Center for Democracy & Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, CDHR

Invites You to a Timely Conference

“Echoing Muslim Scholars’ Warning against Wahhabism: Should the US Listen?”

Rayburn House Office Building Room B-369

July 20, 2010 from 4:30pm - 7:00pm

Congressional Sponsor, Dan Burton [IN-5]

Food and drinks will be served according to the House Rules

(Metro Orange Line or Blue Line to Capitol South- left at first traffic light)

RSVP Required

On April 25, prominent Muslim scholars and experts at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, held a conference entitled, “Wahhabism: Mortal Enemy of and a Threat to Muslims and the World,” The participants consisted of highly respected Muslim scholars and experts in Muslim movements, many of whom hailed from Islam’s oldest intellectual institution, Al-Azhar University. The Al-Azhar scholars are not the first to call on the international community to counter and defeat Wahhabism. A former Saudi Sufi cleric identified Wahhabism as a threat; the extremism of the ideology convinced him that Islam must be reformed. Even though prominent Muslim individuals, such as former President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia, the nation with the largest Muslim population, have called on the internati onal community to “unite and defeat Wahhabism,” the Cairo conference is the first of its kind and caliber.

The Al-Azhar conference participants delivered the most forceful denunciation of the Saudi state’s doctrine. They accused it of being at the epicenter of turning Islam and many Muslims into a lethal threat to Islam, Muslims and the international community. In addition, they blamed Wahhabism for terrorism, rejection of the “Other,” oppression of women and religious minorities, as well as destabilization of Muslims States and their regimes.

Given the Al-Azhar University scholars’ dire warning and its implication for Muslims and non-Muslims, CDHR deems it necessary to hold this conference in which a diverse and qualified panel will address the impact of the Wahhabi ideology on the Saudi people, their attitude toward each other, and their perceptions of the world.

Empowering pro-democracy Saudi men and women to have a voice in decision-making processes and ownership of their country and its wealth will compel them to transform their institutions, especially in the areas of religion and education, which remain exclusively under the ultraconservative (Salafi) religious establishment.

The intent of this conference is to discuss the root causes of deeply entrenched Wahhabi doctrine and to explore possible alternatives and recommend steps to prevent East-West cultural clashes: Religious totalitarianism versus the rule of law and freedom of choice.

Confirmed Speakers and Tentative Topics—Speakers and topics subject to change

Opening remarks by Dr. Ali Alyami, Executive Director of CDHR

Congressman Dan Burton, Indiana, will address the Wahhabism threats to the American way of life

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, will address the impact of Wahhabism on U.S. institutions and its relation to terrorism

Jack Pearce, CDHR board member and Reagan Administration’s Assistant Chief Justice, Antitrust Division, will discuss the institutionalized doctrine upon which public policies are based

Dr. Ali Alyami, Founder and Executive Director of CDHR, will discuss Saudi religious-based policy and its relation to Saudi foreign policy

The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia was established to promote a gradual transformation of Saudi institutions from nomadic-based arrangements to a modern and participatory political structure empowered by and accountable to the governed

RSVP required: sara@PROTECTED (202)558-5552

Contact Ali Alyami for information about the conference, CDHR, or speakers

Ali@PROTECTED - (202) 413-0084

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