Join Dr. Dalia Fahmy, political scientist and expert on Islamophobia and U.S. foreign policy, and the Hon. Farah Pandith, former U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities and global counter-extremism strategist, for a moderated discussion on combatting Islamophobia. Drawing on their academic research and frontline policy experience, they will examine the roots of anti-Muslim bias, its global implications, and effective strategies for fostering inclusion and resilience in an age of rising hate.

Biographies

Dr. Dalia Fahmy, Associate Professor of Political Science at Long Island University

Dr. Dalia Fahmy is Associate Professor of Political Science at Long Island University where she teaches courses on US Foreign Policy, World Politics, International Relations, Military and Defense Policy, Causes of War, and Politics of the Middle East. Dr. Fahmy is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy in Washington DC, and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights and UNESCO Chair at Rutgers University for 2018.

Dr. Fahmy's books include The Rise and Fall of The Muslim Brotherhood and the Future of Political Islam (forthcoming), and two co-edited volumes Illiberal Intelligentsia and the Future of Egyptian Democracy, and International Relations in a Changing World.

Dr. Fahmy has published several articles in academic journals focusing on democratization and most recently on the effects of Islamophobia on US foreign policy. She has given several briefings on the future of democracy in the Middle East. She has been interviewed by and written editorials in various media outlets including ABC, CBS, CBC, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, the Huffington Post, the Immanent Frame, the Washington Post, and appears often on Aljazeera. She has presented her research in various venues including Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, UCLA, The Middle East Institute, The Asia Society, The World Bank, The Wilson Center and The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.

Dr. Fahmy has won several academic awards and fellowships for her research. In 2014, Dr. Fahmy was one of the recipients of the prestigious Kleigman Prize in Political Science, was the 2016 recipient of the Newton Prize for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2017 was named NPR’s "Source if the Week."

Hon. Farah Pandith, Former U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities

Farah Pandith is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat. Pandith, a pioneer in the field of countering violent extremism (CVE), has been a political appointee in the Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush administrations. She left government in early 2014 for Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She served on the secretary of homeland security’s Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) from 2015 to 2017, where she also chaired the HSAC subcommittee on countering violent extremism and delivered a report in June 2016. Her book, How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat, was published in 2019. Pandith is also a public speaker and global advisor, driving efforts to counter extremism through new programs and initiatives.

She was a senior advisor and commissioner on the Center for Strategic and International Studies' CVE Commission Report and was a senior advisor at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The Muhammad Ali Center named Pandith the first-ever Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate for her proven track record of and commitment to promoting humanitarian values; she is the creator and catalyst for the Muhammad Ali Index on Compassion.

Pandith was appointed the first special representative to Muslim communities in June 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, serving under both Clinton and John Kerry. Her office was responsible for executing a vision for engagement with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people and organizational level. During her tenure, Pandith traveled to nearly one hundred countries and launched youth-focused initiatives. She was also the main architect of the Women in Public Service Project. In January 2013, she was awarded the Secretary's Distinguished Honor Award.

Previously, Pandith was senior advisor to the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, a role created for her in the context of the Danish cartoon controversy. She built new State Department strategies for how U.S. embassies in Europe could understand the Muslim demographic and the increase in foreign ideologies present on the ground, and how the United States could build resilience.

From 2004 to 2007, Pandith served as director for Middle East regional initiatives for the National Security Council (NSC). Before joining the NSC, Pandith was chief of staff of the Bureau for Asia and the Near East for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In 2004, she spent two months in Afghanistan developing a public outreach strategy. She also served at USAID from 1990 to 1993 on the administrator’s staff and as the special assistant to the director of policy. From 1997 to 2003, Pandith was vice president of international business for ML Strategies and served as a commissioner on Governor Paul A. Cellucci’s bipartisan Asian Advisory Commission.

Pandith is a consultant in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and serves in leadership positions on several boards with a focus on international affairs, women’s empowerment, education, and cultural diplomacy, including Mercy Corps, the Excelerate Foundation, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and the We Are Family Foundation. She also serves on the advisory boards for The Asian American Foundation, America Abroad Media, The National Security Initiative (NSI), Meridian Center for Diplomatic Engagement, Center for Public Diplomacy (at USC) and the Council for Responsible Social Media. She formerly served on the boards of Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the Tribeca Film Institute, and the Women in Public Service Project. Pandith received an AB in government and psychology from Smith College and a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. 

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