Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 1998, pages 81-82

Education

AAUG Conference Opens Oct. 23 in Detroit

By Betsy Barlow

The Association of Arab-American University Graduates will host its 1998 convention at the Novi Hilton Hotel, just a short distance from the Detroit airport, Friday Oct. 23 through Sunday Oct. 25. AAUG President Nabil Khoury told us that the theme this year is “Palestine After 50 Years of Occupation: The Arabs and Arab Americans Since 1948.”

The chairman of the program committee, Professor Naseer Aruri of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and his colleagues have produced a full and diverse set of panels, keynoters, workshops and cultural events.

Part 1 of the program will be directed at basic problems confronting the Arab world. Included in this section of the program will be programs on “The Nakba Revisited: The New Historians and the Palestinian Narrative”; “Recreating the Palestinian Nation”; “Globalization, ‘Normalization with Israel,’ and Arab Resistance”; and “The Congruence of U.S. and Israeli Interests: The Arab Regime Collaborators.”

The second part of the program will focus on “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Fifty Years of Israeli Violations.” Part III addresses Regional Struggles and Issues. One panel will focus on “Sanctions, Holdouts, ‘Peacemakers’ and Islamists,” and the other on “Regional Interests and Power Struggles.”

The fourth and last part of the conference is entitled “Looking to the Future.” One panel will address “Alternatives to the U.S. ‘Peace Process,’” while another will probe “Arab-Americans and their Role in Supporting New Thinking Abroad.” “Mistaken Identity: Re-Examining the Arab-American Self-Concept” will be examined in yet another panel, and the program will end with “Revisioning Arab and Israeli Cultures: Toward Mutual Respect, Coexistence and Equality.”

Workshop topics will include Intergenerational Discussion, Culture and Literature, Health and Education, Women, and Economic Development.

The internationally acclaimed oud and violin musician Simon Shaheen will perform a concert on Friday evening.

To register for the conference, or to find out more information about the times of programs or confirmed speakers, contact the AAUG office, 4201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 303, Washington, DC 20008; e-mail: aaug@igc.com; phone (202) 237-8312; fax (202) 237-8313.

To reserve rooms at the hotel, contact the Novi Hilton, 21111 Haggerty Road, Novi, MI 48375; phone (248) 349-4000; fax (248) 349-4066.

UCLA Hosts Teacher Institute

The Near Eastern Center at the University of California-Los Angeles hosted an institute for teachers Aug. 1-13. Institute Director Jonathan Friedlander and Seminar Coordinator Sherry Vatter planned a comprehensive program which included topics such as water and oil, migrants, ancient and pre-Islamic culture, Islam, literature and art, images and realities, Islam in America, as well as an emphasis on Web resources and curricular development.

The program was sponsored by the G. E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies and the International Studies and Overseas Programs at UCLA and by the U.S. Department of Education.

Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding

North Park (Chicago) University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the home of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding, will hold its 2nd Annual Fund-raising Banquet on Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Magnusen Campus Center Dining Hall. The master of ceremonies will be Jim Wall, editor of the Christian Century magazine, and the author of many articles on the Middle East. To reserve a place at the dinner, contact the Center at 3225 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, IL 60625; phone (773) 244-5786.

Jerusalem Conference in London

The Islamic Research Academy will hold its second annual academic conference on “The Centrality of Jerusalem in Islam” in the Brunei Gallery of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on Aug. 22. The purpose of the conference is to bring together notable Muslim and Western scholars to promote a dialogue. Both English and Arabic will be used, with simultaneous translations available. Speakers will include Dr. Abd al-Fattah el-Awaisi, Stirling University, Professor Ibrahim Zaid al-Kilani, University of Jordan, Bishop Kenneth Cragg, Oxford, and Dr. Michale Dumper, University of Exeter. Topics include the “Destabilization in al-Aqsa Mosque.” For further information, contact the Islamic Research Academy, P.O. Box 15002, Dunblane FK15 OZA, UK; phone 44-1-786-821-670; fax 44-1-786-824-370.

Birzeit Conference

Birzeit University will offer an international conference Nov. 12-15 on “Landscape Perspectives on Palestine.” For further information, or to register, contact the conference organizers at PO Box 14, Birzeit, Palestine, via Israel; fax 972-2-9957656; or e-mail land@arts.birzeit.edu

Centennial Observance for Al-Hoda

Abstracts may be submitted until Aug. 30 for a Dec. 3, 1998 conference to honor the publishers of Al-Hoda, one of the earliest Arabic-language newspapers in America, on the occasion of its centennial anniversary.

The program, to be held at the Museum of the City of New York, will feature Al-Hoda’s contributions to Arabic journalism, to Lebanon and to the lives of its immigrant readership. Following the afternoon symposium, a special archival exhibit will trace the paper’s milestones, display memorabilia and honor the publishers and their century-long legacy.

To participate in the symposium, send an abstract/outline to May Rihani, 6805 Granby St., Bethesda, MD 20034; phone (301) 320-4370; e-mail mrihani@erols.com. To contribute items for the archival exhibit, before Sept. 30 contact Souhad Rafey (212) 369-4880 (days) or (212) 964-4216 (eves).

Steering committee members include Lawrence E. Joseph, May Rihani, Helen Hatab Samhan, and Peter and Ann Tanous. Advisory committee members include Dr. Edmond Ghareeb, Dr. John Moses, Dr. Alixa Naff, Dr. Michael Suleiman, Dr. Eugene Nasser, Dr. Rudoph Vecoli and John Zogby.

Turkish Arts Festival

The Turkish American Association of California will present a Turkish Arts and Culture Festival from ll a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug, 29 and 30. Most events will be held at the Customs House Plaza next to Fisherman’s Wharf. A concert and dance party is planned for Aug, 29 at 8:30 at the Monterey Center Serra Ball Room. A Turkish dance troupe has been practicing all summer to perform at this festival. For more information, contact Yavuz Atila at (408) 646-3916; or, through e-mail, yatila@miis.edu

ADC, AFSC Eye Jerusalem

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) are jointly calling for educational meetings in October on the status of Jerusalem, to highlight the confiscation of land, home demolitions, and closures that Israel is implementing and which threaten to change the status of Jerusalem before the negotiations start. They ask that organizations working on these issues contact them after Labor Day to learn more about the nationwide campaign. Call or write to Kathy Bergen, Middle East Peace Education, AFSC, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102-1479; e-mail KBergen@afsc.org; or Marvin Wingfield, ADC, 2401 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, e-mail marvinw@adc.org

New Resources

The Council on Islamic Education (CIE) has just published Muslim Women Through the Centuries, designed as a curriculum supplement for schools. The book is being distributed by the National Center for History in the Schools (NCHS) at UCLA. Two additional books, one on the Crusades and the other on European Travelers in Muslim Lands, will be published soon. To purchase the book on Muslim Women, contact the NCHS at 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024-4132.

We also learned that the CIE is continuing its work with textbook publishers by hosting a meeting with publishers’ representatives and representatives of various states working on world history standards to discuss the problem areas. The standards adopted in some of our larger states will determine how the next wave of textbooks are written. A careful review of the language is an important service for the next generation of students and for all of us. To learn more about the CIE’s work on standards, or its publications, contact the CIE at 9300 Gardenia St., B-3, Fountain Valley, CA 92708; phone (714) 839-2929; fax (714) 839-2714.

The International Action Center is distributing “Genocide by Sanctions,” a 30-minute documentary on the effect of the sanctions. A new video, ready for distribution in early September, is designed as a companion. The new video will document the Iraq Sanctions Challenge trip and provide a longer historical view of U.S. strategy aimed at dominating the people and natural resources of the Middle East.

The Center is also publishing a new book, Challenge to Genocide: Let IraqLive, expected out by Labor Day. The book will include articles by former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Reverend Lucius Walker, members of American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, and a group of powerful photos. These materials will provide the educational background for the national Days of Protest Oct. 1-4, which the Center is asking other concerned groups and organizations to observe with rallies, press conferences and teach-ins.

To order copies of the video or the book, contact the International Action Center, 39 W. 14th St., #206, New York, NY 10011; phone (212) 633-6646; fax (212) 633-2889; e-mail iacenter@iacenter.org

The new issue of Al-Jadid magazine features Adonis’s indictment of Arab cultural and moral terrorism, a remembrance of Ghali Shukri and Nizar Qabbani, and a retrospective of “Naguib Mahfouz Ten Years After the Award of the Nobel Prize for Literature.” To subscribe, call (213) 957-12291; or fax (818) 782-8535; or e-mail aljadid@jovenet.com, or through snail mail to Al Jadid Magazine, P.O. Box 24DD2, Los Angeles, CA 90024-0208.