Dear Radwan,

The CSID Annual Conference is the biggest international conference on Islam and Democracy and the future of democracy in the Muslim world. We have stellar and world-renowned speakers, panelists, and moderators, and we expect between 120-150 of the TOP experts and policymakers from the United States, and all over the world.

Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy

22nd Annual Conference

DEMOCRACY DENIED:

Political, Human Rights and Policy Implications for the Arab/Muslim World

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

The ICC Auditorium

Georgetown University

Washington D.C.

TENTATIVE PROGRAM

8:30 - 9:00 Registration & Breakfast

9:00 - 9:15 am Opening Remarks

Prof. Asma Afsaruddin

Chair of the CSID Board

Dr. Radwan Ziadeh

Chair of the Program Committee

9:15 - 10:30 AM - PANEL 1:

The Israel-Gaza War: Implications for Democracy in the Arab-Islamic World

Moderator: Anisa M. Mehdi

Journalist & Producer, Whetstone Productions

How indifference to Palestinian suffering in Gaza is alienating moderates and tarnishing the appeal of liberal democratic values



Mustafa Akyol

Senior Fellow, Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity

Epistemicide in Gaza: Implications for Free Speech in Palestinian Universities and Across the Arab World



Rebecca Ruth Gould

Professor of Comparative Poetics and Global Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London

The War on Gaza: Regional Impact and Future Implications

Emad El-Din Shahin

Professor at College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar

10:30 - 12:00 Noon - PANEL 2:

Lessons Learned: Arab Spring Uprisings and Failed Transitions

Moderator: Sarah Leah Whitson

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)

Policy Implications: What have we Learned from Failure to Promote Democracy?



Abdul G. Dardery

Former spokesperson of the FRC of Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party



Lessons from an Arab Spring Activist and his shortcomings: Reflecting on the life of Saad Eddin Ibrahim

Daanish Faruqi

Visiting Researcher, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University



Democracy Destabilized: Protecting the Secular Democratic State, Citizenship Rights and Building a Cohesive Democratic Coalition in Malaysia and Beyond

Lily Zubaidah Rahim

Honorary Fellow, Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University



The contrasts and contradictions of democracy in a secular state in Central Asia, Uzbekistan

Anthony Bowyer

Europe & Eurasia Advisor, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)



The Rule of Law and Democracy’s Denial in Contemporary Arab Politics: Lessons Learned and Strategies for Change

David Mednicoff

Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

12:00 - 1:30 PM - Keynote Luncheon

Keynote Speakers:

How States use Social Media to interfere in Domestic elections of other Nations?

Biden, Gaza and the End of the

Rules-Based Order

1:30 - 3:00 PM - PANEL 3

Lessons from the Failure of the Tunisian “Model” in Democratic Transitions

Moderator: Radwan A. Masmoudi

President of CSID



Unmasking Constitutional Authoritarian Populism: Lessons from Tunisia and the Imperative of a Human Rights Perspective

Jose Ignacio Hernandez

Senior Associate of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Democratic Backlashes in Tunisia and their Implications on the Media Landscape

Sahar Khamis

Associate Professor of Communication, University of Maryland, College Park MD



Tunisian Democratic Decline in Comparative Perspective

Samuel Greene

Associate Professor and Co-Chair, Dep. of Social and Applied Behavioral Sciences, Shepherd University



Party System Weakness and Democratic Backsliding: Evidence from Tunisia

Salih Yasun & Bedirhan Mutlu

Department of International Studies and Political Science, Virginia Military Institute & George Washington University



Navigating Women's Rights in Tunisia: The Intersection of Islamic Thought, Human Rights, and Political Realities

Jumana Al-Ahmad

Visiting Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Washington and Lee University



3:00 - 4:30 PM - PANEL 4

Policy Implications: What have we Learned from the Failure to Promote Democracy?

Moderator: Wa'el Alzayat

CEO, Emgage

Democracy Is not the Goal of U.S. Foreign Policy

Tamara Sonn

Professor Emerita in the History of Islam, Georgetown University

Why Palestinian National Liberation Is Inseparable from Arab Regional Democratization

Nader Hashemi

Associate Professor & Director, Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), Georgetown University

The rise and fall of the Muslim Brotherhoo, and the implications on the future of democracy in the Middle East

Dalia Fahmy

Associate Professor of Political Science, Long Island University

The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea

Shadi Hamid

Columnist and member of the Editorial Board at The Washington Post.

4:30 PM



Closing Remarks

Dalia Fahmy

Associate Professor of Political Science, Long Island University & CSID Board Member

Co-Sponsored by:



Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) @ Georgetown University

The International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT)

Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

Emgage

American Libyan Alliance (ALA)

Islamic Relief (IR)