Program Overview
- Hosts: Muntaha Al-Ramahi
- Original Airdate: Nov 2008
Israel-Palestine Dialogue: a conversation about the Arab-Israeli situation, and what lies ahead with new leadership in Israel, Palestine, and the US.
- Dr. Ziad Asali, president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine
- Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff, Deputy Chief of Mission, the Israeli Embassy
US Foreign Policy towards the Middle East: a conversation with leading policy experts on the challenges today in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, and what lies ahead for the new Obama administration.
- Martin Indyk, Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution
- General Charles Wald, Ret. Deputy Commander, Headquarters of the U.S. European Command
- Dr. Walid Phares, director of the Future of Terrorism Project and senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
- Robert Reilly, Senior Fellow for Strategic Communications at the American Foreign Policy Council and former director of Voice of America
- Dr. Edmund Ghareeb, Professor of Comparative and Regional Studies at American University’s School of International Service
- Zainab al-Suwaij, Executive Director of the American Islamic Congress
Arab American Dialogue: A conversation about the struggles and succeses of the Arab-American community and their role in the recent presidential elections.
- Majida Mourad, Vice President and Partner at the Abraham Group
- Zuhdi Jasser, President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy
- Steve Grand, Director
- Claude Salhani, Editor of the Middle East Times
Muntaha interviewed Salman Ahmad about his work in bridging the divide between the US and the Muslim world through his music, including a performance of two of his songs.
Ahmad is the popular guitarist and composer of the popular South Asian rock group, Junoon. Ahmad is also a goodwill ambassador for the UN, acting as the US national spokesperson in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He is also on the board of directors of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization that uses education and popular culture to promote values of dignity, equality, and justice.
Ahmad has produced two documentary films. The Rock Star and the Mullahs tracks Ahmad's visit to the northern Pakistani town of Peshawar, where he directly challenges the local Muslim clergy who have banned all forms of music. His most recent film, Muslims in America: It's My Country Too, uncovers the authentic spirit of American Muslims and their experience wrestling with the personal and social consequences of the 9/11 attacks.
