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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May-June 2008, page 69 Muslim-American Activism Muslim-American Activist Abuzaakuk Retires
THE CENTER FOR the Study of Islam and Democracy in Washington, DC held a retirement party on Feb. 20 at their offices for Aly Abuzaakuk in recognition of his contributions to CSID as its director and to his Islamic work in the United States for the past 35 years. CSID president and founder Radwan A. Masmoudi welcomed guests and described the career of the new retiree. Born and raised in Libya, Aly Ramadan Abuzaakuk received a bachelor’s degree from Cairo University in Journalism in 1968, a master’s degree in Communications from Stanford University, and another in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan. From 1987 to 1994, he served as director of publications at the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia. From 1994 to 1998 he worked as the director of Amanah Publishing House in Beltsville, Maryland, and later served as the executive director of the American Muslim Council until 2002. During his career he served as a U.S. State Department goodwill ambassador to several Arab and Muslim countries and worked extensively with foreign and domestic media. In 2003, he co-founded the Libya Forum for Human and Political Development to promote human rights, democracy, and civil society in Libya. Accepting a handsome clock as a gift, Abuzaakuk said, “It seems like just minutes ago I started trying to plant seeds of freedom and democracy in my homeland.” He added that he has enjoyed the ups and downs of his “toils with words” and his work to build bridges of understanding in the United States with the Muslim world. Abuzaakuk said he hopes to continue lecturing on media, Libyan affairs and American Muslims during his retirement. For more information on CSID visit its Web site, <www.csidonline.org>. —Delinda C. Hanley |
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