Event explored 'Youth and the Future of U.S.-Islamic Relations'

Event explored 'Youth and the Future of U.S.-Islamic Relations'

by Aleta Wenger
Yale Bulletin and Calendar
March 3, 2006

The Yale Law School Chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy hosted a teleconference titled "The Next Generation: Youth and the Future of U.S.-Islamic Relations" on Feb. 20 during the U.S.- Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar.

The teleconference linked participants attending the forum with students and community leaders at Yale and at six other universities in Jordan, Qatar, the Ivory Coast and the United States.

The purpose of the teleconference was to discuss the role of students and youth in the future of relations between the Islamic world and the West. Yale law student Seth Green, founder and chair of Americans for Informed Democracy, served as the moderator of the Yale group that participated in the teleconference.

The theme of the 2006 U.S.-Islamic World Forum, "Leaders Effect Change," builds on two previous conferences also held in Qatar. This year, policymakers and opinion-shapers from the United States and more than 30 Muslim states and communities from around the world engaged in three days of meetings, Feb. 18-20. The forums have been cosponsored and organized jointly by the government of Qatar and Brookings Institution, with additional funding from the private sector and international foundations. The annual dialogue has become the premier convening body for American and Muslim world leaders in the fields of politics, business, media, academia, science, arts and civil society. The first meeting of the forum was in January 2004, with former U.S. President Bill Clinton (LAW '73), delivering the keynote address.

Yale students who took part in the Feb. 20 teleconference discussed the recent controversy over cartoons initially published in a Danish newspaper, which some participants in Qatar, Jordan and the Ivory Coast believe are offensive to Muslims. Teleconference participants also discussed the media's coverage of the issue, including some individuals' concern that the media failed to cover moderate Muslim leaders, who were calling for restraint.

The four panelists in Qatar who responded to questions from students included Dr. M. Syafi'I Anwar, executive director of the International Center for Islam and Pluralism in Indonesia; Amina Rasul-Bernardo, lead convenor of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy and former member of the Philippine Cabinet; Gamal Al-Banna, Egyptian scholar and head of the El Banna Foundation for Islamic Culture and Information; and Salam Al-Maryati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.

Following the teleconference, Yale participants were encouraged to help ensure that moderate voices on these issues are heard by sharing their views with the media on what they learned about U.S.-Muslim relations. Yale law students were especially encouraged to share their opinions with hometown newspapers.

-- By Aleta Wenger, Office of International Affairs