NY event: ISLAMIC ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND GLOBALIZATION: A Path to Partnership - 2/27

ISLAMIC ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND GLOBALIZATION: A Path to Partnership
between America and the Islamic World

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
06:00 PM - 07:15 PM

A Lecture by Farooq Kathwari, Chairman and CEO of Ethan Allen Inc.

Hosted by New York University's Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West and
the Stern School of Business.

Cantor Board Room of NYU's Kaufman Management Center (Room 11-75, 44 West
4th Street, New York, New York).

Please RSVP by Monday, February 26, 2007.

Farooq Kathwari is chairman, CEO and president of Ethan Allen Interiors
Inc., a leading home furnishings manufacturer and retailer. In addition to
overseeing this major U.S. corporation, he also lends his considerable
leadership skills to humanitarian activities, advocating for human rights,
promoting tolerance and leading international efforts for conflict
resolution.

For event details go to http://islamuswest.org/events_Islam_and_the_West/

This event is free and open to the public.

To RSVP for ISLAMIC ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND GLOBALIZATION: A Path to
Partnership between America and the Islamic World, please go to
http://www.nyu.edu/rsvp/event.php?e_id=143

For more information: Nyasa Hickey nlh2@nyu.edu
(212) 998-8693

What the West Can Learn From Islam: Article by TARIQ RAMADAN

I've become a great fan of Ramadan's articles. While I Have yet to read any of his books, his articles have been engaging, thought-provoking and comprehensive. His knowledge and expertise would have made Muslim America, and America in general, better off - had the Government not interfered and denied him entry numerous times.

No doubt, we live in troubled times, but when we have the opportunity to engage in dialogue, I implore all my readers, to please grasp and cling to that opportunity and take full advantage of it. Modern technology and civilization has been kind to us. Let's not deny ourselves the pleasure and good fortune of doing without some "spin-offs" such as inter-religious and interfaith communication.

With that, I present to you Tariq Ramadan's most recent article, "What the West Can Learn From Islam" and copied below is a teaser that will hopefully compel you to read further...

In late September, I finally received a response to the question I had been asking the Bush administration for more than two years: Why was my work visa revoked in late July 2004, just days before I was to take up a position as a professor of Islamic studies and the Henry Luce chair of religion, conflict, and peace building at the University of Notre Dame? Initially neither I nor the university was told why; officials only made a vague reference to a provision of the U.S. Patriot Act that allows the government to exclude foreign citizens who have "endorsed or espoused terrorism." Though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security eventually cleared me of all charges of links with terrorist groups, today it points to another reason to keep me out of the country: donations I made totaling approximately $900 to a Swiss Palestinian-support group that is now on the American blacklist. A letter I received from the American Embassy in Switzerland, where I hold citizenship, asserts that I "should reasonably have known" that the group had ties with Hamas.

What American officials do not say is that I myself had brought those donations to their attention, and that the organization in question continues to be officially recognized by the Swiss authorities (my donations were duly registered on my income-tax declaration). More important still is the fact that I contributed to the organization between 1998 and 2002, more than a year before it was blacklisted by the United States. It seems, according to American officials, that I "should reasonably have known" about the organization's alleged activities before the Homeland Security Department itself knew!

Events of interest!

Mark your calendar as the events below may be of interest to you.

February 15th

Fordham Global Law Society presents: How Can the International Community Help Iraq?

Speaker: H.E. Ambassador Hamid Al Bayati, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations
Moderator: Professor Paolo Galizzi, Fordham University School of Law

Location: Fordham University School of Law
140 West 62nd Steet (McNally Ampitheater)
Reception to follow
Time: 4:00 p.m.

Free and no RSVP required

February 22nd

UNA NY invites you to hear James Taub, author of “The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power”

Location: Consulate General of the Republic of Poland (233 Madison Avenue @ 37th Street)
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Event cost: Free

RSVP to info@unanyc.org

More event Info

2/10 Film screening - Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition, Torture, and Disappearances in the ‘War on Terror’

OUTLAWED:

Extraordinary Rendition, Torture, and Disappearances in the ‘War on Terror’

Join other concerned students and citizens for a film screening, discussion, and advocacy campaign.

Refreshments provided.

Saturday, February 10, 3-5 PM

CUNY Graduate Center, Room 5414

The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4309

Outlawed tells the stories of Khaled El-Masri and Binyam Mohamed, two men who have survived torture by the U.S. government working with various other governments wo rldwide. It features relevant commentary from Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, U.S. President George W. Bush, Michael Scheuer, the chief architect of the rendition program and former head of the Osama Bin Laden unit at the CIA, and Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State.

This event is organized by the Americans for Informed Democracy Chapter at CUNY Grad Center and supported thanks to a generous grant from the JEHT Foundation. The film is produced by Witness.

Conference on Guantanamo Bay, human rights and civil liberties - 2/10

Dear friends,

I'm writing to inform you of a conference that will be taking place this Saturday, February 10 at the CUNY Graduate Center (365 Fifth Avenue, between 34th and 35th sts.) from 1-3 P.M. (followed by a video screening of the documentary "Outlawed"). I would appreciate it if you could forward the information to students or anyone else you think may be interested.

The focus of the event is Guantanamo Bay and post-9/11 civil liberties in America. Adem Carroll of the Muslim Consultative Network and Lynne Kates from the Center for Constitutional Rights will be speaking on their work with the Guantanamo issue and civil liberties in general as well as giving advice to students interested in careers in the field. In addition to this specific topic, we want to address the disconnect between expert opinion on these types of issues and actual U.S. policy, in an attempt to learn how to make our careers as influential as possible.

The conference will be open to 20-25 qualified students, giving them a chance to have all of their questions answered and ideas critiqued, as well as offering great networking opportunities.

An invitation is below, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would forward it to students you think may be interested.

Thank you in advance for your support,

Zeeshan Suhail

===========================================

Saturday, February 10, 2007
1 PM
at the CUNY Graduate Center

Guantanamo Bay & Post-9/11 Civil Liberties in America

Who are the most influential figures when it comes to U.S. decisions affecting civil liberties? How do we balance civil liberties with national security concerns after the 9/11 attacks? How can we impact positive, meaningful change when states are listening less and less to their citizenry?

Adem Carroll (Muslim Consultative Network) will speak on infringement on rights and liberties of Muslims after 9/11

Lynn Kates (Center for Constitutional Rights) will speak on the state of affairs of civil liberties and human rights at Guantanamo Bay (and elsewhere) after 9/11

A brief panel discussion will be followed by an open dialogue between the experts and attendees. Come share your views on Guantanamo and civil liberties in America and find out how to have the most impact on U.S. security policy.

Please RSVP with a short bio to clmadden@gmail.com for details.