by Bruno Valle Daily Pennsylvanian 9/27/2004 The University continues to be an active participant in the global discussion surrounding relations between the United States and the Middle East. The most recent forum, which focused on United States-Middle East media relations, was held Thursday night in Houston Hall. Co-sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy and the Middle East Institute, the town hall meeting brought together three internationally renowned experts on the current state of media relations between the regions. Attendee … [Read more...]

Mixed Messages '04: First, Principles by Editorial Board Boston Globe 9/26/04 THERE ARE only five weeks left until the 2004 presidential election, and yet much of America is still waiting to hear the call. This is not the call that shouts "Vote for me!" or begs for more cash, or attempts to rally a following based on how badly the opponents can be smeared. It is the call that asks people to be part of something greater than themselves, to build a nation more aligned with its democratic principles, to embrace a vision of what might be … [Read more...]

by Shelia M. Poole The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 9/22/2004 Macon --- Quentin Troupe doesn't mind the questions. In fact, he welcomes them. Are Muslims commanded by God to commit acts of terrorism? What is Islam about? "I put myself in a position to let people know I'm a Muslim, so I can clear away all the misconceptions and give people a proper understanding of who we are and what we're about," said Troupe, a Macon resident who converted to Islam 11 years ago. Troupe, 31, who recently attended a town hall meeting on U.S.-Islamic … [Read more...]

by BY VICTORIA KATSAROU Yale Daily News 09/22/2004 Four speakers offered solutions such as forgiveness, education and increased support for human rights organizations as ways to improve the United States' relationship with the Islamic world in a forum at the Yale Law School on Tuesday. The discussion was part of a national series of town hall meetings sponsored by the group Americans for an Informed Democracy. The Yale chapter of AID, The People Speak, Journal of Human Rights, The Families of September 11 and the Muslim Students' Association … [Read more...]

by Mary O'Leary New Haven Register 09/21/2004 NEW HAVEN — Right after Sept. 11, 2001, Seth Green, an American studying in Britain, found himself living in cosmopolitan London in a neighborhood that was home to a large number of Middle Easterners, particularly Pakistanis. Skeptical at first as to how he and the other Marshall Scholars would be treated in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, Green soon found he had nothing to fear. "Everyone would stop us on the street and there was just an outpouring of grief. I could not … [Read more...]

by Catherine E. Galioto Daily Targum 9/20/2004 Rohit Sharma, a 2001 University graduate, thinks of town hall meetings in terms of a very old American tradition. He was, however, grateful for the opportunity to speak at one last week in Scott Hall on the College Avenue campus so he could express his desire for U.S. -Arab relations to be bridged. "We come from so many different places and experiences," he said, "but we all have common interests, and even if we don't, we can still understand each other." The meeting was scheduled under a national … [Read more...]

by Staff Writer Outlook (Univ. of Maryland) 9/20/04 Middle Eastern confidence in the United States has plummeted in the last three years, and it will take substantial effort, mostly on the part of America, to win it back, according to Shibley Telhami and Brookings Institution colleague Peter Singer. The "Points of Contact"town hall meeting they participated in last week corresponded with global Interdependence Day observations. Sponsored by the non-partisan student group Americans for Informed Democracy, the meeting was also part of a nationwide … [Read more...]

by Joanne Tawfilis, Vienna, Austria Culture of Peace News Network 9/18/04 I recently heard about an organization, Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), and their intent and success in training students who have lived abroad to become active voices for global understanding on their own campuses after they return home. The objective of the AID was formulated on the basis that Americans who study abroad tend to be more internationalist in their outlook on global affairs than the general student population. The organization recently held a … [Read more...]

by Delma J. Francis Star Tribune 09/18/2004 In the past few months, World Trade Center survivor Paul Anton of Minneapolis has been giving a lot of thought to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, and their aftermath. So have many others who were involved directly or indirectly. As a result, a series of town hall meetings called "Hope Not Hate" is underway nationwide, sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy and a coalition of other nonprofit groups. The first Minnesota meeting was held at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday. A second is … [Read more...]