Valdi Discussion Club meeting in Marrakesh, 14-15 May

Oliver attended the Valdi Discussion Club's two day conference in Marrakesh, examining the theme "Islam in Politics: Ideology or Pragmatism?" The participants were asked to examine the rise of Islamist parties in the MENA region and discuss to what extent "religion" acts a reference point for their actions and influences their political programmes.Participants from across the MENA region and Europe debated questions such as "will Islamist parties recognise Israel?", "does the Turkish model appeal to the political parties of the Arab world?" and "can the tensions between secular and religious actors be resolved?"The Validi Discussion Club was established in 2004 by the Russian News & Information Agency RIA Novosti and the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, to bring together Russian and international experts for discussion.