Press Release	News > Press Release

For Immediate Release
June 29, 2007
Contact: Colleen Coffey, 202-266-1910
ccoffey@migrationpolicy.org 

Countering Radicalization:
U.S. and European Leaders Discuss Strategies
at a Transatlantic Dialogue on Islam and Integration

Washington, D.C. -- After several “home grown” terrorist attacks across Europe, the challenge of radicalization among a small minority of the Muslim community, particularly among second- and third-generation Europeans, has moved to the top of both the foreign and domestic policy agendas of the United States and many European Member States. 

In a unique event, 45 top U.S. and European government officials, Muslim leaders and policy experts (list below) are coming together to share ideas on how to counter radicalization among minority Muslim communities. Policy strategies will focus on both security and the employment of softer community outreach and engagement programs. 

The two-day conference, organized by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. and the Weidenfeld Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London, got underway yesterday. The aim of the discussions is to evaluate the successes and failures of government and community responses to date, to establish a comprehensive set of pragmatic counter-radicalization strategies, and to start working toward a coordinated international response.

“While the threat of radicalization and terrorism reaches beyond borders, traditionally governments have looked inward to their own domestic experiences to find solutions,” said Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini, vice president of the Italian Islamic Religious Community. He continued, “This dialogue will help leaders from Muslim communities and government agencies from both Europe and America work together to find solutions.”

Today’s sessions will focus on policing and community responses, the role of religion and related government policies, and citizenship models and the role of values as policy tools.

“The tough, ‘law-and-order’ response toward radicalization ignores discrimination, structural disadvantages and the consequences of this approach for the law-abiding majority. Meanwhile, advocates of engagement overlook that self-appointed community leaders can risk alienating moderate voices and playing into the hands of extremists,” said Haydar Demiryurek, secretary general of Conseil Français du Culte Musulman in France. “In the current global context, we need to utilize the full spectrum of responses to counter radicalization in a coordinated way.” 

Conference discussions are off-the-record. However, participants will be available for comment. 

To arrange an interview, please contact the Migration Policy Institute Communications Office at 202-266-1910 or ccoffey@migrationpolicy.org.

"Transatlantic Dialogue on Islam & Integration: Strategies to Counter Radicalization"
List of Participants

Geneive Abdo, Senior Analyst, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies

Shahed Amanullah, Editor-in-Chief, altmuslim.com

Zeyno Baran, Director of International Programs, Hudson Institute

Matthew J. Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Department of State, United States

Jocelyne Cesari, Director, Islam in the West, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University

Wendy Chamberlain, President, Middle East Institute

Muzaffar Chishti, Director of the New York University Office, Migration Policy Institute and NYU School of Law

Tufyal Choudhury, Lecturer, Department of Law and Member, Human Rights Centre, University of Durham

Haydar Demiryurek, Secretary General, Conseil Français du Culte Musulman, France

Juan Ramón Ferreiro Galguera, Deputy-Director General for Promotion of Religious Freedom, Ministry of Justice, Spain

Phil Groman, Programme Assistant, Weidenfeld Institute for Strategic Dialogue

Bertel Haarder, Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs, Denmark

Marilyn Haimé, Director, Minorities Integration Policy Directorate, Ministry of Justice, the Netherlands

Farzana Hakim, Director of Corporate and Government Relations, Commission for Racial Equality, United Kingdom

Sasha Havlicek, Executive Director, Weidenfeld Institute for Strategic Dialogue

H. A. Hellyer, Ford Visiting Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution

Taryn Higashi, Deputy Director, Human Rights Unit, Peace and Social Justice, Ford Foundation

Dilwar Hussain, Head, Policy Research Unit and Senior Research Fellow, Islamic Foundation

Carlos Iturregui, Chief, Office of Police and Strategy, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department for Homeland Security, United States

Markus Kerber, Head of Policy Planning, Europe and International Developments, Federal Ministry of the Interior, Germany

Lydia Khalil, Counter-Terrorism Analyst, New York Police Department and Contributing Analyst, Freedom House

Mouddar Khouja, Personal Advisor to the President, Official Islamic Community, Austria

Robert S. Leiken, Director, Immigration and National Security Program, Nixon Center

Guido Lenzi, Diplomatic Adviser, Ministry of the Interior, Italy

Gregory A. Maniatis, Senior European Fellow, Migration Policy Institute

Margie McHugh, Co-Director, National Center on Immigration and Integration Policy, Migration Policy Institute

Tara Murphy, Office of the Divisional Dean of Social Science, Harvard University

Yahya Pallavicini, Vice President, Comunità Religiosa Islamica Italiana, Italy

Farah Pandith, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Department of State, United States

Demetrios G. Papademetriou, President, Migration Policy Institute

Jonathan Paris, Fellow, Hudson Institute

Maria Pierides, Programme Assistant, Weidenfeld Institute for Strategic Dialogue

Nadia Roumani, Senior Advisor, Office of the Secretariat, Alliance of Civilizations, United  Nations; and Fellow, University of Southern California, Center for Religion and Civic Culture

Will Somerville, Senior Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute

Philippa Strum, Director, United States Studies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Daniel Sutherland, Director, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Department of Homeland Security, United States

Mustapha Tlili, Founding Director, Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-US-The West, New York University

Karen Volker,  Head of Muslim Affairs, Department of State, United States

Ivan Weinstein, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs,  Department of State, United States 

Hillary Wiesner, Head of Islam Initiative, Carnegie Corporation of New York

Hubert Williams, President, Police Foundation

Shaarik Zafar, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Department of Homeland Security, United States

###