Abdul Aziz Said
Mohammed Said Farsi Professor of Islamic Peace
asaid@american.edu
202-885-1632 

Professor Said is the senior ranking faculty at American University, and personifies the commitment of life long learning, both on and off campus.  On AU’s campus, Professor Said is the occupant of the Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace and remains a favorite teacher that students describe as ‘transformative.’  He also provides essential leadership as founding director of the International Peace and Conflict Resolution Division (SIS) and as founding director of the university-wide Center for Global Peace (CGP).
 

For decades Abdul Aziz Said (SIS) has worked quietly and effectively to create a safe space for Iraqis to come together to construct a vision for their future--Arabs and Kurds, Shi'as and Sunnis. Widely known among Iraqi exiles who would become Iraq's key political figures after the removal of the Saddam regime in April 2003, Professor Said was tapped by the State Department as one of only two outside experts to guide the Democratic Principles Working Group within the Future of Iraq Project in which Iraqis discussed the challenges of governance and reconstruction on the eve of the fall of Saddam's regime. Ten years earlier, in 1992, Said organized a conference on the future of democracy in the Arab World, bringing together Iraqis who would spearhead the opposition over the next decade including Kenan Makiya, Rend Al Rahim and Laith Kubba.
 

With Iraq expert Carole O'Leary (CGP and SIS), Said organized what proved to be a seminal conference in June 2002, bringing together key leaders of the Iraqi opposition less than a year before Operation Iraqi Freedom, including Sherif Ali bin Al Hussein, a descendent of Iraq's last king who was murdered in a coup in 1958, Hoshyar Zebari who was to become Iraq's first post-Saddam foreign minister, Salih Al-Shaihkly who represented Ayad Allawi at the conference and is currently serving as Iraq's Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ghassan Al-Atiyyah who established the Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy.  In June 2004, Said and O’Leary brought together Iraqi political and religious leaders, including Nesreen Barwari, Iraq's Minister of Municipalities and Public Works, with international experts to compare power sharing arrangements and other key challenges of constructing a permanent Iraqi constitution.  Sheikh Ghazi Al Yawer addressed the conference panelists at American University.  Just days prior to the start of the conference, Sheikh Ghazi was named Iraq's first interim president by the members of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC).  Said, who has known Sheikh Ghazi for decades, advised the State Department to include him in the IGC which was established shortly after the fall of the Saddam regime.  Sheikh Ghazi currently holds the position of Deputy President of Iraq.
 

While AU is his institutional home base, Professor Said considers the world his classroom and he is often sought out to present at conferences and provide consultations.  This year his global ‘study sessions’ included: “Educating for Global Citizenship” presented at “The Principles of the Abrahamic Faiths: Traditions that Advance Education” sponsored by Creative Associates International and The Caux Round Table; “The Crisis of American Policies in the Middle East: Reflections upon the Context of US-Middle East Relations” presented at the World Presidents’ Organization; “The Architects Map: Spirituality, Politics and Peace” presented to Quantum Evolution. Congress Center Alpbach (Austria); “The Last Monolith: Transforming Cultural Conflict to Cooperative Politics” 3rd World Meeting of Religions and Cultures For A New World Cultural Contract (Greece); “Unity in Diversity: The Cultural Mosaic of Iraq” The First Cultural Forum on Iraq UNESCO Headquarters (France); and “The Whole World Needs the Whole World: Establishing a Framework for the Dialogue of Civilizations” presented at Old Library Trust (Northern Ireland).
 

In addition to scholarly articles such as “Nonviolence as a Methodology of Social Change in Islam” and “Islam and the West: Narratives of Conflict and Conflict Transformation,” Professor Said‘s observations are often published as op-eds in The Philadelphia Inquirer and in Arab language newspapers on topics such as “The ‘Road Map’ Is Dead: Here Are Some Ways to Resurrect it” (May, 2005), “Beyond the Democracy Debate: Time to Make Decisions” (April, 2005), “Democracy: Is it Real in the Mideast?” (April, 2005), “Beyond the Democracy Debate” (April, 2005), “A Late Revision Can Help Iraq’s Election” (January, 2005).
 

Additionally, on April 22, 2005, Professor Said gave the opening address for dialogue conference between Evangelical Christians and American Muslims, sponsored by the Salam Institute in collaboration with the Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace, the Islamic Society of North America, and the Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences. The Salam Institute is partnering with Fuller Theological Seminary as part of a Department of Justice grant on Conflict Transformation. Washington DC.