|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
MFI Activities 1996-2000
Current
Year Projects
Prior year activity: 1996-2000
| 2001
Send Comments,
Suggestions
2000
December
- Dr. Ahmad participated in a U.S. Institute of
Peace brainstorming session on Muslim resources for peace.
- Dr. Ahmad participated in an exploratory
committee meeting to establish a first class Islamic University in
America.
- We collaborated on Dr. MuhammadAbdul-awal on a
handbook on Muslim positions on current issues for the U.S.
Congress.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by AMC radio and by
Iranian News on current events
November
- Dr. Ahmad participated in an Islamonline
interview on the American election.
October
September
- Dr. Ahmad lectured on "Basics of Islam" and on
"Issues Facing Islam" at the St. George Episcopal Church in McLean,
VA.
- Dr. Ahmad and MFI Vice President Aly Abuzakouk
met with Iran's President Mohammed Khatemi at the United Nations in New
York.
- Dr. Ahmad performed lectured on the recent
violence against the Palestinians and performed "The Ballad of Dier
Yasin" at American University.
- August
- MFI President Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad participated
in a forum on Mental Health Issues and the Muslim Community at St.
Elizabeth's hospital in Washington, DC.
July
- Dr. Ahmad gave a lecture on Muslims activism
at
the "Journey to Salaam" conference of the Muslim Peace Fellowship.
- Dr. Ahmad gave a lecture on "Faith in Action"
before the Islamic Society of Frederick.
- Dr. Ahmad gave a lecture on Religious Liberty and Secret
Evidence at the Libertarian
National Convention in Anaheim. A shorter version on Secret
Evidence was cablecast by C-SPAN.
June
- Dr. Ahmad read Qur'anic verses read at the
National Cathedral Interfaith
Service for Nuclear Reduction .
- MFI operated a booth at the American
Muslim Council Convention at the Crystal Sheraton in Crystal City,
Virginia.
May
- Prof. Azizah al-Hibri delivered a talk on "The
Islamic Marriage Contract in American Courts" at our annual
dinner.
April
- MFI President Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
participated in a Liberty Fund Forum on "Commercial Capitalism and
Civilization: The Case of Islam"
- Dr. Ahmad gave talks on "Islam and Science" at
the Islamic Center of Boston and at the Islamic Center of Toledo.
- Dr. Ahmad participated in the United
Associates
for Studies and Research conference on America, Islam, and the New
Millennium at Georgetown University.
- MFI Pamphlet #1, "Female Genital
Mutilation: An Islamic Perspective" is now available in bulk for
$29
for 60 copies postpaid.
March
- MFI President Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad spoke on
"Islam and Progress: Contributions of Muslim Civilization to the
Physical and Economic Sciences" at Amherst
- MFI Pamphlet #1, "Female Genital
Mutilation: An Islamic Perspective" is published.
February
- Dr. Ahmad and vice-president Aly Ramadan
Abuza`kouk met with the ambassador of Chechnya and the Budget Director
of the Checnyan parliament and together with representatives of a
number of American Muslim organizations formed the Chechnyan Task
Force.
- Dr. Ahmad and vice-president Abuza`kouk
participated in a State Dept. round table discussion on identifying the
concerns of American Muslims regarding American Foreign Policy and
other state department matters.
- Dr. Ahmad spoke on "Social Consequences and
Religious Implications of Three Revolutions in Twentieth Century
Science" at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in
Leesburg, VA.
January
- Dr. Ahmad participated in a day-long seminar
on Muslims in the American Public Square at Georgetown University.
Dr. Ahmad gave an introduction to "The Tenets of Islam" to the National
Presbyterian Church of Washington, DC.
1999
December
- MFI President Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad was
interviewed by Caryl Murphy on Modesty
and Modernity.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Ejaz Akram of Islam Online on privacy
in Islam.
- Dr. Ahmad appeared on the cable television
program Islamic Perspectives speaking on "The End of Time."
- Dr. Ahmad addressed demonstrators calling
for
the release of Nasser Ahmad in front of the U.S. Dept. of Justice and
hours later U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno released the victim of the
secret evidence provisions in the Counter-terrorism Act after 3 and 1/2
years of imprisonment without charge.
- Dr. Ahmad gave a presentation on "Using
Natural Phenomena to Determine Prayer Times and New Months" at Howard
University.
- Dr. Ahmad presented an "Introduction to
Islam" at Brandeis University
November
- In an interview conducted by Caryl Murphy
and
published in the Washington Post, Dr. Ahmad explained why the EgyptAir
990 co-pilot's prayer is an unlikely choice for a suicide.
- Dr. Ahmad met with U.S. State Department
officials to explain why Muslims have a negative perception of the
government's attitude towards them and Islam. He pointed to the
contrast between the sanctions imposed on the Taliban for refusing to
turn over Ossama bin Ladin and the pass given to Israelis for their
refusal to turn over Samuel Sheinbein. He also noted how the
government has let the press get away with the absurd assertion that
the 25-year sentence given to Sheinbein for the brutal murder and
mutilation of a Maryland youth is "unusually stiff" when any Arab
Israeli convicted of murder by the Israelis would surely get a life
sentence.
- Dr. Ahmad spoke at the Graduate School of
Islamic and Social Sciences on "The Problem of the Evolutionary
Paradigm"
- Representatives of Malaysia's "Mukmin"
project visited our offices to confer on establishing an Islamic
internet site.
October
- Dr. Ahmad spoke at the Graduate School of
Islamic and Social Sciences on "The Impact of Islamic Science on the
West."
- Dr. Ahmad gave presentations on "American Muslim
Engagement
in Politics" and on "Using Early Muslim Land Tax Practice to Form
an
Islamic Theory of Real Property" at the annual conference of the
American Muslims Social Scientists in Leesburg Virginia on Oct.
29-31.
- Sharmin Ahmad, Secretary of the Minaret of
Freedom Institute and her husband Amr Abdalla, Research and Evaluation
Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Health at George
Mason University, discussed issues of Islam and the American society in
Bethel Church in Arlington, VA
September
- Sr. Sharmin
Ahmad and Br. Amr Abdullah addressed the Reconstructionist Jewish
Congregation on the subject of Islamic teachings during their Rosh
Hoshona celebration. In front of a gathering of more than 400
members of the congregation in the auditorium of Wheaton High School,
sister Sharmin and brother Amr presented the Islamic message of love,
mercy and inclusiveness of all humans. They also emphasized the
potential unified role that "God Believers" must take in addressing the
society's social problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, family
destruction and violence. They quoted Ayats from the Holy Quran
supporting such concepts. The congregation received their presentation
with an enthusiastic standing ovation, warm greetings, handshakes and
hugs, which illustrated the great need for inter-faith activities which
aim is to clarify misperceptions and mistrust between believers from
different religions.
- Dr. Ahmad spoke at the Graduate School of
Islamic and Social Sciences on "Islamic Epistemology and the Rise ofd
the Scientific Method."
- Dr. Ahmad's talk on "Definitions
of Democracy" was published in the Center for the Study of Islam
and
Democracy newsletter, Muslim Democrat.
August
- The Minaret of Freedom Institute was
the subject of a front page article in the Montgomery Journal
(8/30/99).
July
June
May
- Dr. Ahmad moderated a special United Associates for Studies and Research
(UASR) symposium on "The United States and Iran: It's Time to Talk"
featuring Ambassador Robert Pelletreau, Chairman of the
American-Iranian Council and a former Assistant Secretary of State at
the American Muslim Council's
annual conference in Crystal City Virginia. The symposium was
cablecast by C-SPAN.
April
- The Instititute has published a brochure on Charitable Remainder
Trusts
- Dr. Ahmad moderated a United Associates for
Studies and Research (UASR) roundtable discussion on "The Islamic
Movement in Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt" with scholar and writer
Graham Fuller, formerly of the CIA and the Rand Corporation.
March
- Dr. Ahmad gave two lectures as keynote
speaker at the tenth anniversary of the Center for Faith and Science
Exchange: "Islamic
Contributions to Modern Scientific Methods" and "Economy,
Technology, and
Environment: The Islamic Middle Way." The talks were cosponsored by
the Boston Theological; Seminary and the Islamic Center of Boston.
- The Instititute hosted a meeting to plan a
conference on Islamic Schooling. Attending were MFI Board
members Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad and Ali Abuza`kouk and President of the
Separation of School and State Alliance Marshall Fritz, and Sr. Nadi
Amri of the Islamic Schools League of America.
- The Institute distributed a press release at
a press conference criticizing the Supreme Court ruling that the
federal government may selectively prosecute immigrants for actions
which are not crimes when conducted by citizens.
February
- Dr. Ahmad participated in a Liberty Fund
Colloquium on "Religion, Constitutionals, and Democratic Principles of
Contemporary Islam" in Charleston, South Carolina, organized by Minaret
of freedom Institute Advisor Prof. Charles Butterworth.
- Dr. Ahmad moderated a United Associates for
Studies and Research (UASR) roundtable discussion on "Islamism: A
Critique" with guest Daniel Pipes, Editor of the Middle East
Quarterly.
January
- Dr. Ahmad presented Hillary Rodham Clinton a
copy of Islam and the West: A Dialog at her annual Eid party at
the White House.
1998
December
- Dr. Ahmad participated in a workshop on
"Islam, Civil Society and Human Rights" organized by the Center for
International Policy.
November
October
September
- Dr. Ahmad discussed Islam, freedom, and
knowledge on Caroline Casey's radio program broadcast in San
Francisco.
- The Minaret of Freedom Institute shared a
booth with the American Muslim Social Scientists at the Islamic Society
of North America convention in St. Louis, MO.
- Dr. Ahmad discussed Islam and the West on
the
"Call from the Minaret" radio program broadcast in Providence, RI and
Phoenix, AZ.
- Dr. Ahmad lectured on Islam and modern
values
at the Islamic Society of Frederick, MD.
- Dr. Ali Mazrui's article on Muslim Dilemmas from Human Rights to the Right to
Nuclear Weapons has been submitted for publication to the Journal
of Middle East Affairs.
August
- MFI issues a press release on the Clinton bombings of Sudan
and Afghanistan
- Dr. Ahmad moderated a United Associates for
Studies and Research (UASR) roundtable discussion on "An Alternative to
Dual Containment" with guest Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional
Research Service at the Library of Congress.
- The Moroccan journal Le Forum
Libéral has published part one of a French translation of
Dr.
Ahmad's article on Islamic political economy.
- The Minaret of Freedom Institute operated an
exhibit booth at the Muslim Unity Conference in Washington,
DC.
July
- Wednesday, July 22, Dr. Ahmad gave a
presentation to students of the School of Islamic and Social Sciences
on retreat at George Mason University on the activities and goals of
the Minaret of Freedom Institute.
- Islamic Horizons published condensed
versions
of Dr. Ahmad's talks on "Using
PICS for Authenticating, Certifying and Filtering Islamic Sites" and
on "Necessary Elements in an
Islamic Moonsighting Website." in June
- Islam
and the West: A Dialog edited by Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad and Ahmed
Yousef and featuring top Western analysts of Islam meeting in a round
table discussion with Muslim intellectuals and activists is now
available for $17.95 postpaid. Contributors include: Graham
Fuller, Robert G Neumann, Stephen C. Pelletiere, Charles E.
Butterworth, Michael C. Dunn, Joyce Davis, Louis Cantori, Antony
T.Sullivan, and I. William Zartman.
- Saturday, June 13, 1998 THE FIRST ANNUAL
Minaret of Freedom Institute dinner was held at the RAMADA INN in
Bethesda, MD. Special Guest Speaker Prof. Ali
Mazrui spoke on
"Islamic Dilemmas Between Human Rights and the Right to Nuclear
Weapons."
May
- May 18-19, 1998 Dr. Ahmad presented
the opening address on "Islam and Free Markets" at the Association for
Liberal Thinking conference in Turkey on "Islam, Civil Society and Free
Markets"
April
- Dr. Ahmad was a panelist at ISNA's
Conference
on Muslims and the Information Superhighway International Conference
'98 held in Indianapolis. Dr. Ahmad spoke on "Using PICS for
Authenticating, Certifying and Filtering Islamic Sites" and on
"Necessary Elements in an Islamic Moonsighting Website"
- MFI Secretary Sharmin Ahmad attended a
workshop on Islamic Law
and Gender at Georgetown University.
March
- MFI was mentioned in an extraordinarily
favorable four-page article on "The New Islam" published in the March
16, 1998 issue of Newsweek.
- Dr. Ahmad's article on Islam and Markets was the
take-off point for an outstanding article by Jim Rogers in the April
issue of Worth, a quality financial news magazine.
- Dr. Ahmad's review of Karen Armstrong's book Jerusalem
appeared in the Summer-Fall 1997 issue of Journal of Middle East
Affairs.
February
- MFI Vice President Ali Ramadan Abuza`kouk
was
interviewed live by correspondents of Cairo satellite" Nile TV" and
Casablanca channel 2 satellite television about the American Muslim
community for the WORLDNET television program "Dialog" with host Jim
Berthel.
January
- Dr. Ahmad discussed RAMADAN on PBS
Television's "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly" on Jan. 4, 1998.
- Dr.Ahmad participated in a workshop on the
taxonomy of the Islamist movements hosted by Graham Fuller at the RAND
corporation.
1997
December
- Dr. Ahmad was a panelist critiquing Howard
Phillips' comments on Because All Education Is Religious, the
Government Must Get Out.
November
- A presentation was held on Islam and the
Discovery of Freedom featuring Sulayman Nyang, Omar Altalib, and
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad held in Bethesda.
- Dr. Ahmad discussed Female Circumcision at a
conference on Ethiopian community development.
October
- Dr. Ahmad appeared in a Washington area
radio
interview on his new book Islam
and the Discovery of Freedom.
- Dr. Ahmad spoke to the annual convention of
the Maryland Libertarian Party about the threat to religious freedom
posed by the Supreme Court's overturning of the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act.
September
August
- On August 4-9, 1997, Dr. Ahmad gave a series
of presentations for the International Institute for Political
& Economic Studies in Greece. Subjects included "The
politico-economics factors behind the rise and fall of civilizations";
"Democracy--Who needs it?"; "Islam and the Discovery of Freedom"; and
"Culture and Economics" (the last co-presented with MFI advisor Dr.
Antony Sullivan).
June
- On June 29, Dr. Ahmad moderated the UASR
Roundtable on "US Policy Towards Islamic Movements--The Islamic
Dimension" with Richard H. Curtiss, editor of Washington Report on
Middle East Affairs.
- On June 6, the Minaret of Freedom Institute
signed an agreement with Congressional Service Inc. under which the
latter will make MFI publications available electronically to
Congressional and other researchers.
May
- On May 25, Dr. Ahmad moderated the United
Associates for Studies and Research (UASR) Roundtable with Attila Yayla
of Hactepa University and the Association for Liberal Thinking. Drs.
Yayla and Ahmad and the participating Islamic intellectuals and
activists discussed the future of the Islamic movement in Turkey.
- On May 15, Dr. Ahmad moderated the UASR
Roundtable on "When the Revolution Comes" with George Mason University
Professor of Governmental Politics Mark Katz. Participants explored the
question of whether the Islamic resurgence will follow the patterns of
Arab nationalism and Marxism in their rise and fall.
- On May 8, Dr. Ahmad met with the leader of
the Kenyan opposition at the US Information Agency to review the
problems of establishing democracy in Kenya.
April
- On April 3, Dr. Ahmad lectured at the
Foreign
Services Institute on Political Islam
March
- The Minaret of Freedom Institute helped to
draft a letter to the Supreme Court concluding a compromise solution
regarding the use of an alleged image of the Prophet Muhammad in a
frieze on the Court's wall. The Court will make public literature
admitting that no one knows what the Prophet looks like (and therefore
the image cannot possibly be his likeness) while continuing to
commemorate the vital role Islam played in the development of the
concept of the "Rule of Law."
- Dr. Ahmad appeared with Algerian scholar
Bouthenia Cheriet to discuss the denial of democracy in Algeria
on National Empowerment Television's national cable program "World
Wise."
February
- Dr. Ahmad and Advisory Board members Charles
Butterworth and Antony Sullivan participated in a Conference on
Democratization to be held in Morocco.
January
- Dr. Ahmad presented a Lecture on "Time
in
Islam" at Shenandoah University.
1996
December
- Dr. Ahmad debated Israeli journalist Avinoam
Bar Yosef regarding Israeli
policies on National Empowerment Television's national cable
program "World Wise."
November
- Dr. Ahmad addressed the 2nd Annual
Conference
of the Separation of School and State on "Why Muslims Need the
Separation of School and State."
- Dr. Ahmad spoke on "Islam and Science"
at Shenandoah University.
- Dr. Ahmad moderated a roundtable discussion
at UASR between Muslim intellectuals and Prof. Simone Sharoni
on
the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
October
- Dr. Ahmad's letter to the editor exposing
the
real problem's behind Netanyahu's tunnel
opening was published in the Washington Times.
September
- Advisory Board member Prof. Charles
Butterworth convened a Liberty Fund Seminar of "Islam and Medieval
Constitutionalism." Dr. Ahmad participated on behalf of the Minaret
if Freedom Institute.
- Dr. Ahmad recited "al-Fatiha" as the
invocation at the Atlas Economic Turkey on "Religion and Culture."
Research Foundation's annual dinner. This was the first time the event
opened with an Islamic invocation.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by the Islamist
channel on Turkish television.
August
July
- Dr. Ahmad attended Amnesty
International's conference on Afghanistan the forgotten tragedy. In
response to comments favoring an arms embargo on Afghanistan made by
the American, Russian, and Pakistani representatives, he asked "Why
should those of us who are concerned about human rights think that an
arms embargo against Afghanistan will be any lesson of a disaster for
the Afghani people than the embargo against Bosnia was for the
Bosnians?"
- The American Muslim Council Newsletter
published Dr. Ahmad's summary of the of American Committee on Jerusalem's
conference on the status of that city under the "peace process" in the
light of the election of Netanyahu.
- The Wall Street Journal published
Dr.
Ahmad's letter on the Saudi bombing under the title "Repressing Dissent Breeds
Violence."
- Tikkun magazine published a summary
of
Dr. Ahmad's talk at the Politics of Meaning Conference which
explained that among the reasons the Left is not succeeding among
Muslims are the Left's rejection of markets as incompatible with Islam
and ignoring the vital women's rights guaranteed by Islam to attack
Muslim women for their style of dress.
June
- Dr. Ahmad attended a presentation by Ron
Young of the Inter-Religious Committee for Peace in the Middle East.
Mr. Young accepted by suggestion that he should include mention of the
positive relationship between indigenous Christians and Muslims of
Jerusalem in his talks.
May
- Dr. Ahmad made a successful European lecture
tour, including a presentation on our activities at the ATLAS Economic
Research Foundation Workshop in England, a talk on "Islam Market
Economy and the Rule of Law" to the Association for Liberal Thought
conference in Turkey, and a talk on "Islam and Liberalism" at
conference in Paris. He was also able to address the Ayn Rand Society
in Paris on Rand, Reason and Religion. While in Turkey, Dr.
Ahmad was interviewed by two Islamist newspapers, including Zaman
one of Turkeys three biggest newspapers. At the end of the interview,
the translator boasted: "Turkey's most liberal prime minister was its
most religious one, Turgat Ozal."
- First Things magazine published Dr.
Ahmad's rebuttal of Bernard Lewis' Review of Esposito's Oxford
Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World and Dr. Ahmad's article on
"Islam
and Markets" was published in the Acton Institute's journal Religion
and Liberty vol. 6 #3 May-June '96.
April
- Dr. Ahmad lectured on Political Islam at
the Foreign Service Institute in Virginia.
- Dr. Ahmad appeared on Mark Bruzonsky'
Mid-East Realities to discuss the persecution of Abu Marzook and the
Palestinian "Peace process," and gave a talk on "God Does not
Belong to the Right--So Why are Right-Wingers Winning in the Religious
World?" at Rabbi Michael Lerners' "Politics of Meaning Conference."
(See entry under July, above.)
March
- The Wall Street Journal published
Minaret of Freedom Secretary Sharmin Ahmad's rebuttal of Steven
Emerson's accusations that the Islamic intellectuals and activists
are terrorists.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
