Islam and Elections

Report of the Dialogues: Islamic World -U.S.-The West Workshop organized in Amman, Jordan, March 6–8, 2004


Note of Acknowledgment

Like a theater production, a conference owes its success not only to the actors on the stage but also to those who work behind the scenes. The Amman workshop on Islam and elections was no exception—nor is this report.

The idea for the workshop grew out of Dialogues’ first international gathering in Granada, Spain, in October 2002. The three American foundations—Carnegie Corporation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund—that made that conference possible agreed to continue their support. We thank them for this vote of confidence.

Without the generous contribution of Majlis El Hassan, however, our plans for the workshop could not have been realized. Our most sincere thanks go to His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal who did not hesitate to fully commit the resources of the Majlis. The Majlis staff are also to be thanked for their time, energy, and patience.

The planning for the workshop required a great deal of scholarly research—a main principle behind the Dialogues approach of basing discussion of difficult policy issues on solid background material. This objective would not have been achieved without the contributions of Richard Bulliet, professor of history at Columbia University, who served as advisor to the program; Shara Kay, editorial consultant to Dialogues; Andrea Stanton and Dahlia Gubara, doctoral students at Columbia University who served as conference assistants; Nicole Hertvik, who was then program assistant; Shaanti Kapila, Nicole’s successor; and Solmaz Firoz, Dialogues’ intern. This team worked tirelessly to make the workshop a success and the report, including the background paper, a document both readable and meaningful.

Towering above our efforts since the inception of the Dialogues program is a man and a mind of unique scholarship and insight into Muslim affairs: James Piscatori, a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and of Wadham College, Oxford. Jim served as advisor to Dialogues during its Granada conference on “Clash of Civilizations or Clash of Perceptions?” Although prevented by the state of his health from being physically with us during the preparation for the workshop or in Amman, he continued to be, through his writing, a constant presence. As readers of the background paper should note, his volume Islam, Islamists, and the Electoral Principle in the Middle East (International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, 2000) constituted the core of the material and analysis provided therein. It is with deep gratitude that we acknowledge this contribution.

Finally, we give thanks to those who provide Dialogues with a home: the leadership of New School University, above all former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, its president; as well as my colleague and friend, Stephen Schlesinger, director of the World Policy Institute, of which Dialogues is part. The support that Bob and Steve have shown Dialogues has been and is today a great source of encouragement to myself and my staff.

— Mustapha Tlili
Founder and Director
Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West
New York City
May 3, 2004

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