Robert R. Reilly (born October 31, 1946) is a writer, think tank executive and former diplomat. He has published on topics of

US foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

and the "

war of ideas In politics, a war of ideas is a confrontation among the ideologies that nations and political groups use to promote their domestic and foreign interests. In a war of ideas, the battle space is the public mind, the belief of the peoples who compos ...

." Reilly is also known as a classical music critic who has written for periodicals including '' High Fidelity,'' ''

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...

,'' '' Schwann/Opus,'' and ''

American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chang ...

.'' In December 2020 Reilly was named director of the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

and he was removed from that post in January 2021 shortly after President Biden's inauguration.

Career

From 1968 to 1970, Reilly served as a tank platoon leader ( 1st Lieutenant) in the 1/18th Armored Cavalry at

Fort Lewis, Washington Fort Lewis was a United States Army post from 1917 to 2010 located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on 1 February 2010 to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriwet ...

. He worked in the private sector from 1977 to 1981, and for

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...

(1981, 1989) the

U.S. Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill ...

(1981–1983) and as Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan during the latter's first term (1983–1985). He was Senior Advisor for Public Diplomacy at the US Embassy in Bern, Switzerland (1985–1988). He produced and hosted a weekly talk-show on foreign policy, ''On the Line'', for Voice of America & Worldnet TV (1990–2001), and was director of

(2001–2002; 2020–2021). He acted as Senior Advisor for Information Strategy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during 2002 to 2006 and as Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Information Ministry during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

in 2003. In 2007 he was Assistant Professor of Strategic Communications, School for National Security Executive Education,

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

. Reilly in 2010 published ''The Closing of the Muslim Mind'', published by the

Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsor ...

. In the book, he draws a connection between the decline of the "rational" theological school of

Mu'tazila Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islami ...

in favor of the rise of

Ash'arism Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in th ...

, which would become the mainstream Sunni theology, in the 10th century. The author argues that the widespread acceptance of the Ash'ari school in the Islamic world resulted in "intellectual suicide" that was primary reason for the end of the

Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...

and the decline of Islamic civilization, transforming Islamic society into a "dysfunctional culture based on a deformed theology" locked in determinism,

occasionalism Occasionalism is a philosophical doctrine about causation which says that created substances cannot be efficient causes of events. Instead, all events are taken to be caused directly by God. (A related concept, which has been called "occasional c ...

and ultimately

fatalism Fatalism is a family of related philosophical doctrines that stress the subjugation of all events or actions to fate or destiny, and is commonly associated with the consequent attitude of resignation in the face of future events which are tho ...

. In his review of the book, Frank Griffel describes it as "war literature", and "a Catholic refutation of Ash'arite Muslim theology", complaining that Reilly constructs an undue equation between Ash'arism and contemporary

Jihadism Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

, while most Jihadists in fact follow

Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

and its more restrictive "traditionalist" school of theology which is hostile towards Ash'arism.Frank Griffel
Review of Reilly's Closing of the Muslim Mind
in '' American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences'' 28:4 (2011), Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America and International Institute of Islamic Thought. He has repeatedly condemned

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, and wrote a book in 2014, ''Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything.'' He is director of the Westminster Institute, a conservative research organization set up in Virginia in 2009. He is a former senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. On December 9, 2020, USAGM Director

Michael Pack Michael Pack is an American documentary filmmaker who was CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) from June 2020 to January 2021. Pack was nominated by President Donald Trump and took office at USAGM in June 2020 after Senate confirmation. ...

appointed Reilly as the Director of

VOA Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...

. Reilly was removed as the VOA Director on January 21, 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden's inauguration.

Publications

* Justice and War In the Nuclear Age, "The Nature of Today's Conflict," University Press of America, 1983. * Peace In a Nuclear Age, "In Proportion to What? The Problem With the Pastoral," Catholic University Press, 1986. * Der Politische Krieg: Die Reale Gefahr, ("The Political War: The Real Danger"), Soviet Global Strategy, Ost-Institut, Switzerland, 1986. * The New Federalist Papers, "E Pluribus Unum," University Press of America, 1989. * The Fall of the Wall, editor, Publisher C.L.E.B Gallery, 1990. * We Hold These Truths, "The Truths They Held," Franciscan University Press, 1991. * The Catholic Imagination, “The Music of the Spheres,” St. Augustine Press 2003. * Surprised by Beauty: A Listener's Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music, Revised and Expanded Edition,

Ignatius Press Ignatius Press is a Catholic publishing house based in San Francisco, California, US. It was founded in 1978 by Father Joseph Fessio, a Jesuit priest and former pupil of Pope Benedict XVI. Ignatius Press also produces '' Catholic World Report'' ...

2016. * The Roots of Islamist Ideology, CRCE Briefing Paper, London, 2006. * Strategic Influence, IWP Press, 2007. * The Closing of the Muslim Mind, ISI Books, 2010 * Fighting the Ideological War: Strategies for Defeating Al Qaeda
Public Diplomacy in an Age of Global Terrorism: Lessons from the Past
, Westminster Institute conference, 25 May 2011
Information Operations: Successes and Failures
Westminster Institute, 2013 * Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything,

, 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Robert R. Living people 1946 births Georgetown University alumni National Chengchi University alumni Claremont Graduate University alumni United States Army officers United States Department of State officials United States Department of Defense officials Reagan administration personnel The Heritage Foundation George W. Bush administration personnel Trump administration personnel American foreign policy writers American male non-fiction writers American Roman Catholics Voice of America people