Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID)-Georgetown University
The Palestinian case is extreme, but it is only one among many in the Arab/Muslim world of democracy denied. The gains made by pro-democracy movements in the 2010-2011 “Arab Spring” have all been reversed, and anti-democratic forces have spread beyond the Arab/Muslim world. This conference will address the lessons learned from these and other cases, critique the policies that have allowed anti-democratic forces to proliferate, and recommend policies based on those lessons and critiques.
Global Studies Center, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange
Abdelrahman ElGendy is a writer and former Egyptian political prisoner. Arrested from a protest in Cairo, he spent six years and three months behind bars between October 6, 2013, and January 13, 2020. Incarcerated at 17 and released at 24, he started and earned a mechanical engineering BSc from Ain Shams University in Egypt while in prison. His smuggled prison writings circulated online until picked up and published in 2018 by Mada Masr, an independent journalism platform in Egypt.
Sami Hermez is an anthropologist who teaches at Northwestern University in Qatar. He is the author of War Is Coming: Between Past and Future Violence in Lebanon (2017). His work in and out of the classroom reflects a strong commitment to freedom, justice, and equality. His family's history of migration spans the Levant, with roots in Al-Qosh, Aleppo, Beirut, and Jerusalem. Sami was a visiting professor of Contemporary and International Issues, at the University of Pittsburgh in 2012- 2013. He is a great speaker and intellect!
Georgetown University Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding
Join us for a discussion about crafting Shia Muslim childhoods in America with authors of three recently published children’s books: Azmina Dhalla-Shivji and Zaheed Damani, How Can I Tell My Mawla I Love Him?; Zain Bandali, Mehndi Boy; and Alim Maherali, Ya Ali Madad Everyone. We will discuss the storylines, the authors’ inspirations, and the politics of Muslim childhood in America.
