Mission Statement

Promoting individual dignity and freedom for people throughout the world by sponsoring high-quality independent research with a particular focus on the threats from extremism and radical ideologies.

History

The Westminster Institute was established in March 2009 to promote individual dignity and freedom for people throughout the world by sponsoring high-quality research, with a particular focus on the threats from extremism and radical ideologies.

Westminster Institute

Ambassador Alberto M. Fernandez is President of the Middle East Broadcasting Network (MBN). MBN provides news and information in Arabic to the Middle East and North Africa. He was a Foreign Service Officer from 1983 to 2015 and served as the State Department&rsquo;s Coordinator for the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications.

Director

Reinventing an American International Broadcasting Network to the Arab World

Dr. L&aacute;szl&oacute; Szab&oacute; was appointed Ambassador of Hungary to the United States in July 2017. Ambassador Dr. L&aacute;szl&oacute; Szab&oacute; previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2014-2017.

Ambassador

Immigration and the Preservation of European Culture

Ahmet S. Yayla, Ph.D. is co-author of ISIS Defectors: Inside Stories of the Terrorist Caliphate. He is an Adjunct Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. He was the Chief of Counterterrorism and Operations for the Turkish National Police with a 20-year career interviewing terrorists.

Author, ISIS Defectors: Inside Stories of the Terrorist Caliphate

How Turkey Sees Its Role in the World

Patrick Clawson is Morningstar senior fellow and director of research at the Washington Institute, where he directs the Iran Security Initiative. Widely consulted as an analyst, he has authored more than 150 articles about the Middle East and international economics and is the author or editor of eighteen books or studies on Iran.

Morningstar senior fellow and director of research

Will the Islamic Republic Last Long Enough to Get a Nuclear Bomb?

Joseph Braude is the author of Broadcasting Change: Arabic Media as a Catalyst for Liberalism. As Braude argues in this groundbreaking book, media can play a crucial role in countering extremism, challenging entrenched ideas, and bridging distances. Braude is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.

Senior Fellow · Program on the Middle East

Westminster Institute - Broadcasting Change: Arabic Media as a Catalyst for Liberalism

Lieutenant General TNI (Army; Ret.) Agus Widjojo is the Governor of the Indonesian National Resilience Institute, the ministerial-level agency directly placed under the President, responsible for national strategy making and advising. General Widjojo served as the Commandant of Joint Forces Command and Staff College College. He played a critical role in Indonesia's transition to democracy.

Governor of the Indonesian National Resilience Institute

How to Support Democracy in a Pluralistic, Highly Religious Society: The Case of Indonesia

David Goldman&nbsp;is an American economist, music critic, and author, best known for his series of online essays in the Asia Times&nbsp;under the pseudonym Spengler. He is the Wax Family Fellow at the Middle East Forum, a Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, and a member of the Board of Advisors of Sino-Israel Government Network and Academic Leadership (SIGNAL). According to the Claremont Review of Books, the "Spengler" columns&nbsp;in the Asia Times have attracted readership in the millions. His analyses of global events have become highly regarded. Former C.I.A. National Intelligence Council Vice Chairman Herbert E. Meyer said, "Ask anyone in the intelligence business to name the world's most brilliant intelligence service, and we'll all give the same answer: Spengler. David P. Goldman's 'Spengler' columns provide more insight than the CIA, MI6, and the Mossad combined." Goldman concealed his identity under the "Spengler" pseudonym until 2009, when he revealed his identity in the Asia Times article, "And Spengler is..."&nbsp;and the First Things article "Confessions of a Coward". Goldman regularly appears as a guest on CNBC's Larry Kudlow Program, where he has been an outspoken critic of Federal Reserve&nbsp;efforts to resuscitate the American economy.He is the author of How Civilizations Die: (And Why Islam is Dying Too) and It's Not the End of the World, It's Just the End of You: The Great Extinction of the Nations.

David Goldman&nbsp;is an American economist, music critic, and author, best known for his series of online essays in the Asia Times&nbsp;under the pseudonym Spengler. He is the Wax Family Fellow at the Middle East Forum, a Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, and a member of the Board of Advisors of Sino-Israel Government Network and Academic Leadership (SIGNAL).
 
According to the Claremont Review of Books, the "Spengler" columns&nbsp;in the Asia Times have attracted readership in the millions. His analyses of global events have become highly regarded. Former C.I.A. National Intelligence Council Vice Chairman Herbert E. Meyer said, "Ask anyone in the intelligence business to name the world's most brilliant intelligence service, and we'll all give the same answer: Spengler. David P. Goldman's 'Spengler' columns provide more insight than the CIA, MI6, and the Mossad combined." Goldman concealed his identity under the "Spengler" pseudonym until 2009, when he revealed his identity in the Asia Times article, "And Spengler is..."&nbsp;and the First Things article "Confessions of a Coward".
 
Goldman regularly appears as a guest on CNBC's Larry Kudlow Program, where he has been an outspoken critic of Federal Reserve&nbsp;efforts to resuscitate the American economy.

He is the author of How Civilizations Die: (And Why Islam is Dying Too) and It's Not the End of the World, It's Just the End of You: The Great Extinction of the Nations.

Asia Times columnist

Will China overtake the U.S. as the world's leading superpower?

At the Institute of Religion and Democracy since 1993, Faith McDonnell is the Director of Religious Liberty Programs and of the Church Alliance for a New Sudan. She writes and speaks on the subject of the persecuted church and has organized rallies and vigils for Sudan in front of the White House, the State Department, the Canadian Embassy, and the Sudanese Embassy. She has drafted legislation on religious persecution for the Episcopal Church and for the United States Congress. In June 2007, her book, Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda's Children, was published by Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.&nbsp;She is a Contributing Editor to Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policyand writes for such publications as&nbsp;Breitbart, The Stream, FrontPageMag, PJMedia,&nbsp;and with Chelsen Vicari has a blog site,&nbsp;Faith&amp;Chelsen: Tackling Tough Topics in Church &amp; Culture,&nbsp;on the Patheos Evangelical Channel. Faith is a member of Church of the Apostles, Anglican, and serves on the church's international missions committee. She serves as a board member for several human rights organizations.

At the Institute of Religion and Democracy since 1993, Faith McDonnell is the Director of Religious Liberty Programs and of the Church Alliance for a New Sudan. She writes and speaks on the subject of the persecuted church and has organized rallies and vigils for Sudan in front of the White House, the State Department, the Canadian Embassy, and the Sudanese Embassy. She has drafted legislation on religious persecution for the Episcopal Church and for the United States Congress. In June 2007, her book, Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda's Children, was published by Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.&nbsp;She is a Contributing Editor to Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policyand writes for such publications as&nbsp;Breitbart, The Stream, FrontPageMag, PJMedia,&nbsp;and with Chelsen Vicari has a blog site,&nbsp;Faith&amp;Chelsen: Tackling Tough Topics in Church &amp; Culture,&nbsp;on the Patheos Evangelical Channel. 
Faith is a member of Church of the Apostles, Anglican, and serves on the church's international missions committee. She serves as a board member for several human rights organizations.

Director of Religious Liberty Programs and of the Church Alliance for a New Sudan

Underestimating Sudan and What That Means to the Region, the U.S., and the World

Indonesia contains the world&rsquo;s largest Muslim population. Yet insufficient attention has been paid to how it sees the threat of radical Islam, a subject that Wibawanto Nugroho has studied deeply. He has served in the Indonesian government in several capacities. His PhD at the University of Exeter is on Understanding Islamist Radical Terrorism.

PhD Candidate

Understanding Islamist Radical Terrorism

Major General Abbas Ibrahim is head of Lebanon's Directorate of General Security (DGS), which Asharq al-Awsat calls &ldquo;The Eyes and Ears of the Lebanese State.&rdquo; He is a highly decorated officer with first-hand knowledge of the most sensitive security challenges in the Middle East.

Major General

Special Briefing: The Security Challenges for Lebanon and the Surrounding Area

In 2014, Sarwah won a seat in the Iraqi Parliament as a member of the Goran (Change) party. Defending women's rights and democracy in Kurdistan and the Iraqi Parliament, Sarwah recently became the head of the Goran party bloc in parliament. She will talk about the Kurdish independence referendum, women's rights, and suffering under ISIS.

Goran Party Bloc Leader

The Future of Iraqi Kurdistan, Women's Rights and What Happened under ISIS in Iraq

Robert &quot;Bud&quot; McFarlane was National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1983 to 1985. He will discuss: &quot;The Sunni Response to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action&quot;. Reception starts at 7:00 pm.

National Security Advisor (1983-1985)

The Sunni Response To The Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action – Toward MAD Or Stability?

S. Frederick Starr is the founding Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, a joint transatlantic research center affiliated with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University in Washington (where he is a Research Professor) and the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm. His research on the countries of Greater Central Asia, their history, development, internal dynamics, as well as on US policy towards the region has resulted in twenty-two books and 200 published articles. He has also written extensively on Russian History and current affairs.

What Was Islamic Culture And What Happened To It?

Former Congressman Frank Wolf will introduce Sister Diana Momeka for a Special Eyewitness Briefing on ISISEyewitness Dominican&nbsp;Sister Diana&nbsp;Momeka, during a hearing before Congress in 2015, testified: &quot;Uprooted and forcefully displaced, we have realized that ISIS&#39;s plan is to evacuate the land of Christians and wipe the earth clean of any evidence that we ever existed.&quot; Sr. Diana&#39;s own convent was destroyed by ISIS. She founded and runs the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001YIg_DSEb9n1klQMPI2ij2AXCh13alQoB1c5GFrSFegKaI6LAQPgseLeYyd-oyXFeyFUvE6Kn2eGyjwYQrxkh7hvZ4jK12oqBFzNGg4BLnrdsfFIbSjtTgyAyEYw5U8aql-wMSXpTENzo76EmZi6bLOCLPmdaiJeLQa_wV3IqoZI=&amp;c=6J1CPAcXSOPvIzRm48C6WcPB8iB6ERYITrZSqzGEQeESb3grATqHMA==&amp;ch=l1XM8UVHbgtirlswrSy201Xv0gBsF9_MZ9MolQShUbHm4NcL5phlwg==" target="_blank" title="http://www.hnroiraq.org/">Humanitarian Nineveh Relief Organization</a>&nbsp;in Iraqi Kurdistan where she provides crucial health services and humanitarian aid to thousands of displaced families in and around Erbil.&nbsp;Today, many of the ancient villages have been liberated from ISIS, but the majority of homes, churches, building and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed.&nbsp;As ISIS retreats, their goal is to restore hope for those who have survived. Sister Diana will share personal stories of ISIS&#39; campaign of genocidal acts throughout their homeland. They will speak about the future of Christianity and other religious minorities in Iraq, the current humanitarian crisis and what the urgent needs are to support the population. Sr. Diana was displaced from her hometown Qaraqosh, where she had taught English since 2013, by ISIS on August 6th, 2014. She has also taught at St. Ephrem Seminary in Qaraqush and the Baghdad Academy for Human Science. She received a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Former Congressman Frank Wolf will introduce Sister Diana Momeka for a Special Eyewitness Briefing on ISIS

Eyewitness Dominican&nbsp;Sister Diana&nbsp;Momeka, during a hearing before Congress in 2015, testified: &quot;Uprooted and forcefully displaced, we have realized that ISIS&#39;s plan is to evacuate the land of Christians and wipe the earth clean of any evidence that we ever existed.&quot; Sr. Diana&#39;s own convent was destroyed by ISIS. She founded and runs the&nbsp;<a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001YIg_DSEb9n1klQMPI2ij2AXCh13alQoB1c5GFrSFegKaI6LAQPgseLeYyd-oyXFeyFUvE6Kn2eGyjwYQrxkh7hvZ4jK12oqBFzNGg4BLnrdsfFIbSjtTgyAyEYw5U8aql-wMSXpTENzo76EmZi6bLOCLPmdaiJeLQa_wV3IqoZI=&amp;c=6J1CPAcXSOPvIzRm48C6WcPB8iB6ERYITrZSqzGEQeESb3grATqHMA==&amp;ch=l1XM8UVHbgtirlswrSy201Xv0gBsF9_MZ9MolQShUbHm4NcL5phlwg==" target="_blank" title="http://www.hnroiraq.org/">Humanitarian Nineveh Relief Organization</a>&nbsp;in Iraqi Kurdistan where she provides crucial health services and humanitarian aid to thousands of displaced families in and around Erbil.&nbsp;Today, many of the ancient villages have been liberated from ISIS, but the majority of homes, churches, building and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed.&nbsp;As ISIS retreats, their goal is to restore hope for those who have survived. 
 
Sister Diana will share personal stories of ISIS&#39; campaign of genocidal acts throughout their homeland. They will speak about the future of Christianity and other religious minorities in Iraq, the current humanitarian crisis and what the urgent needs are to support the population. Sr. Diana was displaced from her hometown Qaraqosh, where she had taught English since 2013, by ISIS on August 6th, 2014. She has also taught at St. Ephrem Seminary in Qaraqush and the Baghdad Academy for Human Science. She received a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Special Eyewitness Briefing: Restoring Hope In Iraq For Persecuted Christians And Other Religious Minorities

Celina Realuyo is a professor at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at National Defense University where she focuses on U.S. national security, illicit networks, transnational organized crime, counterterrorism and threat finance issues in the Americas. She is a former U.S. diplomat, Goldman Sachs banker, and counterterrorism official.

How To Defund ISIS And Other Terrorists

Ahmet S. Yayla, Ph.D. is co‐author of the just released book, ISIS Defectors: Inside Stories of the Terrorist Caliphate. He is Deputy Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) and is also Adjunct Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University.

Deputy Director

Turkey, The Coup And ISIS

ISIS is not merely a terrorist organization, it is a malicious idea. ISIS and Al Qaeda have the same ideological underpinning. We need to confront this pernicious thinking with an enlightened, open-minded thought - one that accepts The other and co-exists with him, enlightened ideas emanating from within Islam.

Author

Terrorism: A Political, Military Danger Or A Cultural, Ideological Challenge?

Reform-minded Muslims who champion liberty and eschew Islamism, living in this unparalleled laboratory of freedom, have a unique moral obligation to lead the way in an anti-Islamist strategy. For too long we have allowed the grievance narratives of Islamist groups to dominate, deflect responsibility, and radicalize.

President

Fighting For Victory Against Islamism: A Muslim Blueprint For The West

Nigeria is on the verge of fracturing along religious fault lines. Ethnic and religious minorities in northern Nigeria face systemic and systematic discrimination. Muslims and Christians in northeastern Nigeria are profoundly and negatively impacted by the terrorist violence pursued by Boko Haram. Christians risk extinction in Nigeria&#39;s northeast.

Former Congressman

Nigeria And Boko Haram

Religious extremists in the Middle East, both Sunni and Shia, have succeeded in weaponizing history. They wield an airbrushed version of past events to inform and legitimize their actions and strategies. We can counteract their revisionism by drawing on the fields of Islamic history, contemporary politics, strategy, media, and psychology.