Political Islam in Asia Asia Society - New York, NY Facing the Challenge of Political Islam in Asia: Is Opposition or Engagement the Better Way Forward?Featuring Sadanand Dhume, Bernard Schwartz Fellow, Asia Society Washington Center Journalist and Writer; Radwan A. Masmoudi, Founder and President, Center of the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) and moderated by Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Bernard Schwartz Fellow, Asia Society Global Headquarters, Foreign Editor, Hindustan TimesDhume makes the case that in the long run U.S. interests lie in fostering secularism and enlightenment in Muslim Asia. He argues that Islamic societies must be held to the same standards of pluralism and human rights as the rest of the world, and that the ideology of Islamism is the biggest hurdle toward achieving this goal. For this reason, all Islamists - both those who use terrorism and those who renounce it - must be opposed. Masmoudi argues that non-violent Islamists - those who pursue a state and society based on Islamic sharia law - ought to be engaged by the U.S. government rather than opposed - Asia Society