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The conference is organized by the Fulbright Commission in partnership with the City Center.
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LONDON,
June 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The British capital hosts
Saturday, June 25, a one-day conference to probe challenges and
experiences of British and American Muslims and mull solutions for
both minorities in both sides of the Atlantic.
Bringing
together leading professionals, lobbyists and policy-makers from both
Britain and the United States, the one-day meeting will compare
challenges and share experiences of both minorities.
The
meeting, which is held as part of the Transatlantic Dialogue series,
will also explore practical issues and solutions for greater
empowerment and engagement of Muslims in both countries.
Under
the title “British Muslims, American Muslims: Empowerment,
Engagement, Enrichment", the conference is organized by the
Fulbright Commission in tandem with the City Center.
Guest
speakers at the meeting include British Attorney General Lord
Goldsmith QC, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations Nihad Awad and Carol Madison Graham, the Executive Director
of the US-UK Fulbright Commission.
Lord
Bhatia Baroness Kishwer, Anas Al Shaikh-Ali of the Association of
Muslim Social Scientists, Mohamed Aziz of the Commission for Racial
Equality, Dr Haifaa Khalafallah, the Director of the Center for
Islamic Mediterranean Studies and other dignitaries will also address
the meeting.
The
Muslim minorities in both Britain and the United States have been
facing difficult times since the 9/11 attacks.
British
Muslims have repeatedly complained of maltreatment by police for no
apparent reason other than being Muslim, citing the routine
stop-and-search operations.
Senior
British parliamentarians admitted last August that anti-terrorism laws
are being used “disproportionately” against the Muslim minority.
Amnesty
International said in a report on the third anniversary of the 9/11
attacks that Racial profiling by US law enforcement agencies has grown
over the past three years to cover one in nine Americans, mostly
targeting Muslims.
A
new nation-wide poll, conducted by the Cornell University and posted
on its Web site, showed that at least 44 percent of the American
society back curbing Muslims’ civil rights and monitoring their
places of worship.
A
May 2004 report released by the US Senate Office Of Research concluded
that the Arab Americans and the Muslim community in the United States
have taken the brunt of the Patriot Act and other federal powers
applied in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
