Islamism vs. Secularism: The Arab Spring, Phase Two

Date: 

Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 4:00pm to 5:30pm

Location: 

CMES, 38 Kirkland Street, Room 102

The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard, The Center for Middle Eastern Studies Outreach Center, The Moroccan Studies Program, and the American Islamic Congress and Project Nur are pleased to present

Ahmed Benchemsi
Visiting Scholar, The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University.

Hailed by CNN as a “free speech pioneer in Morocco", Benchemsi is the founder of the Kingdom’s two best-selling weeklies, TelQuel (French) and Nishan (Arabic). He served as publisher and editor until late 2010, when he joined Stanford University as a visiting scholar in 2011.

Praised by the Los Angeles Times for their “uncanny ability to set the agenda and push the boundaries of acceptable discourse in Morocco", Benchemsi’s magazines have waded into dangerous territory, covering contemporary slavery, drug trafficking, and reinterpreting the Qur’an; and have also run unprecedented cover stories such as, “The salary of the King", “Inside the secret services," “Exposing the torturers," and more. Most strikingly in a Muslim country, his magazines have published stories on sexual minorities and religious freedom. Consequently, Benchemsi is widely considered a prominent advocate of secularism and minority rights in Middle-East and North Africa.

Ahmed has published op-eds in TIME magazine, Newsweek, the Guardian, Le Monde and others. He also was a guest fellow at Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times. He received awards for his journalistic achievements from the European Union and Lebanon’s prestigious Samir Kassir Foundation, notably for his work on the “Cult of personality" surrounding Morocco’s King. Under his supervision, TelQuel and Nishan journalists have received various international awards as well.

Ahmed received an M.Phil in political science from Paris’ Institut d’Etudes Politiques (aka Sciences-Po), a Masters in Development Economics from La Sorbonne, and a BA in Finance from Paris VIII University. 

This event is open to the public; no registration required. 

Contact: Krystina Friedlander
Sponsor(s): The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard, The Center for Middle Eastern Studies Outreach Center, The Moroccan Studies Program, & the American Islamic Congress and Project Nur

As a Title VI National Resource Center, CMES is partially funding this program with U.S. Department of Education grant funds. The content of this program does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education.