January/February 1997, p. 110

Bulletin Board

Compiled by Janet McMahon

Convenings

The play “Salam Shalom,” written by Saleem and directed by René Migliaccio (and described in the May/June 1996 Washington Report, p. 59), runs through Jan. 10 at the Los Angeles Playhouse, 1625 North La Brea Ave., Hollywood, CA 90028. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sats, with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee; tickets are $15, $12 for students and seniors. For reservations, call the Playhouse box office at (213) 882-6912.

The Middle East Institute, the American Committee on Jerusalem and the Foundation for Middle East Peace will co-sponsor a discussion on “The Future of Jerusalem” at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on Feb. 7. Scheduled speakers include Edward Said, Rashid Khalidi, Arthur Hertzberg and Daniel Pipes. For complete information contact MEI, 1761 N St. NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 785-1141, e-mail http://www.mideasti.org/mei

Exhibitions

“Lithographs of the Holy Land and Egypt,” a major exhibit of color lithographs by David Roberts (1796-1864) from the rare Subscription and First Folio editions, is on view through Jan. 18 at St. Luke’s Gallery, 1715 Q St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, phone (202) 328-2424, fax (202) 328-9610. Gallery hours are Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

“Art of the Persian Court,” an exhibition of five centuries of intricate artwork highlighting the influence of Persian culture across the Islamic world from the 14th to the 19 century, and including 100 miniature paintings (magnifying glasses provided) as well as two pages nearly six feet tall from a Qur’an that belonged to the 14th century warlord Tamerlane, is on view through April 6 at the Smithsonian Institution’s Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC, (202) 225-8333.

Essay Contest

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee will present the James Abourezk Scholastic Award to the winners of the 1996-97 ADC Student Essay Contest, on the topic “My Undivided Heart; Reconciling the Arab-American Experience.” ADC members who are high school juniors and seniors or college freshmen and sophomores are invited to submit a 1,000-word essay which will be judged on the basis of clarity of expression, insight into personal experience, freshness of thought and quality of writing. Winners from both high school and college categories will receive $500 for first prize, $300 for second prize and $200 for third prize. For complete information and an official entry form contact ADC, 4201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20008, (202) 244-2990, e-mail http://www.adc.org/adc Deadline is Feb. 20.

Deaths

Former Afghan communist leader Babrak Karmal, installed by the Soviet Union following its 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, died in a Moscow hospital Dec. 3 of liver cancer, at the age of 67. The son of a regional governor, he was a leftist revolutionary as a university student and advocated a Soviet-style central government. Opposed by Islamic guerrillas fighting the Soviet occupation, he was replaced in power by former secret police chief Najibullah in November 1986, leaving soon thereafter for “medical treatment” in Moscow, where he spent most of his remaining years.

E. Russell Linch, a former State Department and USIA foreign service officer who served in Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iran, Japan and the Philippines died Nov. 25 in Monterey, CA at the age of 79. A native of Omaha, NE, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston. Since retiring from government service in 1974, he has lived in Pacific Grove, in California’s Monterey Peninsula, where his wife, Edla, died in 1987. A daughter, Patricia Hosh, died earlier this year. He is survived by two daughters, Susan Rockwell of Erie, PA, and Joan Linch of Pacivic Grove, and five grandchildren.

Indries Shah, a writer and authority on Sufism, died Nov. 23 in London at the age of 72. He had previously suffered two heart attacks. His book The Sufis, published in 1964, was a popular explanation of the Islamic mystical movement, and was followed by The Way of the Sufi and Neglected Aspects of Sufi Study. The Octagon Press, which he founded, published much of his later work, including Darkest England in 1987 and The Natives are Restless in 1988.

Maati Bouabid, prime minister of Morocco from 1979 to 1983, died Nov. 1 in Rabat of a heart attack at the age of 69. A lawyer and head, since its founding in 1983, of the Constitutional Union Party, which is a part of the governing coalition in Morocco, he twice was elected to parliament and held several ministerial posts beginning in 1958.