CSID email Bulletin - week ending 16 April 2004
> Need Funding to bring Muslim Democrats to CSID 5th Annual Conference
> Call for Nominations to CSID Board of Directors
> Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Confrontation or Cooperation?
> Michael Novak Speaks on Islam and Democracy
> Call for Applications: Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
> 2004 John-Humphrey Freedom Award
> Conference Announcement: Visions for Development in the Arab World
> A Vote For Starting Small, By Mustapha Tlili
> CSID Announces NEW SUMMER INTERNSHIP POSITIONS
> Job Announcements: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Need Funding to bring Muslim Democrats to CSID 5th Annual Conference
Dear Friends:
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) will hold its fifth annual conference on Defining and Establishing Justice in Muslim Societies, on May 28-29, 2004 in Washington DC. The conference will bring together leading scholars, activists, and policy makers from different religious, ethnic, and national backgrounds to discuss methods of democratizing and liberalizing the Muslim world.
CSID is trying to raise money to pay for the travel expenses of about 60 Muslim democrats from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to participate in our conference. The funds will pay for transportation and accommodations while in Washington DC. We need about $2,000 each ($1,200 for airline ticket and $800 for expenses and registration cost) for each participant.
In the past five years, CSID has hosted conferences in Morocco, Yemen, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt, and has established excellent relations with democracy activists in these countries. CSID strength lies in its ability to attract a broad cross-section of ideological groups, including secularists and moderate Islamists, and its ability to convene the proponents of reform within the Muslim world with their American counterparts.
Allowing these democrats to come to Washington DC will enhance their ability to promote democracy in the Muslim world by introducing them to a broader and more influential audience, and allowing them to share knowledge and experience with colleagues from around the world. In addition, CSID will ensure that the speakers participate in a wide variety of forums during their stay in Washington DC and will help organize forums and meetings for them with policy-makers, democracy activists, and scholars.
Your help in bringing these 60 democrats from the region to participate in the conference and meet with policy makers would be greatly appreciated. Please let us know if you, or your organization, can sponsor one, two, or more participants from your country.
We look forward to hearing from you.
With warm greetings and salaam,
Radwan A. Masmoudi
Founder and President
Call for Nominations to CSID Board of Directors
Dear Fellows of CSID:
As you may recall, CSID not only supports democratic ideas and institutions, it also works to practice these ideals. One of these ways is the stipulation that the Board of CSID is elected not by a self-perpetuating board, but by you the Fellows of CSID. Anybody can become a fellow of CSID by simply filling out the membership form (www.islam-democracy.org) and paying the annual membership fee of $100.
Each year, 5 new board members (one third of the board) are elected by the CSID fellows for a three-year term. Before having an election and asking you to vote, we want to ask your advice for any and all suggestions of individuals you, as a CSID Fellow, think would make a substantial contribution to the governance and further development of CSID and its mission. Please consider this role seriously. You may nominate anyone (including yourself) who is or is in the process of becoming a CSID Fellow. You might want to consider the same criteria the Nominating Committee will use:
The Nominating Committee will consider all nominations.
Nominees should have at least the following qualifications:
1. Support the mission of CSID. 2. Be a CSID Fellow. 3. Be willing to attend at least several of the quarterly board meetings each year and otherwise work to support the development of CSID. 4. Have no conflict of interest through employment or other voluntary activities. (e.g. work for either an organization that supports CSID or that collaborates closely with CSID).
Other considerations that are desirable in nominees, but not required, are:
1. A student of Islam, Arab and Islamic countries and cultures, or democracy. 2. A activist with experience in developing scholarly or activist programs. 3. Willingness (and, ideally, experience) to work on the key committees of CSID: executive committee, fund-raising committee, annual program committee. 4. Any general skills or experience that will assist CSID to develop as an organization (e.g. linguistic skills, web site development, proposal writing, lecturing and writing). 5. Previous other involvement in CSID (e.g. attendance at Annual meeting, delivering a paper, financial contributions, etc)
All nominees must agree to be nominated and will be asked to write a brief statement which will be published as part of the election process. Please e-mail your nominations by April 30 to Bob Schadler, Chair of the Nomination Committee, at: [log in to unmask]
Sincerely,
Nomination Committee: Robert Schadler (chair) Antony Sullivan Louay Safi Abdulaziz Sachedina (ex officio)
P.S. It should also be stated that while only a few CSID Fellows are able to serve on the Board at any one time, all CSID Fellows and members are encouraged to assist in the work of CSID. Your ideas and suggestions, your participation in CSID dinners and seminars, the CSID Annual Meeting (on May 28-29, 2004), and your financial contributions have been and continue to be extremely important.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Confrontation or Cooperation?
Thursday April 15, 2004
6-8PM; Reiss 103 – Georgetown University
Washington DC
Dr. Jerald Dirks
Clinical Psychologist
Expert on the Abrahamic Faiths
B.A. Harvard College
M. Div. Harvard Divinity School
M.A. & Psy.D. University of Denver
Author of: "The Cross and the Crescent", "Abraham: A friend of God", and "Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Confrontation or Cooperation"
Organized by the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Co-Sponsored by the office of Campus Ministry, the Office of the Muslim Chaplain, and the Office of the Jewish Chaplain.
Michael Novak Speaks on Islam and Democracy
Thursday, April 22, 2004
4pm; School of Law - Catholic University
3600 McCormack Rd, NE
Washington DC
RSVP: 202-319-5259
Call for Applications: Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program at the Washington, DC-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) welcomes fellowship applications for 2005-2006. The Fellows Program was established in 2001 to enable democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change. While the program is intended primarily to support activists, practitioners, and scholars from new and aspiring democracies, distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Please note that a working knowledge of English is an important prerequisite for participation in the program.
The application deadline for fellowships in 2005-2006 is Monday, November 1, 2004.
For more information, please see: www.ned.org/forum/R-FApplication.pdf
Or Email: [log in to unmask]
2004 John-Humphrey Freedom Award
Rights & Democracy is currently accepting nominations for the John--Humphrey Freedom Award, which is presented each year to an organization or person who has made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of human rights and democratic development. The award includes a $25 000 price and a tour of Canadian cities for the purpose of raising public awareness of the recipient's work on behalf of human rights.
The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2004.
For more information, please visit www.ichrdd.ca or Email Anyle Coté at [log in to unmask]
Conference Announcement: Visions for Development in the Arab World
Visions for Development in the Arab World 2004 Annual Symposium Center for Contemporary Arab Studies Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown University APRIL 15-16, 2004
The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) in cooperation with Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank will hold its annual symposium on this timely topic on April 15-16 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Program: Thursday, April 15, 2004 8:00 am - 9:00 am Registration and Coffee 9:00am - 9:15am Welcome by CCAS, the World Bank and the Arab Fund for Economic and Economic Development
9:15 am - 10:45 am The Arab Development Debate This panel examines the competing development agendas in the region, ascertaining their resonance with citizens and societies, reconciling their objectives with national policies, and assessing the political and institutional requirements for their implementation. Zahir Jamal, UNDP Mustapha Nabli, World Bank Karen Pfeiffer, Smith College Alina Romanowski, State Department, MEPI
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Knowledge and Education This panel will assess the state of knowledge production and dissemination; the relationship between human capital and development outcomes; recent efforts to reform educational systems, and their likely impact on the societies and economies of the Arab world. Eleanor Doumato, Brown University Atif Kubursi, McMaster University Jean-Louis Sarbib, World Bank
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm LUNCH (included)
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Labor Markets and Gender Relations This panel will address the challenge of job creation under conditions of high unemployment; the role of legal and institutional factors in employment and gender outcomes; and the impact of recent trends in labor markets and gender relations on family formation and state-society relations. Ragui Assad, University of Minnesota Jennifer Olmsted, Occidental College Diane Singerman, American University
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm Regionalism and Globalization This panel will examine progress with planned initiatives for greater regional and global economic integration; the likely impact of economic liberalization on local product and factor markets; and the constraints imposed by the world economy on national development policies. Ahmed Galal, The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies Raed Safadi, OECD Faruk Tabak, Georgetown University
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm RECEPTION
7:00pm Banquet with keynote address by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University.*
Friday, April 16, 2004 8:00 am - 9:15 pm Registration and Coffee
9:15 am - 10:45 am Governance and Political Reform This panel will analyze the challenge of political reform in the Arab world including the opportunities for and constraints against external influence. Panelists will offer critical commentary on current debates about governance, democratization and development in the region. Mustafa Kamal Al-Sayyid, Cairo University Steven Heydemann, Georgetown University Rami Khouri, Daily Star
11:00 am - 12:30 pm War, Reconstruction, and Development This panel will focus on the lessons learned from episodes of conflict in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories. Panelists will assess the impact on human and economic development, the institutional requirements for reconstruction and the role of the donor community. Sharif Elmusa, American University in Cairo Edward Girardet, Media Action International Crispin Hawes, Eurasia Group 12:30pm
Concluding Address: Professor Clovis Maksoud, Professor of International Relations and Director of the Center for the Global South at American University
New Off-Campus Location: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington DC 20036
Please download the registration information at http://ccasonline.org/events/index.htm and fax the registration form to 202-687-7001. Deadline for pre-registration is April 9, 2004.
Information: Symposium Chair: Dr. Tarik Yousef, Shaykh Al-Sabah Chair in Arab Studies Symposium Manager: Ms. Rania Kiblawi, Public Affairs Coordinator Center for Contemporary Arab Studies; Tel (202) 687-6215 or 687-5793; Fax (202) 687-7001
This symposium is co-sponsored with The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Middle East and North Africa Region of The World Bank.
A Vote for Starting Small
In Muslim nations that are wary of sweeping Western-style democratic reforms, assuring fair and free elections is a good place to begin.
By Mustapha Tlili
This year sees a flowering of elections in the Muslim world: parliamentary elections in Malaysia last month; parliamentary elections in Indonesia tomorrow, followed by presidential elections in July; presidential elections in Algeria on Thursday; general elections in Tunisia in the fall; municipal elections for the first time ever in Saudi Arabia, also in the fall; and, the world hopes, elections in Afghanistan and Iraq before the year is out.
The point is that - just as Monsieur Jourdain in Moliere's Bourgeois Gentilhomme speaks prose without knowing it - the Muslim world is practicing one of the basic activities of democracy.
The Bush administration should focus less on the promotion of what seems, to many Muslims, an ideologically loaded, Western concept - democracy - and more on improving the practice of elections. Such a shift would, among other effects, help clear the atmosphere of mistrust resulting from the United States' military intervention in Iraq. The collective memory of Western interference from the 19th century on renders Muslim peoples highly suspicious of any reforms, including democracy, that come from the barrel of a gun.
The emphasis on elections would have the added advantage of putting to the test Islamist movements advocating "Islamic" constitutions, forcing them to follow through on their stated commitment to democratic governance. Such a commitment was recently affirmed by Islamist participants in a workshop on Islam and elections held in Amman, Jordan, under the auspices of the Islam-West dialogues program of the New School University's World Policy Institute. One of the conclusions of the workshop was that "Islam, in its central teachings, embodies and embraces constitutional, democratic, just, and accountable electoral government."
Likewise, non-Islamist authoritarian regimes, many of them friends of the United States', would have a harder time fishing for objections to the administration's call for democratization if Washington simply offered technical assistance toward making their countries' elections better-run, and eventually freer, fairer and more credible.
A similar, pragmatic approach was adopted by the United Nations at the end of the Cold War, when the international community had to deal with nation-building in so many failed states in both the disintegrating Soviet empire and in regions that had been caught in the confrontation of the superpowers. An Electoral Assistance Division was created in the United Nations Secretariat, and thanks to its expertise and support, hundreds of elections in Central Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe were run in a more credible fashion.
What should be the content of the new policy emphasizing democratic behavior? First, a process of civic education must be instituted to make citizens more aware of their rights and duties in a credible electoral system. Both formal, textbook education in schools as well as public outreach initiatives should aim at instilling and deepening these values. This is one of the areas in which the Bush administration should invest significantly as it pursues its strategy of educational reform in the Muslim world.
The new policy also should endeavor to promote the setting up of independent electoral commissions. There are already some good examples of such commissions in Muslim and Muslim-majority countries, including Nigeria, Malaysia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Democracy is slowly taking root in those countries - and in no small measure thanks to the pugnacious work of their independent electoral commissions.
Most countries of the Muslim world, however, run elections through their interior ministries, a system that leads to the frequent manipulation of elections. Independent electoral commissions should help correct this problem.
An election-promotion strategy should further entail technical assistance in the choice of voting systems, the delineation of electoral constituencies, voter registration, and, more generally, the establishment of rules, regulations and procedures that would enable elections to be conducted in a nonpartisan manner and would legitimize their outcomes.
Today, the idea of participatory governance through elections is gaining worldwide acceptance as the best guarantee of citizens' rights and freedoms. Shouldn't the administration, instead of pursuing an increasingly resisted democracy crusade, aim at melding what is emphasized in the heritage of Islam - just and good governance - with Western, democratic ideals, through free, fair and credible elections?
Contact Mustapha Tlili at [log in to unmask] Mustapha Tlili is senior fellow and program director at the World Policy Institute of the New School University in New York City.
CSID Announces NEW SUMMER INTERNSHIP POSITIONS
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) is pleased to announce it is now accepting applications for its Summer 2004 Internship Program. Interns will assist CSID in planning conferences and meetings with leading advocates and scholars of democracy in the Muslim world.
CSID interns will receive a monthly stipend of $400.00.
Openings are for May 1 through September 1, 2004. Please send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to [log in to unmask] by April 23.
For more information, please see:
http://www.islam-democracy.org/summer_internships.asp
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