I'm leaving for Doha in a bit, yesterday's blizzard permitting, where I'll be participating in the 2007 edition of the US-Islamic World Forum organized by the Brookings Institution. I'll be speaking at the first session of the Security Task Force, along with Capt. David Belt and M.J. Akbar (editor of the Asian Age). It looks like a great event, although I notice that there are a lot fewer actual Islamist figures at this year's event than in year's past. Yusuf al-Qaradawi now plans to be there, after going back and forth a few times on the question, and Sadeq al-Mahdi will participate, and a few others, but I notice considerably fewer prominent Islamist names this year. Perhaps this is a choice by the organizers, perhaps it reflects skepticism about the value of such dialogues on the part of Islamists (as I've been told by Fahmy Howeydi and others). Either way, it will be a fascinating event. I hope to be able to blog from Doha like I did last time, wireless permitting. Cheers!
UPDATE from Heathrow: can I just say that getting a flat tire at 2:30 AM in the middle of the Berkshires on the way to Boston is just not the best of all possible starts to a trip around the world? Ech. OK, off to my gate.
UPDATE: what, a flat tire wasn't good enough? Was it really necessary to add in nobody meeting me at the airport as planned, leaving me to wrangle my own visa and grab a taxi instead? Was it ABSOLUTELY necessary to lose my luggage? Better and better...
There's a Lebanese proverb that litterally means: Don't hate anything that might have been good for you" ("la takrah chay' la3allhou khayron laka").
So maybe the flat tire was meant to be so you wouldnt have gotten in a wreck!
Have a nice trip. Bring back juicy news :)
Posted by: eRamzi | February 16, 2007 at 07:33 PM