Suzan Johnson Cook, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, presided in this interview on the role of religion in foreign policy, with interviewees Cheryl Benton (Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs) and Dr. Chris Seiple (President of the Institute for Global Engagement), in Washington, DC on January 23, 2012.

This session was a meeting of the Civil Society, Democracy, and Countering Radicalism Roundtable series.

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary and editor of Interfaith Just Peacemaking: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on the New Paradigm of Peace and War, leads a discussion on Just Peace theory.

Ed Husain reviews Imran Khan's Pakistan.

While widening violence by Nigeria's Islamist group Boko Haram has caused concerns about its possible links to international terrorist groups, some experts argue it's best to focus on addressing the crippling poverty, political corruption, and police abuses that are at the root of the violence.

Elliott Abrams discusses the Castro regime's prisoner release, in which USAID contractor Alan Gross was not included.

Elliott Abrams examines whether anti-Semitic material is returning to the mainstream media, and who will now protest this development.

Ed Husain states that the Muslim Brotherhood is far removed from al-Qaeda and the supporters of violent jihad, and its rise in Egypt should not be feared.

Ahmed Rashid argues that sectarian bloodshed is employed in Afghanistan and Egypt as a tool to thwart democracy and diplomacy.

Malise Ruthven argues that Hamid Dabashi's book, Shi'ism: A Religion of Protest, performs a vital cultural and political service by emancipating Shiism from its use by Iran.

National Interest's Paul R. Pillar discusses three problems with the fear of Islamist threat to democratization in Arab countries.

Ed Husain examines Islamism and the meaning of an Islamic state.

Pol Gradaigh explains why Egyptian parties are cautious of the term "secular," opting instead to define themselves as a "civic" state against Islamist ideology.

Robin Wright argues that Islam is emerging as an equally potent force as democracy in defining the new order in the Middle East.

Elliott Abrams and Dwight Bashir lead a conversation on the Iranian regime's persecution of members of the Baha'i faith.

Gregory Feifer discuses how government corruption and radicalization of Islam in the Northern Caucasus are deepening divisions in society and fueling violence in the area.

Raj Bhala, associate dean for international and comparative law and Rice distinguished professor at University of Kansas School of Law, discusses "Understanding Sharia: From Caliphate to Current Day."

From sharia law to reestablishing banks, Mark Urban questions what the rise of political Islam will mean for citizens of Northern Africa.

Sharia, or Islamic law, is increasingly in the spotlight as its political and economic role expands in the Muslim world and even in the West.