Physically aligned as they are toward Mecca, the daily prayers and lifetime pilgrimages of Muslims around the world--hundreds of millions of spokes of religious practice--surround and sustain the Arabian hub of Islam as religious practice. Yet the demographic center of gravity of the Muslim world could hardly be farther from the Middle East. For it is in the vast arc of Asia, in countries such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia, that the great majority of the world's Muslims live. How, if at all, does this striking difference between ritual focus and social fact affect the outlooks and actions of Asian Muslims? What, roughly, is the balance of militancy and toleration in this Asian context, especially in ethnically and religiously plural societies such as Malaysia? Is it realistic to think that Asian attitudes and behaviors could form the basis for a 21st-century reformation and renaissance of Islam in which the jihadist passions of Al Qaeda and the purist strictures of the House of Saud would be refuted and shunned in favor of intercultural cooperation and liberal democracy? Or has the American-Afghan crisis, on the contrary, ignited a chain reaction of sympathy for Arab (and Pashtun) resentments that will inflame Asian Muslims against unbelievers? Finally, what relevance do these questions have for the people and policies of the United States? Karim Raslan is one of Southeast Asia's leading public intellectuals. His diverse interests run from constructing fictional plots to restructuring all-too-real bankruptcies. When he is not writing short stories and newspaper commentaries, or appearing on CNN or the BBC, he partners a highly regarded Malaysian law firm, Raslan Loong. His first novel, Desire--the first of four planned volumes about a family of Malay Muslims--will be published next fall. A third collection of his short stories should be out next spring. His syndicated column, "Eye in Asia," appears weekly in newspapers in Malaysia and Singapore, and is often reprinted elsewhere in Asia and Australia. The specialties of his law firm include corporate finance, capital markets, and information technology. He is presently a visiting scholar at Columbia University. When he is not traveling, Mr. Raslan lives in Malaysia.

Topics to be covered: 1. Case Studies of different ventures undertaken by the speaker for different projects in China, looking at reasons for the organization structure, access to local capital, technology and talent, infrastructure availability and government relations; and outcomes relative to expectations. 2. Comparative view of India 3. Summary of how capitalism is managed in China versus India. Mr. Vivek Ragavan, who has more than twenty years of executive management experience in the telecommunications industry, was most recently president and CEO of Redback Networks. Before that he was president and CEO of Siara Systems, which merged with Redback in March 2000. Prior to Siara, Ragavan was president of the Residential Broadband Group of ADC Telecommunications, Inc., where he was responsible for ADC's telecommunication equipment businesses, focused on the broadband communication access and transport markets. Earlier, Ragavan was vice president of Engineering at General Instrument where he led the development of that company's leading digital video transport system. He has a BSEE from Northwestern University and an MSEE from Cornell University.

A one-day conference organized by Shorenstein APARC brought together 110 distinguished participants from India, the United States, Israel, Taiwan, Europe, and Latin America. The program's objective was to inform and educate India's IT policymakers and practitioners on India's enabling environment with respect to regulation, governance, access to capital, and technological capabilities. The proceedings of this conference are available as an Shorenstein APARC publication, prepared by Dr. Rafiq Dossani.

Professor Root's research project on Korea's prospects concludes that Korea can not be secure against future economic crisis without structural reform of finance, enterprise, and labor markets. Will Korea be strong enough to undertake untried, high-risk, long-term structural reform? In this seminar, he anticipates the levels of reform under current conditions and offers an alternative approach with better sustained growth prospects. Professor Root's research is focused on governmental transition and the political economy of growth, development policy; theory and practice; and social theory. He was chief consultant on governance at the Asian Development Bank from 1994 to 1997 where he initiated the restructuring of the public administration of Sri Lanka. His most recent books include Small Countries, Big Lessons: Governance and Rise of East Asia (Oxford University Press, 1996) and with Edgardo Campos, The Key to the Asian Miracle, Making Shared Growth Credible (Brookings Institution, 1996) For more information about the program please call (650) 723-8387.

This talk will look at the policy options for the Indian government as it deals with the slowdown of the Indian economy, sanctions following the nuclear tests, and internal security following the recent increase in tension between castes and attacks on minorities. Before assuming his post as Ambassador of India to the United States in April 1996, Ambassador Naresh Chandra, was Secretary to the Ministries of Water Resources, Defense, Interior and Justice from 1987 to 1990 in the Federal Indian Government. In December 1990, he became Cabinet Secretary, the highest post in the Indian Civil Service. He retired from that position in July 1992. He was also a Member of the Indian Space Commission and the Indian Atomic Energy Commission from 1990 to 1992. In August 1992, he was appointed a Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister of India. His last assignment was as the Governor of the State of Gujarat. He was the Indian Co-chairman of the US-India Technology Group, and Member of the Indo-US Economic Sub-Commission, which lent him valuable insight into the broad range of Indo-US relations. Following the economic liberalization program in India, he led the first official delegation to the US in 1992 to promote US investments in India. For more information about the program please call (650) 723-8387.

Starting his career with India Today in 1992, Bahal moved to the science and environment magazine Down To Earth, followed by the Financial Express. He was part of the original team that launched Outlook magazine in 1995 and has reported on a range of subjects from environment to travel, sports and defence. He is best-known, though, for his groundbreaking investigation on match-fixing which rocked international cricket. Please RSVP to Rafael Ulate by June 6, 2001.