Articles

Comments of the participants on UMA 25th Annual Dinner and Symposium on April 29, 2006

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Dear Mr. Refai:

I want to thank you for inviting me to speak at the United Muslims of

America 25th Anniversary Dinner on Saturday. It was a pleasure to meet you

and your colleagues, as well as to have a good dialogue with UMA's members

and guests. It was a lively discussion, and I'm glad that the State

Department was able to take part in it.

I want to reiterate my invitation to you and your Board to meet with some of

our officials if you make the trip to Washington, DC in the near future. We

would be happy to have you come in and meet with some of our officials to

continue our dialogue.

Thanks again, and hope to hear from you again soon.

Warm Regards,

--Rob Tappan

Robert A. Tappan 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs 

U.S. Department of State

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I really enjoyed the event and I think it was a great success for UMA. Do please keep me in mind and in your prayers.

M. A. Muqtedar Khan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science and International Relations

 University of Delaware

Non-Resident Fellow, Brookings Institution 

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   This event was very successful.  All the hard work paid off.

  You should do a survey of the participants to get feedback.  The sooner the better.

  Ahmad Faruqui

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Salaam

I hope all is well.  Thank you for planning and arranging a great event tonight at

the restaurant.  Please feel  free to use our center next time inshallah.  By the

way we had four people from the ICCNC at our table.

Thanks again

Mohsen

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 Great event. I think Dr. Moqtedar Khan was very eloquent on the topic of your

conference. We need more people like him. 

  Saeed Tirmizi

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Salaam alaikoum dear friends,

Thank you so much for all your good work and for sending me the report from 

UMA's 25th anniversary event.  It's most fascinating and instructive, for 

instance, Dr. Khan's  call for a paradigm shift in one's thinking.  

I'm sorry I was not able to attend, but I've been ill.

   With kindest regards, 

   Ma'a salaama,

   Katharina Harlow

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Thank you so much for inviting me to UMA's 25th anniversary dinner. I feel very fortunate to have attended the event. 

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to listen to the speakers and be among so many people who genuinely care about the future. 



Thank You, 

Natalie

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Thank you again for your gracious invitation to the UMA banquet.  I was very impressed with the speakers, was pleased to have the opportunity to learn a bit more about the culture and religion of Islam, and tucked in a very nice dinner!

I was particularly impressed with the caliber of the speakers, and how they disagreed respectfully, while still making their points.  I believe that respectfully hearing and discussing opposing views may not always lead to agreement, but does lead to greater understanding...and although respectful hearing is a basic part of civilized behavior, it's been in short supply lately. I particularly liked Dr. Khan, who did not spare anyone in his analysis, but did it with humor.  I'm reading articles from his website, and referring others to it as well.


Thank you again....

Margaret Thornberry
Celebrate Fremont 2006

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Rob and I were so glad that we went to the UMA symposium Saturday evening. We listened to a very lively and interesting discussion between Robert
Tappan of the State Department, Pete McCloskey and Dr. Muqtedar Khan.   The question and answer session was particularly stimulating, although, I felt a bit sorry for Mr. Tappan who was squirming a bit and straining to represent the Bush Administration's policies in a positive light.  The crowd was extremely gracious and attentive throughout.   We were treated with great hospitality ...thanks very much for hosting us, Iftekhar.  We look forward to how we can get more American Muslims involved in Commonwealth Club activities.

Cathy Curtis

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I'd just like to publicly acknowledge and thank Iftekhar for his kind invitation to the event described below (25th anniversary of the founding of United Muslims of America, or UMA).

I'm glad I attended. It was an enjoyable and worthwhile occasion - Lots of informative speakers, good food and engaging conversation.

I sat at a table with a Pakistani husband and wife who came to the United States 20 years ago for graduate school, then stayed for the opportunities and quality of life. They're proud to be Americans as well as Muslims. One of their daughters has graduated from UC Davis and is going to become a doctor. Their other daughter is graduating from Davis next year and will become a lawyer. It was great to meet and talk with them.

Earlier in the day yesterday, I went to see the new movie release, "United 93", which I found very impactful. It was quite something to attend the UMA event just a few hours later and to be in a room full of wonderfully decent people (Muslim and non-Muslim), all different from one another and yet so similar. I felt like we all appreciated each other.

It's an understatement to say that we live in difficult and challenging times, with fear lurking in the shadows and seemingly intractable problems all around us. Sitting with each other in simple human conversations, listening openly as tough issues are talked about candidly, seeking more fully to understand - Surely these are the kinds of activities that will serve us well going forward.

Thank you, Iftekhar, for facilitating all of that last night.

Tom Waller

(Part of Program Committee at Commonwealth Club)