Stephen Schwartz (journalist)
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Lulu Schwartz (born Stephen A. Schwartz, September 9, 1948, and also known previously as Stephen Suleyman Schwartz) is an American
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
journalist,
columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
, and author. She has been published in a variety of media, including ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''. Schwartz worked as a senior policy consultant and held the role of director of the "Islam and Democracy Project" at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a Neoconservatism, neoconservative 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C., United States. It has also been described as a pro-Israel, anti-Iran lobby gr ...
(FDD), a
neoconservative Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...
think-tank based in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Schwartz is also the founder and executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based
Center for Islamic Pluralism The Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) is a U.S.-based Islamic think tank challenging Islamist interpretations of Islam. It was founded in 2004 by eight people including the Sufi Muslim author Stephen Suleyman Schwartz and officially opened o ...
and served as a member of ''
Folks Magazine Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fol ...
's'' editorial board from 2011 to 2012. A student of Sufism since the 1960s, Schwartz has been an adherent of the
Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
of
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
since 1997. Schwartz was a key figure in the neoconservative movement that held considerable influence in the administration of George W. Bush. Schwartz's criticism of
Islamic fundamentalism Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a revivalist and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. The term has been used interchangeably with similar terms such as Islamism, Islamic revivalism, Qut ...
, especially the
Wahhabi movement Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other p ...
within
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
, has attracted controversy. Alongside fellow
neoconservative Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...
writer
Daniel Pipes Daniel Pipes (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professor and commentator on foreign policy and the Middle East. He is the president of the Middle East Forum, and publisher of its ''Middle East Quarterly'' journal. His writing focus ...
, Schwartz has been a major critic of
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
and has depicted Islamists as the new ideological nemesis of the West after the fall of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Strongly critical of the AKP government in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, Schwartz has described it as a hostile
pan-Islamist Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at t ...
threat following the
Gaza flotilla raid Ships of Gaza flotilla raid, Six civilian ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were raided by Israel on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine of the flotilla passengers were killed during the raid, with thirty woun ...
incident in 2010. Schwartz has also condemned the
Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling State (polity), state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its Const ...
, asserting that American academia is being threatened by the infiltration of pro-Khomeinist state agents of Iran. Schwartz's works have also been a major influence on
neo-con Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...
factions that favour the severing of Saudi Arabia-U.S. relations and lobby
U.S. 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 ...
officials to take a hostile stance against the
Saudi government The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamist lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consult ...
.


Early life

Schwartz was born in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
to Horace O. Schwartz, a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
independent bookseller, and Eileene M. Schwartz (née McKinney), a career social services worker and the daughter of a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
minister. She later described both Horace and Eileene as "radical leftists and quite antireligious", Horace a "
fellow traveller A fellow traveller (also fellow traveler) is a person who is intellectually sympathetic to the ideology of a political organization, and who co-operates in the organization's politics, without being a formal member. In the early history of the Sov ...
", and Eileene a member of the American Communist Party. Schwartz was baptized in the
Presbyterian church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...
as an infant. The family moved to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
in 1951, where Horace became a literary agent and Schwartz's brother, Geoffrey, was born. Schwartz attended Lowell High School and became affiliated with
Leninist Leninism (, ) is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the Dictatorship of the proletariat#Vladimir Lenin, dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary Vangu ...
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
until 1984.


Career

After college, Schwartz became a member of the
Sailors' Union of the Pacific The Sailors' Union of the Pacific (SUP), founded on March 6, 1885 in San Francisco, California, is an American labor union of mariners, fishermen and boatmen working aboard US flag vessels. At its fourth meeting in 1885, the fledgling organizatio ...
and co-founded a small semi-Trotskyist group
FOCUS Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...
. The ''
San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. Parts of the paper were relaunched online in February 2016. History The ''Bay Guar ...
'' wrote of Schwartz in 1989: "As he himself readily admits, Schwartz has made a lot of enemies over the years as he performed a series of dizzying ideological leaps: from the
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
to meeting with
Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Sec ...
and the Outreach Group on Central America in the basement of the White House, from minuscule Trotskyist sects meeting in North Beach cafes to serving as a U.S. press representative for a
Contra Contra may refer to: Places * Contra, Virginia * Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California * Contra Costa County, California * Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerla ...
leader. In the 1990s, Schwartz spent a decade as a staff writer for the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' and was a member of the local
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
at the ''Chronicle'', a branch of the
Newspaper Guild The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practic ...
. At the end of 1997, Schwartz
converted to Islam Reversion to Islam, also known within Islam as reversion, is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. Conversion requires a formal statement of the '' shahādah'', the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there is none w ...
. In 1999, she left the ''Chronicle'' and moved to
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
, living there for the next 18 months. During the
NATO bombing of Serbia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...
in 1999, she published a piece in the ''Chronicle'' accusing the Serbs of countless crimes while absolving the Albanian population of Kosovo and the KLA of all responsibility regarding their involvement in the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
and brushing all Serb arguments as mere propaganda. The article was criticized by journalist
Robert W. Merry Robert W. Merry (born March 5, 1946) is an American journalist, publishing executive and commentator. Early life Robert W. Merry was born in 1946 in Tacoma, WA. He served three years in the U.S. Army, including two years as a counterintelligenc ...
for being tendentiously biased and highly inaccurate. While in Bosnia, Schwartz published the pro-Albanian book ''Kosovo: Background to a War''. It was criticized by historian Robert C. Austin for weak and polemical writing and for being "decidedly biased in favour of the Albanian community in Kosovo", who concluded that "When he is attempting to be an historian, Schwartz is at his worst". Schwartz also supported the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
in 2003. On March 25, 2005, Schwartz launched the
Center for Islamic Pluralism The Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) is a U.S.-based Islamic think tank challenging Islamist interpretations of Islam. It was founded in 2004 by eight people including the Sufi Muslim author Stephen Suleyman Schwartz and officially opened o ...
. The center is a nonprofit organization based in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, with Schwartz as executive director. In 2020, under the name Stephen (Lulu) Schwartz, Schwartz ran for the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...
in District 3. She came in fourth, with 1,374 votes (4.82 percent of the vote). The winner was
Aaron Peskin Aaron Dan Peskin (born June 17, 1964) is an American former elected official in San Francisco, California. He was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 3 from 2001 to 2009, and again from 2015 to 2025. Distr ...
.


Personal life

In 2017, Schwartz
came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
as a
transgender woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...
, using the names Ashk Lejla and Lulu.


Published works

* ''A Sleepwalker's Guide to San Francisco: Poems from Three Lustra, 1966–1981.'' San Francisco: La Santa Espina, 1983. * ''Brotherhood of the Sea: A History of the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific''. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1986. . * ''Spanish Marxism vs. Soviet Communism: A History of the P.O.U.M'' (with Victor Alba). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1988. . * ''A Strange Silence: The Emergence of Democracy in Nicaragua''. San Francisco: ICS Press, 1992. . * ''From West to East: California and the Making of the American Mind''. New York: The Free Press, 1998. . * ''Kosovo: Background to a War''. London: Anthem Press, 2000. * ''Intellectuals and Assassins: Writings at the End of Soviet Communism.'' New York: Anthem Press, 2001. . * ''The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror''. New York: Doubleday, 2002. .Note: The subtitle on the paperback version was changed to ''Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism''. * ''An Activist's Guide to Arab and Muslim Campus and Community Organizations in North America'' Los Angeles: Center for the Study of Popular Culture, 2003 * ''Sarajevo Rose: A Balkan Jewish Notebook''. London: Saqi Books, 2005. . * ''Is It Good for the Jews?: The Crisis of America's Israel Lobby.'' New York: Doubleday, 2006. . * ''The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony''. New York: Doubleday, 2008. .


Notes and references


External links


Center for Islamic Pluralism


* ;Interviews
Q&A with Schwartz
from ''National Review Online''

from ''Telegrafi.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Stephen 1948 births 21st-century American historians 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American women writers American expatriate journalists American expatriates in Bosnia and Herzegovina American LGBTQ journalists American non-fiction writers American nonprofit executives American people of Jewish descent American Sufis American Sunni Muslims American transgender writers American women columnists American women historians American women non-fiction writers Converts to Sunni Islam from Protestantism Critics of Islamism Former Marxists Hanafis Historians from Ohio LGBTQ people from Ohio Living people Muslims from Ohio Neoconservatism Transgender journalists Transgender Muslims Transgender women writers Writers from Columbus, Ohio