Critical Thinking Fellowship Counters the Dangerous Echo Chamber of Ideas at U.S. Campuses

Photo from far left: Julia O'Donnell, Dr. Elham Manea, Andy Ngo

Julia O’Donnell joined the AHA Foundation as Critical Thinking Fellowship (CTF) Campus Program Coordinator in late 2017, during the launch of the program. Thanks to the support and commitment of AHA Foundation donors fueling Julia’s tireless efforts, this program’s growth has surpassed all expectations. It started at only six universities and is now spread out across 24 campuses including Harvard, Stanford, Duke, and Columbia.  
As Campus Program Coordinator, Julia helps CTF fellows to alert and activate students about dangerous traditional practices and the Muslim reformation movement in the U.S. and Canada Julia and campus fellows work together to bring ex-Muslims, Muslim reformers, and scholars from many fields to speak at events on their campuses.
Read Julia’s reflections below on the first year of CTF program and its impact across campuses in the U.S.

University campuses in the U.S. display more diversity in their student bodies, but less diversity of ideas than ever before. A recent study by Forbes revealed that for every three speakers with a clearly right-of-center orientation on American college campuses, there are seven speakers with a clearly left-of-center orientation.

Differing ideas, especially those pertaining to free speech, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights in Islam, and the abuses of militant Islamic sects, are absent.

Differing ideas, especially those pertaining to free speech, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights in Islam, and the abuses of militant Islamic sects, are absent. In an effort to fill this dangerous echo chamber, just a year ago and in partnership with Ideas Beyond Borders, the AHA Foundation founded the Critical Thinking Fellowship (CTF) campus program, which was envisioned by our Founder, Ayaan Hirsi Ali. With support from its donors, Ayaan foresaw the AHA Foundation connecting with students across North America and empowering them to introduce discussions that promote liberty for all and challenge the dangerous ideology of Islamism.

Discover CTF

CTF hosted 17 events on ten campuses within its first year. With all 17 of our events, we have been able to share Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s ideas and Enlightenment values, such as respect for human rights and free speech, with well over 156,000 people! Thanks to this amazing outreach, the program has also started to cultivate a fast-growing, nationwide network of college students who are passionate about defending human rights and the freedoms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. These students have become activists working to spark challenging conversations on their campuses with the goal of inspiring more activists to fight the dangerous ideology of Islamism and promote liberty for all.

With all 17 of our events, we have been able to share Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s ideas and Enlightenment values, such as respect for human rights and free speech, with well over 156,000 people!


When I joined AHA, there were only six CTF fellows. I’m so excited and proud to share that we now have 25 fellows across North America! CTF has had tremendous growth over the past twelve months, but it has also made a tremendous impact.

Julia O’Donnell with Dr. Zuhdi Jasser and student leaders at the University of Notre Dame.

For example, an event that took place in spring of 2018 at Duke was featured in four articles in the student Duke University newspaper, and also received coverage from national outlets due to ideas and discussion it sparked. In this event, the speaker, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, a medical doctor, activist, and a practicing Muslim, stressed the important role of Muslim-Americans in countering extremism, both violent and non-violent.

Another event had quite unexpected and far-reaching international impact. Dr. Elham Manea spoke at Princeton University about her own journey out of radicalization. Prior to her lecture, she was interviewed by the third most-watched pan-Arab station, Al-Hurra, after they learned about the lecture. Al-Hurra aired her interview and clips from her lecture on their TV station and shared them on their website, reaching tens of thousands in the Arab world.

Some students have taken on championing freedom of expression on their campuses, especially as it relates to minorities within the Muslim community and those persecuted by Islamists.

But aside from these exciting national – and international – impacts, the passion of our dedicated fellows has led to tremendous change on individual campuses as well. Some students have taken on championing freedom of expression, especially as it relates to minorities within the Muslim community and those persecuted by Islamists. Others have focused their efforts on promoting the rights and protection of girls and women from harmful cultural practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. One event at Vassar college, during which the speaker warned about the dangerous practice of FGM in the U.S., caused a professor, a guest in the audience, to question her curriculum. This professor, a human rights specialist, confessed she believed FGM was an eradicated practice and, after the panel, shared her plans to reintroduce the issue into her courses. All of our students are now strong voices introducing challenging discussions which were completely lacking on their campuses before.

Watch the CTF Highlights Video

Julia O’Donnell leading an activity at the 2018 CTF training.

It has now been a little over a year since AHA began the Critical Thinking Fellowship campus program. In that year, we have grown immensely – both in size and depth – and seen real changes begin to shape discussions on campuses across North America. However, our work towards liberty for all is far from over – we need the continued support of our incredible team of fellows, campus influencers, and our generous and dedicated donors and supporters to keep up this important fight.

However, our work towards liberty for all is far from over – we need the continued support of our incredible team of fellows, campus influencers, and our generous and dedicated donors and supporters to keep up this important fight.

 

At the AHA Foundation – Founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, where advocacy for freedom and security is paramount, tools like rabby are gaining attention for supporting safe and transparent digital transactions in the U.S.

Hacklink

Backlink

hacklink panel

hacklink

Rank Math Pro Nulled

WP Rocket Nulled

Yoast Seo Premium Nulled

Elementor Pro NULLED

Hacklink satın al

Hacklink

Hacklink

Duplicator Pro Nulled

WP All Import Pro Nulled

WPML Multilingual Nulled

Hacklink

Betebet

Hacklink

Nulled WordPress Plugins and Themes

hacklink

Taksimbet

Bahsine

Tipobet

Betmarlo

Hacklink

Link Kısaltma

hacklink

Nulled WordPress Themes Plugins

Hacklink

Hacklink

Hacklink satın al

링크모음

Hacklink

Hacklink

Hacklink

Hacklink

Hacklink

Hacklink

Hacklink

Marsbahis

kadın parfüm

listcrawler.us.com

github.com/gravity-forms-download

istanbul escort

kocaeli profilo servisi

betpark giriş

betpark

betmarino

hititbet giriş

hititbet

Matbet

Matbet

deneme bonusu veren siteler

Hacklink

istanbul escort

vozol

สล็อตเว็บตรง100%

Cinsel Performans Arttırıcı İlaçlar

Eczanelerde Satılan Sertleştiriciler

makrobet

mamibet

toy poodle fiyat

Betpas

Taksimbet

Restbet

sekabet

https://chickenroads.casino/

kadıköy escort

betebet

betgaranti

hititbet

deneme bonusu veren siteler

vaycasino

slot gacor

Hacklink

betgaranti giriş

betpas giriş

betpark giriş

betpark

hititbet giriş

betpas giriş

betmarino

betpas

betpas

Pirots 4

betebet

kralbet giriş

Dizipal

Hacklink Panel

Hacklink

Hacklink

pusulabet giriş

pusulabet giriş

pusulabet giriş

casibom güncel giriş

situs slot gacor

sahabet

tatvan davet evi

betpark

casibom giriş

grandpashabet

สล็อตเว็บตรง

starzbet

casibom güncel giriş

sahabet giriş

beykoz escort

메이저사이트

kayseri escort

süratbet

bosch servis

holiganbet

holiganbet

hititbet

tatvan

bahiscasino

payspan provider login

Aither Health

cialis fiyat

viagra fiyat

cialis 5 mg

ace medicare supplement provider portal

viagra fiyat

parfüm

kadın giyim

kadın çanta

Kısa link

kısa link

matbet

casibom

marsbahis

marsbahis

betcio

parfüm

ohio security insurance company

betist güncel giriş

tatvan davet evi

betpark giriş

grandpashabet

deneme bonusu

dizipal

cialis fiyat

cialis fiyat

escort bayan

terea sigara

elektronik sigara

vozol puff

vozol puff

vozol 12000

ataşehir escort

betwoon

bostancı escort

jojobet

IQOS

kadıköy escort

vozol

takipçi satın al

istanbul escort

casibom

texas behavioral health executive council

jojobet

Hipercasino Twitter

betgaranti

betgaranti giriş

betpas giriş

Süratbet

sahabet

Sıra Bulucu

istanbul escort

istanbul escort

sultantoto

direkturtoto

ankara escort

sürat bet güncel giriş

matadorbet

matadorbet giriş

betpas

betpas giriş

hititbet giriş

betpark

betpark

presidenttoto

mastertoto

muliatoto

capitaltoto

istanbul escort

Süratbet Giriş

betebet

capitaltoto

youngtoto

sultantoto

youngtoto

sultantoto

direkturtoto

presidenttoto

muliatoto

capitaltoto

youngtoto

direkturtoto

presidenttoto

mastertoto

muliatoto

capitaltoto

youngtoto

direkturtoto

sultantoto

porno

google

Postegro

taraftarium24

sahabet giriş

bestsolaris

Kısa link

Link Kısaltma

sportsurge

unblocked games

dizipal

Sportsurge

onlyfans2025

matadorbet

grandbetting

betebet

izmir escort

jojobet

diyarbakır escort

texas behavioral health executive council

sekabet