Berkley Center Annual Report 2007-2008

Abstract

This report outlines the activities of the Berkley Center during its second year. Highlights included a December 2007 workshop in Doha, Qatar that examined the role of faith-inspired organizations in the Muslim world, followed by a parallel workshop in June 2008 that focused on such organizations in Europe and Africa. The Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Affairs supported both workshops, as well as two major symposia to mark the tenth anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act, held in February and April 2008. In January 2008 the sociologist José Casanova, a leading expert on religion and globalization, joined the center faculty as a senior fellow, and Abdulkarim Soroush, a world-renowned Muslim reformer, took up residence as a visiting fellow for the spring 2008 semester. During 2007– and 2008, the center produced two student-led publications: —the first Junior Year Abroad Network report and an Undergraduate Fellows Report on religious lobbies and their role in U.S. politics.