"DEMOCRACY, ELECTIONS, AND THE INSURGENCY IN IRAQ"

with

Ahmed al-Rahim

In the second event of Hudson Institute's seminar series on Islam and Democracy, Ahmed al-Rahim, a former advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority, will address the impact of the elections on the insurgency in Iraq and the future prospects for stability and democracy. Mr. al-Rahim's remarks will focus on Iraq's volatile al-Anbar region, its historical and cultural connections with Saudi Arabia, the role of tribalism in the insurgency and the question of "foreign elements," and on the possibilities of Sunni participation in the new government. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Hillel Fradkin, senior fellow of Hudson Institute and director of the institute's Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World.

Ahmed al-Rahim was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1970 to an Iraqi family. He was raised in Texas and New York, and studied philosophy and Islamic thought at the University of Houston and Yale University (Ph.D., '05 in Islamic Studies). He has taught Arabic and Islamic Studies at Yale University, New York University, and most recently at Harvard University. In Iraq he served as an advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority on education, political transition, and Islamic affairs. A frequent contributor to the Jim Lehrer Newshour and National Public Radio, his publications include, Before and After Avicenna (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2003), "A New Agenda for American Muslims" (Boston Globe, January 16, 2002), and "Martyrs and Individuals" (The Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2004). He is also the 2004 recipient of the Anti-Defamation League's Tishler Confronting Anti-Semitism Award.

The purpose of Hudson Institute's Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World is to research and analyze the ideological dimension of Islamism and radical Islam, and to encourage and support moderate and democratic alternatives within the Muslim world. As part of this effort, the center has established the Islam and Democracy Project, a series of seminars and conferences with Muslim scholars and leaders on the present and future relationship between Islam and democracy.

Hudson Institute is a non-partisan policy research organization dedicated to innovative research and analysis that promotes global security, prosperity and freedom. We challenge conventional thinking and help manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary and collaborative studies in defense, international relations, economics, culture, science, technology and law. Through publications, conferences and policy recommendations, we seek to guide global leaders in government and business.