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GUEST: Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, coauthor of the book Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think, member of Women in International Security, serves on the leadership group of the Project on U.S. Engagement with the Global Muslim Community, and is a member of the Crisis in the Middle East Task Force of the Brookings Institution.

Nearly 7 years after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC, and the subsequent US war in Afghanistan, and more than 5 years after the Iraq war, Western perceptions of Muslims and Islam is more distorted than ever. Radio shock jocks routinely spout anti-Muslim hate speech, newspaper Op-eds promote propaganda, and hate crimes continue. But how do American perceptions of Islam and Muslims square with the realities of diverse Muslim communities on the other side of the globe? The answers are revealed in a multi-year research study conducted by Gallup world poll and presented in a new book co-authored by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed. Gallup conducted tens of thousands of interviews with residents from more than 35 predominantly Muslim countries. The questions probed issues of terrorism, anti-Americanism, women’s rights and more. The answers were revealing, and often, surprising.

The event, Who Speaks for Islam, based on the book, will be happening Tuesday April 29 at 7:30 pm at the Los Angeles Central Public Library, 5th and Flower Streets, Los Angeles CA 90071. Parking: 524 S. Flower St. Garage. RSVPs necessary as seating is limited. Call 310.657.5511.