From June 5-7, ADC Michigan’s regional director, Imad Hamad, participated in the University of London conference on “Muslim-Government Relations” in London.  This conference was held as a follow up to “National Security and Civil Rights: Best Practices in Government Community Cooperation” conference held in Chicago in January of this year.  Other participants included: Special Agent in Charge of ICE, Brian Moskowitz; Baroness Kishwer Falkner, member of the UK Parliament-House Lords; Eric Battesti from the French Embassy; US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, George Selim from the Department of Homeland Security; David Cole of Georgetown University; Barbara John of Humboldt University; Mohammad Abdul Bari from the Muslim Council of Britain; and Mark Bodenstein from the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

Numerous scholars, government officials and influential leaders involved in Arab and Muslim issues were among the participants.   The scholars in attendance had written on various topics related to Arabs and Muslims in the West, which were discussed during the forum.  Government officials shared their perspective on both establishing and maintaining community-government dialogue.  Among the participants who discussed their experience and involvement in government dialogue, ADC’s Imad Hamad spoke about the group entitled BRIDGES, which has been a model community-government forum in Michigan addressing issues of concern on both sides of the spectrum. 

“This conference is an important step in the right direction.  It is important for governments, academia and NGOs to work together on sharing their experiences on community engagement and developing ideas about best practices for government-community relations.  The London conference, as well as the previous conference in Chicago, provide ideal settings for academics, activists and government officials to share ideas about best practices in this important public policy area,” stated Hamad.

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