Join us for a critical conversation on combating Islamophobia with Dr. Dalia Fahmy, Associate Professor of Political Science at Long Island University, and H.E. Farah Pandith, the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities at the U.S. Department of State. This constructive dialogue will examine the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment globally, its impact on policy and society, and practical strategies for fostering inclusion and countering hate. With deep expertise in foreign policy, democratization, and community engagement, our speakers will offer actionable solutions to address Islamophobia at institutional and grassroots levels.

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."

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

Farah Pandith is an American academic of Indian descent. She was appointed the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities in June 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The position was made specifically for her after she briefed Secretary Clinton about her work in the Bush administration. She had the rare distinction of being a political appointee for two Republican presidents and President Obama. When she was the Special Representative she traveled to almost 100 countries. After serving under both Secretaries Clinton and John Kerry, she left government. She said she came to Washington after 9/11 again and wanted to serve – she left after more than a decade in public service. She worked at USAID and then went to the National Security Council and then the U.S. Department of State. When she left in 2014, she returned to her home state of Massachusetts.

Farah Pandith is a senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School.[6] Before that she had been a Spring fellow at the Institute of Politics. Right after leaving government she began working with the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue from outside of government. She is currently the Head of Strategy for ISD. She is an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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