"Islam in Africa: Trends and Policy Implications" Conference

Monday, March 25, 2013 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM EDT

This conference will explore key trends in African Islam and examine how these trends and other new influences are shaping Muslim communities and their engagement in politics and public life. Guest speakers will discuss new dynamics within Islam in Africa, how Muslim groups organize themselves, how they relate to the state, each other and the broader society, the political and social issues around which they mobilize and engage, and how African governments are responding to their activities. U.S. policymakers have focused on Islam in Africa largely through the prism of security and violent extremist groups. This conference will examine those issues but place them within a much broader discussion of regional trends and dynamics.

Conference Agenda:

Welcome and Introduction

  • Jennifer G. Cooke, CSIS

Panel 1: Broad Trends in Islam in Africa 

  • James Bell, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
  • Terrence Lyons, George Mason University
  • Moderator: Peter Mandaville, George Mason University

Panel 2: Modes of Engagement

  • Sebastian Elischer, German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Leuphana University Lüneburg
  • Lynn Aylward, World Faiths Development Dialogues
  • Farid Esack, University of Johannesburg
  • Moderator: Jennifer Cooke, CSIS

Panel 3: Extremist Groups, Violence, and Security

  • Terje Østebø, University of Florida
  • Alex Thurston, Northwestern University
  • Paul Lubeck, Johns Hopkins University
  • Moderator: Richard Downie, CSIS

Closing Remarks

  • Peter Mandaville, George Mason University

Sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies.

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