Following the events of September 11, 2001, non-government leaders with interests in Middle Eastern democracy from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine and citizens from the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain decided to engage in dialogue to combat stereotypes and keep building relationships in the face of armed conflict. Over the next four years, the group met for 10 official meetings and dialogued about topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, democracy in the Arab world, and the concerns of Muslims in Western countries. Actions focused on bringing awareness to the possibility of dialogue and the reality of the impacts between Westerners and Arabs through news stories and articles.