The Tharwa Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Tharwa Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
grassroots
organization that encourages diversity
, development and democracy
in Syria
and the broader Middle East
/North Africa
. The Foundation derives its name from the Arabic word meaning wealth
. Incidentally, the word Tharwa sounds much like the Arabic word thawra, meaning revolution
. Founded in 2003, The Tharwa Foundation is an offshoot of the Tharwa Project, an initiative launched in Syria by Ammar Abdulhamid
and Khawla Yusuf.. Ammar is a blog
ger, human rights activist and author
. Khawla is an author, politician, and human rights
activist.
The Tharwa Foundation released its Manifesto
in early 2007. As of May 2008, it has been signed by 100 nonviolent human rights activists in the region.
and North Africa
region. Through programs that encourage inter-communal dialogue and leadership development
, Tharwa uses a range of educational, networking
and outreach strategies to enable people of different religious, economic and ethnic backgrounds to come together to discuss peaceful solutions to the region's longstanding socio-political and development challenges.
Since its inception, Tharwa has been guided by a vision for the region’s future, based upon:
in 2001 by activist and dissident Ammar Abdulhamid
to spotlight the living conditions of religious and ethnic minorities and foster constructive dialogue
between majority and minority communities in the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA
) region, in the hope of enabling the creation of new bridges of inter-communal trust and understanding, facilitating the ongoing processes of democratization
and modernization
and helping to stem the rising tide of extremist ideologies.
With a small paid staff, and a larger network of regular contributing reporters, Tharwa developed communication tools to enable inter-communal dialogue in the MENA region. Utilizing an interactive website
, online publications, and a number of regional and international advisors and partnering institutions, such as BitterLemons, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
(IWPR), Pax Christi Nederland, Hivos
, Heinrich Boell Stiftung, and openDemocracy.net, Tharwa fostered new avenues for communications and grassroots activism in the region.
However, as the Project continued to produce reports on the sensitive issues of minority rights
and political reform
, it attracted increased scrutiny from the government in Syria
, impairing its ability to operate freely there. Eventually Mr. Abdulhamid, himself a vocal critic of the Syrian government, was asked to leave the country. He returned to the United States
on 7 September 2005.
The Tharwa Foundation established its headquarters in the Washington, DC area in December 2006. The Foundation currently sponsors a number of activities in the region such as the Tharwa Institute for Democratic Leadership, launched in 2007 to help train a new generation
of young democracy activists. Tharwa’s multimedia reports and publications are now hosted online at the Tharwa Foundation website
www.tharwafoudnation.org . The US office now administers and coordinates Tharwa’s programs and activities, and hopes to expand the scope of these activities over the coming years to enable the emergence of a new, diverse class of democratic leaders, empowered to represent the true aspirations of the people of the broader MENA region.
, and a six-month online course in Arabic addressing the key concepts of authoritarian and democratic political systems, political transitions, and advocacy campaign planning.
journalists, Tharwa hopes to provide an unfiltered source of news
and analysis from citizens in Syria
and the MENA
region for regional analysts, researchers, and policymakers.
. The Foundation sponsors this program through hosting citizen journalists on the Syrian Elector website (www.syrianelector.com) and the Tharwa Foundation website (www.tharwafoundation.org).
This Maryland
-based non-profit acts as the mechanism to help thousands of Muslims highlight cross-culture commonalities and set aside divergent ideologies.
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organization that encourages diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, development and democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and the broader Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
/North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. The Foundation derives its name from the Arabic word meaning wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
. Incidentally, the word Tharwa sounds much like the Arabic word thawra, meaning revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
. Founded in 2003, The Tharwa Foundation is an offshoot of the Tharwa Project, an initiative launched in Syria by Ammar Abdulhamid
Ammar Abdulhamid
Ammar Abdulhamid is a Syrian-born human rights activist, dissident, and founder of the Tharwa Foundation.-Early life:...
and Khawla Yusuf.. Ammar is a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, human rights activist and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. Khawla is an author, politician, and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist.
The Tharwa Foundation released its Manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
in early 2007. As of May 2008, it has been signed by 100 nonviolent human rights activists in the region.
Mission statement
The Tharwa Foundation was established to provide a supportive environment for democratic principles and practices in the broader Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
region. Through programs that encourage inter-communal dialogue and leadership development
Leadership development
Leadership development refers to any activity that enhances the quality of leadership within an individual or organization. These activities have ranged from MBA style programs offered at university business schools to action learning, high-ropes courses and executive retreats.- Developing...
, Tharwa uses a range of educational, networking
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
and outreach strategies to enable people of different religious, economic and ethnic backgrounds to come together to discuss peaceful solutions to the region's longstanding socio-political and development challenges.
Since its inception, Tharwa has been guided by a vision for the region’s future, based upon:
- The emergence of an open and self-empowering commonwealthCommonwealthCommonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
of nations in the broader Middle East and North Africa region, where traditional communal identifications – ethnic, religious, and linguistic – are sources of the region’s wealthWealthWealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
and prosperityProsperityProsperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune and/or successful social status. Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes others factors which are independent of wealth to varying degrees, such as happiness and health....
, rather than its division and decline
- Increased political awareness and issue-based, grassroots mobilization among disenfranchised groups in the region
- A growing role for local, national, and supranational non-state actors and institutions, forming the basis of vibrant civil societies where diversityMulticulturalismMulticulturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
is respected and celebrated
- Democratic governments that respond to the demands and needs of their citizens and address the basic developmental challenges of their countries and their growing problems of economic stagnationEconomic stagnationEconomic stagnation or economic immobilism, often called simply stagnation or immobilism, is a prolonged period of slow economic growth , usually accompanied by high unemployment. Under some definitions, "slow" means significantly slower than potential growth as estimated by experts in macroeconomics...
, political alienationPolitical alienationPolitical alienation refers to an individual citizen's relatively enduring sense of estrangement from or rejection of the prevailing political system....
, apathyApathyApathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical or physical life.They may lack a sense of purpose or meaning in...
and extremismExtremismExtremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
- Respect for the rights of all personsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
residing in the region, in accordance with the principles outlined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international conventions on human rights.
History of the Tharwa Project
The Tharwa Foundation was established to continue the work of the Tharwa Project, an independent initiative launched in SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in 2001 by activist and dissident Ammar Abdulhamid
Ammar Abdulhamid
Ammar Abdulhamid is a Syrian-born human rights activist, dissident, and founder of the Tharwa Foundation.-Early life:...
to spotlight the living conditions of religious and ethnic minorities and foster constructive dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
between majority and minority communities in the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA
MENA
The term MENA, for "Middle East and North Africa", is an acronym often used in academic, military planning and business writing.The term covers an extensive region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including the majority of both the Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries...
) region, in the hope of enabling the creation of new bridges of inter-communal trust and understanding, facilitating the ongoing processes of democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
and modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
and helping to stem the rising tide of extremist ideologies.
With a small paid staff, and a larger network of regular contributing reporters, Tharwa developed communication tools to enable inter-communal dialogue in the MENA region. Utilizing an interactive website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, online publications, and a number of regional and international advisors and partnering institutions, such as BitterLemons, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Institute for War & Peace Reporting is an international media development charity, established in 1991. It runs major programmes in Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, the Balkans, Congo DRC, Tunisia and Uganda...
(IWPR), Pax Christi Nederland, Hivos
Hivos
Hivos is a Dutch organization for development co-inspired by humanist values. Hivos provides financial and political support to over 800 partner organizations in over 30 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Southeastern Europe...
, Heinrich Boell Stiftung, and openDemocracy.net, Tharwa fostered new avenues for communications and grassroots activism in the region.
However, as the Project continued to produce reports on the sensitive issues of minority rights
Minority rights
The term Minority Rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or sexual minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups...
and political reform
Political Reform
The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia supports the promotion of a democratically governed Saudi Arabia. Due to its influence on an estimated 1.2 billion Muslims around the world, and its location with relation to the world's oil market, The Center believes that "Saudi Arabia...
, it attracted increased scrutiny from the government in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, impairing its ability to operate freely there. Eventually Mr. Abdulhamid, himself a vocal critic of the Syrian government, was asked to leave the country. He returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on 7 September 2005.
The Establishment of the Tharwa Foundation
Despite these setbacks for the Project, the Tharwa team continues to operate openly in Syria and the broader MENA region, and the number of its members, supporting partners and regular contributors is on the rise.The Tharwa Foundation established its headquarters in the Washington, DC area in December 2006. The Foundation currently sponsors a number of activities in the region such as the Tharwa Institute for Democratic Leadership, launched in 2007 to help train a new generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
of young democracy activists. Tharwa’s multimedia reports and publications are now hosted online at the Tharwa Foundation website
www.tharwafoudnation.org . The US office now administers and coordinates Tharwa’s programs and activities, and hopes to expand the scope of these activities over the coming years to enable the emergence of a new, diverse class of democratic leaders, empowered to represent the true aspirations of the people of the broader MENA region.
The Tharwa Manifesto
The Tharwa Institute for Democratic Leadership
The Institute is a training initiative for emerging reformers and human rights activists from the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The program consisted of two five-day workshops in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, and a six-month online course in Arabic addressing the key concepts of authoritarian and democratic political systems, political transitions, and advocacy campaign planning.
The Citizen Journalism Initiative
By sponsoring unaffiliatedUnaffiliated
Unaffiliated is a term used to refer to individuals who are not aligned with a particular religion.According to the Pew Research Center, this group includes atheists, agnostics, and people who describe their religion as "nothing in particular"....
journalists, Tharwa hopes to provide an unfiltered source of news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
and analysis from citizens in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and the MENA
MENA
The term MENA, for "Middle East and North Africa", is an acronym often used in academic, military planning and business writing.The term covers an extensive region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including the majority of both the Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries...
region for regional analysts, researchers, and policymakers.
. The Foundation sponsors this program through hosting citizen journalists on the Syrian Elector website (www.syrianelector.com) and the Tharwa Foundation website (www.tharwafoundation.org).
This Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
-based non-profit acts as the mechanism to help thousands of Muslims highlight cross-culture commonalities and set aside divergent ideologies.
Further reading
- Ammar Abdulhamid. The Tharwa Manifesto for Non-Violent Change in the Middle East
- Newsweek. Unwanted Attention: Arab Bloggers Face Government Clampdowns.
- Bitter Lemons. The New Revolutionaries
- Japan Times. No payoff in dialogue with Iran, Syria.
- The Jewish Daily. Assad’s Olive Branch Can Bear No Fruit
- The New York Sun. Democracy in Damascus
- Syrians Arrest of Leading Democracy Activist Sparks Outcry
- Time. Syria In Bush’s Cross Hairs.
- Voice of America. On The Line: Internet Freedom
External links
- Tharwa Foundation official website
- Official site on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Syrian Elector
- The Mideast Connect: Non-Profit Spotlight
- Movement for Justice and Development
- Our Voices Together Blog
- Civil Rights in the Middle East
- STUDENTS ORGANIZE FREEDOM CONCERT
- Dialogue with Syria: Opportunity or Ambush?
- Syrian Dissident Launches Campaign Against Presidential Referendum in Syria