Mattson Participates in Major U.S.-Muslim Initiative
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 24, 2008) -- The Leadership Group on U.S. Muslim Engagement today issued a major new report on United States relations with the Muslim World.
The report is the culmination of 18 months of work by a group of 34 distinguished American leaders, including Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Professor of Islamic Studies, Director of Islamic Chaplaincy, and Director of the Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary.
Mattson, who also is president of the Islamic Society of North America, said of the initiative:
“It is a sign of great hope that the Leadership Group, despite having substantial differences over policies and politics, was able to come together to develop this report. This was made possible by a shared belief that the vital interests of the American people need not, and must not, conflict with core American values affirming the dignity of all people and their right to freedom and self-determination. This is a message that the mainstream majority in the Muslim world will surely welcome, and it will help them in their desire to improve relations between their people and the United States.”
The Leadership Group's Report is the centerpiece of the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project, an initiative of Search for Common Ground and the Consensus Building Institute.
The full report is available at:
http://www.usmuslimengagement.org/storage/usme/documents/Changing_Course_-_A_New_Direction_for_US_Relations_with_the_Muslim_World.pdf
Further details on the release of the report at the National Press Club can be found at:
http://www.usmuslimengagement.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=71
Background information is available at:
"Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World"
