UPCOMING EVENTS
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New!
Obama's America & the Muslim World
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM
Cost: $75
Location:
Hyatt Regency
Marquis Ballroom, 2nd floor
600 Town Center Drive
Dearborn, MI 48126
Contact:
Sadia Shakir (734-637-9238)
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Juan Cole
Juan R. I. Cole is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan.
For three decades, he has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical
context. His most recent book is Engaging the Muslim World and he also recently authored Napoleon's
Egypt: Invading the Middle East. He has been a regular guest on PBS's Lehrer News Hour, and has also
appeared on ABC Nightly News, Nightline, the Today Show, Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper 360,
Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Democracy Now!, and many others. He has also given many radio and
press interviews. To see more of what Juan Cole does please visit his blog "Informed Comment."

IN FOCUS
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Engaging Hamas
Fawaz A. Gerges, ISPU Fellow
Something is stirring within the Hamas body politic, a moderating trend that, if nourished and engaged, could transform Palestinian politics and the Arab-Israeli peace process. There are unmistakable signs that the religiously based radical movement has subtly changed its uncompromising posture on Israel. Although low-key and restrained, those shifts indicate that the movement is searching for a formula that addresses the concerns of Western powers yet avoids alienating its social base.
Read more...
What's Really Fueling Al-Qaeda?
ISPU Legal Fellow, Arsalan Iftikhar, interview on NPR
Arsalan Iftikhar, a Legal Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) and Ben Venzke, who monitors terrorist groups, talks about the current known state of al-Qaeda its reach, function and aggressive agenda.
Fawaz Gerges, an ISPU Fellow, discusses US options in Yemen on PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Secretary Hillary Clinton Tete-A-Tete With ISPU Fellow, Dr. Hassan Abbas:
A Conversation about Pakistan and the United States' Relations with the Muslim World December 14, 2009 , 2009
HASSAN ABBAS: During your recent visit to Pakistan, you won the hearts of many through your courageous outreach - visiting Badshahi mosque, participating in television talk shows, interacting with students at country’s premier educational institution Government College Lahore, and most importantly going to the mausoleum of Mohammad Iqbal, the poet-philosopher who gave the idea of Pakistan. Even those who are critical of the U.S. policy were appreciative of these gestures and it served an important message to those Pakistani politicians also who are not in touch with masses.
What were the signs of hope that you gauged during this visit?
Read more...

U.S. policy toward Pakistan
ISPU Fellow, Haider Mullick, interview on NPR
President Obama's new plan for Afghanistan, which includes a surge of 30,000 more troops, has been the subject of much debate. But what about Pakistan? Many, including V.P. Joe Biden, say that country is more vital to America's long-term security interests in the region. Pakistan has a nuclear arsenal, is the home base of Al Qaeda, and has a fragile political system.
Guests:
Haider Mullick, fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow in Asian Studies at the Heritage Foundation
Ambassador Robert Finn, currently a lecturer at the Woodrow Wilson School
The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Muslim Africa
Mohamed Yunus Rafiq, ISPU Fellow
According to the UNAIDS' 2008 report on the global AIDS epidemic, there are 33 million people living with AIDS; 67% of them reside in sub-Saharan Africa and 59% of that group are women (UNAIDS 2008). Despite its relatively low prevalence in Muslim countries, Muslims are not exempt from the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS 2007 and Iliffe 2006). Much of the existing literature on AIDS epidemiology emphasizes that the reactions of Islamic countries and religious institutions to the HIV/AIDS epidemic have been characterized by stigma, denial, silence, and inactivity (Maolidi 2003a, IRIN 2006, Positive Muslims 2004, UNAIDS 2007, Iliffe 2006, and Lenton 1997). Tanzanian Muslims' reactions to the epidemic are consonant with these trends.
Read more...
Alcohol Use by Muslim College Students in the United States
Cynthia L. Arfken, Wahiba Abu-Ras, and Sameera Ahmed, ISPU Fellows
The transition to college in the United States is a vulnerable period in the developmental trajectory between childhood and adulthood (Boyd et al. 2005). In general, this period represents an entrance into a new environment with potentially new norms of behavior. One behavior in particular associated with substantial morbidity and mortality (Hingson et al. 2009) is the widespread acceptance of drinking and heavy drinking.
Read more...
Disarray in American Policy?
Fawaz A. Gerges, ISPU Fellow
Washington, DC: The Greater Middle East (viz., Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia) has presented President Barack Obama with his greatest foreign policy challenges so far. The new president inherited costly wars on multiple fronts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia, a worldwide hunt for Al Qaeda, and rising anti-American sentiment throughout Muslim lands. To reverse this hostile trend and bring American troops home, Obama's foreign policy team advanced a two-pronged strategy of outreach to the Islamic world and peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Read more...
ISPU Testimony before Congress:
US Strategy in Afghanistan and Its Relation to Iraq
Dr. Muqtedar Khan, ISPU Fellow
I want to begin by thanking Chairman Vic Snyder and other members of the committee for inviting
me to testify to this august body once again. It is always an honor to participate in the deliberations
that shape our national policies.
Read more...
The American Muslim Physicians Study
What impact do U.S. immigration policies have on physicians from the Muslim world? Do immigration policies and recruitment for international medical graduates effectively help provide health care for the underserved in the United States? What impact can American Muslim physicians make on the global health challenges in their countries of origin? Our current research hopes to explore the views and experiences of this growing subset of health care providers.
Read the abstract
We are looking for private donors and institutional donors to partner with us to fund this
groundbreaking research study. Please email director@ispu.org for more information about the study or make your tax-deductible donation today.
RECENT ARTICLES
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New! It’s hard not to feel like a criminal in the airport
By H.A. Hellyer, ISPU Europe Fellow
A swarthy, dark-haired gentleman has always inspired mystery in the western psyche, but it’s no longer a curious mystery – it’s a suspicion. Even Arab customs officials can be curious about how someone who could pass so easily for an Arab national (and thus subject to military service) is actually not.
Read more...
New! The U.S. Can No Longer Afford Its Empire
By Ivan Eland, ISPU Fellow
President Obama has presented Congress with a spending request of $3.8 trillion for the next fiscal year in 2011, but with a third of it not paid for with taxes, thus resulting in a $1.3 trillion deficit (a whopping 8.3 percent of GDP).
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New! Lone wolves signal al Qaeda's weakness
By Fawaz A. Gerges, ISPU Fellow
London, England (CNN) -- The heads of major U.S. intelligence agencies told a Senate committee Tuesday that an attempted terrorist attack on the nation in coming months is "certain."
Coinciding with the first anniversary of the Obama presidency, Osama bin Laden issued two new audiotapes claiming responsibility for the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt and vowed further attacks. He also blamed global warming on the U.S. and other big industrial nations and urged a boycott of the U.S. dollar.
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