With the generous support of the Government of Qatar, the Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World convened a conference in Doha from October 19-21, 2002. The conference assembled more than 60 leading scholars and practitioners from 25 countries across the Islamic world (including Muslim communities in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) and the United States. The goal of this first meeting of the Project's regional conference series was to exchange perspectives and to inform the wider policy debate. An important by-product was to help fill the void in positive dialogue between the U.S. and Muslim states and movements.

The opening session of the conference featured a keynote speech from His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, the Emir of Qatar (see above). The Emir's talk was followed by speeches by Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, and Professor Sadegh Zibakalam, Professor at Tehran University, who explored the forces shaping relations between the U.S. and the Islamic World.

The conference closed with a speech from Sheikh Hamed Bin Jasim Bin Jaber Al-Thani, the Foreign Minister of Qatar, and a roundtable discussion on the challenges ahead in U.S.-Islamic relations.

Conference Proceedings (PDF—561kb)
Conference Agenda (PDF—165kb)
Conference Participants (PDF—148kb)
Conference Summary (PDF—99kb)
Media Coverage