Muslim Scholars Discuss Islam and American Democracy
Event Transcripts Now Available Online

Posted: Wednesday, June 25, 2003

PRESS RELEASES & NEWS
EPPC Online  (Washington, DC)
Publication Date: June 25, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Last year, the Ethics and Public Policy Center launched a series of seminars and conversations through which distinguished American Muslim leaders, as well as Muslim leaders from abroad, could present their reflections on the present and future relationship of Islam and American democracy.

The Center is pleased to announce that the transcripts of several of its seminars on Islam and American democracy have been placed online. They are available to the press, the public, and all interested parties at the Center’s new Web site, www.eppc.org.

One of the first speakers in this series was UCLA School of Law Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl, who addressed the forgotten heritage of Islamic political thought.

Other speakers have included:

• Sohail Hashmi, professor at Mt. Holyoke College, on the subject of Islam and constitutionalism,
• Iraqi dissident Zainab Al-Suwaij, executive director of the American-Islamic Congress, on the opportunity for political reform in Iraq, and
• Boston College Professor of Theology Qamar-ul Huda, on the search for liberal voices in Islam.

In addition to these transcripts, the Center will also soon post online excerpts from a May 30 conference that brought together more than two dozen Muslim and non-Muslim scholars to discuss the sources of democratic citizenship in the Islamic tradition, and the varieties of Islam in America.

According to Hillel Fradkin, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, "This is an important moment in the relationship of Islam and American democracy. The Center is pleased to sponsor this project, and we have been fortunate to have so many eminent Muslim scholars participate and address these critical issues."

The Ethics and Public Policy Center, a respected think tank in Washington, D.C., was founded in 1976 to explore and to affirm the role of religion in public life.

Media Inquiries

Eric Brown, Research Associate
Ethics and Public Policy Center
(202) 682-1200
1015 15th St, NW
Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005

Related Links
Event Transcript: The Opportunity Before Us| A Conversation with Zainab Al-Suwaij
Event Transcript: Islam and Constitutionalism| A Conversation with Sohail Hashmi
Event Transcript: Searching for Islamic Democracy and Developing Progressive Voices in Islam| A Conversation with Qamar-ul Huda
Event Transcript: Islam’s Forgotten Heritage| A Conversation with Khaled Abou El Fadl
Islam and American Democracy program web site