October 21, 2011

MPAC's 11th Annual Convention, "Spring Forward: America's Role in A Changing World" is two months away, and an impressive roster of speakers of some of today’s greatest thinkers and activists will be in attendance.

From Wajahat Ali to Yasir Qadhi to Haroon Moghul, the speakers will explore the ramifications of the changing Muslim world, as well as nonviolent revolutions, foreign policy changes, toppled dictatorships and the birth of the Arab Spring.

Meet Geneive Abdo. An author and an analyst, she is the former liaison for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, a project created by the UN Secretary General to improve relations between Western and Islamic societies.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks highly of Abdo's work and the her contribution to the post-9/11 world. 

“Geneive Abdo’s work captures in great detail the immense hardships Muslims face in the post-September 11th world and offers hope for their success and co-existence in America," he said. "Her book shatters stereotypes about Muslims and teaches us that more understanding of Islam is needed for global peace.” 

Currently, she directs the Iran Program at The Century Foundation where she focuses on political developments inside Iran and their relevance to policymakers in the west. She publisher her first book, “Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11,” in 2006, which investigates how the lives of more than six million Muslim Americans have changed since 9/11.

Read more about Geneive Abdo

READ: Will Ayatollah Khamenei eliminate the Iranian presidency? (CNN)

-- Miriam Baha
(miriam@mpac.org)
Communications Intern