THE AMERICAN ISLAMIC FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY

OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM GREW STEADILY DESPITE CONTINUED THOUGH DECREASING RESIDUAL STRESSORS OF THE POST PANDEMIC WORLD AND INCLUDED HUNDREDS OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL MEDIA APPEARANCES, PUBLICATIONS, EVENTS, AND PUBLIC FORUMS AS WELL AS A HEAVY PROGRAMMING EMPHASIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT, AND OTHER PLATFORMS. IN 2023, AIFD ALSO PARTICIPATED IN MANY EVENTS VIRTUAL AND ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND INTERNATIONALLY INCLUDING FORUMS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, ISLAMISM, MIDDLE EAST POLICY, COUNTER- RADICALIZATION, MUSLIM RADICALIZATION, U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY ENGAGEMENT, LAW ENFORCEMENT, MILITARY OFFICER EDUCATION, AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS TO NAME A FEW. AIFD ORGANIZED SEVERAL PROGRAMS VIA WEBINARS WITH LARGE ATTENDANCE COVERING AREAS OF ANTISEMITISM, THE RED- GREEN AXIS, MASS IMMIGRATION INTO THE WEST, INTEGRATION, THE THREAT OF ISLAMISM, HUMAN RIGHTS, WOMEN'S RIGHTS, MINORITY RIGHTS, FREE SPEECH, MID- EAST POLICY, EUROPEAN AND WESTERN NATION APPROACHES TO ISLAMIST SEPARATISM, MUSLIM REFORM, AND COUNTER-RADICALIZATION TO NAME A FEW. OUR PUBLIC DEBATES AGAINST ISLAMISTS ALSO EXEMPLIFY OUR MISSION OF REFORM AND THE REALITY OF IDEOLOGICAL DIVERSITY WITHIN AMERICAN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES. THE NEED FOR AIFD'S WORK CONTINUES TO GROW EXPONENTIALLY WITH GLOBAL CHALLENGES RELATED TO ISLAMIST RADICALIZATION AND THE SPREAD OF JIHADIST IDEOLOGIES. ADDITIONALLY, THE INSTABILITY IN REGIONS MOST NOTABLY IN GAZA, LEBANON, IRAN, IRAQ, SYRIA, AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN AND OTHER MUSLIM MAJORITY NATIONS, IN ADDITION TO MASS ANTI-IMMIGRATION DEMONSTRATIONS IN EUROPE HAS CONTINUED TO SOLIDIFY AIFD'S PUBLIC ROLE AND REPUTATION AS A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON THE ROOT CAUSES AND IMPACT OF ISLAMISM. AIFD IS SOUGHT AFTER BY PUBLIC POLICY EXPERTS, GOVERNMENTS, AND UNIVERSITIES, AS WELL AS DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN COMMUNITY NETWORKS FOR ITS EXPERTISE AND TESTIMONY IN NATIONAL SECURITY, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, POLITICAL ISLAM, ISLAMIST TERRORISM AND ASSOCIATED DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICY. AIFD HAS ALSO NURTURED AND BUILT STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-MUSLIM, INTERFAITH ORGANIZATIONS IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY, COUNTER-JIHAD, AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SPACE MOST NOTABLY HELPING CO-FOUND THE CLARITY COALITION. AIFD'S OFFICE HAS ALSO RESPONDED TO HUNDREDS OF PHONE CALLS, EMAILS, AND POSTINGS FROM PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH NETWORKING ACROSS THE WORLD ON BEHALF OF AIFD AND THE COALITION OF THE MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENT AND CLARITY COALITION.

OUR MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENT (MRM) INITIATIVE AND PROGRAMMING HAS ALSO CONTINUED TO ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITIES IN 2023. THIS INCLUDED MAJOR TOWN HALL CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR MRM LEADERS ON THE "RED-GREEN AXIS", "IMPACT OF MASS IMMIGRATION IN EUROPE", "FREE-SPEECH", "WOMEN'S RIGHTS", "IRAN'S GROWING COUNTER REGIME MOVEMENT", "DEFEATING ISLAMISM", "CLARITY COALITION TOWNHALLS", "CLARITY COALITION'S DIVERSITY" TO NAME A FEW. AIFD HAS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP VERY DIVERSE AMERICAN AND WESTERN MUSLIM LEADERS IN ESTABLISHING A VOICE FOR REFORM AND AGAINST ISLAMISM ON MANY FRONTS. THE MRM CONTINUED TO USE ITS JOINT MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENT DECLARATION AS A REFORM TOOL (PLATFORM) FOR ITS MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS AND HAS ENLARGED THE DISCOURSE ON ANTI-ISLAMIST PRO-FREEDOM REFORMS TO BROADER COALITIONS. THE MRM INCLUDES OVER 35 LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS WITH DIVERSE VOICES NOT ONLY THE UNITED STATES BUT IN CANADA, AND EUROPE WHO ARE DEDICATED TO REFORM. THESE NETWORKS OF REFORM-MINDED MUSLIM LEADERS CONTINUE TO GAIN MOMENTUM IN THEIR WORK AS EACH LEADER PUBLICIZES AND ADVOCATES THEIR INDIVIDUAL WORK AND THE COLLECTIVE THEN COMES TOGETHER TO SERVE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL NETWORK OF ISLAMIST ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA, AND THE MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL. WE CONTINUE TO SEEK OUT AND ADD OTHER LIKE-MINDED MUSLIM LEADERS ACROSS THE WORLD TO JOIN IN OUR FIGHT FOR MUSLIM REFORM TOWARDS MODERNITY. THE GROWING NETWORK OF DIVERSE LEADERS, CO-CHAIRED BY AIFD, CONTINUES TO PARTNER, AND WORK TOGETHER REGULARLY, COOPERATING IN MONTHLY MEETINGS, JOINT PAPERS, PUBLIC POSITION STATEMENTS, AND HUNDREDS OF MEDIA APPEARANCES AND PUBLIC FORUMS, IN THE PROMOTION OF OUR IDEAS FOR MUSLIM REFORM AND AGAINST ISLAMISM AND TO AID PUBLIC COUNTERTERRORISM IN COUNTER- RADICALIZATION EFFORTS AGAINST RADICAL ISLAMISTS. WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH OUR PUBLIC PLATFORMS IN HOPING TO SHIFT THE WHOLE OF SOCIETY'S APPROACH IN COUNTERTERRORISM, FROM THE COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE STRATEGY OF "COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISTS(CVE)" TO THE FAR MORE RATIONAL AND EFFECTIVE "COUNTERING ISLAMISM (CI)" PROGRAMMING AND STRATEGY.