Lulu Schwartz

Lulu Schwartz
Schwartz in 2013
Born
Stephen Schwartz

(1948-09-09) September 9, 1948 (age 76)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer

Lulu Schwartz (born Stephen A. Schwartz, September 9, 1948, and also known previously as Stephen Suleyman Schwartz[1]) is an American Sufi[2] journalist, columnist, and author. She has been published in a variety of media, including The Wall Street Journal.[3] Schwartz worked as a senior policy consultant and held the role of director of "Islam and Democracy Project" at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a neoconservative think-tank based in Washington, D.C.[4] Schwartz is also the founder and executive director of the Washington, D.C.–based Center for Islamic Pluralism[1] and served as a member of Folks Magazine's Editorial Board from 2011 to 2012.[5]

A student of Sufism since the 1960s, Schwartz has been an adherent of the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam since 1997.[1][2] Schwartz was a key figure in the neoconservative movement that held considerable influence in the administration of George W. Bush.[6] Schwartz's criticism of Islamic fundamentalism, especially the Wahhabi movement within Sunni Islam, has attracted controversy. Alongside fellow neoconservative writer Daniel Pipes, Schwartz has been a major critic of Islamism and has depicted Islamists as the new ideological nemesis of the West after the fall of Nazi Germany and Soviet Union.[7][8]

Strongly critical of the AKP government in Turkey, Schwartz has described it as a hostile pan-Islamist threat following the Gaza flotilla raid incident in 2010.[9][10] Schwartz has also condemned the Iranian government, asserting that American academia is being threatened by the infiltration of pro-Khomeinist state agents of Iran.[11] Schwartz's works have also been a major influence on neo-con factions that favour the severing of Saudi Arabia-U.S. relations and lobby U.S. foreign policy officials to take a hostile stance against the Saudi government.[12]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference center-about was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "About Us". Center for Islamic Pluralism.
  3. ^ E.g., see Schwartz's Intellectuals and Assassins (2001).
  4. ^ P. Janiskee, Masugi, Brian, Ken (2004). The California Republic: Institutions, Statesmanship, and Policies. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 368. ISBN 0-7425-3250-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Magazine, Folks. "Folks Magazine". Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  6. ^ Abrams, Nathan (2010). "Introduction". Norman Podhoretz and Commentary Magazine: The Rise and Fall of the Neocons. 80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4411-0968-2. During the presidency of George W. Bush an idea known as 'neoconservatism' was highly influential. Certainly, many of the ideas implemented by the Bush administration had been articulated over the past two-and-a half decades by neoconservatives..Neoconservatives also held many prominent positions in the Bush administration: figures and advisors such as Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz; the vice president's chief of staff I. Lewis Libby; National Security Council staffer Elliott Abrams.. Stephen Schwartz, Bernard Lewis, Michael Ledeen, and Robert Kagan.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. ^ Clarke, Jennings, Gerard, Michael (2008). Clarke, Gerard; Jennings, Michael (eds.). Development, Civil Society and Faith-Based Organizations: Bridging the Sacred and the Secular (1st ed.). 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 189. doi:10.1057/9780230371262. ISBN 978-1-349-28608-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Choudet, Didier (October 21, 2010). "The Neoconservative Movement at the End of the Bush Administration: Its Legacy, Its Vision and Its Political Future". E-International Relations. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021.
  9. ^ Lobe, Jim (June 16, 2010). "Neo-cons lead charge against Turkey". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
  10. ^ Schwartz, Stephen (June 3, 2010). "Erdoğan, Qaradawi, Ramadan, Hamas, and Obama". Archived from the original on 9 May 2021.
  11. ^ Schwartz, Stephen (22 October 2016). "Is Iran Ratcheting Up Influence-Peddling in American Universities?".
  12. ^ Abrams, Nathan (2010). "8: After the Fall". Norman Podhoretz and Commentary Magazine: The Rise and Fall of the Neocons. 80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. p. 303. ISBN 978-1-4411-0968-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)