Sohail Hashmi is an associate professor of international relations at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. He is an expert on Islam, pluralism, Islamic political thought and jihad. He posits that Islam lacks a tradition of political thought.

The Saban Center for Middle East Policy is based at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit organization that focuses on U.S. foreign policy through funding independent research, publishing and events. It is based in Washington, D.C.

The National Democracy Institute for International Affairs is a nonprofit organization that seeks to support democracies throughout the world. Its website is searchable by some countries. Kenneth Wollack is president.

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding is an independent nonprofit think tank committed to research and analysis of U.S. domestic and foreign policies, with an emphasis on issues related to the Muslim community in the United States. Katherine Coplen is director of communications.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies seeks to influence and develop international policy. It has a Middle East Program which focuses on U.S. foreign policy in the region. Its Turkey Project focuses on U.S. policy and Turkish politics. The South Asia Program focuses on the politics and strategic developments in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Afghanistan. H. Andrew Schwartz […]

The Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World is a program of the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. It hosts seminars and lectures and conducts research on the role of Islam in the politics and government of the Islamic world. Carolyn Stewart is the press secretary.

Harvard University’s Islam in the West Program is a project of the university’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies. It focuses on the relationship between Islam and democracy in North America. Among the goals is to compare the attitudes of Muslims in Europe and Muslims in America. It conducts seminars, student workshops and surveys of Muslims and produces publications.

The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University in New York City focuses on the study of the Middle East, especially on its economies, cultures and politics. Helga Tawil Souri is executive director.

The Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska in Omaha is a center of research on the Afghan region, peoples and cultures, including the country’s politics. Charley Reed is the center’s media contact.