Understanding the Muslim World: Were We Fooled by the Promise of an Arab Spring?

It all began with an angry young man in Tunisia. Following Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation, a revolt ensued and the period in history known as the “Arab Spring” was born. Inspired by this single act of desperation, the people of the Middle East and North Africa hoped to address the battles of the disenfranchised and marginalized, with the expectation that the populations sharing the bonds of ethnicity and religion would be unified.

Although technology and social media created a conduit for the Arab Spring’s positive message, it also enabled terrorists and jihadi organizations, such as ISIS, to materialize and strengthen. Dreams of democracy throughout the Muslim world faded with each news report of another kidnapping, another assassination, another town forcibly placed under the fundamentalist interpretation of Sharia law.

Join us as our expert speakers consider the consequences of the Arab Spring and discuss the international coalition of world powers working jointly to defeat ISIS through traditional military and cyber force.

Part two of this three-part series will feature a keynote address by Hon. Marc Grossman, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey; Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs; Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan; currently Vice Chairman of The Cohen Group.

Ambassador Grossman's remarks will be followed by a panel discussion with Joby Warrick, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, and Robert Worth, New York Times journalist and author of A Rage for Order.

EVENT OPTIONS
Members
• Speaker cocktail reception and program: $65
• Program only: $25

General Public
• Speaker cocktail reception and program: $85
• Program only: $35

Full-time Students (with valid ID)
• Program only: $20