Ahmed Younis

Ahmed Younis is a Senior Practice Consultant of Gallup and a Senior Analyst of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center. He is the author of American Muslims: Voir Dire [Speak the Truth], a post-Sept. 11 look at the reality of debate surrounding American Muslims and their country.

From January 2009 through June 2011 and as a part of his Gallup portfolio, Ahmed served as Director of Strategic Partnerships and Communications of Silatech. Silatech is a youth employment initiative of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser with the broad support of global leaders, and its goal is to promote large-scale job creation in the Middle East and North Africa. Ahmed continues to lead Gallup’s efforts with Silatech, studying the opinions of young people across the Middle East and North Africa to catalyze opportunities to create jobs that fortify the region’s economy.

In 2009 and 2010, Ahmed was named as one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims globally by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Jordan. In 2011, Arabian Business Magazine named Ahmed as one of the “Power 500” of the Arab world and one of the 500 Most Famous Arabs in the world.

In 2006, Ahmed joined Ambassador Dennis Ross at the convening of Search for Common Ground to begin a national conversation on a long-term strategy to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world. This dialogue lead to the formation of a 34-member Leadership Group that includes former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright; Thomas Dine, the former Executive Director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Richard Land, President, of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2008, the Leadership Group published a report titled “Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World.”

Ahmed served as National Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) from 2004 to 2007. Before joining MPAC, Ahmed worked as an intern at the Office of the Legal Counsel of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. He was assigned to the office of the Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary-General on Iraq. A graduate of Washington & Lee University School of Law, Ahmed has studied and lived in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and is fluent in Arabic.

Ahmed has been invited to speak by governments and universities in more than 30 countries. He is a frequent guest for television, radio, and print media globally, including the Fox News Channel, PBS, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, CNN Headline News, CNN International, CNN Turk, the BBC, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English, and Al Arabiya. His writing has also been featured in many leading publications worldwide.