WHO SPEAKS FOR ISLAM? WHAT A BILLION MUSLIMS REALLY THINK

WHO SPEAKS FOR ISLAM? WHAT A BILLION MUSLIMS REALLY THINK
New Gallup Book & Public Forum with co-author Dalia Mogahed & "24" producer Howard Gordon Challenges Western Assumptions & Stereotypes of the Muslim World

PRESS PREVIEW - Monday April 28th @ 10:30 am-noon
LOS ANGELES PRESS CLUB
4773 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles 90027. Tel. 323.669.8081.

PUBLIC FORUM - Tuesday April 29TH @ 7:30 pm
MARK TAPER AUDITORIUM, LA Central Library, Downtown
5th and Flower Streets, Los Angeles 90071

"In these fraught days of heightened tension and increasing hostility, few books could be more timely." ?Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner

[LOS ANGELES, APRIL 9, 2008] Who really speaks for Islam? Based on the largest and most in-depth study of its kind, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think presents the remarkable findings of the Gallup Organization's six-year poll of the Muslim world-the first ever data-based analysis of the points of view of more than 90% of the global Muslim community, spanning nearly 40 countries and representing 1.3 Billion Muslims.

On Tuesday, April 29, 7:30 pm, co-author DALIA MOGAHED will discuss "Who Speaks for Islam?" with "24" executive producer HOWARD GORDON and special guests in a public forum moderated by KPFK's NILE EL-WARDANI. Gordon is an American screenwriter and producer who graduated from Princeton; his writing/producing credits include "The X Files," and "24."

A press conference on Monday, April 28, 10:30 a.m.-noon, will take place at the Los Angeles Press Club, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles 90027. Tel. 323.669.8081.

Who Speaks for Islam?
In the largest study of its kind, Gallup's findings challenge popular notions, mainstream media pundits and the inevitability of a global conflict as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue. Despite widespread media coverage of global terrorism from America and Europe to the Middle East and Asia, little is known about what majorities of the world's Muslims really think and feel. What do Muslims say about violence and terrorist attacks? What do they say about democracy, women, and relations with the West? What are their values, goals, and religious beliefs?

Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think by John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed (Gallup Press; hardcover) sheds new light into the "increasing hostility" that Archbishop Tutu characterizes.

Tuesday, April 29, 7:30 pm, Mark Taper Auditorium, Los Angeles Central Public Library, 5th and Flower Streets, Los Angeles 90071. Free to the public, donations welcome. RSVPs required: 310. 657.5511. Visit levantinecenter.org.

This program is presented by the Levantine Cultural Center. It is sponsored by OneNation, a philanthropic collaborative with the vision of fostering a national conversation about the common values we share as Americans, regardless of how we choose to express our spirituality. One Nation sponsors projects?such as this public forum?that challenge stereotypes and misperceptions of Muslims and Islam by shining a spotlight on our shared values, beliefs and responsibilities. This program is cosponsored by the Los Angeles Public Library, Social Sciences Department; The99.org/Teshkeel Media Group, the Muslim-West Facts Initiative; the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Muslims for Progressive Values, and USC's Center for Religion and Civic Culture which promotes research related to the involvement of religion and religious institutions in civic culture, emphasizing the study of religion, cultural pluralism, community organizing, community development and public policy.