June 1989, Page 49

TIE EXCHANGE: Training, Information, & Education Exchange

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The National Association of Arab Americans announced that Jawad F. George, a Washington attorney, will serve as interim executive director. Mr. George is president of the law firm of Jawad F. George and Associates and has been active in Arab-American affairs for many years.

The General Secretariat of the King Faisal International Prize has issued an invitation to submit nominations for the 1990 King Faisal International Prize in Medicine and Science. The prize in medicine will be in the field of schistosomiasis and the prize in science in the field of chemistry. The deadline for completing nomination requirements is August 1. For information, contact the General Secretariat, King Faisal International Prize, P.O. Box 22476, Riyadh 11495, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Performers from over 19 countries will be featured at the annual Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts to be held in the Greco-Roman theaters of the ancient city of Jerash, July 5-20. Visiting groups will include the 66-member Leningrad State Ballet Company, the French Ballet de Nord, and the "Dimensions" modern dance company from the United States.

The American Society of Magazine Editors recently presented an award to Robin Wright, Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times, for her "Reporter at Large" dispatch from Tehran last September. Ms. Wright is completing a book, In The Name of God, about the first ten years of the Iranian revolution for fall publication.

The Islamic Community Center of Northern Virginia (ICCNOV) has purchased a third piece of land for its proposed mosque/school in Alexandria, Virginia. The Center now has three contiguous acres which should ensure zoning approval. The need to quickly purchase the last acreage has placed the ICCNOV in a precarious financial situation. Tax deductible contributions, made payable to ICCNOV, and mailed to P.O. Box 11863, Alexandria, VA 22312, would be appreciated. For information about ICCNOV activities, please contact: Mohamedsharif Munshi at (703) 569-7913 or Dr. Abdulhasan Ansari, (703) 323-1791, or Sarwar Mahmud (703) 525-2223.

PUBLICATIONS

The State and Social Transformation in Tunisia and Libya,1830-1980, by Lisa Anderson. Princeton Studies on the Near East. Princeton University Press, 1989.

The Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam, by Cyril Glasse. Stacey International, London, 1989. The first major reference work about Islam to be written by a Muslim for a Western audience. The result is a successful explanation of what Islam means to its believers as well as an outline of historical data.

Modern Egypt. The Formation of a Nation-State, by Arthur Goldschmidt. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1988.

The Military Demand for oil, by Tom Cutler. A new study of oil's essential role in war and in strategic planning for energy security in future emergencies. Petroleum Economist, London, 1989.

The Making of the Modern Gulf States. Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, by Rosemary Said Zahlan. Unwin Hyman, Winchester, MA, 1989.

An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades, Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh. Translated by Philip K. Hitti. Princeton University Press, 1987.

OBITUARY

Sheikh Asad Mansur Al-Faqih, 79, the first Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States (1946-55), died April 2 at his home in Walnut Creek, CA. Sheikh Faqih was a delegate to the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945 and was appointed ambassador to the United States the next year.

COURSES, CONFERENCES, AND SEMINARS

The American University, Washington, DC, will again feature a number of interesting Middle East courses during the fall semester, including: "North African Government and Politics"; "Contemporary Middle East"; "Modern Islam"; "International Relations-Middle East"; and "Politics of the Middle East." For information, call the office of admissions at (202) 885-6000.

The Joint Center for Near Eastern Studies of New York University and Princeton University will sponsor their 12th annual summer institute, "The Power of Popular Culture: Political Expression and Verbal Art in Middle Eastern Societies:' June 26-29 at the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, New York University This 1989 institute will focus on developing an appreciation of cultural creativity in the Near East and North Africa.

ARCHAEOLOGY

Bahrain opened its new $26.5 million National Museum last December. The three-story structure stands on land reclaimed from the sea. Under the directorship of Shaikha Nayla AI-Khalifa, the museum has assembled an impressive variety of artifacts representative of Bahraini culture throughout the ages. There are three archaeology halls which house displays from ancient Bahraini graves, the Dilmun culture, the Tylos culture, and Islam.

A 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian city found in the writings of King Hammurabi of Babylon but lost to the modern world has been identified by a team of American archaeologists, who have been working on the site since December in what is now a flat, baked desert in southern Iraq. The city, called Mashkanshapir, is one of the oldest in the world and has been untouched since its destruction in 1720 BC. Mashkan-shapir was a major urban center of 15,000 inhabitants between 2050 and 1750 BC, lying halfway between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

MIDEAST EXHIBITS IN MUSEUMS AROUND THE US

The following is a selection of current museum exhibitions about the Middle East: The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD: "Beyond the Pharaohs," thru July 16; The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Ann Arbor, MI: "A Selection of Textiles from Medieval Egypt," thru June 29; Southwest Museum of Science and Technology, Dallas, TX: "Mummies!" thru Oct. 31; The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX: "Rameses the Great: The Magic, The Mystery, The Myth," thru Aug. 27; San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, CA: "Traditional Crafts of Saudia Arabia," thru Jan. 2.

HALDANE'S FACTS AND FIGURES

Kuwait has the highest dust-to-air ratio in the world (727 tons of dust per square kilometer), according to Yousef Abdul-Raheem, deputy director of the Kuwaiti environment protection department.

ARAB-JEWISH DIALOGUE

Dr. Ali Hossaini, a clinical pathologist at the Medical College of Virginia, and Dr. I. Kelman Cohen, a Richmond plastic surgeon, have formed the Arab Jewish Dialogue Group in Richmond, VA. The 20 Arab and Jewish American members are motivated by their common desire to work together for peace in the Middle East.

Dr. Cohen announced his group's five-point peace plan for the Middle East at a recent news conference. Some of the main objectives are: Palestinians and Arab countries to recognize Israel's legitimacy while Israel recognizes the right of Palestinians to self-determination, "including the option of a sovereign Palestinian state"; direct negotiations between the Israeli government and the PLO; and the right of Palestinians to return to their homes within Israel or be compensated for their property

Material submitted by Exchange matters will be considered for publication as space and circumstance allow. "Facts & Figures" Items from "old Middle East hands" are especially welcome. Editor: John T. Haldane. Write to TIE Exchange, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009, or call 202-939-6050 or 1-800-368-5788.