Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Imad El Din Ahmed (also known as Dean Ahmed) (born August 11, 1948) is a Palestinian-American researcher and author and president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute, a tax-exempt, libertarian think tank. He is also the president of the Islamic Zakat Foundation of America, a religious and charitable organization that primarily serves poor and needy Muslims in the United States.
his biography
Imad El Din Ahmed was born while his family went to the United States after they left Palestine in 1948. He was raised in Pennsylvania and graduated summa cum laude with a BA from Harvard University (1970) and a Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Arizona (1975). He is a Muslim.
Academic career
Ahmed teaches an introductory course on Islam at Wesley Theological Seminary. He has also taught courses in religion, science, and freedom at the University of Maryland, College Park, and courses on Islam and development at Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies, and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.
Ahmed has written and spoken on Islam, legal and religious freedom, democracy in the Islamic world, Islamic civil society, property rights in Islam, women in Islam and female genital mutilation, conflicts in the Middle East especially in Palestine and Iraq, Palestinian human rights and property rights, terrorism, jihad and American civil liberties.
Ahmed is the author of “Signs in the Sky: A Muslim Astronomer’s View of Religion, Science, and the Rules of the Islamic System,” co-editor of “Islam and the West: Dialogue,” and co-author of “Islam and the Discovery of Freedom.” Additionally, Ahmed contributed to the Encyclopedia of Libertarianism with an article on Islam. His discourse on Islam, Commerce and Business Ethics was also published in Nicholas Capaldi's book Entrepreneurship and Religion: The Clash of Civilizations? His writings have been published in such journals as Middle East Politics, The American Muslim Journal, Economic Affairs, and Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Ahmed has also served as a visiting lecturer at the Institute of Foreign Services.
Emad Al-Din Ahmed serves as a Muslim religious attache at American University, Islamic religious attache at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, imam of the Dar Dhikr Mosque and an arbitrator for the Council of Muslim Organizations Coordination in Washington, DC. In 1998, in his role as liaison to the Muslim Council of America, he testified before the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil and Human Rights, and upheld the need for federal protection of religious freedom after the Supreme Court case of "Born City v. Flores" for the United States. Ahmed is also the spokesperson for the National Coalition to Protect Civil Liberties, a national coalition of more than 20 Muslim and civil organizations.
political activity
Imad El Din Ahmed has long been an outspoken critic of the neo-conservative current in shaping US foreign policy, especially in the Middle East.
In 2001, Ahmed joined a delegation of Muslim Americans participating in the "First Conference on Jerusalem" in Beirut, which was "dedicated to the liberation of Jerusalem".
Ahmed has been a libertarian activist since 1975, serving as President of the Libertarian Party of Maryland, running four political campaigns, participating in various Libertarian Party political activities in Maryland and was a member of the Association of Academics Supporting Ron Paul during his 2008 presidential run.
He was also active in the activities of the National Libertarian Party, having served as the party's National Secretary, Chairman of its Judicial Committee, Chairman of its Program Committee, and Chairman of Michael Badenarik's Islamic Communication Committee in his campaign for Head of State in 2004.
In 1988, Ahmed ran for a Libertarian US senator, although only Republicans and Democrats were allowed to have their names printed unless the candidate collected tens of thousands of signatures. Ahmed's challenge to the law in court failed, but he received 500 votes. Later, Maryland law allowed the Libertarian Party to collect 10,000 signatures just to allow a candidate to participate in the election and to put his or her name on the ballot papers.
Nomination for the US Senate in 2012
In May 2012, the Maryland Libertarian Party nominated Ahmed as its 2012 Senate candidate. After a successful legal battle for eligibility, he ran against Democratic politician Ben Cardin and Republican Dan Bongeno. Independent Rob Sobhani. Major issues of Ahmed's program included bringing US forces home, restoring civil liberties endangered by the "war on terror", working to hold the federal government financially accountable, and ending corporate welfare.
Ahmed was supported by former Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's candidate for President of the United States. Johnson wrote: "Dr. Ahmed is a strong and consistent voice calling for individual liberty for all Americans. His record of success as a civic activist for decades proves that Dr. Dean Ahmed is the kind of American senator this nation really needs.” Ahmed Johnson also supported it.
Ahmed participated in the Wallop Radio debate on October 24, 2012. Montgomery County Media broadcast his statement regarding his candidacy. Ahmed raised $8,565 to fund his campaign. He got 32,252 votes, accounting for 1.3 percent of the total.
from his publications
Islamic Social Thought, 1982.
Signs in the Sky: A Muslim Astronomer's View on Religion, Science, and Islamic Rules of Order, 1992.
Female Genital Mutilation: An Islamic Perspective, 2000.
Research Handbook on Islamic Work Ethics, 2015.
Islamic Contributions to Modern Scientific Methods, 2012.
Islam, Trade and Entrepreneurship Ethics, 2004.
Achievements and Awards
Awards
As the former president of the East Bethesda Citizens' Association and the Montgomery County Civic Union, Imad El Din Ahmed has received the Montgomery County Civic Union Star Cup Award for Distinguished Public Service, the Democracy Hero Award from the Marylanders for Democracy and the Guardian Award. From the Montgomery County Civic Union. In 2012, Ahmed was one of several Arab Americans honored at the Gaithersburg City Awards. In 1990, he received the Maryland Libertarian Samuel Chase Award, named after the Maryland representative at the signing ceremony of the American Declaration of Independence.
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