M. Zuhdi Jasser, Chairman, Board of Directors
Dr. Jasser is the Chairman of the Board, founding member, and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD). He is the son of Muslim-Syrian immigrants and is a native of Wisconsin. Dr. Jasser received his B.Sc. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1988 and graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin on a U.S. Navy scholarship in 1992. He completed his specialty training in internal medicine at Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1996. His tours of duty included Medical Department Head aboard the U.S.S. El Paso ('93-'94) which deployed to Somalia (Operation Restore Hope), Chief Resident at Bethesda Naval Hospital ('96-'97), and Staff Internist for the Office of the Attending Physician to Congress in Washington, D.C ('97-'99). He has since been in the private practice of internal medicine and nuclear cardiology in Phoenix. Dr. Jasser is the immediate-Past President of the Arizona Medical Association (ArMA) and also chairs the Bioethics Committee for Banner Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. As a devout practicing Muslim, Dr. Jasser has always been very active in the study of Islam and its intersections with American culture. He has been active in multiple local efforts at interfaith work. In 2000 he and a leading local Rabbi founded the Children of Abraham, an active Muslim-Jewish dialogue group in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dr. Jasser has also serves as the Muslim representative on the Board of the Arizona Interfaith Movement since December 2001.
Dr. Jasser participated from November 1-2, 2006 in a Diversity Dialogues conference between American Muslims and Dutch Muslims in the Netherlands. He returned to the Netherlands at the request of of the U.S. Embassy in December 2007 to lead a Muslim program on Citizenship and Democracy and continue dialogue with Dutch leadership on the threat of political Islam to the west and the need to engage anti-Islamist Muslims.
He is one of the moderate, anti-Islamist Muslims featured in the controversial PBS film, Islam v Islamists produced by ABG Films, Inc. in 2007. This film was initially banned from distribution on PBS stations as originally intended in the Crossroads program but was then aired in a limited distribution to some affiliates. It did receive national acclaim in its release on the Fox News Channel in October 2007.
Dr. Jasser has participated in a number of academic panels and given a number of speeches on Islam, Islamism, and democracy at the Hudson Institute, Tufts University, and the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk to name a few. He was recently honored as a "Defender of the Home Front" at the annual Keeper of the Flame Dinner of the Center for Security Policy in October 2007. He is also a member of the Committee on the Present Danger.
Dr. Jasser is a frequent columnist on Islamic affairs for the Arizona Republic and a regular columnist and contributing editor for Family Security Matters. He is a frequent guest on CNN appearing regularly on the Glenn Beck Show of CNN Headline News. Dr. Jasser has also been published in the Washington Times, Beliefnet, Middle East Quarterly, and National Review. He is a frequent national radio and television commentator and featured speaker about Islam, Islamism, and counterterrorism. His writings can be found at the website of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
Sid Shahid, Director of Research and Publications
Sid Shahid is Director of Research and
Publications. Sid joined AIFD in 2005 because he believes in the core values of pluralism, separation of religion and state, and the spiritual practice of Islam. He became an AIFD Fellow in 2007. He is a modern Muslim who believes in the greatness of America. He directly assists AIFD founder Dr. Jasser with the intellectual product of the organization, including research and the formulation of AIFD positions. Sid also contributes to the organization as a writer and columnist.
Sid has a distinguished twenty-year career in Federal service that has included positions in the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Education in the field of investigations and compliance. His highest award is the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
Sid is an active member of the Scottsdale Muslim community. He holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science and History from the University of Denver and a Masters degree in Management from Webster University. Sid is a native of Colorado and has lived in the Phoenix Valley since 2003. He can be reached at (email: sid@aifdemocracy.org).