Cordoba Initiative Announces Mission to Sudan During Historic Elections

NEW YORK - The Cordoba Initiative (CI), a key bridge-builder between the Muslim world and the West, has announced it will deploy a special mission to Sudan during the nation’s April elections to gather information and data and provide a unique perspective.

“Sudan’s elections have the potential to transform Sudan and enable it to take a huge step forward,” said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of CI. “But Sudan faces significant challenges as well. These are the nation’s first multiparty elections in 24 years, many regions of the nation are underdeveloped, and there is a history of recent conflict.”

The CI Mission will field teams of rapporteurs in Khartoum, Darfur and the South, whose on-the-ground real-time feedback will assist in further strengthening its electoral processes now and in the future. While small in scale, CI believes its efforts will add unique value to future international observation efforts.

CI’s rapporteurs are experienced, professionally accomplished individuals who have displayed a consistent pattern of competence and dynamism. All of them are experienced researchers and most, if not all, have experience in conflict/post-conflict societies like Sudan. The rapporteurs were selected from both the US and UK to reflect a variety of demographics: Muslim/Non-Muslim, over 30/under 30, and Arabic-speaking/non-Arabic speaking.

They will visit polling stations and collect data primarily through interviews with local Sudanese, international observers, and others engaged in the election process. During their time in Sudan, Imam Feisal’s team will collect and organize first-hand data and research which will feed into an independent and comprehensive assessment of the elections for global distribution.

The CI mission is unique because it is the only civil society organization with a focus on Muslim and Muslim-Western issues that will be present during the elections. CI believes that the organization’s strong roots in bridging divides gives it a unique perspective and may yield insights not available to individuals without the same level of cultural familiarity.

CI believes that this mission, and the report that it will generate, will not only be of importance to the Sudanese elections, but that it can lay the framework for a more positive engagement between Washington and Khartoum, as well as between the Sudanese Government and opposition and minority groups. Facilitating a positive dialogue of respect and peace is a natural corollary of such a mission.

Cordoba believes that its mission to Sudan, and the elections themselves, are strongly connected to its core goal of promoting dialogue and understanding between the West and Muslim World.

About the Cordoba Initiative

CI is an independent, international non-profit, civil society organization. It seeks to build respect and understanding between the Muslim and Western worlds. Previously, CI leadership has advised policy makers on urgent cross-cultural and international issues, fostered cooperation between business and political leaders in both the Muslim world and the West, and built a professional network of young Muslims leaders to drive positive change in the world.

http://www.cordobainitiative.org

About Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf

Imam Feisal is a prominent Muslim elder statesman and independent voice for moderation, tolerance, and understanding. He is the author of three books, including What’s Right with Islam: a New Vision for Muslims and the West (one of the Christian Science Monitor’s Top Five Books of 2004). Imam Feisal has been interviewed by CNN, the BBC, New York Times, and Washington Post among others.

http://www.cordobainitiative.org/?q=content/staff-bios

For more information, please go to http://www.cordobainitiative.org.