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US-Islamic forum set to discuss Palestine's future

 

 

3:20 AM - 8 June 2014

Gulf Times

The Brookings Institution’s Project on US relations with the Islamic world, in conjunction with the government of Qatar will host the 2014 US-Islamic World Forum from June 9 -11 in Doha.


Keynote speakers at this year’s US-Islamic World Forum include President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali, President Bujar Nishani of Albania and US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson.


Other speakers and panelists at this year’s forum include HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar; Phil Gordon, White House co- ordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region, US National Security Council; Prem Kumar, senior director of the Middle East and North Africa, US National Security Council; Alia Mansour, member, Syrian National Coalition; Rashad Hussain, US special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Co-operation and Mehrezia Labidi-Maiza, vice president, Tunisian Constituent Assembly.


The 2014 Forum will include sessions focusing on the future of the United States in the Middle East; defining the future of the Palestinian people; and accommodating religious diversity in Muslim-majority states. Forum working groups will examine a variety of critical issues, including empowering Pakistan’s civil society to counter violent extremism; justice in post-conflict settings; the state of Muslim communities in Europe and North America, and preserving the cultural heritage of Timbuktu.


“Now in its eleventh year, the forum had developed from a venue singularly focused on dialogue, to a laboratory for creative problem solving and action”, said William McCants, fellow and director of the Project on US relations with the Muslim world.
“We are excited about this shift and look forward to this new chapter in the Forum’s mission”.


A groundbreaking annual event, the forum brings together US and Muslim world government officials, religious leaders, business executives, artists, academics, journalists and thought leaders, for three days of intensive discussions on the critical issues confronting their communities today. The theme of this year’s forum is “Islam and Inclusion”, looking at issues of the incorporation of Muslim faith and values -- and that of all religions -- in the Muslim world’s emerging democracies and societies.


The forum’s keynote speeches and closed-door discussions will address the tensions that exist within and across Muslim communities as well as between Muslim-majority states and the West.


The Brookings Institution is a private non-profit organization, devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions.  
Designed to respond to some of the profound questions that the terrorist attacks of September 11 have raised for US policy, the Brookings Project on US relations with the Islamic world seeks to engage and inform policymakers, practitioners and the broader public on developments in Muslim countries and communities, as well as on the nature of their relationship with the US.