EDMUND A . WAL SH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE GEORGETOWN UNIVERSIT Y
Celebrating 20 Years of Building Bridges of Understanding
A N N UA L R E P O R T
2012–2013
ANNUAL REPORT 2012-2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS History and Mission ........................................................................................... 1 Academic Programs .......................................................................................... 2 Academic Council Members................................................................................. 3 Center Faculty and Consultants ........................................................................... 4 Center Staff and Fellows .................................................................................... 5 Visiting Researchers and Alwaleed Bin Talal Scholars ................................................ 6 Center Courses ................................................................................................ 7 Programs and Events ......................................................................................... 8
Year-End Faculty Reports John L. Esposito, University Professor and Founding Director ....................................20 Jonathan A.C. Brown, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Understanding and Associate Director ................................................................27 John O. Voll, Professor of Islamic History ...........................................................30 Yvonne Y. Haddad, Professor of the History of Islam and Christian−Muslim Relations .............................................................................34 Shireen T. Hunter, Visiting Professor .................................................................41 Susan Douglass, ACMCU Education Consultant ......................................................44
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HISTORY AND MISSION The Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, renamed the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) in 2006, was founded in 1993 by an agreement between the Fondation pour l'Entente entre Chrétiens et Musulmans, Geneva and Georgetown University to build stronger bridges of understanding between the Muslim world and the West as well as between Islam and Christianity. In 2006, the Center was renamed the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in recognition of a generous gift from Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to guarantee the future of the Center and to support its mission and activities. The Center’s mission is to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West and enhance understanding of Muslims in the West by addressing stereotypes of Islam, warnings of a clash of civilizations, and questions regarding the compatibility of Islam and modern life, from democratization and pluralism, to the status of women, minorities, and human rights. Since the renaming of the Center in 2006 through the end of the 2012-2013 Academic Year, Center faculty have published 41 books and monographs, 548 articles and chapters, given 1,013 presentations outside of the classroom, and participated in over 1,163 media interviews. During that time the Center has organized and run over 296 programs, issued six new installments of its Occasional Papers series, and hosted 41 fellows and researchers from Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Spain, Canada, Malaysia, Egypt, Bangladesh, China, Romania, and the USA. In the 2012-2013 Academic Year, ACMCU faculty published six books, 35 articles and chapters, gave 84 presentations outside of the classroom and participated in 51 media interviews. The Center’s goals, both national and international in scope, are achieved through teaching, publications, media interviews, consulting, symposia, briefings, and international conferences. In the 2012-2013 Academic Year, ACMCU hosted 42 conferences, meetings and symposia. That same year, ACMCU offered 19 courses for both undergraduate and graduate students, comprised of 283 students, and advised or mentored 42 independent studies and theses. In addition, Center faculty members serve as consultants to government leaders, diplomats, policymakers, corporate executives, and members of the media.
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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS The Center currently offers two academic programs: Certificate Program in Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations The certificate program is a defined but flexible academic program for undergraduate students in the School of Foreign Service. To obtain the certificate, students must complete two foundation courses, three elective courses, and complete advanced research in one capstone course. The program has completed its fifteenth year, with five students receiving certificates in 2013.
Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies, Concentration in Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations Every year, students in the program may focus on: The Religion of Islam, Muslim Belief and Practice; The History of Muslim-Christian Communities, as they have developed and interacted through the centuries; and Muslim-Christian Encounters Today, globally and in the United States, where Muslims constitute an important minority.
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ACMCU ACADEMIC COUNCIL 2012-2013 J. Bryan Hehir—Co-chair
Rosalind Hackett
Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University
Professor and Department Head of Religious Studies University of Tennessee
Sulayman Nyang—Co-chair
Muqtedar Khan
Professor, Department of African Studies Howard University
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations University of Delaware
Hibba Abugideiri
Thomas Michel, S.J.
Assistant Professor of History Villanova University
Senior Fellow, Woodstock Theological Center Georgetown University
Asma Afsaruddin
James Piscatori
Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Indiana University
Professor of International Relations and Head of School, School of Government and International Affairs Durham University
Charles Butterworth Professor of Government and Politics University of Maryland
Emad Shahin
Juan Cole
Professor Public Policy and Administration Department School of Global Affairs and Public Policy American University in Cairo
Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History University of Michigan
Tamara Sonn
Leila Fawaz
William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Humanities College of William & Mary
Issam M. Fares Professor of Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, and Founding Director of Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies Tufts University
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CENTER FACULTY Alwaleed Bin Talal Professors John L. Esposito University Professor and Founding Director
John O. Voll Professor of Islamic History
Yvonne Y. Haddad Professor of the History of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
Full-Time Professors Jonathan A.C. Brown Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Understanding and Associate Director
Shireen T. Hunter Visiting Professor
Amira El-Azhary Sonbol Professor of Islamic History, Law, and Society
CONSULTANTS Susan Douglass ACMCU Education Consultant
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CENTER STAFF Christine Kidwell
Kevin Pruyn
Associate Director
Program Coordinator
Jessica Chilin
Mona Mogahed
Executive Assistant
Conference Coordinator
FELLOWS Margot Badran
Ibrahim Kalin
Senior Fellow; Independent Scholar
Senior Fellow; Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey
Osman Bin Bakar Senior Fellow; Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur; Deputy CEO, International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia
Dan Madigan
Heba Raouf Ezzat
Senior Fellow; Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, SUNY
Visiting Senior Fellow; Professor, Department of Political Science, Cairo University; Affiliated Professor, American University in Cairo (AUC)
Senior Fellow; Associate Professor, Theology Department
Ali Mazrui
Imtiyaz Yusuf Senior Fellow; Program Director, Dept of Religion, Graduate School of Philosophy and Religion, Assumption University
Thomas Michel, S.J.
Anwar Ibrahim
Visiting Fellow; Adviser, The Fairfax Institute, International Institute of Islamic Thought; Visiting Research Associate, AVACGIS, George Mason University
Senior Fellow; former Malaysia Chair; former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Senior Fellow; Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University
Iqbal Unus
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VISITING RESEARCHERS Namig Abuzarov
Chris LaRossa
Azerbaijan
United States
Khadeega Gafar Egypt
Fatih Toplaoglu Turkey
Julianne Hazen United States
ALWALEED BIN TALAL SCHOLARS Celeste Holmes Georgetown University
Shazia Kamal Georgetown University
Feriel Bouhafa Georgetown University
Melanie Trexler Georgetown University
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ACMCU COURSES 2012-2013 Fall 2012 • Arab Intellectuals in the Modern World, Yvonne Haddad (HIST 564) • Islam, Politics & Security in Modern Central Asia, Shireen Hunter (INAF 442) • Islamic Mystical Texts & Law, Jonathan Brown (INAF 428) • Islam and the Study of Muslim-Christian Relations, Yvonne Haddad (INAF 473) • History of Islam in Africa, John Voll (HIST 462) • Islamic Movements, John Voll (HIST 761) • Islam and the West, John L. Esposito (INAF 100) • Religion and International Affairs, Shireen Hunter (INAF 350) • The Islamic World, Jonathan Brown (HIST 109)
Spring 2013 • Revolutionary Thought in Islam, Yvonne Haddad (HIST 364) • Muslim-Christian Relations in World History, John Voll, (INAF 441) • Islamic Modernism, John Voll (HIST 468) • Islamic Modernism (Doctorial Tutorial), John Voll (HIST 902) • Islam in the West, Yvonne Haddad (HIST 363) • Islam in the West (Doctorial Tutorial), Yvonne Haddad (HIST 902) • Shi’ism and Radical Politics in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Shireen Hunter (INAF 494) • Theology and Politics of Catholic-Muslim Relations Since Vatican II, Tom Michel (INAF 358) • Salafi Islam: From the Mosque to Parliament, Jonathan Brown (INAF 456) • Shariah Law and its Discontents, Jonathan Brown (INAF 417)
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ACMCU PROGRAMS AND EVENTS April 25, 2013 – BESA Film Screening and Q&A. Besa: The Promise is the never-beforetold story of the Muslims of Nazi-occupied Albania who saved the lives of thousands of Jews during World War II. It’s witnessed through the prism of two men joined together in a remarkable and unexpected quest: Norman H. Gershman, a renowned Jewish-American photographer determined to record the bravery and compassion of the Albanians; and Rexhep Hoxha, a Muslim-Albanian toy shop owner who sets out to return three precious books to the last surviving member of the Jewish family his father sheltered sixty years before. When these two men meet, an extraordinary and utterly unexpected personal drama is set in motion–one that bridges generations and religions…uniting fathers and sons…Muslims and Jews. Q&A discussion with Norman Gershman and JWM Productions Producer, Jason Williams. April 24, 2013 – Building Bridges Award Dinner. The Annual ACMCU Building Bridges of Understanding Award recognizes individuals who have dedicated their life’s work to fostering greater understanding between faith groups. Past recipients include Hans Küng, Sulayman Nyang, Patriarch Michel Sabbah, and the late Fathi Osman. This year, the award honored three remarkable figures, Norman Gershman, Ali Mazrui, and Thomas Michel, S.J., whose efforts to promote interfaith relations, peace-building and social justice have been extraordinary. Through their tireless work and often in the face of adversity, these three individuals have devoted their lives to furthering the most basic of human rights: justice and equality for all people. April 24, 2013 – A Common Word Conference. As the official representative of A Common Word in North America, ACMCU was joined by the Georgetown University Office of the President to host this conference on the fifth anniversary of the historic Common Word initiative. The program was a follow-up to A Common Word: A Global Agenda for Change, held in October 2009 and Responding to the Challenges of Religious Pluralism & Conflict Resolution, held in April 2011. This year’s conference explored the challenge of religious pluralism and intercommunal conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations today in post Arab Spring governments in Egypt and Tunisia, and their impact on religious freedom, civil liberties and security, equality of citizenship, and gender relations. Thursday, April 18, 2013 – Book Talk: “Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia to the Streets of the Modern Muslim World” with Sadakat Kadri. In the wake of the colossal acts of terrorism of the last decade, the legal historian and human rights lawyer Sadakat Kadri realized that many people in the West had ideas about the origins and implications of the shari‘a, or Islamic law, that were hazy, Page 8
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contradictory, or simply wrong. Even as “shari‘a” became a loaded word and an all-encompassing explanation, most of us remained ignorant of its true meaning. And we were doing this at our peril. In Heaven on Earth, Kadri brings lucid wit and analytical skill to the thrilling and turbulent story of Islam’s foundation and expansion, and explains how, just in the last 40 years, the shari‘a has been appropriated and transformed by hard-liners desperate to impose their oppressive vision. In the second half of the book, Kadri takes us on an extraordinary journey through more than half a dozen countries in the Islamic world, where he explores, in striking detail, how the shari‘a is taught, read, reinterpreted, reverenced and challenged. Wednesday, April 17, 2013 – Luncheon Briefing: “Perspectives on U.S. Support to the Arab Spring Transitions” with Darin Johnson. The Arab Spring revolutions of the past two years present new opportunities for democratic and economic reform in the Middle East. The complexity of the transitions thus far reflects the sizable challenges that must be confronted to ensure that the potential of the Arab Spring is realized. Darin Johnson, the Chief of Staff to the Special Coordinator for Middle East Transitions, discussed U.S. efforts to support the Arab Spring transitions. Monday, April 15, 2013 – Briefing: "Muslim Political Involvement in Bulgarian PostCommunist Politics: Has Parliamentary Representation Really Made a Change?" with Stefanos Katsikas. Islam is the largest religion in Bulgaria and Muslims constitute the largest religious minority of the country. According to the 2011 census, the total number of Muslims in the country stood at 577,139, corresponding to 7.8% of the population. For the most part of Bulgaria’s modern history its Muslims remained at the margins of the country’s political life and were often regarded as second-class citizens. With the collapse of communist totalitarianism in 1989 Muslims for the first time gained political representation in the Bulgarian parliament through the establishment of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), a political party whose major electoral base has been Bulgarian Muslims. The MRF has been a stabilizing factor in the country’s post-communist life and has had a positive role in the country’s transition to political pluralism after 1989. It participated in many coalition governments and has pushed hard for improving Bulgaria’s records of human rights and people’s living standards as well as for securing Bulgaria’s pro-Western foreign policy orientation through accession to the European Union and NATO. This briefing aimed to explain the reasons for this change – i.e. what were the reasons leading to the establishment of a “Muslim” political party – and discussed the extent to which this development has contributed to a real improvement of Muslims’ political, economic and social life in Bulgaria and had a positive effect on Muslim-Christian relations.
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Monday, April 15, 2013 – Briefing: "The League of Arab States and the Arab Uprising" with Ambassador Mohammed AlHussaini Al Sharif of the Arab League. Cosponsored with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS). Ambassador Al Sharif discussed the new role of the Arab League during and after the Arab uprisings in different countries. The advent of the Arab uprisings has led to closer relations than ever between the United States and the Arab League, culminating in the signing of the first Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties, and the introduction of new initiatives by the United States. Wednesday April 10, 2013 – Luncheon Briefing: "Somalia: Building Democracy, Peace and Security" with Steve Walker. Much has happened in Somalia since the official U.S. recognition of the Government of Somalia on January 17, 2013 for the first time in 22 years. On March 3 the Security Council agreed to suspend the arms embargo on the government of Somalia, while providing safeguards to ensure responsible development of the security sector. What are the next steps to support the Government of Somalia as they turn the page on two decades of civil war? Monday, April 8, 2013 – Issues and Personalities in Iran's June 2013 Presidential Elections: What Are the Risks of Another Upheaval? with Shireen Hunter. Iran is again headed for presidential elections after the controversial presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the last four years. The country is going to the polls at a time of great economic hardship because of international sanctions and the still looming threat of a military attack. At this sensitive time in Iran's national life, what are the key questions that the presidential candidates must answer and who are these candidates? Will Iran's political factions be able to address the country's many problems and challenges and come up with realistic solutions, or will they persist in pursuing their narrow objectives at the expense of national interest? What is likely to be Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei's position at this sensitive time? Wednesday, April 3, 2013 – Briefing: "Virtuosos and Charisma: Celebrity Evangelists in American Christianity and Islam" with James Wellman and Jonathan Brown. The question of charisma in religious figures has become critical in our age because of the rise of modern media that produces overnight celebrities. Many are moved by them and convinced of their sincerity. Others dismiss them as profiteers. Do they matter, and if so, how do they matter? Professor Jonathan Brown and Professor James Wellman, experts in Islam and Christianity respectively, spoke about their recent research on celebrity religious figures, defined
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charisma, both its positive and negative effects, and examined this phenomenon in its historical and present day condition. March 25 – 26, 2013 – Conference: “Tadabbur al-Qur’an: Contemplating the Qur’an” organized by Howard University School of Divinity, ACMCU co-sponsor. This conference highlighted several areas of contemporary Qur'anic scholarship, including the study of different hermeneutical approaches to the Qur'an; intertextual and thematic readings of the Qur'anic text; and textual analyses that explored the relationship between structure and meaning in the Qur'an. One of the key aims of the conference was to foster discussion between academics, community leaders, and students regarding the Qur’an and its various interpretations. The conference focused on the following topics: The Qur’an in dialogue with Jews and Christians, The Qur’an between faith and critical thinking, Qur’anic ethics, Gender in the Qur’an, Intertextual readings of the Qur’an, Thematic and stylistic analysis. March 21, 2013 – Film Screening: 5 Broken Cameras. A 2011 documentary film codirected by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israeli Guy Davidi. An extraordinary work of both cinematic and political activism, 5 BROKEN CAMERAS is a deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil'in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements (Description from alivemindcinema.com). March 21, 2013 –Lecture: “Among Many Cultures and Times” with renowned Indian artist Gulammohammed Sheikh. Cosponsored with ACMCU, Department of History, Department of Art & Art History, the Comparative Literature Program, and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Painter, poet, professor, critic, idealist, and recipient of the Indian Government’s prestigious Padmashri award, by whose creativity the medieval—from Europe to Japan—meets the modern in all of its splendor and pain, Gulammohammed Sheikh (b. 1937) illustrated and reflected on his life’s work and brought his unique visual voice of reason and tolerance. Sheikh has been a major figure in the world of Indian art for more than five decades. March 20, 2013 – Book Talk: “Iberian Interculturalism: Can it Survive Economic Trauma and New Extremisms?” with Marvine Howe. Iberia is a place of historic and symbolic significance to all three of the world's major religions. Myths concerning Islam's origins collide with the story of the Christian reconquista, the subsequent Spanish Inquisition, and the massive expulsion of Muslims and Jews some five hundred years ago. Yet Muslims have made a significant comeback in this region, which now hosts one of Europe's newest Muslim communities. This volume recounts the "retaking" of Al-Andalus by Iberia's new Muslims, which include groups as diverse as students, farm workers, female professionals, and clerics, and their
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successful integration into a strongly Roman Catholic culture. Marvine Howe shares not only the experiences of Iberia's Muslims but also the reactions of Spanish and Portuguese officials, academics, NGOs, and ordinary citizens, who have found ways to incorporate Muslims and other immigrants into Iberian society despite domestic and European pressure to do otherwise. She also revisits the events of March 11, 2004, when Muslim extremists launched a devastating attack on Madrid's transportation system, and investigates these events in relation to Al-Qaeda's stated intent to reclaim Al-Andalus for Islam. Howe pursues several basic threads, such as whether Iberia's humane immigration policies can be exported to other European contexts and whether the Andalusian spirit of tolerance and diversity will prevail over a troubled economy and heightened radicalism -- in both the Islamic world and the West. March 18, 2013 – Film Screening: “Out of Cordoba: Averroes and Maimonides in Their Time and Ours.” Cosponsored with Medieval Studies Program. Out of Cordoba is a documentary film, directed by Jacob Bender and produced by Mr. Bender and MLK Producciones of Malaga, Spain, that explores some of the most vexing questions of our time: Is there a “clash of civilizations” between the West and the Islamic world? Are Jews and Muslims eternal enemies, incapable of peaceful coexistence? Does religious faith lead inevitably to xenophobia and violence? Out of Cordoba confronts these issues through an exploration of the lives and writings of the two most important thinkers to emerge from medieval Muslim Spain: Averroes the Muslim, and his Jewish counterpart, Rabbi Moses Maimonides. The 82-minute film explores the legacy of these two philosophers, as well as their contemporary importance for interfaith relations, and especially for Muslims, Jews, and Christians struggling against religious extremism. March 13, 2013—Briefing: “Turkey and the Arab Spring: Challenges and Opportunities” with Omer Taspinar. The Arab Spring presents a mixed blessing for the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) regional vision, which is sometimes referred to as a neo-Ottoman view of the world. Most Turks feel a sense of pride that their country is being referred to as a model for democratizing Arab states. Yet, the dizzying pace of events is rapidly changing the balance of power in the Middle East and causing problems for Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's "zero-problems with neighbors" policy, particularly as far as relations with Syria are concerned. In addition to problems with Syria, in the long run, the re-emergence of Egypt as a regional leader could also potentially complicate Turkey's regional assessments. Monday, March 11 – Film Screening: “Saving Face” with Shireen Hunter leading discussion. Every year in Pakistan, many people – the majority of them women – are known to be victimized by brutal acid attacks, while numerous other cases go unreported. With little or no access to reconstructive surgery, survivors are physically and emotionally scarred. Many reported
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assailants, often a husband or someone else known by the victim, receive minimal if any punishment from the state. Recently honored with a Best Documentary Short Oscar, Saving Face chronicles the lives of acid-attack survivors Zakia and Rukhsana as they attempt to bring their assailants to justice and move on with their lives. The women are supported by NGOs, sympathetic policymakers, and skilled doctors, such as the Acid Survivors Foundation- Pakistan, plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad, who returns to his home country to assist them, attorney Ms. Sarkar Abbass who fights Zakia’s case, and female politician Marvi Memon who advocates for new legislation. February 25, 2013 – Briefing: “Talking to the Enemy: The role and purpose of diplomacy and negotiation between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade" with Dr. Tom Asbridge. Cosponsored with Medieval Studies. This paper presentation considered the role and purpose of the diplomatic interactions between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade. It argued that, between 1191 and 1192, both leaders variously employed diplomatic contact to garner military and political intelligence, to gain insight into the temperament and mindset of their adversary, and to purposefully wrong-foot the enemy. It suggests that in the course of this crusade Richard I demonstrated a far greater capacity for subtlety and manipulation than has previously been recognized, exhibiting diplomatic skills that equaled, and perhaps even eclipsed, those of his rival Saladin. The use of negotiation to achieve actual conflict resolution is considered and it is argued that neither protagonist pursued peace for its own sake. These findings were contextualized within the wider framework of LatinMuslim negotiations during the crusading era, and the broader relationship between Islam and the West during the Middle Ages. Thursday, February 21, 2013 – Film Screening: “Fordson: Faith, Family, Football”. Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football follows a predominately Arab-American high school football team from a working-class Detroit suburb as they practice for their big cross-town rivalry game during the last ten days of Ramadan, revealing a community holding onto its Islamic faith while they struggle for acceptance in post 9/11 America (Description from fordsonthemovie.com). Monday, February 11, 2013 – Briefing: “Violent Extremism in West Africa” with Michael Pelletier. Pelletier discussed violent extremism in Nigeria and West Africa more broadly as a phenomenon that is far more complex and complicated than being simply a religious issue. In countries such as Nigeria and Mali, the violence is linked to many issues. While some attempt to use religious terms to gain legitimacy and push their grievances, Pelletier made the case that we should not give these violent extremists the undisputed right to set the narrative.
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Thursday, February 7, 2013 – Panel Event: “Being a Scholar—Being an Advocate.” Cosponsored with the Berkley Center and the American Academy of Religion. This conversation explored the tension in the religious studies discipline between being a scholar and being an advocate. Does advocacy for a position, particularly around issues of social justice, have a place in the field? Does such advocacy diminish the objectivity of scholarly methods? Do scholarly associations, such as the American Academy of Religion, have a role to play in social justice movements? Wednesday, February 6, 2013 – Panel Discussion: “Hizmet: A Transnational Social Movement with Participants in Turkey, the US, and around the World” with Dr. Alp Aslandogan and Father Thomas Michel. Cosponsored with the Rumi Forum. This presentation reviewed a social movement, known as Hizmet, originated by observant Muslims around the ideas of Turkish scholar, preacher and social advocate Fethullah Gulen. The movement combines personal spiritual development with social responsibility. Primary areas of activity include education, dialogue, media, healthcare, and disaster relief. Recently the movement and its source of inspiration Mr. Fethullah Gulen attracted attention due to political developments in Turkey and the controversy around public schools in the U.S. In Turkey, the struggle for democratization brought the movement to the limelight as many adherents of the historically authoritarian military-judicial tutelage system were brought to civilian courts by alleged Gulen sympathizers. Questions about the future of Turkish democracy, Kurdish citizens, freedom of the press, the authoritarian tendencies in the political system and the movement’s role in this context were discussed by Turkish and international media. In the U.S. the nature of Gulen’s influence on Turkish-American teachers who work at highly successful public schools were brought to the national attention. This presentation examined the history, activities, organizational nature and motivational factors within the movement and responded to some of the questions and allegations regarding what appeared in the mass media. Wednesday, January 30, 2013 – Briefing: “Jama’at al Tabligh: an example of Islamic cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia” with Bayram Balci. The renewal of Central Asian Islam is generally traced to influences emanating from Middle Eastern countries, as well as to indigenous factors. This lecture focused on equally important influences from the Indian subcontinent, notably the Jama’at al Tabligh. The history, current prospects, and geopolitical significance of this development was considered for Central Asia, focusing on Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, where the organization is the most active and visible. Monday, January 28, 2013 – Briefing: “Pakistan: A soft coup?” with C. Christine Fair. Fair discussed the army's endgame as Pakistan approaches an important inflection point on
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its path to greater democratization. While she focused on near term developments such as the appearance of Imam Qadri, she contextualized his recent arrival on Pakistan's political scene within the larger landscape of Pakistan's judicial activism, the army's ongoing interest in retaining control of domestic politics and international affairs, and the refusal of political parties to confront internal democratic reforms. Thursday, November 29, 2012 – Briefing: “Democracy and Islam: The South African Experience” with Abdulkader Tayob. In spite of constituting only 1.46% of the population, Muslim political views are diverse and reflect the diversity of trends in South Africa. On the one hand, ardent democrats support the Constitution without question; on the other hand, certain individuals and groups regard the Constitution as a rival authority to Islamic Law. Michel Foucault’s concepts of utopia and heterotopia are helpful in revealing this complex relationship between South Africa’s constitution and public expressions of Islam. They capture the complexity of Muslim experiences – sometimes reflecting the goals of the constitution (utopia) but also inverting, subverting and often going beyond them (heterotopia). The presentation closely examined some examples to illustrate the diversity and fragility of South Africa’s democracy. Wednesday, November 28, 2012 – Closed Meeting: “The Challenges Facing PostRevolutionary Egypt” with Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh. Dr. Abdel-Moneim Abol Fotouh was one of the leading candidates in the Egyptian presidential elections held in May 2012. He has an M.D. degree and is a physician by training. He also has a degree in law and a Masters degree in Business Management. He has been the president of the Arab Medical Association since 2004. Dr. Abol Fotouh was also a well known student and civic leader since the 1970s. He was a vocal voice against dictatorship and corruption during the Mubarak regime and consequently was imprisoned for several years because of his political opposition. Dr. Abol Fotouh was also a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and served in a leadership position within the group for over two decades. He resigned from the group in April 2011 after announcing his candidacy for president shortly after the fall of the Mubarak regime. Dr. Abol Foutoh is considered a liberal Islamic leader and is well known for his moderate positions on the most contentious issues facing Egyptian society such as the role of Islam as well women and minorities in Egyptian society. He is considered by many as a bridge between Islamic, liberal, and leftist parties in Egypt. Dr. Abol Fotouh has just announced the establishment of a new party, Strong Egypt, which has attracted the tens of thousands of Egyptian youth who joined his presidential campaign. This new party considers itself economically progressive and socially moderate, and intends to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections early next year.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012 – Book Event: The Islamophobia Industry with Nathan Lean. Cosponsored with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Nathan Lean is a second-year Master of Arts in Arab Studies (MAAS) student at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) and editor-in-chief of AslanMedia.com. He has dedicated himself to researching the network of writers and activists who have played upon Western anxieties about Islam particularly since the events of September 11, 2001. At Georgetown, his research has focused largely on North African political and cultural systems, Islam, Islamophobia, cultural diplomacy, and American foreign policy in the Middle East. In addition to The Islamophobia Industry, Lean has also co-authored (with Jalil Roshandel) Iran, Israel, and the United States: Regime Security vs. Political Legitimacy (Praeger, 2010). Monday, November 19, 2012 – Luncheon Briefing: "What Islam, Whose Islam: Creating a Public International Voice of Muslim Women Demanding Equality and Justice in Islam" with Zainah Anwar. Zainah Anwar spoke on the necessity and possibility of reform in the way Islam is understood and used as a source of law and public policy in Muslim contexts. From Sisters in Islam in Malaysia and its ground-breaking work at the national level to Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice, Muslim women activists today are at the forefront in challenging the use of Islam to justify continued discrimination against women and violations of fundamental liberties. They are producing new feminist knowledge, combining Islamic principles, human rights, constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination, and women's lived realities to break the constructed binary between Islam and human rights, and the disconnect between law and reality. They are publicly challenging traditional religious authorities with alternative understandings of Islam in ways that take into consideration changing times and context. Anwar shared the experience of Sisters in Islam and the global movement it initiated, their work and challenges, and the resulting public contestations and hope for change. Tuesday, November 13, 2012 – Book Talk: The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East with Marc Lynch. Author Marc Lynch discussed his latest book, The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East. Lynch is associate professor of political science at the George Washington University, where he directs the Institute for Middle East Studies and the Project on Middle East Political Science. He edits the Middle East Channel for ForeignPolicy.com, and is a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
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Monday, November 12, 2012 – Luncheon Briefing: “Jews and Judaism in Islamic Civilization” with David Wasserstein, chaired by Jonathan Ray. Cosponsored with the Department of Theology. In the early seventh century Judaism was in crisis. In the Mediterranean basin it was battered by legal, social, and religious pressure, weak in numbers and culturally almost non-existent. It was also largely cut off from the Jewry of the Persian empire, in Babylon, present-day Iraq. The future seemed clear: extinction in the west, decline to obscurity in the east. Salvation came from Arabia. Islam conquered the entire Persian empire and most of the Mediterranean world. Uniting virtually all the world’s Jews in a single state, it gave them legal and religious respectability, economic and social freedoms, and linguistic and cultural conditions that made possible a major renaissance of Judaism and the Jews. The significance of Islam for Jewry has been interpreted very variously since the middle ages and is a source of controversy to this day. Friday, November 9, 2012 – Cosponsored Event: Kabultec Fundraising Dinner. Kabultec's funds are spent on promoting women's participation in society through seminars on women's rights, the constitution and democracy, as well as through literacy classes where spouses attend classes together. Kabultec supports over 16 orphanages with used clothing and school supplies from the US. It also supports and promotes social research pertaining to women in the country. Thursday, November 8, 2012 – Book Event: Muslims in Indian Cities with Christophe Jaffrelot. Discussed his latest book: Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalization. Book Description: Numbering more than 150 million, Muslims constitute the largest minority in India, yet they suffer the most politically and socioeconomically. Forced to contend with severe and persistent prejudice, India’s Muslims are often targets of violence and collective acts of murder. While the quality of Muslim life may lag behind that of Hindus nationally, local and inclusive cultures have been resilient in the south and the east. Within India’s cities, however, the challenges Muslims face can be harder to read. In the Hindi belt and in the north, Muslims have known less peace, especially in the riot-prone areas of Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Aligarh, and in the capitals of former Muslim states—Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Lucknow. These cities are rife with Muslim ghettos and slums. However, selfsegregation has also played a part in forming Muslim enclaves, such as in Delhi and Aligarh, where traditional elites and a new Muslim middle class have regrouped for physical and cultural protection. Combining firsthand testimony with sound critical analysis, this volume follows urban Muslim life in eleven Indian cities, providing uncommon insight into a little-known but highly consequential subject.
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November 2, 2012 – Academic Council Meeting. ACMCU annual gathering of Academic Council members to discuss the previous and forthcoming academic years. The meeting was hosted on campus at Georgetown University in the ACMCU Executive Boardroom. November 1, 2012 – Academic Council Dinner Wednesday, October 24, 2012 – Briefing: Biblical/Islamic Art with Marlies ter Borg. Moderator: Diane Apostolos-Cappadona. In presenting the color booklet Bible Figures in Islamic Art, the author focused on four women figuring both in Bible and Qur'an: Eve/Hawwa; Asiya, foster mother of Moses; Bilqis, Queen of Sheba; and Mary/Maryam mother of Jesus. How are they portrayed in these 16-17th century Islamic images? Does Islam allow their portrayal? Wednesday, October 3, 2012 – Luncheon Briefing: “Casa Árabe and The Future of Islam in Spain” with Eduardo López Busquets. Established in 2006, Casa Árabe is a young public Spanish institution that has played a crucial role in the generation of a wider dialogue and greater knowledge of the Arab and Muslim world in Spain. The institute’s activities address multiculturalism as an issue that goes beyond migration, conceiving it instead as a process of integration, dialogue, and communication between different individuals and groups on equal footing. Casa Árabe's Director General, Eduardo López Busquets, discussed the institute's approach to Arab and/or Muslim communities and the ways by which it encourages understanding of the "other" within the pluralistic and multicultural context of contemporary Spain. This presentation was cosponsored by ACMCU, Casa Arabe, SPAIN arts & culture, and the British Council's Our Shared Future initiative. Saturday, September 29, 2012 – Barbara Stowasser Memorial September 26, 2012 – International Visitor Meeting. ACMCU Professors John L. Esposito met with ten Pakistani religious scholars and NGO representatives from Pakistan. They visited as part of a program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan and the Meridian International Center. The program was entitled “Religious Pluralism in the U.S.” and was intended to introduce the visitors to the religious diversity that exists in the US; provide a framework for discussing the role of religion in social welfare, community engagement and activism; and create opportunities for interactions with their counterparts in the U.S. Monday, September 24, 2012 - Meeting of Egyptian President Morsi with multi-faith leaders in New York City.
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Monday, September 24, 2012 – Briefing: “The Prophet Muhammad and GeoPolitics: Deja Vu All Over Again?” Protests, tragedy, and diplomatic tensions following insults to the Prophet Muhammad have once again raised the questions of religious toleration, freedom of speech, extremism, and power politics. This panel offered perspectives on how and why so many Muslims have reacted to the film insulting Muhammad, who made it and why, and how these factors affect US relations with Muslim majority countries. Wednesday, September 12, 2012 – Briefing: Diversity is a Mercy from God: Rumi's Teachings and the Quran with Dr. Tarik Quadir. Cosponsored with the Rumi Forum. Dr. Quadir spoke on the topic of diversity as a mercy from God as it relates to Rumi’s teachings and the Quran. Following a discussion on the rationale of Divine Mercy and the existence of diverse entities in the universe, Quadir discussed how this can help us understand the existence of religious diversity as well. Tuesday, September 4, 2012 – Briefing: “Defining Shariah: Between the Arab Spring and America” with Jasser Auda. There is currently great interest and controversy over 'shariah' in the post-revolution Arab World, as well as in the United States. This presentation attempted to answer the question: What is Shariah? And how is it perceived by various parties involved in the debates, such as Islamist groups, Islamophobes, and traditional Islamic institutes? It was argued here that Shariah defined as Islamic ethics, which influence public affairs on the principles level, is the view that is finding its way to both the American Muslim community and new Arab constitutions.
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JOHN L. ESPOSITO University Professor and Founding Director
TEACHING ACTIVITY Fall INAF 101: Islam and the West
Advising and Mentoring Vikram Shah, Georgetown University Mentor and committee member for doctoral dissertations in Morocco, Australia and Pakistan
HONORS AND AWARDS 2013 Univerzitet u Sarajevu (University of Sarajevo), Honorary ph.D. 2013 President, American Academy of Religion 2012 LifeTime Achievement Award, American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS Work Published During 2012-2013 Books • John L. Esposito, The Future of Islam, Paperback (Oxford University Press, 2013) • John L. Esposito, The Future of Islam, 2nd Edition, Arabic, Cairo, 2012 • John Esposito, Mehran Kamrava, John Waterbury, Jameye Madani o Demokrasi dar Khavare Miaane (Farsi trans. Civil Society and Democracy in the Middle East), Teheran: Farhange Javid, 2012 Book Chapters • “Türkiye’deki sekülerlik anlayışı dinle problemli” in Cumhuriyetin Demokrasiyle imtihahnı by Ahmet Yıldız. İnstanbul: Etkileşim, 2012. • "Islam and Peacebuilding: The Gülen Movement in Global Action", (John L. Esposito and Ihsan Yilmaz) in Lee Marsden (editor) The Ashgate Research Companion to Religion and Conflict Resolution, London: Ashgate, 2012. Articles • John L. Esposito “The Perennial Tradition in an Age of Globalization” Oneing: An Alternative Orthodoxy. A publication of The Rohr Institute. Vol 1. No. 1. (2013): 29-34.
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Books and Articles in Press Books • John L. Esposito and Emad Shahin, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics (Oxford University Press, forthcoming at end of 2013).
Current Publishing Projects • John L. Esposito, Darrell Fasching and Todd Lewis, Eds. World Religions Today, 5th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press 2013). • John L. Esposito, The Oxford History of Islam, rev. 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013). • John L. Esposito and John O. Voll, The Arab Spring, Islam, and the Struggle for Democracy (New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2014). • John L. Esposito, What Everyone Needs to Know about Shariah, (Oxford University Press, 2014). • “The Role of Media as a major source in shaping of US and European Muslim Identities in Popular Culture” Conference volume from Media and Muslims Lecture Series cosponsored by the British Council and Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden. • “Changing Geographies of Power: New Roadmaps Needed" Conference volume from Geographies of Power: Justice, Revolution, and the Cultural Imagination Conference, Pennsylvania State University. • “Islam and Civil Society” Conference volume from Politics and Ethics Seminar Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE)’s International Conference, Doha, Qatar.
Newspaper and Web Articles • July 26, 2012 – “Bachmann affair’ against Clinton aide Huma Abedin is a wake-up call,” The Washington Post. • August 15, 2012 – “Terror in Oak Creek, another wake up call for US,” Aljazeera. • September 17, 2012 – “Domestic and Foreign Extremists Behind the Cairo and Libya Attacks,” The Huffington Post. • October 8, 2012 – “Romney's Approach to Foreign Policy: ‘Deja Vu All Over Again?’” The Huffington Post. • April 5, 2013 – “‘Francis, Rebuild My Church’: Will Pope Francis Heed the Call?” The Huffington Post. • June 1, 2013 – “Egypt: Difficult challenge for US policymakers post-Arab Spring” Middle East Monitor. • June 5, 2013 – “Tony Blair misreads Muslim terrorism” The Washington Post. • June 20, 2013 – “New Threat to Egyptian Democracy” - Huffington Post. ALWALEED BIN TALAL CENTER FOR MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING
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• July 4, 2013 – “Egypt’s Coup: Is it Déjà vu All Over Again?” - Huffington Post. • July 10, 2013 – “Law & Order Under Egypt’s ‘Democratic Coup’?” Huffington Post. • July 25, 2013 – “Mubarak Redux: Egypt’s Military Coup Unmasked” – Huffington Post. • July 30, 2013 – “American’s position is becoming increasingly complex toward Egypt” – Aljazeera Arabic.
PROGRAMS AND LECTURES • August 31, 2012 “Life and Religion: Interweaving Religion & Life in a Moral Society” Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) 49th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. • September 7, 2012 “The Arab Spring and Peace in the New Middle East: Muslim and Christian Perspectives” Marmara University Institute for Middle East Studies - Center for Islamic Research, Istanbul, Turkey. • September 18, 2012 Delivered Keynote at Book Launch Ceremony honoring Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Gazi Husrevbeg Library, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. • September 19, 2013 “The Arab Spring, Islam and Emerging Democracies in the Arab World” Islamic Studies Faculty University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. • September 20, 2013 “U.S. Policy in the Muslim World: From George W. Bush to Barrack Obama.” International University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. • October 15, 2012 “Islam in America: The Christian Truth” New Evangelical Partnership (NEP), National Press Club, Washington, D.C. • November 5, 2012 “Arab Spring or Arab Winter: The Struggle for Nation Building and Democracy” DACOR House, Washington, D.C. • November 11, 2012 “Who is an American: The Challenge of Religious Pluralism in the 21st Century” Deen Institute of North America (DINA)“Waves of Unity” Dallas, Texas. • December 8, 2012 “Defending Religious Freedom with Dignity and Compassion” Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Annual Supporters' Dinner Banquet, Richardson, Texas. • December 9, 2012 “Defending Religious Freedom: Understanding Shariah” Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Annual Supporters' Dinner Banquet, Santa Clara, California. • January 21, 2013 Nyon Process Meeting, Casa Árabe, Cordoba, Spain. • February 9. 2013 “Prophet Mohammad and Social Justice” Texas Annual Mawlid Celebration, Dallas, Texas. • February 12, 2013 “What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam” Department of Religion Annual Lecture Series Matinee, Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina. • February 12, 2013 “The Challenge of Pluralism: Christian-Muslim Relations in the 21st Century.” Department of Religion Annual Lecture Series Evening, Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina.
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• February 21, 2013 “Who Speaks for Islam?” Muslim Students Cultural Association’s Discover Islam Week, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. • March 12, 2013 “The Role of Media as a major source in shaping of US and European Muslim Identities in Popular Culture” Media and Muslims Lecture Series cosponsored by the British Council and Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden. • April 5, 2013 “Continuity and Change in Islamic Societies” 30th Annual Meeting of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies (ACSIS), Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey • April 12, 2013 “US engagement with the Muslim Brotherhood” Center for American Progress, Washington, D.C. • April 21, 2013 “Upholding Our Constitution, Defending Our Faith.” Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)’s Annual Fundraiser Dinner, Columbus, Ohio. • April 26, 2013 “Changing Geographies of Power: New Roadmaps Needed" Pennsylvania State University’s Geographies of Power: Justice, Revolution, and the Cultural Imagination Conference, University Park, Pennsylvania. • May 4, 2013 “The future of Muslims in America - Challenges and Successes” Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims (SALAM)’s Annual Fundraiser Dinner, Sacramento, California. • May 9, 2013 “Religion in the Public Sphere” Episcopal Divinity School’s Kellogg Lectures Series, Cambridge, Massachusetts. • June 8, 2013 “Politics and Ethics Seminar” Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE)’s International Conference, Doha, Qatar. • July 19, 2013 “Being Muslim in America: Islam and Youth in the US – Contemporary Issues” Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno (ICCF)’s Annual Fundraiser Dinner, Fresno, California.
MEDIA • July 30, 2012 “Professor: Anti-Islam movement in U.S.” Anderson Cooper 360° CNN • September 7, 2012 “The real challenge in the Middle East is not the question of democracy, but equality,” By Sergül Taşdemir in CNN Turk (Turkey) • September 9, 2012 “Israel may capitalize on U.S. election to gain support of war against Iran: expert” Xinhuanet News (China) • September 13, 2012 “Understanding Muslim Anger over Insulting Film,” National Public Radio (NPR) • September 14, 2012 “Why films and cartoons of Muhammad spark violence,” NBC • October 3, 2012 “Free Speech At Home and Abroad” The Kojo Nnamdi Show • October 11, 2012 “Islam & The West: Beyond Mistrust” NHK Asian Voices (Japan) • March 20, 2013 - "A Conversation with the President" on Religious Studies News published by the American Academy of Religion
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• April 4, 2013 - "Stop hounding Muslims and mosques over terrorism" by Haroon Siddiqui on the Toronto Star (Canada) • April 2, 2013 - "How to write about Muslims" by Belen Fernandez on Aljazeera • April 12, 2013 - “How do the media shape Muslim identities?” by Lise Wacker on the British Council Web Blog • May 6, 2013 - "Funeral director: Hard to find grave for alleged Boston bomber" by Ashley Fantz on CNN USA • June 3, 2013 - Politics & Media: An analysis of the reaction to Woolwich murder - Islam Channel Current Affairs Youtube (UK) • June 27, 2013 - American Expert: Protests of the 30th of June threaten the future of Democracy and could give the military an excuse to come back to the political life by Rabab Fathy on Al Youm Al Sabee (Egypt) • July 9, 2013 - Fighting During Ramadan Likely To Continue In Middle East, Despite Calls For Peace - by Katie Bindley on the Huffington Post • July 21, 2013 - Hermanos musulmanes: el poder vuelve a la sombra by David Alandete on El País (Spain) • July 15, 2013 - Interview: Dr. John L. Esposito Part 1 Penn State International Affairs Review(PSIA) Youtube Channel • July 15, 2013 - Interview: Middle East Expert Dr. John L. Esposito - by Garrett Redfield in Penn State International Affairs (PSIA) Review Online • July 15, 2013 - ABD’nin taleplerini yerine getirmiyordu by Şenay Yıldız on Aksam Online (Turkey) • July 24, 2013 – “Esposito: West's silence on Egyptian coup an alarming double standard” by Minhac Çelik on Today's Zaman (Turkey)
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES - Institute of Social Policy and Understanding - International Advisory Board for Center for Buddhist-Muslim Understanding, Mahidol University, Thailand - President, American Academy of Religion - President-Elect, American Academy of Religion - Advisory Board, Our Shared Future, British Council - Board of Advisors, Unity Productions Foundation - 2012 Founding Member and Advisory Board of One Nation - 2012 Chair: Academic Steering Committee, Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University
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EDITORIAL BOARDS - Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization - AWRAQ: Revista de análisis y pensamiento sobre el mundo árabe e islámico contemporáneo - International Advisory Board of Islamopedia Online - Series Editor, Oxford Library of Islamic Studies - Katha: Journal of Civilizational Dialogue - International Dialogue, A Multidisciplinary Journal of World Affairs - International Advisory Board of the Encyclopedia of Islamic Economics - Edinburgh History of Islamic Empires - Religion Compass - Editor in Chief, Oxford Islamic Studies Online - Muslim World Journal of Human Rights - Studies in Contemporary Islam - General Editor, Religion and Global Politics Series, Oxford University Press - American Muslim Quarterly - Discourse: An Iranian Quarterly - 99 Editor, The Oxford History of Islam, Oxford University Press - Islamic Studies
MANUSCRIPT REVIEWER Oxford University Press, Princeton University Press, Columbia University, Harvard University Press, University of Edinburgh Press, and others. Journal of APSA, Journal of Comparative Politics, World Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Journal of the American Historical Association, Comparative Politics, Journal of International Law, Journal of International Security, The Historian, Review of International Studies, Journal of Church and State & others; Oxford University Press, Princeton University Press, Columbia University, Harvard University Press, University of Edinburg Press, University of California Press, Palgrave, Hurst, I.B. Taurus, Pluto, Zed.
COMMUNITY SERVICE • Ambassador, UN Alliance of Civilizations • Executive Board, Abu Dhabi Gallup Center • Chair, Fares Center Board of Advisers, The Fletcher School at Tufts University • Board of Advisers, Muslim-West Engagement Project, Search for Common Ground • Presentations for NGOs and keynote addresses at fundraisers and other events across the United States and Europe • Briefings and presentations for US and European government agencies as well as EU
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• Presentations at churches, mosques, synagogues in US and overseas • Legal expert in cases involving civil liberties as well as domestic and global terrorism • Media consultant for BBC, PBS and other documentary projects • Lectures and media activities, see above
NON-CLASSROOM ACTIVITY AND SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY • Director, Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding • $5,000,000.00 USD Gift Agreement from Kuwait
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JONATHAN A.C. BROWN Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Understanding; Associate Director of ACMCU
TEACHING ACTIVITY Fall HIST 109: Islamic World ARAB/INAF 428: Islamic Mystical Texts and Law
Spring INAF 417: Shariah and its Discontents INAF 456: Salafi Islam: From Mosque to Parliament
Advising and Mentoring PhD committee member, Abdul Rahman Mustafa PhD general exams member, Abdallah Soufan, Abdul Rahman Mustafa
HONORS AND AWARDS Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction was selected as one of twenty-five books and three films included in the ‘Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys’ bookshelf, a set of books awarded to public libraries and other institutions through a NEH grant.
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS Work Published During 2012-2013 Articles •
“Faithful Dissenters: Skepticism about the Miracles of Saints in Sunni Islam.” Journal of Sufi Studies 1, no. 2 (2012): 123-68.
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“The Rules of Matn Criticism: There Are No Rules.” Islamic Law and Society 19, no. 4 (2012): 356-396.
Books and Articles in Press Books •
Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy. Oxford: Oneworld, 2014 forthcoming.
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Book Chapters •
“Scripture in Modern Islam,” in Islam in the Modern World, ed. Jeff Kenney and Ebrahim Moosa. Routledge, forthcoming.
Current Publishing Projects •
Editor in Chief, Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law.
PROGRAMS AND LECTURES •
June 5, 2013, “Contextualizing Salafism,” Foreign Service Institute, Washington DC.
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May 14, 2013 “Misquoting Muhammad,” University of Washington, Seattle.
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May 11-12, 2013 “Texts and Commentaries: Ma’qulat and Manqulat Traditions in Islam,” invited workshop at University of California, Berkeley.
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May 8, 2013 “Religion and Politics in Revolutionary Egypt,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC.
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April 29, 2013 “Common Sense is not so Common,” University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
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April 27-28, 2013 “An Introduction to the Study of Hadith,” University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
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April 5, 2013 “Sunni and Shiite Islam,” Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
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March 21, 2013 “A Mercy to All the Worlds: How Muslims Have Viewed the Prophet Muhammad Over the Centuries,” John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH.
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February 25, 2013 “Faith in Liberty - Exploring the Principle of Religious Freedom from a Muslim Perspective,” American University, Washington DC.
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February 27, 2013 “Islam and Other Religions: Myth and Reality,” Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.
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February 1, 2013 “The Quest for Knowledge in the Modern Muslim World,” Foreign Service Institute, Washington DC.
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November 14-17, 2012 Three-Day Seminar on Hadith, Graduate Theological Program, University of Patterborn, Patterborn, Germany.
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November 21-26, 2012 Courses on Hadith and Western Historical Critical Method, King Khaled University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
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November 14, 2012 Invited Panelist, ‘Challenges Ahead for Egypt,’ Middle East Institute Annual Convention, Washington DC.
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October 28, 2012 ‘Interpreting Scripture in the Modern Day,’ Islamic Society of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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October 19, 2012 ‘One Prophet, Many Paths: Major Debates in Islamic Law,’ Princeton University Religious Life program, Princeton, NJ.
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October 9, 2012 “Sufis on Hadith and Hadith Scholars on Sufism,” Yale Arabic Colloquium, Yale University.
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October 8, 2012 “Writing about the Prophet or The Historian, the Believer and the Good Citizen,” Middle East Colloquium, University of Maryland.
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September 30, 2012 “Islam in the Academy,” Cambridge Muslim College, Cambridge, UK.
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September 29, 2012 ‘Hadith and the Development of the Western Historical Critical Method,’ day-long course at Islamic Circles, London.
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September 18, 2012 “The Quest for Knowledge in the Modern Muslim World,” Foreign Service Institute, Washington DC.
MEDIA •
December 20, 2012 “Is Homeland Islamophobic,” Huffington Post Live.
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September 20, 2012 “Voice of America Urdu” interview on Free Speech/Hate Speech.
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September 13, 2012 ‘Inside Story: The Political Fallout of the Libya Attack’ Al-Jazeera English.
MANUSCRIPT REVIEWER Oxford University Press, Yale University Press, Columbia University Press, University of Edinburgh Press, and others.
COMMUNITY SERVICE •
May 23, 2013 Presentation on ‘The Prophet Muhammad in the Muslim World,’ DC Public Library, 3935 Benning Rd, NE DC
•
July 24, 2013 Presentation on ‘The Prophet Muhammad in the Muslim World,’ DC Public Library, 900 Wesley Pl, SE DC
NON-CLASSROOM ACTIVITY AND SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY April 3, 2013 “Celebrity Evangelists in Islam and American Christianity,” ACMCU Wednesday Talk with James Wellman.
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JOHN O. VOLL Professor of Islamic History
TEACHING ACTIVITY Fall HIST 462: History of Islam in Africa HIST 761: Seminar-Islamic Movements
Spring HIST 468: Islamic Modernism HIST 902: Islamic Modernism INAF 441: Muslim-Christian Relations in World History
Advising and Mentoring Doctoral: Dissertation Advisor (PhD and DLS): 3 Dissertation Committee Member: 8 Comprehensive Exam Committee: 4 Master’s: Thesis Advisor/Mentor: MALS: 6 Senior Honors Theses: 3 MAAS Comprehensive Exams: 3
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS Work Published During 2012-2013 Book Chapters • “The Middle East in World History,” in the Oxford Handbook of World History. Ed. Jerry H. Bentley. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 437-454. • “Mirghani, Ali al-,” “Mirghani, Hasan al-,” “al-Mirghani, Muhammad Uthman al-Khatim al-,” in Dictionary of African Biography, ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Emmanuel Akyeampong. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Articles • “Late Ottoman Istanbul: The Cosmopolitan Capital,” Turkish Review, vol. 3/4 (2013): 362-367. • “The Middle East in World History since 1750,” in The Cambridge History of the World, edited by Ken Pomeranz and John McNeill (in production).
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• “Political Islam and the State,” in The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics, edited by John L. Esposito and Emad El-Din Shahin. Oxford University Press, 2013. Book Reviews • Timur Kuran, The Long Divergence for Islamic Law & Society 20 (2013): 323-325. • Jens Kreinath, ed., The Anthropology of Islam Reader for Numen 60, No. 4 (2013) • Tariq Ramadan, Islam and the Arab Awakening for Middle East Journal 67, No. 2 (Spring 2013): 330-332. • Eve M. Troutt Powell, Tell This in My Memory for International Journal of African Historical Studies • Sohail Daulatzai, Black Star, Crescent Moon for Journal of Islamic Studies
PROGRAMS AND LECTURES • July 5, 2012 “Islam: Doctrine & Practice in Southeast Asia,” Southeast Asia Seminar, Foreign Service Institute, Virginia. • August 29, 2012 “Islam: Doctrine & Practice,” Southeast Asia Two Week Intensive Course, Foreign Service Institute, Virginia. • September 20, 2012 “Ethnicity & Conflict in Sudan,” East Africa Geostrategic Intelligence Seminar, Bolling Air Force Base. • December 3, 2012 “Building Community and Cultural Understanding Through Study of Islamic History and Culture,” CCHA-NEH Bridging Cultures Conference, Arlington, VA. • December 3, 2013 “History and Regional Studies,” presentation to Regional and Comparative Studies Senior seminar, Georgetown University. • February 6, 2013 “Hizmet: A Transnational Social Movement,” Chair of Panel co-sponsored by ACMCU and the Rumi Forum, Georgetown University. • February 25, 2013 “Talking with the Enemy” (Diplomacy during the Third Crusade). Chair and moderator of presentation session by Thomas Asbridge, ACMCU, Georgetown University. • February 28, 2013 “Snapshot of the field of Muslim-Christian Studies,” Short presentation to the al-Alwani Chair Advisory Council of the Washington Theological Consortium, Washington, DC. • March 2, 2013 “Muhammad: The Man Who Changed the World,” Muslims in Memphis Keynote Address, Memphis, TN. • March 3, 2013 “Programs for Muslim-Christian Understanding,” presentation in Muslim Islamic Center, Cordova, TN. • March 3, 2013 “Fourteen Centuries of Muslim-Christian Dialogue and Conflict: Where are We Now?” Address at Heartsong Church, in Muslims in Memphis Program.
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• March 20, 2013 “A Wave of Change: Social Movements in Latin America and the Middle East,” Panel presentation, Georgetown Latin American Graduate Organization. • April 6, 2013 “The Indian Ocean in the Imagined World of Continents and Regions,” Conference on “The Indian Ocean Basin: Navigating the 21st Century Marine Silk Road,” College of William and Mary. • May 7, 2013 “Islam in Southeast Asia,” presentation in the Southeast Asia Seminar, Foreign Service Institute, Arlington, VA. • May 29, 2013 “Problems of Democracy in the 21st Century,” panel presentation in “Democratic Transitions in the Arab World,” the 14th Annual Conference of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, Washington, DC. • June 23, 2013 “St. Paul and Not-so-silent Christian Women,” sermon in Cleveland Park Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, DC. • June 24, 2013 “Pop-politics and Elections: Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring,” Keynote address, in “Islamic Reform Movements after the Arab Spring,” in Summer Institute for Scholars, International Institute of Islamic Thought, Herndon, VA. • June 27, 2013 “Afghanistan in the World of Islam,” presentation in the Afghanistan Advanced Area Studies Seminar, Foreign Service Institute, Arlington, VA. • August 26 2013 “Experiences in Interfaith Dialogue and Lessons Learned,” sermon in Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church, Louisville, KY. • August 27, 2013 “Islam in Southeast Asia,” Southeast Asia Seminar, Foreign Service Institute, Arlington, VA.
MEDIA • September 12, 2012 Interview by Igor Tsikhanenka of VOA Russian on the attack on the consulate in Benghazi. • September 18, 2012 Interview by Amy Wenk of Atlanta Business Journal on American corporations in the Muslim World. • September 20, 2012 Interview (email) by Rodrigo Craveira of Correio Braziliense (Brazil), on Muslim-West relations. • May 29, 2013 Interviewed by Suna Vidinli of NTV (Turkey) on politics and democracy in the Middle East.
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES American Academy in Berlin, proposal reviewer Wilson Foundation Newcombe Fellowships Reviewer
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EDITORIAL BOARDS • Oxford Bibliographies On-Line, Advisory Editor, 2008• The Oxford Islamic Studies Online Resource Center. Senior Editor. • IAIS Journal of Civilization Studies (Kuala Lumpur). Advisory Board, 2008• Al-Shajarah (ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur). Advisory Board, 2008• Romano-Arabica (Bucharest). Advisory Board, 2011• Kufa Review of Social Studies (Kufa, Iraq). Editorial Board, 2012-
MANUSCRIPT REVIEWER Reviewed manuscripts for the following: Politics & Religion (2), Journal of Islamic Studies, Princeton University Press, Yale University Press, University of California Press, Oxford University Press.
COMMUNITY SERVICE • Did Promotion and Promotion & Tenure reviews as outside reviewer for Bar Ilan University, Texas Tech, Rice University, and Emory. • Consulted with President Vuk Jeremic on planning for the High Level Forum on Creating a Culture of Peace, and then led a panel in the Forum at the United Nations. • Cleveland Park Congregational United Church of Christ. Preached sermons for vacationing minister. • Consulted with government agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities on creating programs for understanding Islam.
NON-CLASSROOM ACTIVITY AND SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY • School of Foreign Service: • African Studies Faculty • CULP Field Committee • RCST Field Committee • History Department: • Tenure and Mentoring Committee
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YVONNE Y. HADDAD Professor of the History of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
TEACHING ACTIVITY Fall HIST 564: Arab Intellectuals in the Modern World INAF 473: Islam and the Study of Muslim-Christian Relations RCST 305: Regional and Comparative Studies Honors I
Spring HIST 363: Islam in the West HIST 364: Revolutionary Thought in Islam HIST 902: Islam in the West RCST 306: Regional and Comparative Studies Honors II
Advising and Mentoring • PhD Thesis Advisor, Melanie Trexler “Evangelizing Arabs: Baptists and Muslims in Lebanon, 1895-2011” • MLS Thesis Advisor, Michael B. Simms • BA Thesis Advisor, Kathy Ingram: “My Weapon is the Pen: Al-Qaeda’s Women and Representations of Female Agency” • BA Certificate Advisor, • Certificate in Arab Studies CCAS: 1.
“Quotas and Cooptation of the Women’s Movement in Pre- and Post- Revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia” Morgan McDaniel
2.
“Palestinian Art,” Isabel Baker
• Certificate in Christian-Muslim Relations, ACMCU 1.
“Women Missionary Work,” Adele Stewart
2.
“Preaching Fear, Creating Hate: An analysis of Fox News’ Islamophobic Discourse,” Jordan Denari
Member, Davids Prize Committee for BA thesis, History Department • Taylor Lescallette, "Vietnam is the Auschwitz of our Generation" • Tucker Stuart Fross, "Imperial Disposition: The Impact of Ideology on French Colonial Policy in Madagascar 1883-1896"
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• Cyrus Bordbar, "A Laboratory of Labor Ideology: The International Workingmen's Association in the United States"
HONORS AND AWARDS Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title: for Becoming American? The Forging of Arab and Muslim identity in Pluralist America
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS Work Published During 2012-2013 Book Chapters •
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “Muslims and American Religious Pluralism,” in God in America: Religious Pluralism in the United States, edited by Charles L. Cohen and Ronald L. Numbers, New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 167-193.
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Nazir Nadir Harb, “The New American Muslim Identity: Defining American Islam Over A Decade of Transformation,” in 9/11-Ten Years after, Looking Ahead, edited by Sabine Sielke, Christian Klockner and Simone Knewitz, Peter Lang Academic Publishers, 2013.
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “Islamist Perceptions of US Policy in the middle East,” revised and updated chapter for the 5th edition of The Middle East and the US: A Historical and Political Reassessment, edited by David Lesch and Mark L. Haas, Westview Press, 2013, pp. 467-490. (10 new pages).
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “Together for the Common Good: The Joint Committee of Anglican-Al-Azhar Dialogue” in Muslim-Christian Relations in the Lutheran and Anglican Communions: Historical Encounters and Contemporary Projects, edited by Joseph Duggan and David Grafton, Palgrave 2013 (Book to honor the retirement of the Archbishop of Canterbury).
Articles •
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “al-Siyasa al-Kharijiya al-Amerikiya fi al-Sharq al-Awsat waAtharuha `ala Hawiyat al-Muslimin al`Arab fi al-Wilayat al-Muttahida,” (American Foreign Policy in the Middle East and its Impact on the Identity of Arab Muslims in the United States) in al-Fikr al-Siyasi, vol. 12, # 42 (winter 2012) pp. 130-144.
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, "Arab American Christian Scholars and the Study of the Middle East" Farhat J. Ziadeh Distinguished Lecture, University of Washington, Seattle, 2013.
Books and Articles in Press Book •
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Jane I. Smith (edts), The Oxford Handbook of American Islam, Oxford University Press, 900 pp.
Book Chapters •
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “The Politics of Inclusion: American Muslims and the Price of Citizenship,” in Civic Enculturation and Citizenship in North America and Western Europe: Politics, Public Ethics, and the New Religious Plurality, edited by Robert W. Hefner and Adam Seligman, Indiana University Press
•
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “The American Muslima: The Emergence of Muslim American Feminism,” in International Feminisms, edited by Diane Lipsett and Phyllis Trible
Articles •
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Anglicans in Palestine/Israel and Christian-Muslim Relations,” Anglican Theological Review, (Winter 2014).
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Adam Farrar, “Journey in the Land of the White Man: Sayyid Qutb in Washington, D.C.” under review.
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Joshua Donovan, ”Good Copt, Bad Copt: Competing Narratives on Coptic Identity in Egypt and the United States” Studies in World Christianity (December 2013).
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Nazir Harb Michel, “Please Don’t Let it be a Muslim: Boston and the 9/11 Era,” Islamic Journal (UK).
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Nazir Harb Michel, “The Good Muslim, Bad Muslim Paradox: American Muslim Identity Post 9/11,” Religions.
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “Arab-American Women Activists” in Arab Women Activists, Special Issue, edited by Amira Sonbol, Hawwa.
Cambridge Dictionary Articles •
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Jane I. Smith, “Afterlife in Christian-Muslim Relations” in the Cambridge Dictionary of Christian-Muslim Relations.
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Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Jane I. Smith, “Christian-Muslim Dialogue in the United States,” Cambridge Dictionary of Christian-Muslim Relations.
Current Publishing Projects Books •
Sayyid Qutb: The Making of an Islamist Revolutionary to be published in (series of Makers of the Muslim World), Oneworld Publications.
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A Vanishing Minority: Christians in the Middle East.
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The Americanization of Islam (tentative title) OUP.
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The American Engagement with Islam, (Shriver Lectures) to be published by Georgia University Press.
Articles •
“Western Sources of Sayyid Qutb’s Fi Zilal al-Qur’an.”
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“The American Mosque Post 9/11: Between Tradition and Pluralism.”
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“The Politics of Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Lebanon.”
PROGRAMS AND LECTURES •
September 19 Lecture in Timothy Shah’s class, “Lerner’s The passing of Traditional Society and the Muslims.”
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September 24 presentation “The Diaspora Copts,” ACMCU.
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September 24 Briefing The Prophet Muhammad and Geo-Politics: Déjà vu All Over Again? Georgetown University.
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October 23 Comments “Muslim Experience Post 9/11 in the US” Religious Tolerance in America: The American Muslim Experience, Summit Meeting at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC.
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November 15 “The Concept of Citizenship among Arab Christians,” Anglican Communion Dialogue with Sheikh al-Azhar, Al-Azhar, Cairo, Egypt.
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December 13 Seminar “Muslim Immigration, integration and Assimilation in the US,” Professor Elzbieta Gozdziak seminar on Immigration, Georgetown University.
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December 14 “Christians and Freedom in Jordan, Syria and Palestine/Israel” Panel on Christianity and Freedom: The Contemporary Situation, Sponsored by the Freedom and Religion Project, Berkeley Center.
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January 18 “Developments in Muslim Women’s Leadership in North America,” panel on Women’s Religious Leadership, Meridian International Center, Washington, DC.
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March 15 “Muslims and the Struggle for Equal Citizenship in the United States” Global Affairs Banquet sponsored by the Global Living Community.
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March 16 Chaired 2 panels: Undergraduate Research Symposium 1.
International Politics
2. Women and Sexual Minorities
MEDIA •
September 12 “The Anti-Muhammad film” Rodrigo Craveiro, Correio Braziliense, Brazil
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September 12 “United States Policy and the Provocation of Muslim Rage,” Maria Torrens Tillack, La Informacion, Madrid
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September 19 “Arabs and Coca Cola,” Amy Wenk, Bizjournal, Atlanta
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November 22 “The Contribution of Kenneth Cragg to Christian Understanding of Islam,” BBC Radio
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November 24 “Sunni Shia Conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” David Rosenberg KPFA Radio, Berkeley, California
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January 22 “Developments in American Muslim Community since 9/11” WBAI (Pacifica Radio) Barbara Nimri Aziz Available @ http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/BecomingAmerican-QA-with-Yvonne-Haddad-09-20-2011.html
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January 29 “American Muslim Youth and the Quest for Full Citizenship,” WBAI (Pacifica Radio) Barbara Nimri Aziz
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February 17 “American Muslim Organization and Conversion Programs,” The Economist, Sherelle Jacobs
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March 21 “Role of Religion and Politics in Egypt and Tunisia,” Harvard Political Review, Matthew Disler
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April 24 “The Boston bombing and Katherine Russell Tsarnaev’s conversion to Islam,” NBC News, JoNel Aleccia
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May 6 “Women Converts to Islam,” Clear Channel Media, San Francisco, Gil Gross
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July 8 “American Muslims and Ramadan,” JOL Press, Paris, Coralie Muller
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July 19 “Boycott of Israeli Settlement Products,” Forbes Magazine, Abram Brown
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July 26 “Muslims of the Americas legal suit against the Christian Action Network,” BBC Arabic, Michael Yuval
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August 13 “Latino Conversion to Islam in the United States,” BBC, Lynsea Garrison, UK
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES Member, International Advisory Council, WOCMES (World Congress for Middle East Studies)
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Member, Advisory Board, American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies Member, Advisory Board, Middle East Policy Council Member, Advisory Board, Gulf Studies Center, American University of Kuwait
EDITORIAL BOARDS Member, Editorial Board Contemporary Islam (UK journal) Member, Editorial Board Hawwa (Journal on Women in Islam), published by Brill Member, Advisory Board, Journal Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Member, Editorial Board, al-Bayan, Kuala Lampur
MANUSCRIPT REVIEWER • Article: “Syrians in the United States,” Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America • Article: “There is no Place Like Home: Second-generation Muslim Americans and Transnationalism,” Ethnicities, 29 pp. • Article: “As French as Anyone Else: Muslim Identifications among France’s North African Second-Generation,” International Migration Review • Evaluation and endorsement of book manuscript of the second edition of Sylviane Diouf, Servants of Allah, New York University Press • Book: “The Qur’an Among North American Muslims” by Michael Birkel for Baylor University Press
COMMUNITY SERVICE • Member, Dialogue Committee: Archbishop of Canterbury with Sheikh al-Azhar • Member, Advisory Board, Friends of UNWRA Association • Member, Advisory Board, Sabeel (Center for Palestinian Liberation Theology) • Member, Washington, DC Ad Hoc Committee on Arab Culture • Member, Planning Committee for Folk Life Festival and Exhibition on Immigration/Migration, Smithsonian Institution
NON-CLASSROOM ACTIVITY AND SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY • Mentor for the Marino Family International Writers’ Academic Workshop • MAAS Admissions Committee, CCAS • PhD Admissions Committee, History Department • Member, Regional and Comparative Studies Field Committee • Member, CCAS Executive Committee • Fulbright Review Panel, Georgetown University • Member, Faculty Advisory Board, Berkley Center
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Member, PhD admissions committee (Middle East), History Department
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MAAS Comprehensive exams: Nathan Chapman Lean & Christopher A. Scott
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SHIREEN T. HUNTER Visiting Professor
TEACHING ACTIVITY Fall INAF 350: Religion and International Affairs INAF 442: Islam, Politics and Security in Modern Central Asia
Spring INAF 494: Shiism and Radical Politics: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain
Advising and Mentoring Master of Liberal Studies, Happiness Peterson
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS Work Published During 2012-2013 Books/Monographs •
The Persian translation of Islam In Russia, The Politics of Identity and Security by The Tarhe Now Publishing, Tehran, January 2013.
•
“The Regional and International Politics of Rising Sectarian Tensions in the Middle East and South Asia”, ACMCU Occasional Papers, July 2013, 34 pages.
Book Chapters/Encyclopedia Contribution •
“Ideological and Constitutional Barriers to Reform in Iran” in Noureddine Jebnoun, Mehrdad Kia and Mimi Kirk (eds.) Modern Middle East Authoritarianism: Roots, Roots, Ramifications and Crisis, Routledge, July 2013
•
“Ideas and Movements behind the Arab Spring” in ABC-CLIO World History available at: http://worldhistory2.abc-clio.com
Articles/Book Review •
Review of the “Weapons of the Wealthy: predatory Regimes and elite –led Protests in Central Asia” in Slavic Review, Fall 2012.
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Books and Articles in Press Books •
“Iran Divided: Historic Roots of Iranian Debates on Identity, Culture and Governance in the 21st Century”, Rowman and Littlefield, 2014.
Book Chapters •
“Islam and Politics in Central Asia”, in John L. Esposito and Emad Shahin, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics, (Oxford University Press, forthcoming September 2013).
Newspaper and Web Articles •
March 5, 2013 “Impediments to Normalized U.S.-Iranian Relations,” Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, at: www.fletcherforum.org/2013/03/05/hunter
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June 7, 2013 “Iran’s Surreal Presidential Elections” Lobe log on foreign policy
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August 7, 2013 “Politics fuels a rising sectarian fire” ASIA TIMES at: www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-070813.html#UgJ96mrXObg.email
PROGRAMS AND LECTURES •
September 4, 2012, Foreign Service Institute, Islam in Russia
•
November 13 2012, William and Mary the Middle East Association “Culture and Politics in Iran”
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February 3 2013, William and Mary event on World Interfaith Harmony on “The role of Religion in International Affairs”
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March 22 2013, the Georgetown International Relations Club Conference on “The Role of Religion in Middle East Politics’ on Saudi-Iran Competition and Its Impact on Regional Politics”
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April 8, 2013, ACMCU “Personalities and Issues in Iran’s June 2013 Elections: what are the risks of another upheaval?”
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April 9, 2013, “Iran’s June Presidential Elections: Likely Outcomes” National Security Agency
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April 12-14, 2013, Conference on “Reform and Revolution in the Arab World” at Indiana University on “The state of Liberalism in the Middle East”
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Council on Foreign Relations breakfast briefing at the Canon House office building for Congressman Steve Daines (R) of Montana on Iran
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June 1, 2011 Presentation at the AIC/ACMCU conference on recent development in the Middle East
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MEDIA •
October 10, 2012, Radio Sawa on the likelihood of Israeli attack on Iran
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December 21 2012, VOA, Africa section in French, on developments in Egypt
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February 11 2013, La Nacion (Argentina) on Iran-Argentine agreement on 1994 bombings in Buenos Aires
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February 2013, Interview published in the periodical Mehr Nameh on Islam in Russia
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March 6 2013, “Egypt –Iran relations and Sunni-Shia power struggle,” Global Post
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May 29 2013, El Mercurio (Chile) on Iranian presidential Elections
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June 15 2013, VOA Persian Service on Rouhani’s Election to Iran’s Presidency
•
June 20, Sanlian Life Week, China, on Rouhani’s election
•
July 8, interview with the periodical Andisheh e Pouya on developments in Egypt
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES Member, Council on Foreign Relations
EDITORIAL BOARDS Editorial Board, Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 2000— Editorial Board, Global Dialogue, 2000— Editorial Board, International Politics, 1999— Editorial Board, Journal of Just Peace Diplomacy, 2010—
NON-CLASSROOM ACTIVITY AND SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY •
Moderated the session on 13 January 2013 with Bayram Balci on “ jam’ at al Tabliq: An example of Islamic cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia” at ACMCU
•
Moderated the session following the screening of the film “ Saving Face” on 11 March 2013 at ACMCU
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Moderated the session on “Turkey and the Arab Spring: Challenges and Opportunities” with Omer Taspinar on 13 March 2013 at ACMCU
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Member of the examination team of Master of Arab Studies for Stephanie Lella
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SUSAN DOUGLASS Education Consultant
OVERVIEW The Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding has sustained its support for the Educational Outreach program of professional development for the past three years, and will continue through June 2014 and hopefully beyond. The program has served more than three thousand attendees from its beginning in Spring 2007 to the present reporting date in Fall 2013. Teaching about world religions, including Islam, is required in academic standards and curriculum for middle and high school, and some elementary school curricula across the United States. The ACMCU Education Outreach program helps teachers to implement these requirements effectively, in addition to supporting teaching about other required world religions, world history, world cultures, and world geography. A significant amount of the content our program shares with teachers involves interactions among religions in world history. An essential message of the program is that teaching about religions is neither a competition nor a zero-sumgame, but involves sound teaching about the role of spiritual life in human history. As presenter and organizer of the program, ACMCU’s Education Consultant Susan Douglass is entering the seventh year of the program. Presentation modules are regularly updated, new content added, and the ACMCU teacher resource website is kept current with ongoing academic research and participant feedback. This report covers the period from August 2012 to August 2013.
THE ACMCU OUTREACH PROGRAM FRAMEWORK The educational outreach program continues as it was established in Spring 2007. Workshops provide knowledge about Islam, world religions, and world history, including Islamic involvement over time in cultural exchanges and interactions. As such, the program has an interdisciplinary focus. Workshops provide information tailored to the needs and requests of the host institutions, and respond to participant questions during the workshop, presenting teaching examples and classroom-ready resources in three critical areas: •
Teaching about Islam and Muslim history and culture is discussed within the constitutional framework of the First Amendment Center guidelines for teaching about religion in public education, which are expanded upon in a recent teacher guide published by the American
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Academy of Religion.1 Teaching about Islam occurs within world history and geography courses where all of the major world religions are taught, so the workshops address the overall world history context and approaches to world religions, in both public and private school settings. •
ACMCU professional development is based on current knowledge of national and state standards and curriculum trends, including the emerging Common Core skills, and reflects attention to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Presentations support curriculum in world cultures or history for elementary and secondary grades, high school world religions electives in public schools (or religions courses in private schools), humanities and language studies. At the same time, trends in official standards are not always helpful to teachers in terms of content knowledge and delivery, so the program seeks to support teachers’ need to go beyond minimal standards, or standards that do not concur with the current state of world history scholarship.
•
Workshops consist of content modules selected from categories of basic information to specialized, interdisciplinary lesson material. Recent modules include discussion of the Arab Uprising, the history of Islam in America, literature by and about Muslim societies, contemporary information on American Muslims, and Islamic art.
•
Presentations for general audiences and specialized professional audiences provide introductory information on Islam and Muslims, such as libraries and civic groups, and where needed, help them understand its practical applications.
The modules are correlated to state standards and Advanced Placement curricula, and include the following topics, described in greater detail on ACMCU’s Education Workshops page at http://acmcu.georgetown.edu/workshops/ and http://cmcuworkshops.net
Module A: Building a Comfort Zone: Teaching about Religions in the Public (or Private) School Classroom
Module B: The World in the Classroom: Structural context for teaching world history
Module 1: Basic Beliefs and Practices of Islam (now available as print resource Introduction to Islam, published by Georgetown’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies )
1
Charles C. Haynes and Oliver Thomas, Esq., Finding Common Ground: A First Amendment Guide to Religion and Public Schools (Nashville, TN: First Amendment Center, 2007) a comprehensive text that can be downloaded at http://www.fac.org/about.aspx?id=6276 ; AAR Religion in the Schools Task Force (Diane L. Moore, Chair), Guidelines for Teaching about Religion in K-12 Public Schools in the United States (Boston:American Academy of Religion, 2012 at http://www.aarweb.org/Publications/Online_Publications/Curriculum_Guidelines/AARK-12CurriculumGuidelines.pdf
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Module 2: Geographic and Demographic Issues (Islam in the world and Muslims in the U.S.)
Module 3: Historical Issues in Teaching about Islam
Module 4: Contemporary Hot-Button Issues (women, terrorism and extremism, shari’ah, and hejab)
Module 5: Elementary Classroom Activities for Teaching about Islam and Muslims
Module 6: Critical Thinking on Islam in the Media features the documentary Inside Islam and teaching resources from Dr. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed’s book What a Billion Muslims Really Think, as well as updated polling data and analysis from the Gallup organization as it becomes available
Module 7: Seven Centuries of Islamic Spain in Europe
Module 8: Mini Modules: Teaching about Cultural Interactions between East and West: Case Studies from the Arts, Technology and Trade, the Renaissance connection
Module 9: Indian Ocean History, based on the online resource www.indianoceanhistory.org created by the presenter
Module 10: Demographics and Culture of the Arab Uprising
Module 11: An overview of the history of Islam in America and information on the status of American Muslims in contemporary society
A new module on teaching about Muslim societies through contemporary literature is in development, utilizing the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf/Muslim Journeys and the NY Humanities Council Muslim Voices projects
The Mediterranean in World History is part of an ongoing project with the British Council and George Mason University that will yield new modules, from ancient to contemporary topics
The most frequently requested modules continue to be Basic Beliefs and Practices of Islam and Contemporary Hot-Button Issues (women, terrorism, extremism, shari’ah, hejab). Next, Geographic and Demographic Issues, and Historical Issues. During the past year of fast-moving events, teachers are even more in need of resources for teaching about Muslim societies, so attending conferences and lectures to stay abreast in the field has become an important part of the Education Consultant’s work. The teacher resource website http://cmcuworkshops.net, continues to be updated with new resources and content. During the past year, several projects in which the Education Consultant was involved have enhanced the content of the workshops. First, in September of 2012, Fairfax County Public Schools social studies curriculum specialist Kurt Waters requested a customized ACMCU workshop series over 2.5 days. We designed a seminar for teachers in the FCPS system
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and opened it to teachers in the wider region as well. Guest speaker and State Department consultant Dr. Peter Mandaville was invited to speak on the third day about the Arab Uprisings, and was very well received by the educators. As part of the program, a number of teacher resources were specially developed for the group. Second, intense involvement with the National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging Cultures program, and specifically the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf has benefitted the ACMCU Education Outreach program. For years, teachers have been requesting recommended children’s and young adult literature, as well as selections for teachers’ background reading and advanced classes. Now, the NEH Muslim Journeys Bookshelf website at http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys provides a set of recommended books that almost 1000 libraries nationwide have received, plus a wealth of reading guides, essays, reference articles from Oxford Islamic History Online, and related resources of interest. Susan Douglass will be conducting several public presentations for libraries in that program this year, including a series in Kingston, New Hampshire, in which Dr. John Voll is also taking part. She is also involved in the Muslim Voices project of the New York Humanities Council, which is a complementary book and public program project featuring books for children and youth. Third, the recently released documentary Islamic Arts: Mirror of the Invisible World is also an NEH Bookshelf selection. Douglass designed a discussion guide for that film as a classroom resource. Fourth, she is currently working with two curriculum projects in the British Council grant Our Shared Past, developing high school and undergraduate world history curriculum. One is based at the University of Pittsburgh and the UCLA National Center for History in the Schools, involving curriculum and professional development. The other is based at George Mason University, and is currently developing curriculum modules on the Mediterranean in world history. That program includes scholars and curriculum developers from the US as well as the UK, the Netherlands (EUROCLIO, an association of European history teachers), Turkey, and Morocco. These projects have already produced new modules in development, as well as new contacts and opportunities for outreach. During the reporting period, non-ACMCU workshops were also important outreach opportunities that did not require financial outlays from ACMCU, but provided exposure and experience. A series of workshops in connection with the 1001 Inventions exhibit at the National Geographic Society Museum were conducted for local teachers. The NEH Bookshelf project included a workshop for librarians at public and university libraries in the Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland, as well as a community library event in Loudoun County. Two presentations for teachers at Georgetown’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies K-12 outreach program included Islam 101 and a Saturday Seminar on Trade Networks and Cultural Interactions, in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. In March 2013, under a grant from the Anna Lindh Foundation in Ireland, ACMCU’s Education Consultant was invited to conduct two public presentations at the Chester Beatty
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Library in Dublin, Ireland, and the keynote address at a conference for educators (pre-service and in-service) on Understanding Islam in Irish Education at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. The signature feature of the ACMCU Education Outreach is to improve teachers’ access to recent scholarship and ongoing development of public outreach about Islam. With events moving rapidly in Muslim regions of the world, and many ongoing projects to enhance understanding of Islam and Muslim regions, it is even more important to develop and incorporate such new material into the ACMCU program on an ongoing basis.
PROMOTION OF THE ACMCU EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM ACMCU has now established an effective relationship with the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and regularly advertises in its two major publications. We have placed a half-page ad in Social Education, the flagship magazine of the NCSS and a free announcement in their newsletter The Social Studies Professional (TSSP) for the past three years in the Fall issues, which regularly generates new workshop requests. ACMCU continues its membership in the Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC), and takes part in its collaborative resource table at the NCSS Annual Meeting, where ca. 500 literature bags are given out to teachers, and many conversations take place directly with curriculum coordinators, officers of state and local Councils for the Social Studies, and professional development colleagues. ACMCU’s Education Consultant served MEOC as webmaster, and wrote an article on Islamophobia and media for their Perspectives Newsletter. Brochures are distributed wherever possible, at workshops, at conferences and at the Dar al-Islam Summer Institute. Progress in getting the word out to potential host organizations, as well as repeat hosts, is readily apparent. Bookings are already arranged for this year into the spring. For the third year in a row, we used all of the available funding, and expect to do so in 2013-2014.
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COMPLETED AUGUST 2012 – AUGUST 2013 WORKSHOPS Appended to this report is a table showing the dates, hosting institutions and locations of this year’s completed workshops. To summarize the overall program to date, from April 2007, when the program began, 72 full-day and 23 half-day workshops have been held in 25 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada under the terms of the ACMCU educational outreach program contract.2 A total of 3419 attendees have benefitted from the program between April 2007 and August 2013. During the reporting period, August 2012-August 2013, 556 educators, administrators, and members of the general public attended eleven full-day and 2 half-day workshops and several additional presentations. It should be noted that these professional development sessions benefit teachers—each of whom interacts with hundreds of students and dozens of colleague—at an average cost of only $92.00 per attendee during the 2012-2013 program year. A Google map showing the locations, dates, and host organizations of all workshops held for the ACMCU program from Spring 2007 to Fall 2013 can be viewed at http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=114117642818317932358.00 045efd937f63ed73b60&z=4 and is shown below for the reader’s convenience.
2
These states are AR, AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, HI, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NM, NY, NV, OH, OR, PA, TN, UT, TX, VA, WA, WI in addition to Toronto, Ottowa, and Windsor, Canada.
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ORGANIZER AND ATTENDEE PROFILES AND OBSERVATIONS FROM RECENT WORKSHOPS ACMCU workshops are most often attended by teachers and administrators, either hosted by local university outreach program officials or school district curriculum specialists. The educators are most often social studies teachers who teach about Islam in world history, world geography or world cultures classes in elementary, middle and high school. This year, the mix of host organizations included universities, schools, and professional and public affairs organizations. Teachers who attended these workshops often received professional development credits through the host organization, and also received ACMCU certificates as documentation, a feature of the program that was added last year. This remains an important incentive for attendees, who must document a certain number of clock hours of attendance at professional development for recertification.
ATTENDEE EVALUATIONS Evaluations are conducted after each workshop, and results are submitted with each workshop report, including a compilation of evaluation survey results and all written comments. The responses reflect attendee interest in the topics, assessment of the content as appropriate and relevant to their work, confidence in the presenter’s knowledge, and gratitude for the resources provided, and assessment of the degree to which the workshop met expectations for quality. All comments are recorded in the Workshop Reports, from which a selection is included in an appendix to this report. Original forms in the participants’ handwriting, or as transmitted to me by the host school or district, are archived and available upon request. Summative evaluations in this chart do not reflect the total number of workshop attendees or even the total number of workshops. Not all attendees submit evaluation forms before leaving the workshop venue, for various reasons. In addition, host organizations sometimes use their own evaluation forms, and differing survey questionnaires cannot be aggregated. ACMCU Educational Outreach policy does not require workshop attendees to fill out multiple evaluations at the end of a long day. Organizers usually follow up with copies and/or summaries of their evaluation instruments, which can be viewed on request. A few host organizations fail to submit copies or aggregate reports after the workshop for some reason, despite repeated requests. Selected attendee comments from many of the workshops held during the reporting period are attached to this report.
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PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE The ACMCU educational outreach program continues to meet and exceed its stated objectives and program goals. As a result of the Kingdom Foundation grant through July 2014, it has been possible to plan with the assurance that the program has a secure base of funding. The program has become established enough that host organizations register for workshop dates months in advance, with new requests coming in regularly. As of this writing, nine host organizations have requested workshops for the 2013-2014 academic year. Several host organizations have submitted repeat requests, and word of mouth to others in their circle. Among the scheduled and pending workshops for this year, several requests from universities and community outreach have developed from previous programs and represent expanded host partnerships. School systems are effectively reached through NCSS annual meeting attendance, word of mouth, and NCSS advertising. Local government and school system contacts in the Washington metropolitan area continue to provide opportunities for workshops. New contacts with libraries on a national level have already yielded several presentations, including a scheduled one in New Hampshire through Dr. Voll’s ACMCU and NEH connections. Evaluations, both conducted by ACMCU and by school systems, have maintained high levels of satisfaction (see attached chart and sample attendee comments). Economic difficulties and budget cuts to school districts continue, so school systems and university outreach programs are very grateful for these free professional development opportunities. Educators have expressed a continuing need for teachers to learn about this hotbutton topic, in addition to helping their teachers with the overall topic of world religions. It has been a privilege to interact with educators and the general public across the country, and to conduct and develop the workshops on behalf of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for MuslimChristian Understanding, and to enjoy the continuing confidence and support of Dr. Esposito, Ms. Poletto, and now Ms. Kidwell, and the ACMCU staff and board members. Work continues toward improving the program to provide knowledge to teachers and reaching out to new audiences.
See Appendices: 1.
Table of Workshops Presented, August 2012-August 2013
2. Evaluation Questionnaire Summary of Results 3. Highlights from Attendee Comments on Evaluation Forms
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APPENDIX 1: Workshops Presented, August 2012-August 2013
Workshops Conducted since August 2012 (Academic Year 2012-2013) Workshop Dates
Type of Workshop
Host Institution
Workshop Location
8/23/12
full-day workshop
Lubar Institute, Univ WI
Madison, WI
15
10/6/12
full-day workshop
CA 3 rs Project CSUSB
Stockton, CA
25
Oct 10-12
2.5-day seminar
FCPS
Fairfax, VA
15
10/13/12
full-day workshop
University of Denver
Denver, CO
19
11/3/12
full-day workshop
GSDCSS
San Diego, CA
29
12/18/12
full-day workshop
Ahlul Bayt Islamic School
Ottawa, Canada
26
1/22/13
half-day workshop
Baltimore City
Baltimore, MD
22
3/19/2013 to 3/20/2013
3 public presentations for the library, docents, and Limerick conference keynote speech
Chester Beatty Library
Dublin & Limerick, Ireland
200
4/12/13
full-day workshop
Ontario Assn of Islamic Schools
Windsor, Ontario
35
4/18/13
full-day workshop
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown, PA
100
4/20/13
full-day workshop
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
20
04/9/2013 to 04/11/2013
2.5 workshops
FCPS
Fairfax, VA
15
11 full-day workshops, 2 half-day workshops, 3 public presentations =
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No. of Attendees
521 Attendees
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APPENDIX 2: Evaluation Questionnaire Summary of Results NOTE: This chart does not represent all of the evaluations for the total attendees of the workshops in this report. Some school districts and organizations used their own surveys, which differ too much to aggregate. Those evaluations, which are some of the largest workshops, are available on request. The number of evaluations seldom equals the number of attendees, since the forms are anonymously submitted, and some attendees omit the surveys. ALSO: In half-day workshops, a shorter form omits some questions, affecting aggregate response tabulation. In addition, each workshop is not weighted equally; rather, the responses are tabulated as gross responses from each participant. That means a more or less favorable response in a larger workshop affects the average of all the workshop tabulated results. If each workshop were weighted as one total set of responses, the results would be significantly higher ratings in all categories. This year, one workshop with a high number of attendees skewed the overall evaluations lower in some categories.
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APPENDIX 3: Highlights from Attendee Comments on Evaluation Forms NOTE: Original hand-written attendee surveys are available on request.
LUBAR Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions Summer Institute, Madison, WI •
Thank you very much. I am thrilled to be able to use some of your materials for my new class on World Religions!
•
Would have loved to have heard more on basics—holidays, traditions, Sunni vs. Shiite, death practices, etc.
•
Very well done. I would have liked a bit more on Sunni-Shia [relations]
•
I liked Susan’s lecture very much. It is well organized and clear. I really learned a lot from her lecture. Thanks!!
•
I thought the resources and website are great. Thank you!
•
Wow! An almost overwhelming collection of teacher resources to use, share, etc. Would have been nice to have copies of all materials passed out. Thank you so much for your graciousness and for sharing your knowledge.
•
The location [in a local mosque] was overwhelming. To see the daily prayers was enlightening. Thank you for being available.
California 3 R’s Project [Teaching about Religion: “Rights, Respect, Responsibility”], Stockton, CA •
Wonderful! Thank you much.
•
Very timely presentation—a huge amount of material to process. Was very effective in understanding the process of teaching [about] religion.
•
Lots of good resources for lessons with my students and technology-related sources that I was unaware of. Thanks!
•
She has an answer and a resource for everything.
•
The movie was a bit long and maybe should be played before lunch not after. Otherwise, very good presentation and was quite informative.
•
Very informative.
•
I would have liked things that a 7th grade or 9th grader would understand. I had a hard time understanding it.
•
Wonderful—thank you very much.
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Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore, MD •
Thank you for the resources.
•
Great job! I really gained a lot of insight.
•
This was an excellent presentation. Very useful!
•
Every part was great.
•
Wow! Thank you so much! I learned a ton of new information. I really appreciate it Very good resources to use.
•
Very knowledgeable and informative. A lot of info to take in such a short period of time.
•
More lecture. This was a very comprehensive take on teaching about Islam.
Ontario Association of Islamic Schools, Al-Hijra School, Windsor, Ontario •
I enjoyed this workshop. It clarified and set into perspective the obsession over meeting curriculum and the new idea that integration and following a new outline is okay. I would suggest more solid examples of models/lessons/outlines that have proven to be successful during your experiences for each subject. Overall, very beneficial and informative.
•
More interactive and more examples of practical tips to take to the classroom.
•
Very informative and inspiring! Jazakum Allahu khairan
•
Excellent content; very engaging and knowledgeable.
•
Jazak Allahu khair. May Allah reward you for your efforts, knowledge, sharing and hard work.
•
More time is needed to cover the program for more details.
•
Great job This was very informative. You’ve inspired me to incorporate more integrated studies in the classroom.
Fairfax County Public Schools, Symposium on Southwest Asia, Fairfax, VA •
Very much enjoyed it.
•
Thank you for providing a delicious lunch—a real treat! Resources overall excellent! Could not possibly incorporate all into my classes.
•
I really liked the ability to participate in a few activities that could easily translate into the classroom. I would have liked to see more examples of activities. Great content! I loved the access of new materials and resources.
•
Really enjoyed today’s topics and enjoyed Dr. Mandaville’s presentation. Modern materials very helpful—love the nationalism question. Thank you for the great food! For future: perhaps more
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comprehensive coverage of ancient to modern for all content areas (i.e. no Byzantine or preIslamic) [SD: FCPS specifically asked me not to cover ancient and classical periods] •
This was such a wonderful opportunity. It is a pleasure to hear about these topics from the “experts” and think about how to bring these ideas and resources with the students.
•
Absolute[ly] wonderful. Thank you for allowing me to participate!
•
This location is very old and extremely uncomfortable chairs. The presenter is absolutely fabulous and extremely knowledgeable. I’m enjoying this symposium—thank you!
Greater San Diego Council for the Social Studies, San Diego, CA •
Wonderful information presented in a manner that is classroom accessible; Above and beyond the stated objectives
•
I really enjoyed learning the history (origins) of Islam and beliefs
•
The time was limited yet it did not diminish the quality of the presentation. “Basic” elements were discussed through a different lens. Much appreciated
•
Would like a background of her as a scholar and follower of Islam…helps us to make a connection to an interesting person; Phenomenal
•
Engaging and very knowledgeable; Such a dynamic and highly prepared person; And she welcomes all questions
•
I teach English but I will be sharing the resources with all of my social science colleagues
•
I teach a course culled Cultural Diversity online for the U of Phoenix. I can see using the links to videos, article & websites to enhance learning of the students through this exposure
•
The Indian Ocean in World History site fantastic. I can use the trade routes and the products/crops lessons with my 8th graders
•
Teacher knowing increased; will use information to enhance math lessons; cultural history, geography, technology
•
Love, love, love primary sources! Textbooks can be incomplete. The resources provided are amazing and very valuable
•
The websites were amazing resources for teaching… Indian Ocean, World History for Us All, etc. Thank you so much for your time and expertise
•
Websites and resources were invaluable to me as a parent of a 6th grader. Good ideas and resources. Thanks.
•
The [Islamic] Center is a very gracious and courteous host- the food was delicious and the facilities well kept. Thank you
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Very rich – now, time to research and discover and implement for classroom use.
•
I appreciate her website constructions and links. Excellent conference! Thank you.
•
Integrating different parts of the world, cultures, eras to underscore the interconnectedness of the world and to promote/foster critical thinking. This requires a paradigm shift.
Center for Middle East Studies, University of Chicago, Lincoln Park, IL •
Susan’s ease at presentation and her deep knowledge were fantastic. I am very appreciative of being here to hear her. I am thankful for all the resources she has made available to us.
•
Everything was great! All workshops here are always good—never disappointed!
•
Wealth of info and resources provided, presented by highly qualified speaker, and opportunity for interaction among participants
•
Wonderful variety of resources—some I already know but many new ones
•
Shared a wealth of priceless resources, website, books, and more. I am very much looking forward to sharing what I have gained today with teachers at my school and our partnership high school.
•
The strongest part was the Hot-Button Issues when we were talking about women and education in the Middle East. The revealing point was discovering that in the Middle East, more women are educated than we believed
•
Great presenter, good location, lots of useful information; the most interesting part was in the end and we didn’t have enough time.
•
Lots of resources! Excellent presentation very useful material. This was a very practical presentation with novel content. Innovative use of internet resources in the classroom.
•
The number of websites given and how and when to use them; resources excellent; also the interactive activities—we needed more time, since we had such a knowledgeable audience as well.
Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA •
I think the presentation all together was wonderful and well thought out, but people began to lose interest because of the long amount of time spent on it. Although this presentation did inform everyone about the Muslim culture, I was hoping to learn about other religions as well.
•
Wonderful! My 3s only reflect a lack of opinion. This was a fantastic opportunity for our Ed. Dept. and one that I wish we would continue to explore. The resources provided to us, for free? Fabulous. An inspiring and informative day.
•
The What a Billion Muslims Really Think video was really interesting.
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I thought that the presenter was extremely knowledgeable and interesting. I would have not had this last all day though. I feel as though it would have been more comfortable in an auditorium.
•
I really liked how the presenter was high-energy and very knowledgeable about the topic. Maybe some more interaction between tables and having people move around and talk with different people about ideas. Overall, I thought it was a very good presentation and workshop.
•
I really enjoyed the workshop. I felt it was very useful for my future career.
•
I would have liked the workshop to be more interactive. It would have been nice to go over more the education route instead of going over the demographics. It was nice to hear how to teach about religion in schools. All in all, this workshop definitely changed my views about the Muslim world and incorporating religion into the classroom.
•
Very good insightful presentation. There was a great amount of information given.
•
Excellent presentation but more than half of the audience was early childhood (pre-K-4th) major so a lot of the content was not very applicable to our specialty and future career. Her website is incredibly useful.
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I think the final video was very informative and provided good information as an educator.
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I would have enjoyed more activities in the morning to break up the lectures and keep everybody alert and awake. The resources were helpful and the video was informative.
•
Really helped change perceptions.
•
This topic was particularly interesting to me and a lot of the resources will be useful in the future. However, I felt that a lot of the information was not applicable to early childhood education. I would have liked more information about how this information can be incorporated into elementary education, and more resources that could be used in the early elementary classroom. [SD: most of these resources were in the electronic folder, which students without laptops could not access, nor could we work with it in the sessions.]
•
I wish I had more of a background to better understand the information.
•
I liked the topic we learned about, especially how we were informed about how religion is supposed to be included in our schools’ curriculum. I thought the curriculum stated that public schools could not include religion.
•
I really enjoyed learning about the Islamic religion as well as teaching all other religions. The videos were engaging and informative. I would have loved to watch the entire video. A suggestion I would have would be to rephrase your questions to be more clear and provide more wait time to let us process the questions.
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Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, ICC 260 3700 O Street, NW Washington, DC 20057 Tel: 202-687-8375 Fax: 202-687-8376 Email: acmcu@georgetown.edu Web: acmcu.georgetown.edu Twitter: @acmcu