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How Do Americans Observe Ramadan?

Janine Sides/State Dept.

Seema Matin & William Lawrence Date: Wednesday, 26 September 2007 Time: 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) View Webchat Transcript

Muslims around the globe, including in the United States, have begun observances of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and contemplation. Please join Seema Matin and William Lawrence, who will discuss how Americans -- Muslim and non-Muslim alike -- mark Ramadan.

Guest Biography: Seema Matin, an American Muslim who chooses to wear the hijab, works as a public diplomacy officer for the U.S. Department of State for Policy, Planning, and Resources for the Office of the Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs where she focuses on one of Under Secretary Hughes's signature programs the Youth Enrichment Program (YEP), Muslim outreach efforts and other projects to counter ideological support for terrorism. Matin first joined the department in January 2002, with her first assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During this tour, she was the first female to serve as the U.S. ambassador’s representative to the biannual Kaba Washing Ceremony, one of the most prestigious diplomatic functions in Saudi Arabia. She returned to Washington DC in 2004 and worked in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs as a Strategic Planning officer. She holds a Masters Degree in Information Management from the University of Maryland.

Dr. William Lawrence is the Deputy Advisor for Islamic World Science Partnerships and covers Maghreb and Islamic Affairs for the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation in the State Department's Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science. He focuses much of his time on the U.S.-Libya Science and Technology Dialogue and implementing newly signed cooperation agreements with Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, including the Digital Library for the Maghreb. Lawrence holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, focusing on North African History, Politics, and Culture, economic development, and Islamic Law. He has helped train five U.S. ambassadors for service in the Maghreb, and is a frequent guest lecturer and contributor to the organization of seminars at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (FSI). He is fluent in French and four North African dialects of Arabic and has travelled extensively and lived in North Africa and in the northern Africa region for 22 years. He worked in North Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, Fulbright Scholar, development consultant, researcher, and Arab music producer, producing or contributing to the production of fourteen CD's of North African music, and has participated in and produced dozens of programs on North African music, culture, and politics for several Boston area radio stations, National Public Radio, and the BBC.