Women throughout the world are working towards viable democracies but not without challenges. NPR Journalist Jacki Lynden and Secretary General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women Asma Khader joined other women leaders from the Arab and Islamic regions to address these challenges and examine the influences of the Arab Spring on women.

Gender and Islam in Africa examines ways in which women in Africa are interpreting traditional Islamic concepts in order to empower themselves and their societies. African women, it argues, have promoted the ideals and practices of equality, human rights, and democracy within the framework of Islamic thought, challenging conventional conceptualizations of the religion as gender-constricted and patriarchal.

Akbar Ahmed’s book of poetry, Suspended Somewhere Between, is personal, historical, and political. During this special event, featuring poetry readings from this new book, Ahmed discussed the role of the arts in interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue.

Four prominent Israelis – Shaul Arieli, Shlomo Gazit, Alon Pinkas, and Gilead Sher – with decades of experience in military and security issues, outline Israeli views on a two-state solution in a discussion moderated by Wilson Center scholar Aaron David Miller.