What happens when you get 200 academics, activists, policy wonks, politicians, and journalists - all with opinions across the spectrum - into a room to try to determine the best course of action to improve the relationship between the US and the Muslim world? Well, it's happened at this year's fifth annual US-Islamic World Forum, and the answer is: unfortunately, not much. But you sure have a good time doing it.

For those who are unfamiliar with the US-Islamic World Forum, hosted by the Washington-DC based think tank Brookings each year in Doha, Qatar, it has been described as a "Davos of the Muslim world" designed to promote understanding and address conflicts. The forum is invite-only, and it helps if you are already in one or more circles that have found favor with forum organizers. Once selected, no expense is spared (thank you Governent of Qatar) to whisk you to Doha in first-class comfort. An eclectic group of stakeholders, observers, and even proponents of the divide between the US and the Muslim then find themselves in the Doha Ritz-Carlton passionately sharing their thoughts. It's a bit surreal to see figures as diverse as Egyptian televangelist Amr Khaled, Afghan president Hamid Karzai, and CENTCOM commander William Fallon all plying the same room, but hearing perspectives straight from the mouths of those responsible for policy and front page headlines gives things a whole new perspective.

But do viewpoints end up being any more nuanced after a free exchange of views? Not according to one repeat attendee, who likened the event to the movie "Groundhog Day" - each year, the conversation begins again as if the last one never happened. The activists (seeing themselves as proxy stand-ins for the Muslim masses) still feel ignored by those with actual policymaking power, and the neocons continue to hold on to their black-and-white worldview while sipping tea on the shores of the Persian Gulf. It was particularly difficult for me to hear one pundit push the idea that it is still an option to impose democracy militarily (after all, it worked in Germany and Japan, right?) while sitting a short flight away from the most compelling argument against it.

There is another, more valuable point to this conference, however - it's a great way to create networks with like-minded people from a plethora of backgrounds and experiences. Most meaningful for me was spending quality time with a group of committed Western Muslim leaders, activists, and academics who I've worked with and have come to respect over the years - people like Hisham Hellyer (former Brookings), Sherman Jackson (U of Michigan), Ahmed Younis (former MPAC), Salam al-Marayati (current MPAC), Rokhsana Fiaz (Change Institute UK), Dalia Mogahed (Gallup), Awais Sufi (NAML), and Salahuddin Khan (Islamica Magazine), among others.