CSID-MPAC 24th Annual Conference: A World Order Without Democracy?

Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy & Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

Friday, May 15, 2026

Georgetown University

Capitol Campus

Washington, DC 20001

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8:30 - 8:45 am Registration & Breakfast

8:45 - 9:00 am Opening Remarks

Prof. Asma Afsaruddin Professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures,Indiana University BloomingtonChair, CSID Board of Directors

Salam al-Marayati President, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

9:00 AM

Keynote Speech

What Does It Mean to Defend Human Rights in an Age that Normalizes Colonial Tendenciesand Authoritarianism?

Bahey eldin Hassan Director, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

9:30 - 10:30 AM - PANEL 1:

Democratic backsliding and stalled reform:The Case for Democracy and Peaceful Reforms

Moderator:

Authoritarianism, the “Great Fall” of the International Legal Order, and Transnational Policy Alternatives in the Middle East,

David Mednicoff, Professor of Public Policy and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

What Next for Human Rights Promotion in the Arab Region?

Neil Hicks, Senior Director, Institutional Response, Human Rights First

U.S. Strategy, India, and the Limits of Order Without Democracy

Ammar Mansuri, Student in Finance and Political Science, worked as intern on Capitol Hill and as judicial intern in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Can Democracy Prevent Extremism?

Murad Batal, Resident Senior Fellow at the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) and member of the editorial committee of Alpheratz.

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10:30 - 12:00 AM - PANEL 2:

Islam, pluralism, and governance:Is Shariah Law compatible with Democracy?

Moderator:

Islam, Pluralism, and Democratic Governance: A Reformist Perspective

Mustafa Akyol, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity,Cato Institute, Columnist, The New York Times

Democratic Safeguards in Islamic Political Thought: Shaykh Muḥammad Mahdī Shams al-Dīn

Ali Dabaje, Program Coordinator for the Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Defending Democracy in the Muslim World: A Path to Justice, Stability, and Prosperity

Irma Makharadze, Independent Researcher, Tbilisi Institute of Asia and Africa

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12:00 - 1:30 PM - Keynote Luncheon

Keynote Speakers:

Sen. Chris Van Hollen

United States Senator (D-Maryland)

Sen. Chris Murphy

United States Senator (D-Connecticut)

(invited)

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1:30 - 3:00 PM - PANEL 3

Country case studies:Future of Democracy in Syria, Bangladesh,Afghanistan, and Iran

Moderator:

U.S. Strategy and the Collapse of Political Order in Libya

Ammar Elahi, Executive Director of the Muslim Action Coalition (MAC), an organization focused on civic engagement and public policy advocacy.

Delegated Stabilization in Syria: Order with Conditional Accountability

Sulaiman Ali, Senior Foreign & Government Policy Advisor for AK Party USA, former Community Manager of Muslim Advocates & Community Liaison for the New York City Mayor’s Office

Tunisia and the Strategic Limits of “Order-First” U.S. Policy

Ghazi Ben Ahmed, Founder, Mediterranean Development Initiative

Opportunities in Post-Assad Syria and the Gaza Ceasefire

Madi Ibrahim, PhD researcher affiliated with CEDS Paris and a policy-oriented analyst focusing on Türkiye and the Middle East.

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3:00 - 4:00 PM - PANEL 4

Israel, Gaza, and Palestine:The future of Peace in the Middle East

Moderator:

Stability at What Cost? U.S. Security Policy and the Future of the Middle East

Josh Paul, Former Director, Congressional and Public Affairs, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State

U.S. Support for “Governance-by-Exception” in Israel/Palestine, and Why It Keeps Producing Insecurity

Shannan Rawcliffe, anthropologist, MA. From Rutgers University

4:00 PM Keynote Speech

Humanity at a Crossroads:Islam, Democracy, and the Future of World Order

Prof. Akbar Ahmed

Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies,School of International Service, American UniversityFormer Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom

4:30 PM

Closing Remarks

TBD

Co-Sponsored by:

Middle East Policy Council

Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU)

Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

Islamic Relief (IR)

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Host or Publisher Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID)