2006 and the first half of 2007 presented new opportunities and challenges for New Foundations for Peace.

On the positive side, we were approached by the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilizations for possible collaboration. And we made contact for the same purpose with the Georgetown University Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding.

But we also remain very much a start-up. Because of the continuing challenge of competing with larger, established NGOs for limited grant funds, we decided to reevaluate our strategy.

Additionally, NFP President Michael Morgan took a leave of absence to write Lost History: the Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists. Though not an NFP project, Lost History should bring new visibility to NFP. The book is being published by the National Geographic Society, and distributed to consumers by Random House. The book and publicity materials for Lost History make prominent mention of NFP.

Lost History launches in June 2007. It has been endorsed by King Abdullah II of Jordan and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and received a grant from Kingdom Foundation and His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abulaziz Alsaud.

A major global broadcaster has made an offer to bring Lost History to television documentary form.

In other developments, Morgan was also invited to attend the 7th Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade in Qatar in April 2007. While there and elsewhere in the region, he was able to introduce NFP to dozens of potential collaborators from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America.

Sadly, in 2006 we lost one of our original advisors, music entrepreneur Ahmet Ertegun. He died December 14 at age 83.

After the slow start of the last two years, we are getting new attention for our mission. We expect to gain new traction. And we will explore ways to extend our leadership mission into new areas and cultural challenges outside the so-called “clash of civilizations”, using new platforms like multimedia, student and leader exchanges, fora, partnerships, the Internet and other tools.

Your help and support is needed more than ever.

Stay tuned. 

World leaders comment on Lost History

"Lost History delivers a missing link to the
story of an interconnected world: the
achievements of Muslim civilization and its
influence on East and West."
Jimmy Carter


"(Lost History), with its aim of telling an often
untold story, is a welcome addition to the
literature about Islam's cultural and
intellectual history as well as its relationship
with the West."
King Abdullah II of Jordan