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      • Peace studies & conflict resolution
        April 2009

        The Kurds in Syria

        Fueling Separatist Movements in the Region?

        by Radwan Ziadeh

        This report examines the relations between the Kurds and the Syrian state, traces the development of Kurdish political organization in Syria and the relationship between the Kurds and the Syrian prodemocracy movement, shows how the status of Syria’s Kurds has implications not only for stability within Syria but also for security throughout the region, and offers policy recommendations for the Syrian government and other international actors in the region.

      • Peace studies & conflict resolution
        September 2002

        Islam and Democracy

        by David Smock

        On June 18 the Institute held a workshop, cosponsored by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), on Islam and democracy. The principal questions addressed were why the majority of Muslim countries are not democratic and whether there is an inherent contradiction or incompatibility between Islam and democratic principles. Some western analysts contend that Islam is the reason that so many Muslim countries are not democratic. The workshop was co-chaired by David Smock, director of the Institute’s Religion and Peacemaking Initiative, and Radwan Masmoudi, executive director of CSID. The four presenters were Laith Kubba of the National Endowment for Democracy, Muqtedar Khan of Adrian College, Mahmood Monshipouri of Quinnipiac University, and Neil Hicks of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, all of whom are experts on Islam and democracy. This report was prepared by David Smock.

      • Peace studies & conflict resolution
        August 2004

        Ijtihad

        Reinterpreting Islamic Principles for the Twenty-first Century

        by David Smock

        On March 19, 2004, the United States Institute of Peace and the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy cosponsored a workshop entitled “Ijtihad: Reinterpreting Islamic Principles for the Twentyfirst Century.” The discussion focused on how the sacred texts of the Qur’an and the sunna could be reinterpreted to take account of contemporary realities and to promote greater peace, justice, and progress within the Muslim world and in its relations with the non-Muslim world. The four presenters, all experts on Islamic law and interpretation, were Muzammil H. Siddiqi, a member of the Fiqh (Islamic Law) Council of North America who teaches at California State University and Chapman University; Imam Hassan Qazwini, director of the Islamic Center of America, based in Detroit; Muneer Fareed, associate professor of Islamic studies at Wayne State University; and Ingrid Mattson, professor of Islamic studies and director of Islamic Chaplaincy at Hartford Seminary. The workshop was cochaired by Radwan Masmoudi, president of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, and David Smock, director of the Religion and Peacemaking Initiative of the United States Institute of Peace. This report, which provides background on ijtihad and summarizes the panel discussion, was written by David Smock.

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