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Summary of MFI Activities in 2002-2003
Current
Year Activities
Prior years activity: 1996-2000 | 2001
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Suggestions
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2003
December
- Dr, Ahmad's paper “On
the
American Constitution from the Perspective of the Qur’an and
the Madinah Compact” has been published in the American Journal of
Islamic Social Sciences 20
#3-4 (Summer/Fall), 105.
- Dr. Ahmad's article on "The Prospects for
Iraq" has been
published in American Muslim
Magazine (Jan. 2004), 30-31.
- Some members of the International Property
Rights Working Group met with Bruce Fein on his return from Iraq where
he worked on the reconstitution of the judicial system to ask what
provisions are being made for the protection of property rights. Dr.
Ahmad conveyed concerns in the Muslim community that Islamic law and
Iraqi customs be respected. The group later met with an aide to
the House International Affairs Committee.
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November
- Dr.
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad lectured on "Islam and American Values" at an
Objectivist Center forum at the National Press Club. Dr. Ahmad noted
that the basic values shared by Islam and American society are
universal values and noted the role Islamic civilization played in
developing the defense of private property and free markets.
- Dr. Ahmad's article on "The Patriot Act" has
been published in the Nov.-Dec issue of American Muslim Magazine.
- MFI Secretary Sharmin Ahmad has written an
article on the significance of Ramadan.
- Dr. Ahmad addressed an interfaith gathering at
an iftar at Marymount College on the significance of Ramadan.
- Several members of the International Property
Rights Working Group met with an aide to the to the House International
Affairs Committee to discuss the progress of the nation-building in
Iraq. Dr. Ahmad expressed concerns about the time-table for the
election of the constitutional convention, about the protections of the
property rights of Iraqi citizens (and avoiding the Russian
privatization model that put all the wealth into the hands of a few),
about the care that may be used in accomodating Islamic law in the
constituional process, about the need to avoid indigenous Iraqi
entrepreneurship from being squelched by competition from
taxpayer-subsidized politically influential American corporations, and
about he lack of sensitivity to Iraqi culture evidenced by recent
incidents that seem to be alienating the Iraqi public.
- Dr. Ahmad addressed the Salt Lake City Library
Association on the significance of the Eid-al-fitr.
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October
- Dr. Ahmad met with a delegation from Kenya
sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of State to explain to them the status of
Muslims in the United States.
- Dr. Ahmad partiucipated in the Imam's
conference in Villanov, PA, at the Foundation for Islamic Education's
conference on the History of Islamic Jurisprudence and Development of
Fiqi Schools.
- The second edition of Signs in the Heavens: A Muslim
Astronomer's Perspective on Religion and Scjence has been
drafted.
- Dr. Ahmad MC'ed the Peace and Justice
Foundation's Civil Liberties conference at the University of D.C.
- Dr. Ahmad gave an introduction to Islam to the
Foreign Services Institute.
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September
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August
- Dr. Ahmad gave a presentation on "Islamic
Philanthropy" to the Keenan Institute.
- MFI Secretary Sharmin Ahmad and President
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
participated as commentators at a special interfaith preview of the
Senetics' play "Guests and Hosts," exploring interfaith relations, at
the Bethesda Presbyterian Church.
- Dr.
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad's article "Just Like
the Rest of the World Iraq Needs Liberty" appears in the August
2003 issue of Libertarian Party News, refuting the view that Islam is
inherently opposed to property rights and freedom.
- Dr. Ahmad moderated a round-table discussion
with the prominent Iranian religious scholar and judge Ayatollah Seyed
Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad at the United Associates for Studies and
Research offices. About twenty scholars, activiists and policymakers
met with Ayatollah Damad for a frank and lively discussion of the state
of both inter- and intra- civilizational dialogue since Sept. 11, 2001.
- Campus Watch founder Daniel
Pipes has agreed to publish a correction
to his partial listing of a page from the Daily Pennsylvanian website
regarding a
speech made by Dr. Ahmad at the University of Pennsylvania.
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July
- MFI President Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad lectured
"On Bringing Peace to the Middle East" at the International Society for Individual
Liberty world conference
in Vilnius, Lithuania. Dr. Ahmad emphasized the importance of a respect
for liberty in any realistic solutions to the problems in Iraq and
Palestine. He spoke of the opportunity to use established Islamic law
to re-establish property rights in Iraq and gave a summary of the
dispute over private vs. "collective" property rights in
Palestine/Israel.
- On July 26, Dr. Ahmad along
with representatives of the different Palestinian American
organizations
met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas at a meeting arranged
by the American Task Force on Palestine. Dr. Ahmad complimented the
prime minister for walking the fine line between diplomacy and clarity,
for example, by keeping the Palestinian Right of Return in the public
eye by his refrences to U.N. Resolution 194 at the press conferenc with
President Bush. Dr. Ahmad encouraged Mr. Abbas to do more also to make
the public aware that the overwhelming number of Palestinians held
hostage by the Israelis are political prisoners not charged with any
violent crime. Mr. Abbas affirmed that the list of prisoners whose
release he is seeking include only political prisoners and no one
enagaged in violent crime.
- An article in the
Christian Science Monitor (July 18) quotes Dr. Ahmad on the
significance
of the decision of the prosecutors of Zacarius Moussaoui to defy the
orders of Judge Leonie Brinkema and continue to refuse to produce
a key witness in the case against him. Reporter Warren Richey describes
the civil libertarian objections to the Justice Dept.'s threat to try
Massouie before a military tribunal if the case agianst him is
dismissed:
"I. Dean Ahmad, president of the Minaret
Freedom Institute in Bethesda, Md., says if the president has such
power, there is nothing to prevent the administration from designating
anyone an enemy combatant.
"'If you can't win in the civilian court, just
call them an enemy combatant,' Mr. Ahmad says. 'It is a slippery slope
that would leave no American citizen protected.'"
- Reason Magazine'sTim Cavanaugh interviewed Dr.
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad on "Revealed
Libertarianism."
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June
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May
- Dr. Ahmad lectured on "Economic and Property
Rights in Islam" before the Islamic Society of Minnesota.
- Dr.
Ahmad gave a presentation on property
rights in
Islam and its implications for the nation-building effort in Iraq
to
the International Property Rights Working Group in Washington, DC.
- Dr. Ahmad spoke on "New Approaches to Civil
Society" at a program on "Democracy, Governance and Rule of Law"
sponsored by IRIS and USAID at the University of Maryland.
- Al-Jazeera Satellite News Channel interviewed
MFI Vice President Aly
R. Abuzakouk on the
latest annual report issued
by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF). The report has issued policy suggestions regarding a number
of
Muslim Countries. To view the report visit the USCIRF web site.
- Mr. Abuzakouk was interviewed by Dubai TV
Satellite channel Washington Bureau Chief Atif AbdulJawwad on the
USCIRF
role in US policy making in light of its latest annual report.
- Mr. Abuzakouk appeared on John Watson's WILM AM
1450 (Willmington North Carolina) talk show to discuss the future of
Democracy in Iraq in light of the Sunni -Shi'i differences, and the
religious and ethnic diversity of the Iraqi people.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Nicolle Safi of
the Chilean publication al-Damir on Abu Mazen and the "Roadmap" for
Middle East Peace.
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April
- Dr.
Ahmad conducted a leadership seminar focussing on Islam and the Middle
East for students in the Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland).
- MFI Associate Prof. Grace Goodell spoke on
Islamic Civil Society at a conference at the Johns Hopkins School for
Advanced International Studies..
- MFI Vice president Ali Abuzakouk was
interviewed by the Cairo journal Sawt-al-`arab
(Voice of the Arabs) on the situation in Iraq. He emphasized the need
for the American regime to allow Iraqis to rule themselves.
- Mr. Abuzakouk was interviewed on the London TV
outlet al-Mustaqillah on the role of the Minaret of Freedom Institute
as
one of the few Muslim think tanks educating Muslims and Americans
on public policy.
- Dr. Ahmad appeared on Anisa Abdel-Fatah's
Islamic Broadcasting Network program Civilizational Dialogue program to
discuss the War on Iraq.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed
by Daniela Sentilices of Que Pasa magazine on the war on Iraq.
- Dr. Ahmad's speech on "Is the War on Terrorism
a War on Liberty," delivered to the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania"
was carried by Pennsylvania Cable Television.
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March
- Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad's review
of John Cooley's Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America, and International
Terrorism will be published in the Journal of Islam and Christian-Muslim
Relations.
- Dr.
Ahmad spoke on "Muslims in the Cross-fire Between an Oppressive East
and
a Suspicious West" at Islamic Awareness Week at Johns Hopkins
Universoty's Homewood Campus.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by the Islamic
Broadcasting network on American Muslims and the Iraq War.
- Dr. Ahmad addressed the ar-Rahma School Science
Fair in Baltimore on" Science and Shari`a."
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February
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January
- Dr.Ahmad's article on "The
Importance of Distengangling Culture from Religion" was published
in the AMSS Newsletter.
- MFI Secretary Sharmin
Ahmad was the keynote
speaker at the conference on "Re-examining Reconciliation: Visions for
Renewal" at Valparaiso University sponsored by the Valparaiso
Interfaith
Program. She spoke on the Qur'anic message on effective dialog for
peacebuilding abd how to reach out to people of other cultures and
religions.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewedby the Islamic
Broadcast Network (IBN)'s "Counterpoint" program on the controversy
over Rowe v. Wade.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed on the IBN
"Civilizational Dialog" program on Bush's state of the Union address.
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2002
December
- The Wall
Street Journal declined to print Dr. Ahmad's letter noting
the oversights in their
op-ed piece on Islamic higher education.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed at the Middle East
Studies Association Conference for a special program on Palestine for
al-Jazeera television.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by the Islamic
Broadcast Network (IBN) on the significance of Secretary of State Colin
Powell's "Middle
East Partnership."
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Katherine Liepens
of Que Pasa? on the impending
War with Iraq,
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Susan Roberts of
the local ABC affiliate on the raids on Muslim charities.
- Dr. Ahmad sent a letter to the Crescent
Newspaper Web site regarding disagreements
over the dates of Eid observations.
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November
- Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad gave a talk at a
roundtable discussion with George Mason University students on "Islam
and Democracy and Two Definitions of Secularism."
- Dr. Ahmad presented a paper on "Muslim
Culpability in Distortions of Islam" at a IIIT/AMSS/ISESCO seminar
on "Peace,
Jihad and Conflict Resolution."
- Islamic Horizon's published Dr. Ahmad's piece
on "The Dangers of
Vouchers."
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed at the Middle East
Studies Association Conference for a special program on Palestine for
al-Jazeera television.
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October
- Dr. Ahmad's gave a lecture on "Why
Is the
Muslim World So Angry? Islamic Doctrine, Global Politics, and Prospects
for Peace" at the University of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia.
- Dr. Ahmad presented a paper at the annual
meeting of the American Muslim Social Scientists on "Disentangling
Culture from Religion."
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Darryl Owens of
the Orlando Sentinel on the Muslim reaction to the arrests in the
Washington area sniper case.
- We provided WJLA-TV with information on threats
against Washington area mosques inspired by the sniper attacks that
resulted in an aired broadcast.
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September
- Dr. Ahmad gave a talk on the "Ethics of
Industrialization" to the American Muslim Scientists and Engineers at
the Islamic Society of North America convention in Washington,
DC.
Congress.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by the Islamic
Broadcast Network on the war since 9/11/01.
- Dr. Ahmad participated in an interfaith prayer
service at the Unity Church in Washington, DC.
- Dr. Ahmad gave a lecture on the political and
sociological considerations to the Islamic Calendar to the Foundation
for Islamic Education in Philadelphia, PA.
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August
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by James Oliphant of
the Legal Times on the status of Muslims in America today.
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July
- Dr. Ahmad's interventions in a seminar on
"Combating Terrorism: Possible Lessons for U.S. Policy from Foreign
Experiences" have been included in a summary prepared by the
Congressional Research Service for the members and committees of
Congress.
- Dr. Ahmad, together with other Muslim and
non-Muslim academics, met with representatives of the Muslim World
League to brief them on the status of Islam in America.
- Dr. Ahmad's review of
Bernard Lewis' What Went Wrong? has been published in the
current issue of Middle East Affairs Journal.
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June
- Dr. Ahmad participated in a conference on
"Faith and Reason: Convergence and Complementarity" at the Al Akhawayn
University in Ifrane, Morocco sponsored In collaboration with the
³Science and the Spiritual Quest II² program of the Center
for
Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), the Interdisciplinary
University of Paris (UIP) and UNESCO, with the support of the John
Templeton Foundation. His talk was on "The
Rise and Fall of Islamic Science: The Calendar as a Case Study."
- MFI Vice President Ali Ramadan Abuzakouk was a
participant in a full page dialog in Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper Arabic
on the subject of Muslim
Organizations in
America.
- Dr. Ahmad gave a talk on "the Importance of
Religious Groups in Civil Society" to fifty guests from the Center for
Russian Leadership vistiting Catholic University in Washington, DC. for
the Library of Congress' Openb World Program on “Leadership Dialogue on
Freedom of Religion and Belief.” The aims of the program are: 1)
to introduce key Russian leaders who are responsible for shaping and
implementing religion policy in Russia to the institutions of religious
freedom in the United States, and to U.S. experts on these themes, and
2) to acquaint U.S. political, academic, and church leaders with
Russian
views and issues concerning religious freedom.
- Dr. Ahmad participated in a workshop on Islam
and Democracy sposnored by the Center for Islam and Democracy at the
United States Institute for Peace.
- Dr. Ahmad gave a talk on "Islam and Libertarian
Issues Since Sept. 11" at the Queens Libertarian Party in New York.
- Dr. Ahmad gave an introduction to Islam to
students at the Foreign Services Institute.
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May
- Dr. Ahmad addressed the Wheaton Rotary Club on
the history of Jerusalem.
- Dr. Ahmad gave an introduction to Islam to the
Foreign Services Institute.
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April
- The MFI Annual Dinner
featured Prof. Sami Al-Arian, the Palestinian fired from the University
of South Florida when he became the target of death threats and Merve
Kavakci the Turkish parliamentarian removed from office because she
wears a headscarf. They spoke on the Threat of
Secular Fundamentalism. Click herefor
details
- Dr. Ahmad gave a talk on Muslims and the free
market at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation's 2nd
Annual
Liberty Forum in Philadelphia.
- Dr. Ahmad addressed the Third Annual
Conference
of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy:Democratization and
Political Violence in Muslim Societies on "The
Anti-Correlation Between Democracy And Political Violence In The
Experience Of The Khulufah Rashidûn."
- Dr. Ahmad lectured at the Libertarian Party of
Minnesota state convention on "Islam and Politics." He
addressed three themes (1) the libertarian nature of Islam in the
Qur'an
and in the classical era; (2) the authoritarian nature of the Muslim
world today; and (3) the problems wrought by America's interventionist
foreign policy.
- Dr. Ahmad lectured at the University of
Maryland on the history behind current situation in Palestine/Israel.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Springfield,
Massachusetts radio personality Tony Gill on the Israeli seige of the
Church of the Nativity.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed on WWTL Radio on the
causes of the current violence in Palestine/Israel.
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March
- MFI President Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad and MFI
Secretary Sharmin Ahmad addressedthe Natural Resources Conservation
Service of the US Dept. of Agriculture on their Diversity Day on
Muslim Culture.
- Dr. Ahmad addressed the Federalist Society on
Muslims in America at the Ave Maria Law School in Ann Arbor, MI.
- Dr. Ahmad addressed Montgomery County (MD)
homeschoolers on the Muslim history of the Middle East.
- Dr. Ahmad moderated a UASR round table meeting
betweeen Muslim activists and intellectuals and the leadership Neturei Karta the Orthodox
Jewish anti-Zionist movement. The meeting ended in a commitment
for a new coalition of Jews and Muslims for a faith-based resolution to
th evilence in Palestine beginning with a cooperative effort to
establish the right of return of Jews to Arab countries from which they
originated as well as Palestinians to their homes.
- Dr. Ahmad lectured on the Muslim History of
Jerusalem at an Islamic History Day celebration sponsored by the
Islamic
History Association at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring.
- Dr. Ahmad was interviewed by Judith Latham of
Voice of America and by WWTL radio on the current violence in Israel
and
Palestine.
- Dr. Ahmad met with Mr. James Wani Igga,
Secretary-General, Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) to discuss
a fact-finding mission to the Sudan.
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February
- Dr. Ahmad spoke on "Contributions of Muslims
to
Science and Civilization" before the Islamic Society of Afghans.
- Dr. Ahmad presented an introduction to Islam
at
the Foreign Service Institute of the State Dept.
- Dr. Ahmad spoke on Islam and American values
to
the Potomac Presbyterian Church.
- Dr. Ahmad met with Mr. Phagan Umum (SPLM,
Secretary General, National Democratic Alliance, Mr. Ahmed Abdel
Rahman,
Secretary, Council of International Peoples’ Friendship, a Senior
Minister in the Khartoum Government, and Ambassador Khidir H. Ahmed,
Head of Mission, Embassy of Sudan, Washington, D.C. to discuss a
fact-finding mission to the Sudan.
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January
- MFI President Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
participated as a resource person at a Congressional Research Services
program at the Library of Congress on "Combating Terrorism: Possible
Lesson for U.S. Policy from Foreign Experiences," to comment on
the presentations of Prof. Martha Crenshaw of Wesleyan University,
Prof.
Christopher Hewiott of the University of Maryland, and Mr. Peter
Probst,
formerly of the CIA. Dr. Ahmad corrected misimpressions by which
the American government has underestimated the significance of foreign
policy blunders in creating the violence that has been misdirected
against American civilians.
- Dr. Ahmad's article "Islam Demands a
Response to the Terror of September 11" has been published in the
Middle East Affairs Journal.
- Dr. Ahmad met with Hisham El-Tinay of the
Salam
Sudan Foundation to develop plans for an interfaith fact-finding
mission
to Sudan.
- Dr. Ahmad gave an introduction to the tenets
of
Islam at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.
- Dr. Ahmad participated in a press conference at
the National Press Club on the background and circumstances of the
arrest of Jamil
Al-Amin(formerly
H. Rap Brown).
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