July 27, 2007

Center Update #56

Sell-out at Evermay

Our inaugural Faith-in-Action Award Dinner was a great success,with 220 participants on hand at Evermay to honor Dr. Jamal Barzinji for his pioneering role in enhancing Islamic thought to accommodate the challenges of modernity. The Honorable Jim Gilmore, former Governor of Virginia, and Dr. Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, introduced Dr. Barzinji, and the Honorable Keith Ellison, the first Muslim American elected to Congress, delivered an inspiring keynote address. The dinner raised significant support for our peacemaking projects around the world.

Breakthrough Visit of Madrasa Leaders

Last month we hosted Pakistan's Secretary of Religious Affairs and the members of its top madrasa oversight board on a visit to the United States. This board, consisting of 5 top religious leaders who control most of the madrasas sponsored by their respective sects, wields enormous influence over what the madrasa students are taught. While here, they engaged in important discussions with a number of American Muslim educators, members of Congress, and officials at the State Department, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Pakistani Embassy, and Voice of America. There were also helpful interactions with University faculty and a number of peacemaking organizations. A senior State Department official indicated that the visit represented a "major breakthrough," and the groundwork has clearly been laid for a significant expansion of our madrasa reform initiative. Indicative of this breakthrough is a piece in the July 18 edition of the Daily Times of Pakistan (link here). Funding support for this visit was provided by the Esalen Institute and another private foundation that prefers to remain anonymous.

With the siege of the Red Mosque in Islamabad dominating the news over the past several weeks, I would call your attention to pages 7-11 of ICRD staff member Rebecca Cataldi's report on her recent visit to that particular mosque, which included an extensive exchange with Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the madrasa leader who was subsequently killed in the siege, and with the female faculty of the girl's school (link here).

With best wishes,

Doug Johnston
President