Convenings, Reaching Out, Books Needed and Deaths

Compiled by Janet McMahon

Convenings

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will hold an intensive training conference on “Muslims in America: Moving Forward With Faith,” March 30 and 31 at the Sheraton Premier Hotel in Vienna, VA. Top trainers in their fields will offer workshops and lectures on media relations, civil rights advocacy, coalition building and political empowerment. Online registration is available at <https://www.cairnet.org/asp/conference.asp> or by e-mailing <register@cair-net.org> to request registration materials. Complete information is available from CAIR, 453 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003, phone (202) 488-8787, fax (202) 488-0833.

As part of MIT’s Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar, Robert Vitalis of the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Political Science will lecture on “Race and the Making of the U.S.-Saudi Relationship,” April 2 at 4:30 p.m., in MIT Building E51, Room 095 (dining room), 70 Memorial Dr., Cambridge, MA.

The Hartford Seminary will present a Luce Forum Lecture on “Islam and the West” by Prof. Tariq Ramadan of Switzerland College of Geneva and University of Fribourg, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, CT, and April 7 at 7 p.m. at the Hartford Seminary, 77 Sherman St., Hartford, CT 06105, Web site <http://www.hartsem.edu>.

Deir Yassin Day 2002 commemorations will take place April 7 in Washington, DC, the San Francisco Bay area, New York City, Melbourne, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Jerusalem; for detailed information visit <www.DeirYassin.org> or contact Daniel McGowan at <McGowan@hws.edu>. UK commemorations will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, April 7, 2 p.m. at the plaque/tree at Kelvingrove Museum Park; and in London, April 7, 6:30 p.m. at St. John’s Wood Church, London NW8, and April 10, 6 p.m., at All Hallows-On-The-Wall, London EC2.

The Fifth Harvard University conference on Islamic Finance will take place April 6 and 7 in the Science Center in Harvard Yard. This year’s forum will have a particular focus on the state of the industry, Islamic finance in the West, and Islamic banking as community banking, and will feature 10 different sessions and original unpublished papers from over 30 speakers. For complete information and registration forms e-mail <hifip@fas.harvard.edu>.

The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy will hold its Third Annual Conference on “Democratization and Political Violence in Muslim Societies,” April 13 and 14 at The American University in Washington, DC. Panel topics include Islam and political participation, Western democracies and authoritarian Muslim regimes, human rights in the Muslim world, political violence in the Middle East, and fighting terrorism and promoting democracy. Complete information is available on the Web site <http://www.islamdemocracy.org/ThirdConference-CfP.shtml>.

The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition, along with organizations including the International Action Center, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Al-Awda, American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, and Black Voices for Peace is organizing a massive demonstration in Washington, DC April 20 to protest U.S. foreign policy in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and other countries, and, domestically, the USA Patriot Act. Participants will assemble at the White House at 11 a.m., then march to the Justice Department for a rally. Two days later, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will be addressing the annual AIPAC conference, and a 7 p.m. protest is planned at the conference site. For more information visit the Web site <http://www.internationalanswer.org>, e-mail <ANSWER@afgi.org> or call, in New York (212) 633-6646; Washington, DC (202) 543-2777; Chicago (773) 583-7728; or San Francisco (415) 821-6545.

The American Muslim Council will hold its Second National Leadership Conference for Imams April 23 to 25 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel in Alexandria, VA. Along with imams, the conference will include leaders of Islamic centers and Islamic school principals. Legal, social and political experts will share their expertise on political developments at the local, national and international levels. For additional information contact Faiz Rehman at <faiz@amconline> or call AMC at (202) 789-2262.

American Jews for a Just Peace will hold a conference on “Reclaiming Our Community’s Principles,” April 26 to 29 in Washington, DC. On the conference agenda will be the formation of a new national Jewish peace organization, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, dedicated to educating American Jews to the need to end Israel’s occupation of Palestine and implement a two-state solution to the conflict. For up-to-date information, e-mail Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel at <info@jppi.org> or visit their Web site, <www.jppi.org>.

Reaching Out

Teddy Katz, a Jewish scholar living in Haifa, recently has conducted comprehensive research on the 1948 Israeli invasion, interviewing hundreds of people who were present at the time. He is currently seeking any and all survivors of the May 1948 invasion of Tanutura and the many other villages taken forcefully by the Israeli army. Survivors who witnessed the event are asked to videotape their story with as much detail as possible, speaking in the language in which they are most comfortable. Tapes should be sent to Hala Gabriel, PO Box 48394, Los Angeles, CA 90048, (818) 243-4098.

The International Women’s Peace Service-Palestine is undertaking a 3-year project to run an International Woman’s House in Haris, Salfit, Palestine beginning in August 2002. Trained women from the international community will witness, monitor, document and publicize human rights abuses, peacefully intervene, and support the growth of nonviolent resistance to the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Four participants will spend three months at a time living communally in a house in a village with basic facilities and under Israeli-imposed military restrictions. Applicants must be at least 21, have been to Palestine and previously been involved in nonviolent direct action. Volunteers at home and in Palestine are also sought, and visitors to the project will be welcome. Applications and additional information are available from Josephine Jaffray, 011-44-1539-732583, <josephine@jaffray.fslife.co.uk>; Angie Zelter, Valley Farmhouse, East Runton, Cromer, Norfolk NR27 9PN, UK, 011-44-1263-512049, <reforest@gn.apc.org>; or Nadya Waziri, (720) 564-1462, <solush@usa.net>.

Baladna—The Arab Youth Organization in Haifa and the IBDAA Center in Dhiesheh Camp, Bethlehem, are organizing a campaign to sponsor Palestinian children, by paying 100 to 200 NIS directly to the individual bank account of a Palestinian child in need. For more information contact director Nadem Nashef, P.O. Box 99604, Haifa 31996, Israel, 011-972-4-852-3035 or 011-972-50-647-670, e-mail <baladna@zahav.net.il>, Web site <www.baladna.4t.com>.

An Najah National University in Nablus sponsors the Zajel Youth Exchange Program to provide youth from other countries the opportunity to develop a broader understanding of the situation in the Middle East, through and International Study Visit and International Work Camps. Complete information is available on the Web site <www.najah.edu/english/Youth%20Prog/youth.htm> or by e-mailing <youthexchange@najah.edu>.

Books Needed

The USS Liberty Memorial Public Library in Grafton, WI is looking for funds for new books and other small projects. Small donations are sought to help in these endeavors. Checks should be made out to the USS Liberty Memorial Library Fund and sent to Jim Grant, 821 Sixth Ave., Grafton, WI 53024.

The National Mobilization Committee for the Defense of Iraq (NMCDI) in Jordan has initiated a campaign to assemble an academic book collection of 8,000 volumes for Iraq. Dubbed “the rebuilding of the Baghdad Library,” its goal is to provide Iraqi students, academics and intellectuals with scientific, academic and reference books prohibited for the past decade. Those wishing to participate in the campaign are asked to send an e-mail indicating one’s preference to purchase one or more of the items and forward it to Jordan; contribute money toward the purchase of the items; or organize a mini book campaign to collect academic references to be forwarded to Iraq. For complete information contact NMCDI’s international liaison Fawaz Zuriekat at <fawaz@measi.com.jo> or <iraqbook@yahoo.com>, phone 011-962-6-5533166, fax 011-962-6-5533177.

Deaths

Hussein Jameel, a former Iraqi cabinet minister and longtime champion of democracy, died at his home in Baghdad Jan. 7 at the age of 93. An attorney, he defended, often for free, communists and pro-democracy activists, and served as a judge in the early 1930s. In 1932 he founded the pro-democracy al-Ahali group and, a decade or so later, was a co-founder of the National Democratic Party, which pushed for democracy under the monarchy. He was appointed minister of justice in 1949 but soon resigned over differences with pro-British cabinet ministers. He was elected president of the Lawyers Union in 1953, and the following year won a seat in parliament for the National United Front. Following the 1958 overthrow of Iraq’s monarchy he became minister of information, but resigned after an argument with revolutionary leader Abdel-Karim Qassem over the suspension of the communist party newspaper. He then was appointed Iraq’s ambassador to India. Although he spent the last quarter-century of his life out of the public eye, his personal library served as an archive for law students and researchers, and he published several books on law.

Sheikh Hammoud bin Ogla al-Shoeiby, a Saudi Islamic cleric censured by his government and praised by the al-Qaeda terrorist group, died Jan. 19 in Saudi Arabia of a heart attack at the age of 77. In October the blind scholar issued a fatwa in support of the then-ruling Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies in Afghanistan and calling for a jihad against the United States.

Samir M. Kouttab, a retired public affairs officer with the U.S. Information Agency, died of leukemia Jan. 17 at a northern Virginia hospital at the age of 64. A native of Jerusalem, he moved to the Washington area in 1968. He graduated cum laude from Georgetown University and earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Sophia University in Tokyo. He began his government career as an Arabic translator for the CIA’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service, and was an Arabic broadcaster for the Voice of America before joining the USIA in 1978. Among his postings were Greece, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe. Following his retirement, he served as executive director of the United Palestinian Appeal, and as a State Department consultant on Arab affairs. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, two children, a brother and a sister.