in Turkey" on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad and Imran Malik  posted the article "Marriage of Minors in Saudi Arabia: Is Betrothal Obsolete?" on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad Moussalli spoke on "The Role of Wahabis in Salafi Thought" at a brown bag lunch   
• 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 program assistant Imran Malik attended "Pakistani-American Community Advocacy Day on the Hill."
• 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.
• Dr. Ahmad's article "Thinking Through a U.S. Strategy Towards Gaza" was published on The American Muslim.
• Hatem Bazian's article Encourage Nonviolence Through Accountability was posted on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad's talk on the Qur'an and Science presented at the IIIT Summer Seminar was posted on our website.
• 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 answers in an interview for the El Mercurio newspaper in Santiago Chile, "The Ross Appointment"on our blog.
• Imran Malik has answered the question "Are men and women considered equal in Islam?" on the Q&A section of our blog.
• 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.
• Imran Malik has answered the question "Are Men and Women Considered Equal in Islam?" on the Q&A section of our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad was a panelist  on an episode of World Affairs (available online) entitled "Harmony of Civilizations"
• Kasia Rada has posted an article on "Freedom of Expression in Egypt, the Fountainhead of Reform" about arrest and release of Muslim and secular bloggers in Egypt on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad has posted his answers to questions from PressTV on "Why No Success in the Egyptian Mediated Negotiations?" on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad's answers to El Mercurio on the appointment of Dennis Ross, available on our blog.
• Imran Malik has posted the article on "The Cost of Israeli Friendship" on our blog.

January 2009

• 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.
• Scott Horton interviewed Dr. Ahmad for antiwar.com radio for a libertarian perspective of the Palestinian/Israeli dispute.
• Dr. Ahmad appeared on The Evening Edition, a radio discussion in Kingston, Jamaica tonight to discuss the comments President Obama directed to the Muslim world.
• We participated in a meeting at the International Institute of Islamic Thought with German Muslims comparing mosque state relations.
• Dr. Ahmad gave a presentation at a panel discussion on "Natural Law; Source of Convergence between Science and Religion" at the University of Maryland.
• We assisted a researcher at Harvard in obtaining resources on art museum collaboration with the Muslim community.
• Dr. Ahmad gave a presentation on the situation in Gaza at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation's "International Thursday" event.
  
• We published a guest editorial on “War on Gaza: Old Questions in Need of New Answers” by Omar Sha’ban of PalThink for Strategic Studies on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad gave lecture on "The Islamic Rules of Order" at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, MD.
  
• Dr. Ahmad posted a commentary on "Al-Arian to Be Tried Yet Again" and a report on Bahrain Noted for Outstanding Fiscal Freedom on our blog.
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Javier Méndez Araya, journalist in El Mercurio newspaper in Santiago Chile on the "Gaza Aftermath: The Return of Netanyahu?" available on our blog.
• Imran Malik and Dr. Ahmad have posted the article Internet Wars on our blog.

December 2008

• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Alex Serotin of Radio Free Europe on the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
• Imran Malik wrote a blog on Hindu Terrorists.
  
• Dr. Ahmad wrote a blog on The Tragedy in Gaza.

November 2008

• We met with a delegation from Kyrgystan to discuss development of Islamic civil society.       
• We attended a CATO forum on intellectual property rights       
• We attended an Atlas special program on lessons from the poor.      
  
• Dr. Ahmad spoke on the Gulen movement at GU’s CMCU.       
• Dr. Ahmad was a panelist on EBRU-TV’s World Affairs programs on Third World Debt, and The Financial Crisis.       
• We met with a Muslim delegation from China to discuss Islam in the U.S. and characteristics that distinguish it from Islam in other western countries as well as in other regions of the world.         
• Dr. Ahmad represented the Minaret of Freedom Institute at the 62nd annual MEI conference on “US Middle East Policy: Pathways to Renewal.”       
• Dr. Ahmad represented the Minaret of Freedom Institute at the unveiling of the AMCE book digest project at IIIT.       
• Imran Malik wrote a blog on “Obsession: Neoconservatives Assault on the Islamic Faith”
  
• Dr. Ahmad wrote a blog “Dare We Hope?” on the prospects for an Obama administration.

October 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad gave a paper on “Reflections on Inter/Intra-faith Dialog and Promotion of World Peace” to the Association of Muslim Social Scientists 37th annual conference at Harvard University.
• Dr. Ahmad and Omar Altalib represented MFI at the “Conference for Progressive Muslims” of the Frederick Ebert Stiftung in Berlin.
• We were interviewed by John Berger for a documentary on the American-Muslim reaction to the War in Bosnia of the 1990s.
• Dr. Ahmad was part of a panel at American University to answer questions about Islam in response to the “Islamofascism” smear campaign.
• Dr. Ahmad was a panelist on EBRU-TV’s World Affairs programs on Illiteracy, Waste Management, Refugees. Ethnic/Tribal/Religious Hostility, Preservation of Indigenous Literature and Intellectual Heritage.
• We gave a talk on “Grand Jury Abuse” at William and Mary College.
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by PressTV on the connections between the economy and foreign policy.
• Dr. Ahmad posted blogs on “Wayne Gilchrist, Rudyard Kipling, and Jacob Brownosky,” “Exploring Connections Between the Economy and Foreign Policy,” “A Palestinian Christian Speaks,” and “Do the Saudis Follow the Sunnah Regarding the Eid Date?”
• We posted 27 daily news and analysis collections on our blog.
  

September 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad gave a guest lecture on the Medina Compact to Lynn Kunkle’s class on Islam at American University.
• Dr. Ahmad made a presentation to Montgomery County Maryland teachers and administrators on Muslims Interfaith Dialog at the Muslim Community Center, Silver Spring.
• We participated in an interfaith iftar with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York.
• EBRU-TV interviewed Dr. Ahmad on Islam and science for their "Perspectives on Faith" television show..
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by PressTV interview on What’s Next for Pakistan?
• Imran Malik posted a blog on Muslim Charities in the American Legal System.
• Dr. Ahmad posted “Allah Reclaims W.D. Mohammed” on the passing of the American-Muslim leader, “An Open Letter to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad” about Iranian inflation and how to solve it, and summary of Saad ad-Din Ibrahim's talk at the Wilson Center on "Freedom 'After' Speech, “Dissident Spells Out Details of Egyptian Repression” on our blog.
  
• We posted 25 daily news and analysis collections on our blog..
  

August 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad was interviewed by New Republic magazine’s Suzy Khimm on “Islam and Libertarianism.”
• The Islamic Rules of Order has been published by amana publications.
• We participated in a meeting of the One Nation initiative’s “Telling Our Story” media seminar.
• We met with Dr. Li Feng from China to discuss the status of Muslims in America.
• Dr. Ahmad was moderator/participant in a discussion of the meaning and practice of Ramadan for EBRU-TV’s “Perspectives on Faith.”

July 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad gave a presentation on "Religion and Science from the Quranic Perspective" at the IIIT Scholars Seminar and at GW Law school for Karamah. 
  
• Alejandro Beutel met with Senator Menendez’s staffers on Homeland Security and Civil Liberties issues, and presented his paper on Homegrown Terrorism and Radicalization.
• Dr. Ahmad participated in EBRU-TV “World Affairs” panel discussions on “world hunger” and “interfaith cooperation and reconciliation.”
• Esam Omeish’s speech at our annual dinner is the subject of a Scholar’s Chair program on CTV and Bridges TV. And is available on DVD.
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Soraya Salam of IBN on Muslims in America.
• Charles Butterworth published a guest blog “Averroes Would Be Appalled” (unpublished letter to the Washington Post) on a Zionist attack on an Arabic Textbook.
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Josh Gerstein of the NY Sun in a NY Sun article on a Virginia prosecutor's persecution of Muslims in America.
• Alejandro Beutel wrote a blog on the DC MPAC Youth Summit.
• Dr. Ahmad and Alejandro Beutel published a blog on “Politics and Policies are the Real Problem, Not Faith.”
  

June 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad was interviewed on Ernest Hancock Air America program on Islam and relationships between people and their governments and the true beliefs and goals of people that are Muslim.
• Civil rights activist Mauri` Saalakhan discussed his new book The Palestinian Holocaust, followed by a comment from Palestinian political science writer Mohamed Nimer, in our brown bag luncheon series.
• Dr. Ahmad and Alejandro Beutel critiqued Monica Duffy Toft’s Christian Science Monitor article (“Why Islam Lies at the Heart of Iraq’s Civil War”) with the observation that "Politics and Policies are the Real Problem, Not Faith" in their MFI blog.
• We released a DVD recording of Esam Omeish’s address on the Muslim Brotherhood from our annual dinner.
• Dr. Ahmad appeared on the Scholar’s chair program on “Epistemology.”
• Prof. Peter Bechtold gave us an update on Darfur at our brown bag luncheon series.
  
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Josiah Ryan on the Gallup poll on Muslim Opinions for crosswalk.com.

May 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad spoke on "Islamic Traditions of Peace and Non-Violence: Responding to Contemporary Challenges" at American University.
• MFI held its annual dinner with featuring Muslim American Society president Esam Omeish speaking on “The Muslims Brotherhood: Past Present and Future (Conservatism, Extremism, or Violence)?"
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Scott Horton of antiwar.com on "Libertarianism and Islam".
• We met with Syed Kamall, the British Muslim MP to the EU.
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by PressTV on the situation in Pakistan.
• We participated in a breakfast meeting with Rep. Keith Ellison at the offices of the Council on American Islamic Relations..
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Farspress on Sixty Years of American Support for Israel: Costs and Benefits.
• Dr. Ahmad published a blog on Sixty Years of American Support for Israel: Costs and Benefits.

April 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad spoke in a panel discussion entitled, "Protecting Human Dignity and Freedom of Worship" at The Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University with Islamic leaders from Indonesia and the Philippines.
• MFI Vice President Aly Abuzakouk and Dr. Ahmad participated in the Pope’s meeting with Muslim and other American religious leaders in Washington DC.
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed on EBRU TV's "Perspectives on Faith" program on the relationship between Islam and science.
  
• Dr. Ahmad appeared with Alison Weir on “The Spiritual Politician” radio program to discuss the plight of the Palestinians.
• We were interviewed by Michelle Boorstein on the significance of the Pope’s visit to Muslims.
• Dr. Ahmad spoke on a panel on the “Prophets in the Abrahamic Religions” for the University of Maryland Honors Program.
• Dr. Ahmad participated in a panel discussion entitled, "Protecting Human Dignity and Freedom of Worship" before a visiting delegation of academics from the Philippines and Thailand at the CCMU at Georgetown University.
• Zaynab Alwani gave a presentation on Women in Islam at our brown bag luncheon series.
• Dr. Ahmad represented the Minaret of Freedom Institute at a Heritage Foundation presentation on the late Barry Goldwater at which he inquired as to Goldwater’s position on warfare in the absence of a declaration of war.
• Alejandro Beutel’s article “Western Foreign Policies and State Security: Proposal Framework for International Strategies in the War against Global Terrorism” was published in the International Journal of the Humanities.
• Dr. Ahmad participated in the Heritage Resource Bank and Atlas Economic Research Foundation Liberty Forum in Atlanta.
• Alejandro Beutel published two blogs: "Democratization in Turkey: Stumbling Blocks and the Prospects" and "A Metric of Security Failure: America “Bleeding Green” in the Fight Against Al-Qaeda."
  
• Dr. Ahmad published a blog on "The Economic Impact of the Iraq War."
  

March 2008

• MFI President Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad spoke on “Prophet Abraham from an Islamic Perspective” in a panel discussion in the series "Children of Abraham, Jews and Muslims in Conversation" at the Islamic Society of Southern Prince George’s County.
• MFI Vice President Aly Abuzakouk and Dr. Ahmad participated in a discussion of "Faith-Based Diplomacy: Bridging the Religious Divide" with Dr. Douglas Johnston, Founder and President of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, at the International Institute of Islamic Thought, aimed at deepening our understanding of the positive role that religion and religious actors can play in peacemaking or in addressing conflicts with a real - or percieved - religious dimension.
• Dr. Ahmad gave a presentation on "The Unity of the Islamic Ummah" for the Islamic Information Center at the Jafary Mosque in Burtonsville, MD.
  
• Josiah Ryan included Dr. Ahmad's comments as a counter-balance to Walid Phares's views in "Jihad Against West Well-Entrenched, Author Says."
  
• Dr. Ahmad spoke on "Muslim Victims of Grand Jury Abuse" at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring.
  
• Dr. Ahmad gave a presentation on “Prophet Abraham from an Islamic Perspective” as part of the interfaith dialog curricullum: "The Children of Abraham; Jews and Muslims in Conversation."
• We participated in the Arab and Youth Summit in Dearborn, Michigan, with a special focus on interfaith activity.
  
• Dr. Ahmad was interviewed on "Shariah in the American Courts" for the "Living Islam in America" television program on Fairfax Public Access.
• Dr. Ahmad gave an "Introduction to Islam" at Edge Consulting.
• Alejandro Beutel wrote a blog on "Bonyads and Iranian Liberty."
  

February 2008

• MFI president Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad spoke on "Minority Rights in Islam" at the Rumi Forum.
  
• MFI Vice President Aly Abuzakouk and Dr. Ahmad met with the former President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Prof. Sibghatullah Al-Mojadded, at the International Instiute of Islamic Thought to discuss the prospects for reconciliation.
• The Washington Post published a letter to the editor from MFI Advisory Board member Charles Butterworth regarding the Archbishop of Canterbury's remarks on Islamic law in Britain.
• Dr. Ahmad spoke on "Islam and the Development of Modern Science" at a brown bag luncheon in the Higgins House Great Hall at the Worcester Poytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA.
• Sarah Swick wrote a blog on "Being Profiled."
  
• Dr. Ahmad wrote a blog on "Gallup Poll Lets Muslims Speak for Themselves."

January 2008

• PressTv aired a panel featuring MFI President Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad and Vice President Aly Abuzakouk discussing U.S Media and Islam-Related Issues on "The American Dream."
• We hosted a group of Ugandan civil society leaders at MFI and discussed the possibility of having them host a workshop in Uganda that we could cosponsor.
• An abridged version of Alejandro Beutel’s “Breach of Law, Breach of Security: A Muslim American Analysis of US Counterterrorism Policies” was published in Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Islamic Horizons.
• Sharmin Ahmad was interviewed by al-Jazeerah for background on their program on the Hajj.
• Dr. Ahmad made a presentation at the National Defense University on Political Islam, discussing the differnces between conservatism, extremism, militancy, and terrorism.
• Linguist and National Writers Union member Sohair Soukkary spoke at our brown bag luncheon series on Demonization of Islam and the reasons behind the colonialist antagonism towards the madrassahs.
• We were interviewed by Farspress on the Iranian Revolution.
• Dr. Ahmad wrote blogs on Ignored by Israel, American Policies Alienate Egypt and Strengthen Hamas exposing the flaws in capital punishment for adultery (Is This the Shariah?).
• Alejandro Beutel wrote blogs on A Security Analysis of Bush’s State of Union Address and  Pentagon Removes Incompetent Ideologue on Muslim Affairs.