U.S. Expert on Muslim Issues Visits Serbia

August 7, 2009

U.S. expert on Muslim issues Dr. Ahmed Younis will visit Serbia from August 10-16, 2009 to meet with leaders in religious communities, local government officials and civil society representatives.

Dr. Younis will also give a series of public lectures, as follows:

August 10 at 19:00
Belgrade, Cultural center Rex, Jevrejska 18
Topic: "U.S. relations with the global Muslim community and the situation of Muslim minorities in the West"

August 11 at 18:00
Novi Pazar, City Library "Dositej Obradovic," Gradski park bb
Topic: "How social movements can advance the goals of the Islamic faith through civic engagement and economic integration"

August 12 at 10:30
Tutin, Cultural Center
Topic: "How communities divided in perspective can work together in the interests of the global Muslim community and their fellow country persons"

August 12 at 19:00
Nis, Media Center, Obrenoviceva 38
Topic: "U.S. relations with the global Muslim community and the situation of Muslim minorities in the West"

August 13 at 14:30
Bujanovac, Cultural Center
Topic: "The benefits of integration into society and how individuals can integrate without compromising religious beliefs. Can you be 100% Muslim and 100% part of Serbian society?

All lectures are open for the media and the journalists interested in covering the events should be at the venues at least 15 minutes before the beginning of the lectures. Dr. Younis will be available to give statements or answer questions after the lectures.

Biographical Information

Ahmed Younis is a Senior Consultant of Gallup and a Senior Analyst of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and the Muslim-West Facts Initiative. He is the author of American Muslims: Voir Dire [Speak the Truth], a post-Sept. 11 look at the reality of debate surrounding American Muslims and their country.

As a part of his Gallup portfolio, Ahmed is Director of Strategic Partnerships, Public Relations & Communications of Silatech, a youth employment initiative of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned with the broad support of other leaders and partners from across the Middle East region and throughout the world. Silatech has been created to promote large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship, and access to capital and markets for young people across the Middle East and North Africa.

Ahmed is a member of the Advisory Committee on U.S.-Muslim World Relations of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). In 2006, Ahmed joined Ambassador Dennis Ross at the convening of Search for Common Ground to begin a national conversation on a long-term strategy to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world. This dialogue lead to the formation of a 34-member Leadership Group that includes former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright; Thomas Dine, the former Executive Director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Richard Land, President, of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2008, the Leadership Group published a report titled "Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World."

Ahmed has been invited to speak by governments and universities throughout the world, including institutions in Belgium, Egypt, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Qatar, Rome, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. His topics have included "Global Muslim Opinion and the U.S.-Muslim World Divide" " Muslims in American Public Life," "Western Muslim Identity," "The Future of U.S. Public Diplomacy" and "Arab Youth, Jobs, and the Future."

Ahmed served as National Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) from 2004 to 2007. Before joining MPAC, Ahmed worked as an intern at the Office of the Legal Counsel of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. He was assigned to the office of the Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary-General on Iraq. A graduate of Washington & Lee University School of Law, Ahmed has studied and lived in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and is fluent in Arabic.

Ahmed is a frequent guest for television, radio, and print media globally, including the Fox News Channel, PBS, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, CNN Headline News, CNN International, CNN Turk, the BBC, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English, and Al Arabiya. His work has also been featured in many leading publications in the United States and 35 other countries.