Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights

(Washington, DC – 11/25/05) KARAMAH representatives were members of the U.S. delegation that traveled to Brussels during November 2005. The delegation participated in the first ever public diplomacy exchange between American and Belgian Muslims.

A conference was convened at the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, Tom Korologos, and the Director-General of the Royal Institute for International Relations. The conference, which convened for two days in Brussels, provided an opportunity for Muslim leaders to engage in an honest and purposeful dialogue on the most pressing issues facing both communities. It focused on Muslim identity, civic life, economic opportunity, media portrayal, youth development, and women’s issues.

As a working conference, the program divided the participants according to their area of specialization. This approach maximized the participants’ opportunities for a meaningful, productive, and relevant discussion. More importantly, it also benefited the Muslim community at large. The topic-centered groups included civic life on a national level, civic life on a grassroots level, media, youth, women and economic opportunity.

Karamah's Executive Director, Irfana Anwer represented American Muslim women in the women-centered workshops. Karamah's Director of Outreach, Hadia Mubarak, represented American Muslim youth in the youth-centered workshops. The discussions initially focused on the personal experiences of the participants, and then addressed the broader challenges and opportunities of the topic at hand. As a result, the participants acquired an insider’s perspective into the lives of their American or Belgian counterparts. This allowed them to draw parallels, distinctions, and arrive at conclusions that were relevant and insightful to all participants.

In the youth group, the discussion revolved around cultural integration, economic opportunities, education, and empowerment of youth. By the end of the conference, the participants had set the groundwork for future initiatives, including a Belgian-Muslim and an American-Muslim cultural festival, leadership training programs, athletic programs for Muslim girls, and policy recommendations to government school boards.

The women’s group enjoyed a very diverse and rich discussion on the different levels of empowerment of Muslim women in both American and European societies. Many themes were discussed, such as economic and social integration. The Belgian Muslim women portrayed the difficulty of being visible members of the Muslim community in Europe and the discrimination they face. American Muslim women highlighted the need to bring issues of violence in Muslim homes to the forefront. The women agreed to work on an international campaign to foster peace in Muslim homes. One of the concrete projects that the group agreed to undertake was to design posters in different languages reflecting the peaceful and non-violent nature of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).

The conference would not have been possible without the generous support, commitment, and contributions of the U.S. Embassy in Belgium and the Royal Institute for International Relations. U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, Tom Korologos, his wife, Ann McLaughlin Korologos, Dearborn Mayor Micheal Guido, Genk Mayor Jef Gabriels, Farah Pandith of the White House National Security Council, and many other distinguished guests attended the conference as observers. They participated in all the plenary sessions in which the break-out groups presented the results of their discussion, analyses, and future planning initiatives.

The participation and presence of key leaders during such plenary sessions were critical in relaying the groups’ needs, challenges and recommendations first hand to high-ranking officials. Furthermore, the exchanges proved that great opportunities exist for meaningful interaction and dialogue between the two communities. We believe that such exchanges will inevitably yield healthier and more successful multicultural societies in both nations.

Contact: For more information, contact Irfana Anwer at Karamah@karamah.org or 202-234-7302.