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Arab-Muslim Voices for Justice in Sudan
The American Islamic Congress is partnering with the Save Darfur coalition and STAND (a Student Anti-Genocide Coalition) to demand an end to genocide in Sudan. With the ongoing crisis in Darfur and the dormant voice of Arab governments and regional bodies, it is vital for Arab-Muslim voices to speak out for peace and justice. The following Arab-Muslim human rights activists are committed to racial equality and individual rights in the Middle East, and are eager to share their message with the general public on campus and in local communities. Below is a list of our distinguished speakers:
Zainab Al-Suwaij - Ammar Abdulhamid - Jana El-Horr - Nasser Weddady - Zuhdi Jasser
 Zainab Al-Suwaij is the Executive Director of the American Islamic Congress. An expert on genocide and minority rights, Al-Suwaij has helped Sudanese refugees fleeing genocide resettle in the US. Part of an established Iraqi religious family, she grew up under dictatorship in Iraq and participated in the failed uprising against Saddam Hussein in 1991. Al-Suwaij then fled to the US and began teaching Arabic at Yale. In the aftermath of the September 11 attack, she co-founded the American Islamic Congress to counter Muslim extremism and promote tolerance in the US and around the world. She has published in thev New York Times, appeared on ABC's 20/20, and met with the President. Today she collaborates with the genocide education project Facing History and Ourselves and works on the ground in the Middle East to empower women and minorities. Al-Suwaij appeared with George Clooney at the Save Darfur rally in April of 2006.
 Ammar Abdulhamid heads the Tharwa Project, a groundbreaking Syrian organization founded in 2004 to promote minority rights in the Middle East. Tharwa is Arabic for "wealth," and the organization's motto - "Difference is wealth - reflects Abdulhamid's concern for diversity: intellectual, ethnic and religious. The son of a superstar Syrian actress Muna Wassef, Abdulhamid attended the University of Wisconsin and became a radical Islamist imam in the US - before returning to Syria as a secular human rights activist. His transformational journey provides a unique perspective on regional issues and an intimate understanding of the current challenges in the region. Abdulhamid has written extensively on minority issues in the Middle East, and the Tharwa Project was among the first organizations in the Arab world to release reports on ethnic cleansing in Sudan. Abdulhamid has been profiled in the the New York Times and Washington Post and is currently an associate of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
 Jana El Horr is the American Islamic Congress' Washington, DC Program Director and is spearheading efforts to strengthen Arab-Muslim participation in the anti-genocide movement. A Fulbright Scholar, she has worked extensively with issues of conflict resolution in the Middle East and organized youth training seminars on issues of leadership, youth empowerment, and human rights. Of Iraqi-Lebanese background, Jana speaks regularly on issues of pluralism in Islam and lectures on the social, political and developmental challenges in the Middle East region. She is a founding member of the Center for Conflict Resolution and Peace-building (CCRP) in Lebanon - an NGO dedicated to sustainable development and peace-building through dialogue - and she is currently building training programs on cultural diversity and minority rights for the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Jana works closely with Save Darfur on outreach to the American Muslim community, and collaborates with myriad interfaith and activist groups in the DC metro area to raise awareness about the current crisis in Sudan.
 Nasser Weddady serves as the North America coordinator for SOS Slaves, a group dedicated to ending modern-day slavery in Mauritania. For over a decade, the Mauritanian regime banned the organization for its pioneering work to address the racial context behind Black slavery in the country. Weddady's work deals directly with the racial divide between Arab Muslims and black Africans, and he has worked for several years with anti-slavery activists from Sudan. Growing up in the Middle East as a diplomat's son led Weddady to develop a keen interest in Arab-Jewish relations and history. Weddady is a self-taught Hebrew speaker and enjoys addressing interfaith audiences. His concern for the "other" drives his concern for protecting minority rights in the Middle East. Because of his first-hand experience with repressive regimes, Weddady strives to promote the values of civil rights, human dignity and humanism in North Africa.
 Dr. Zuhdi Jasser is the Chairman of the Board of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD). AIFD was formed by a group of Phoenix Muslim professionals in March 2003 to support the expression of Islam which is in synergy with American democracy, the US Constitution and the clear separation of religion and state. It was founded to counter the ideology of Islamism and Islamist movements. Dr. Jasser is the son of Syrian immigrants and is a native of Wisconsin. He started a private practice in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology in Phoenix, Arizona after a distinguished career with the United States Navy. As a devout Muslim, Dr. Jasser has been active in the study of Islam throughout his life and has led multiple interfaith initiatives during his years in the US Navy and in civilian life. Dr. Jasser launched a Muslim-Jewish dialogue in Scottsdale, Arizona called the Children of Abraham, and helped establish the Center for Islamic Pluralism based in Washington D.C. Since 9-11, he has been involved in national efforts to develop a moderate Muslim movement, both in the US and abroad. He speaks regularly about the responsibility of Muslims to denounce radical Islamist campaigns threatening human liberty around the world.
To book a speaker on your campus or in your community please contact:
Jana El Horr (AIC) 202.595.3160 jana@aicongress.org
Colin Christensen (STAND) 202.481.8220 christensen@genocideintervention.net
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