ICMES Mission

The mission of ICMES is to inform and enlighten American citizens and the West concerning current states of mind in the Middle East and to inform and apprise governments, non-governmental organizations, and citizens of present and current dangers, hazards, and threats of concern to the Middle East and global communities.

Organizational Goals

ICMES will serve in support of education and conflict resolution roles that will pursue, promote and provide peaceful solutions and outcomes to Middle East social, political, economic, cultural, and educational problems and concerns. ICMES will strive to provide people with a better understanding of major religious and non-religious beliefs that are relevant to the Middle East. [read more]


ICMES Conversations With...

Continuing the Palestinian Struggle:
An Interview with Fouzi El-Asmar

For over 50 years, Fouzi El-Asmar has been one of the most important public intellectuals of the Palestinian liberation struggle. He is most well known as the author of the landmark autobiographical work, To Be an Arab in Israel (1975), and as a prolific journalist specializing in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with particular focus on the Palestinian citizens of Israel. Less well-known is the fact that Dr. El-Asmar earned a doctorate in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter, with a dissertation on Hebrew children's literature published subsequently as Through the Hebrew Looking-Glass: Arab Stereotypes in Children's Literature (1986), and that he also published several collections of poetry as well as collective works theorizing a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. ICMES Board member Terri Ginsberg sat and talked with Dr. El-Asmar about his writing, his activism, and his present views about the Israeli situation and the Palestinian struggle. [read more]

Recent & Upcoming ICMES Activities

To What Extent is Iran a Threat to Israel? Is Military Intervention by Israel and/or the West Probable?

On February 29, 2011, ICMES hosted Iranian policy expert, Trita Parsi, and Israeli security specialist Ehud Eilam, as they discussed the perceived danger posed by contemporary Iran to Israel and the advisability of Israeli and/or Western military intervention into Iran.  Trita Parsi is the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council and author of two outstanding books on Israel, Iran and the U.S.  Ehud Eilam is an Israeli security expert who has served as a lecturer and academic instructor in the Israel Defense Forces’ Staff and Command College. The session was moderated by Norton Mezvinsky, President of ICMES. [see flyer] - [in Arabic]

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The Arab Revolts and Their Consequences

On February 7, 2012 ICMES, in joint sponsorship with the Council for the National Interest Foundation, held a panel discussion about the ongoing and far-reaching effects of the monumental Arab uprisings. This program took place from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Room 122 of the Cannon House Building in Washington, D.C. The panelists were Chas Freeman, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, former Co-chair of the U.S. China Policy Foundation, Executive Committee member at the Atlantic Council, and President Emeritus of the Middle East Policy Council; and Prof. Paul R. Pillar, Director of Graduate Studies at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, former National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, and former Deputy Director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center. The panel was moderated by Peter Kelly, Chairman of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and former treasurer and national finance chairman of the Democratic Party’s National Committee. [see flyer]

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Past ICMES Events

New Approaches to Peace in the Middle East

On October 24, 2011, Dr. Ghada Karmi of the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, Issam Saliba, Esq. of the U.S. Law Library of Congress, and Dr. Rafi Danziger, formerly of AIPAC, presented their respective ideas for a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Karmi and Saliba argued for peaceful solutions that are often given short shrift in the mainline public sphere in that they challenge arguments favoring Israeli as well as Palestinian statehood. Danziger presented an opposing view. The event was co-sponsored by ICMES and The George Washingon University Law School.

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Doctrinal Foundation of Political Power under Sharia and Halachah

On October 4, 2011, ICMES co-hosted a session comparing and contrasting understandings of political power by and within Shari’ah (Islamic law) and Halakhah (Jewish law). The session was held at the Georgetown University Law Center and featured Rabbi Shlomo Yaffee of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law, and Attorney Issam Michael Saliba (ICMES), specialist in Islamic law at the Law Library of Congress. ICMES chair and Georgetown University Law Professor Don Wallace moderated the session. [see flyer]

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Dynamics of Palestine in the Coming Arab & UN Seasons – Five Perspectives


On September 14, 2011 ICMES and the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations co-hosted a session at the International Law Institute discussing the relationship of the present and ongoing political situation in the Middle East to the upcoming United Nations decision on Palestinian statehood. How have the Arab uprisings affected–and been affected by–the Palestinian struggle? What role does both Israel and the Palestinian bid for statehood play in the context of these dynamics? What has been the US response to the situation, and what are its developing limits and possibilities? Participants included Dr. Fouzi El-Asmar (ICMES), Dr. Philip Giraldi (Council on the National Interest), author Mark Perry, and Middle East security specialist Jeffrey Steinberg. The session was chaired by ILI Chairman Prof. Don Wallace. Professor Norton Mezvinsky was the commentator. [see flyer]

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Ongoing ICMES Projects

Religion and State in and on the Periphery of the Contemporary Middle East: A Close Examination of Five Separate Countries

This ground-breaking book, edited by Issam M. Saliba and sponsored by ICMES, will contain sophisticated essays that compare the relationship between religion and state in five Muslim majority countries:  Iran, Turkey,  Sudan,  Palestine and Mauritania. An introductory chapter will discuss the theoretical formulation of Islam and the state. Numerous perspectives and arguments, rarely heard in the West, will be presented. Most of the contributors to this scholarly collection are indigenous scholars and writers from the designated countries. This book promises to be not only a contribution itself but also a model for further study. [read more]