Americans for Informed Democracy is excited to be hosting its internationally celebrated Hope Not Hate program in Michigan this spring! The one-day leadership retreat will include special guests and leadership workshops that will enable young leaders to take more proactive steps in improving US-Muslim World relations. Young people from across the region are invited to attend this event and learn from the special guests and peers on ways to improve the global society and affect US foreign policy. Thanks to generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, the summit is free for selected participants, including registration and meals (although lodging and travel to the conference is at the participant's expense). 

  9:00-9:30       Registration & Breakfast

  9:30-9:45       Introduction – Laura Kavanaugh, Americans for Informed Democracy

  9:45-10:45     Keynote Presentation:

                      Ambassador Wendy J. Chamberlin, President, The Middle East Institute

10:45-12:15     Panel Discussion

                      Dr. Mohammed Ayoob, author and distinguished Professor of International Relations, MSU
                      Saeed Khan, lecturer in Near Eastern & Asian Studies, Wayne State University
                      Niraj Warikoo, Religion Staff Writer, Detroit Free Press

12:15-1:45       Lunch and Small Group Discussions
                    “The Future of Relations between the US and the Islamic World”

  1:45-3:15       Leadership Workshops: Awareness. Advocacy. Action.

  3:15-3:30       Conclusion

Inquiries may be directed to Laura Kavanaugh, Project Coordinator for the Global Peace and Security program.

More About the Hope, Not Hate Series

One of the greatest challenges in global politics today is the dangerous tension that has grown between the United States and the world's predominantly Muslim states and communities. This deepening divide and view of the "other" is a critical impediment to cooperation on a breadth of vital issues of joint concern, ranging from terrorism and radicalism to human development and liberal freedoms. Recent polling found that 90% of citizens in Muslim states view the U.S. as the primary security threat to their country, while the number of Americans who have a negative view of the entire religion of Islam as a whole has grown each year since the 9-11 attacks, making up almost half the U.S. population. On the flip side, the vast majority of citizens in Muslim states have favorable views of Americans as people and, likewise, Americans are eager to open dialogue with these countries of great importance as cited in a recent poll by worldpublicopinion.org.

We are working to ensure that young Muslims and non-Muslims see a more effective and harmonious vision for the future of U.S.-Islamic relations. We coordinate town halls and videoconferences, especially around the anniversary of September 11th, which raise awareness about how the U.S. and the Muslim world can work together to deter growing mutual hatred. The series has engaged more than 20,000 students and citizens in two hundred communities from Macon, Georgia and Vermillion, South Dakota to Amman, Jordan, and Jakarta, Indonesia. These events have facilitated broad, inclusive dialogue between young leaders and Congresspersons, Ambassadors, journalists, military officials, scholars and even a head of state. The events have also had a cultural component, including a conversation with MTV’s Gideon Yago and a concert performance by Salman Ahmad, the leader of South Asia's biggest rock band, Junoon. The Boston Globe editorial board has called our Hope Not Hate series on U.S.-Muslim world relations “a victory of knowledge and inquiry over fear and blind pledges of revenge.” The series also received Search for Common Ground’s Award for International Understanding in 2005 and our efforts to bridge the U.S.-Islamic world divide received special recognition from Madeleine Albright at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative.