Our guests and house to submit questions for the q a and we also, for the viewers watching on tv, you can tweet us your questions. Before i pass the microphone to our director of policy and Efficacy Program and the moderator of todays program, would like to say a few words. Mpac is a National PublicAffairs Organization that works on pluralism for the american doublet. We do that by working on policies that affect our community. The Foreign Policy areas we work on our National Security and Civil Liberties, immigration, human security, as well as religious freedom. For purposes here on this panel, we will be discussing the issue how to counterd isis. It has been mpacs position for years that a robust position is necessary but at the same time our nation can never be truly secure when the Civil Liberties of any community are curtailed and without taking a holistic approach. Furthermore, federal, state, and local government should never condition their engagement with any communities through the lens of National Security alone. With that said, would like to pass off the mic and officially begin the panel. Thank you. We are here today to talk about usedefunct but still widely are the west and islam incompatible and that there is a war between the west islam. Weve seen a number all of these announcements with regards to both domestic and international issues. Trump recognized the capital of israel after a slump. I National Security announcement to be announced later today, and i shift from countering violent extremism that focuses on all forms of violent extremism to strictly focusing on islamic extremism, just to name a few. , we are also seeing, in my ainion, the implementation of nationalist agenda. This seems like it is a movement whiteress 2040, when americans will no longer be the majority in america. We need to have serious policy discussions about this and we need to engage our members in congress on capitol hill. We need to engage the think Tank Community and we need to engage Civil Society to really talk about the impact of this agenda on our National Security. Policy shifts and announcements have happened and are happening at a time when we as a nation are coming to terms with las vegas, what happened in parts of, and in other texas. These are just some to name a few. Against the backdrop of a president who uses the power of his digital footprint to bully communities, including american muslim communities almost daily. Today, President Trump is going to be announcing his National Security strategy. From what we know, his strategy areas. Cus on four defendant homeland, american prosperity, advancing american influence, and these through strength. One passage of the draft strategy reads the United States rejects bigotry, a persian, and seeks a future built on our values as one american people, and active in concerned american citizenry is a fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. Hasgenerations our society protected free press, free speech, and free thought. No external threat must be allowed to shake the commitment of americans to their values, undermine our system of government, or divide the nation. I think there is a lot there. I want to focus on one thing which takes us back to the theme of todays panel and that is that this president continues to perpetuate the myth that islam and the west are incompatible. He traveled all the way to saudi arabia and overlooks talking directly with american muslims here at home. So, how does this lie and the contradictions impact muslim communities . We will be focusing on that question and more with our panelists today. I would like to introduce them. My left, the senior fellow at the Brookings Institution center for middle east holocene and author of islamic exceptionalism have the struggle of her islam is reshaping the world. Have far right we nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, former white house appointee and senior diplomat in the Obama Administration and most recently the u. S. Deputy special envoy for israelihas palestinian negotiations. Would like to start the panel off with a few opening remarks from all of our panelists. As engaged ino be conversation as possible, so we will have time for a questionandanswer later. Thank you. In the name of god was gracious most merciful. I just want to jump into two points we should all be looking at in terms of looking at the Trump AdministrationNational Security agenda. The first point is the departure from a longstanding u. S. Holocene and that longstanding u. S. Policy was articulated actually on page nine of the strategyonal security under the Obama Administration and its states and i quote, we reject the lie that america is at war with islam. The question to the Trump Administration is doesnt continue with that policy because the vatican the policy are saying exactly the opposite. That the United States is not just at war with violent extremist groups, but it is at war with islam. If we are entering that era, we are in a very dangerous part of our own history and of World History for that matter. So, that is the first thing we should look at not just in terms of the introduction and the press statements of people that may backtrack from what the president himself may tweet, but what is the actual policy. What are the actions . In what way is our country going as it relates to islam or any religion for that matter. The second departure is from another longstanding policy ant was first articulated by investor back in the early 1990s, he was the former ambassador to syria and israel at that time. He said that there is a twotrack approach and our National Security as it relates to terrorism. First is bringing perpetrators to justice. Secondly, it deals with the root causes that create the environment to make terrorism more of a reality. To deal with sociopolitical issues, corruption, war, weak central governance. Authoritarianism. We should look at this new National Security this it does not address those issues, then what we should expect unfortunately is more for the cost more tax dollars and lives altogether without any real sense of security for our country. It is amazing that is as we see groups like isis have a capability for terrorist attacks that because they lose technological ability for creating terror, there the American Public is not more hysterical. It should be the opposite. As we reduce the ability of terrorist groups, the American Public should feel more secure and if it does not, there is a problem at the top of leadership. Number two, there is a sense that this administration wants against the warpath extremist groups. Let me explain that in more detail. Right when she witnessing the rise of White Nationalists agenda of u. S. Policy. It is a policy not based on ideology, but based on values and fear that a group of americans are going to lose power and they are calling for travel band and they are implementing for a broad. That does not go below for our National Security and the reality is religious nationalism is an international problem. While we are witnessing White Nationalism in america, we are also witnessing muslim nationalism abroad. We are witnessing jewish nationalism in israel and what is happening is that the extremist are dictating the direction of our future, not the mainstream. If this administration does not figure out a way to bring mainstream conversation about religion, then i fear that religious nationalism will take a stronger foothold in america, as well as what we are witnessing abroad furious number of, we are under the threat eroding American Values as it relates to a number of policy issues. Is airst and foremost quality under the law. This is what we are in danger of entering in our country. Intimidatea way to and silence and the rest innocent people. People will be intimidated and silenced through various means. For example, in the united the board costs because the powers that be have created legislative means of ideas, those who are expressing their right to protest u. S. And israeli policy are going to be intimidated and silenced interested if they engage in sanctions. That is a small example of what is happening. Then, there are other problems of National Security policy that is void of Community Led initiatives. If we dont have communities involved, we will have more surveillance, more arrests and people feeling less and less secure. Needs to be a means of having communities involved. For example, the state of new york has announced a counterterrorism mission. We have a number of Law Enforcement involved. That leads to another point that is troubling and that is the administration is killing partnership between Law Enforcement communities throughout the country. What we have worked on is eroding. Theres less public trust. That does not bode well for any. Erious or effective policy final point is that if the United States government wants o away they are the ones fighting america and now the United States government is asking adding more fuel to that idea. While isis is defeated on the battlefield, it is looking for ,ther ways that might rise which is what we have witnessed historically. I want to go back in history. When the afghani people sacrificed one million lives to defeat the soviet union that led to the United States victory in the cold war did we show any gratitude . No. Instead, our intelligence the lifefor al qaeda has led to more chaos. When the iraqi people in syria people stood up and it led to the defeat of isis, are we saying that he to them thank you to them . Against simple gestures these forces that definite take on more muslim life than 80 lives altogether. Iraqi lives that suffer at the hands of isis than any other. This does not bode well for American International interest and does not bode well for domestic issues. Soberingith that very and unfortunate reality that i see here. Comment on the rhetoric and policy that we see coming out of the Trump Administration and the impact majorityin muslim countries . The muslimu to Public Affairs council. I want to say it is islam compatible with the west . If you look at various elections in western democracy in the u. S. In europe as well, it has some ways become the primary cleavage. People are debating about what 1 to 5 of the population. Anmall minority has become over missing concern. That is why this is not just the role of Muslim Americans in the west, it comes at the heart of what it means to be a democracy and how we live differently in the societies and i think if you want proof that islam or a should say muslims in the west are compatible because there are different islams and it is a complex idea. ,f we look at american muslims that by itself is proof of the. Ompatibility that you been a sense can be fully american without having to choose, where in europe it has been more complicated where there is a tension this between being french and being muslim and youre asked to choose one over the other. Thate a country appreciates religious expressions. You can be christian, jewish, muslim and express the identity and public fear. That is one of the aspects of american identity, but now for the first time, we have administration that wants to challenge the basic idea and say we have to choose the american over being muslim. Muslims would not be able to know how to pray if it was not for sharia. We have politicians asking american muslims to disavow sharia, so we are moving into dangerous rhetoric that has more in common with europe than it and theerms of racism european context. It is not something indigenous to the muslims living here. That is 1. I really wanted to start with. When it comes to the for policy noted, isis has correctly it is on the back foot and as we , theyuccess fighting isis will feel more need to show it is still a government, so were going to see more tears attacks unfortunately. We have to do everything we can to limit and canada, but it is something we will have to live with for the foreseeable future. This idea that terrorism can disappear is not a realistic one. What that means is every time there a terrorist attack, there will be additional threats to american muslims and to our because wevalues look at politicians using it to target american muslims and ism. Tion their american every time this happens, american muslims will come under sugar in the and i think it goes beyond that. There is this kind of desire to ask american muslims to condemn terrorism every time it happens. Might behere there disagreement on how to actually do this in a Muslim Community, but from my standpoint, groups should be at the forefront of speaking out and talking about what islam stands for and how islam and extremism are not the same and are at caused with each other. When it comes to individual muslims, there is an expectation for us to condemn terrorism every time there is an attack. I think that is problematic because it should go without saying that im against terrorism just by virtue im america is in im american. No one should have to ask you. They should assume that i opposed whatever as all americans do. More about the idea that individual muslims feel a responsibility to speak out and that contributes to a sense of collective responsibility. I think that plays into the hands of extremists who want to paint us as a monolithic community that should speak out against terrorism in and in this way. I think also part of the problem, it is never enough. People are always asking us to condemn and we condemn, but theres always an education that we go further and people are never really satisfied. And how weing jose think about the Foreign Policy element, this was the framework of the speech was countering extremism. This is something we have to be entirely focused on. Is if you striking look at what he talked about, there was very little on what we should actually do to fight extremism beyond just saying it. This is more than just a rhetorical strategy. In other words, you cant fight extremism without fighting extremism. You have to look beyond the narrow phenomenon. Narrows, it can be a security minded approach. We talked about root causes and that is one way of looking at it. That is the number one question we have to ask ourselves. Terrorism does not just fall from the sky. Particulart of a context. If you look at most of the terrorism, it draws on the civil wars we saw and continue to see in syria, iraq and the list goes on. It is no accident that the two countries were isis gain the iraq. Round were syria and we have to have a longterm strategy three the fact there is no vision for helping the economic and Political Development for these countries. The fact that we as americans no wonder no longer mentioned the word democracy or political reform. These elements get to the broader context in which extremism arises. , thenhave nothing to say it just becomes a rhetorical strategy of saying radical muslims are bad, extremism is bad. We have to fight it. Without actually saying anything beyond that. Thank you. I would like to turn it over to you. Same question. How does this myth impact american muslims and what we are seeing now with the recent announcement of recognizing jewish settlers him jerusalems him as the capital . Sure. Of this this land or issued of countering violent islamism, i actually think back to something that happened 22 years ago. Wasirst big wake up call the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and i was working a few blocks from the white house. We were all evacuated. First wake up call. I was a young man and i was shaken. Later,ive or six years 9 11. Today, when i think about violent extremism, another thing that has changed, i think about them and their safety. That is really what i think about. Tohink as americans, we need think about the relative threats to our security and safety. As you look at violent extremism in the United States and how it has affected americans domestically, i think there are two big parts to it. There are White Nationalists action is him and there is muslim violent extremism. I think we can best address them both by addressing them equally and fairly and i think we as americans are safer when we look at both together and not focus on one or the other. The second thing i wanted to say is when looking at the Trump Administration, i think there is this amazing story that goes back half a century. In 1958, there was an africanamerican handyman who stole two dollars and change and he was condemned to death in alabama for that. Sudden, the enemy of the United States seized on that. Nd made it major news understanding the importance of that, the president and secretary of state called the governor of alabama and said i dont know what is going on down not meant this does normal standards of justice for the United States and second of all, it is damaging. What we s