Speaker Biographies
Joseph Akrami began his cinematic activities in the Iranian association of young cinema in 1981. Years later, he joined Iran’s National TV network as a director and cameraman, during which he made a number of short films. Some of his films were screened and won awards in film festivals inside Iran as well as abroad, such as in Locarno and France. Because of his growing opposition to the Islamic regime, he was forced to flee Iran and live in exile in Europe, later settling in Canada. He continues his work in Canada and contributes to the Iranian community through productions that concern socio-cultural- related topics for newcomers and refugees. A Few Simple Shots is Akrami’s second film made in Canada and his first feature-length documentary.
Michael A. Ledeen, a resident scholar at AEI, is an expert on U.S. foreign policy. His research areas include state sponsors of terrorism, Iran, the Middle East, Europe (Italy), U.S.-China relations, intelligence, and Africa (Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). A former consultant to the National Security Council and to the U.S. State and Defense Departments, he has also written on leadership and the use of power. He is the author of The War against the Terror Masters: Why It Happened, Where We Are Now, How We’ll Win (St. Martin's Press, 2002).
Nina Shea is the director of the Center for Religious Freedom. A human rights lawyer, she has been an international religious freedom advocate for 25 years and is nationally known for her book on anti-Christian persecution, In the Lion's Den. Since 1999, she has served as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, where she is vice chair. She also currently co-directs the Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom that is chaired by Senator Rick Santorum and Rep. Roy Blunt. She represented the United States as a public delegate on the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 1993 and in 2001. From 1997 to 1999, she served on the Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad to the U.S. Secretary of State. In 2005, she edited a ground-breaking study of Saudi government publications aimed at promoting religious hatred and intolerance within the American Muslim community. She is also a contributing author to the Center’s new book Radical Islam’s Rules (2005, Rowman & Littlefield).
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