Forum on Religion, Migration, and Foreign Policy
April 23, 2007
Intercultural Center Auditorium
Cosponsors: Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Relations,
Center for the Study of International Migration
Experts from government, civil society, and academia met to discuss various issues related to the impact of growing religious diversity due to immigration on foreign policy.
The Panelists
Ms. Ishani Chowdhury - Executive Director, Hindu American Foundation (HAF)
Dr. Helen Rose Ebaugh - Professor of Sociology, the University of Houston Mr. Mark Hetfield - Senior Vice President for Policy & Programs, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Mr. Cem Özdemir - Member, European Parliament
Topics covered by the panelists in their presentations and then during the Question and Answer period were varied. They ranged from the persecution by Muslims of Hindus in Bangladesh and their subsequent pursuit of asylum-seeker-status in the US and elsewhere; the relocation of Soviet Jewry in US and Israel, and the status of Muslim minorities in Western Europe.