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MAAS Alumna BecomesFirst LebaneseWoman to Open BankAccountfor Children Robert Duffiey Jn December 2009, Barbara Shahin Batlouni, a 1983 MAAS Ialumna, became the first Lebanesewoman allowed to open a bank account for her two underagesons. "I feel great to be part of history in the making," Batlouni told Lebanon's Daily Star. Currently the Lebanon Country Director for AMIDEAST, a non-profit that aims to increaseties between the people of the United Statesand the Middle East, Batlouni first encountered Lebanon'sdiscriminatory bank policy on a visit to a Beirut bank with her sons 10 yearsago. "Since my parents had opened a bank account for me when I was young, and I had benefited from that experienceof having an account,making depositsand withdrawals,and watching interest grow, I really wanted to do that for my boys," Batlouni wrote in an e-mail. After filling out the required paperwork, however,Batlouni was turned down on the grounds that only male guardiansof minors were allowed to open bank accountsin their names. "It was a bit of a shock," she wrote. "When I pointed out that it was my cash, and also my kids, it didn't matter. So we left rather disappointed, and it was my first real taste of the lack of equality in legal rights facedby Lebanesewomen." The bank issue took a backseatin Batlouni's mind for several years, until she met activist Wafa Abed, president of Lebanon's Institute of ProgressiveWomen (IPW). Becauseof her senior position in a bank, Abed had heard numerous complaints about the discriminatory law and decidedto tackle it. With the help of an AMlDEAST-administered Transparency and Accountability Grant, Abed and IPW launched a national grassrootscampaign in March 2009 that, as Batlouni describes it, "mobilized thousandsof people to write letters and lobby the powers that be to change this rule and allow for mothers to open accountsfor minor children." On December 18, 2009,the Bank of Beirut welcomedBatlouni to its headquarters,where, surroundedby the media, shebecame the first Lebanesewoman to open a bank accountfor her children without their father'sexplicit legal consent. Batlouni callsthe old policy "symptomaticof a largerlegalissue: the absenceof civil law for personal statusissues,"but expresses confidence that this change and others in the works "have done much to raise public awarenessand mobilize citizensto insist on removing obstaclesto women's full participation in society."*
Barbara Batlouni (MAAS'83) with her sons the day she became the first Lebanese woman to open a bank account for her children.
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Center News
BarbaraStowasserNamed New Sultanateof Oman Chair lvlirli l(irk he Center is pleasedto announce that CCAS Executive Committee member and former Director Dr. Barbara Stowasserhas been named the new holder of the Sultanateof Oman Chair in Arabic and Islamic Literature. The previous holder was Dr. Irfan Shahid,who was appointedto the Chair in 1982and retired in 2008. Dr. Stowasser holds an M.A. in Near East Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Comparative Semitics and Islamic Studies from the University of Mi.inster, Germany. Her publications include Islamic Law and the Challenges
of Modernity, co-edited with Yvonne Haddad (AltaMira Press,2004),a booklength study on Women in the Qur'an, Traditions and Interpretation (Oxford University Press, 1994, translated into Danish and published by the Carsten Niebuhr Institute, University of Copenhagen, in their "Modern Classics"series,2008),an editedvolume entitled The Islamic Impulse (CCAS, 1987,reprinted 1989),articlespublished in American, German, Arabic, and Turkish journals and periodicals, and book chaptersin collectedvolumes.Dr. Stowasserwas president of the Middle
East Studies A ssoci ati on from 1998to 1999.
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Islam and Time in the fall of 2010.Pleasekeep an eye out for detailsnext semester!*
CCAS WelcomesSpring 2010 Vsiting Scholars Robe rt Duffe1'
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CAS welcomes three visiting scholars for the 2010 spring to semester. Established accommodatescholarswho wish to use Georgetown University's facilities and faculty resources, the CCAS Visiting ScholarsProgram invites thinkers with specific areasof expertise in the Arab world to undertake research at the Center.This semester,Dr. Fatima Badry, Dr. Nadia Najjab, and Dr. Radwan Ziadehjoin CCAS in this capacity. From the American University of Sharjah, Dr. Fatima Badry studies issuesof "Arabness"-the development, and manifestations elements ol of Arab identity. During her time at CCAS, Dr. Badry is looking at
Dn Fatima Badry
Ianguageand educationaldevelopment in educational institutions in the UAE, including collegesand branches of universities from North America, Europe,Australia, and SoutheastAsia. Her research specifically investigates the impact of language-in-education policies adopted by the UAE on the development of Arabic language literacy and on Arab identity, and addresses the social and cultural transformations that are likely to result from the "Englishization"of the educationalsector. Dr. Nadia Najjab comes to CCAS through the Palestinian Faculty Development Program, an extended partnership between the Open
Dr. Nadia Najjab
Dr. Radwan Ziadeh
Society Institute/Soros Foundations Network, USAID, and AMIDEAST. Her researchfocuses on Arab women using Arab female sourcesfor theories on gender and feminism, and she is currently working on issues related to the suffering of Palestinianwomen, using real cases.At CCAS, Dr. Najjab is developing an outline and syllabus for the course "Contemporary Arab Women." Dr. Radwan Ziadeh is founding director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies and executive director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies. Dr. Ziadeh has been a visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University and at the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard University. He is the author of numerous publications, including, most recently, Power and Policy in Syria: Intelligence Services, Foreign Relationsand Democracyin theModern Middle East (forthcoming in 2010). At CCAS, Dr. Ziadeh is continuing his examinationof democracypromotion during the "third wave" in an effort to develop an effective model for democratizationin the Middle East.*
CCAS News
Spring 2OlO
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An Interview with the Honorable Roscoe "Roaky" Suddarthr Chairman of the CCAS Board Mimi Kirk CAS recently decided to feature an interviewwith one ofits board membersin eachnewsletterissue. To kick offthis new tradition, the Honorable Roscoe ("Roclcy") Suddarth ki"dly agreed to speakto CCAS editor Mimi Kirk about his remarkablediplomatic career. Ambassador Suddarth grew up in Nashville, Tennessee,and has a B.A. in history from Yale University, an M.A. in history from Oxford University, an M.A. in systems analysis from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an M.A. in music (at age 72) from the University of Maryland. He joined the Foreign Servicein 1961and servedin Mali, Lebanon,Yemen, Libya, fordan, and Saudi Arabia. He was Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in |ordan ftom 1975 to 1979;Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1979to 1981and DCM from 1982to 1985,both in SaudiArabia; Deputy AssistantSecretaryof Statefor Near Eastern and SouthAsianAffairs from 1985to 1987; and United StatesAmbassador to |ordan from 1987 to 1990. He retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister in 1995. Aside from his diplomatic worh Ambassador Suddarth was head of the Middle East Institute for six years,and was also an independent director for Merrill Lynch and BlackRock Mutual Funds for eight years.He has a daughter,Anne, and a son,Marh with his wife of 47 years,Michele. AmbassadorSuddarth has been Chairman of the CCASBoard since2002. How did you first become interested in theArabworld? Two events sparked my interest in the region. During my senior year atYale,I had a professorwho pointed out that two-thirds of the world's oil resources were in the Middle East and that the United Stateswas running out of oil. Then, during my first month at Oxford, in 1956, the Suez atrair occurred. Suddenly the United Stateswas opposing Britain, France, and Israel. And as a loyal American, I felt I had to defend my country. So I started reading about the Middle East. CCAS News 'i' Spring }OLO
Ambassador Suddarth:A valuedmemberof the CCAScommuniry. Do you have a favorite place you were stationed? I have two favorites-]ordan and Saudi Arabia. I worked a lot on the Arab-Israeli problem while in |ordan, and SaudiArabia has, of course, an immensely important relationshipwith the United States. Who are some interesting people you met duringyour career? Well, King Hussein had great charisma and integrity, along with humility. During my eight and a half yearsin fordan I got to know him very well. We were the sameage and had children the same age.King Idris in Libya was a saintly figure who would get on the mat in his statelyvillaand pour your tea at the end of a diplomatic conversation. Also, [Yitzhak] Rabin and [Shimon] Peres were both impressive figures I dealt with while working on Arab-Israeli affairs. The top Saudiroyal family, including King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah, Prince Sultan, Prince Saud, Prince Tirrki, and Prince Bandar were an extremely effective team, and I had great professional satisfaction dealingwith them. What would you call the highlight of yourcareer? I had severalhighlights. One was n L967 in Yemen,when I spent three weeksi" juil protecting the rights of turo Americanswho were erroneouslyaccusedof trying to start a coupd'dtat.I sharedtheir jail cell to show the United States was interested. Other highlights included the Kissingermediation
in the Yom Kippur War and,later,the Cu-p David Accords. I was also very involved in working with the Under Secretaryof State during the Iran hostagenegotiations. What was the biggest challenge of your career? Spending those three weeks in jail. And then the frustration of dealingwith the Iran hostagesituation, becausethere were many falsestarts.Of course,the biggestchallenge was pursuing a peace agreement,with its ups and downs, over the years,betweenthe Arabs and Israelisboth in fordan and Saudi Arabia and in tours in the StateDepartment. What advice do you have for students looking to have a career in Middle East diplomacy? One ofthe most fortunate featuresof my careerwas learning Arabic. My wife and I were sentto Beirut for intensiveArabic for two yearsin the mid-1960s,and I wasthen sentto Yemen,whereI interpretedbetween the head of our embassyand the Yemeni leaders.I then went to Libya, where I was the interpreter for the ambassadorwith King Idris. Having a strongbackground in the languageenabledme asa young officer to seesome fairly important things at the ambassadoriallevel that I would not have otherwise. The Middle East is such a key area of the world. I'm delighted there's a place like CCAS to turn out people who have both the language and the area studies. In my view, you can't be a fully effective representativeoverseasif you don't have sensitivity to the total atmosphere-both the languageand the society. Could you talk about your later-in-life Master's degreein music? I startedas a freshman at the University of Maryland with the 18-year-olds,taking two courses a term. After six years, I had achieved all the undergraduate requirements and all the M.A. requirements, including comprehensives. I wrote a thesison French perspectiveson jazzandspentseveralweeksin Parisgetting to know the Frenchjazz community.And I just came from a course on Bach. So I still take courses..!
Publications News
CCAS PublishesThreeOccasionalPapersin20O9-2OLO ltobcrr I)ulilc1. ver the course of the 20092010 academic year, CCAS releasedthree new Occasional Papers. Written by resident faculty and guest speakers from past CCAS events,CCAS OccasionalPapersseekto addresssubjects related to the modern Arab world about which there is either an absence of reliable information and analysis or a lack of up-to-date scholarship.By exploring a wide range of topics, the papers seek to share the breadth and range of topics prevalent in Arab culture. This year's papers explore Arab poetry politics,and music. The first paper was "Contexts of Language in Mahmoud Darwish," by Dr. Ibrahim Muhawi of the Universitv of
Oregon.The paper,which emergedfrom Dr. Muhawi's fanuary 2009lectureat the Center'scommemoration of the life and work of Mahmoud Darwish, explores three contexts of languagein Darwish's poetry. The first is Darwish's performative useoflanguage."Essentially, Darwish presentslanguagemetaphoricallyas having materialiry and the homelandtakesits form from that body,"Dr. Muhawi writes. "A kind of incarnationseemsto arisefrom this poetic performance."The second context dealswith reading Darwish as a resistancepoet, and the third is Darwish's death,which Dr. Muhawi interprets as a part of Darwish'slanguage. CCAS then published"Obama'sFirst 150 Days: Perspectivesfrom an Arab
Dort't Miss the New CCAS Website CCAS unveiled its new website earLythis semester, after six months of redesigning, reor ganizing, and revamping its web content. You'll find it userftiendly and sleek, with new features such as a video archive of our events, links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed, and constantly rotating features. We're getting twice the number of hits as on our old site; add yourself to this growing group! Check it out at http: / lccas.georgetown.edu.
n ET A Is'
American Writer," by CCAS adjunct instructor Gregory Orfalea. An author of eight books, including TheArab Americans:A History (Interlink Press,2006),Mr. OrfaleadetailsmeasuresObamahastaken to reach out to the Arab world and analyzeshis ability to effectpositive change in the region. Startingwith Obama'sfirst day in office, Mr. Orfalea traces ways in which the Obama administration's Middle East policies have differed from those of its predecessors,examining such topics as Obama's|une 4 speechin Cairo, his plans for the Iraq War, and his resolution to make progressvis-i-vis the Israeli-Palestinianconflict. Mr. Orfalea concludesthat the presidentis in a unique position to effect changebecauseof his understandingof and respectfor Arab concerns.But it remainsto be seen,he warns, whether Obama will succeed.If he doesn't,writes Mr. Orfalea,"more than a presidencywill be stillborn. And our agonywill grow." ThenewestOccasionalPaperis Dr. A.]. Racy's"Art and Ecstasyin Arab Music," which is based on his 2009 Kareema Khoury Distinguished Lecture at CCAS. Professorof Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles,Dr. Racyis an expert performer and a master of many traditional Middle Eastern instruments.In the paper,Dr. Racyexplores the idea of tarab, or musical ecstasy,in Arab music."Theword tarabrefersto both the ecstatic state evoked by traditional Arab music and the musicitself,"he writes. "[This is] a cleartestimonyto the closeassociation the culture has made between the music and emotionaltransformation." He discussesthe unique bond formed betweenthe master performer and his most dedicatedlisteners(the sammiah), and the specificmusicalqualitiesthat help producethe stateof trance-likeecstasy. Dr. Racy addressesthe potential of Westernstylemusic in the Middle Eastto weaken tarab,but he alsoexpresses confidencein "music'spower to crossgeographical,and often cultural and political, boundaries." To read the papersin full, visit http:// .r ccas.georgetown.edu/research/papers/.
CCAS News
Spring }OLO
Science,Time, and Islam Examined in Fall Workshop Catherine Parker he National ResourceCenter on the Middle East (NRC-ME) and CCAS sponsored a workshop for both K- 12educatorsand the generalpublic on November 5,2009 entitled "WhatTime Is It? Islam, Time, and the Astrolabe." This workshop examined the relationship between Islam and scientific developments throughout history with a particular focus on the measurementoftime and astronomy. Dr. Barbara Stowasser,Sultanate of Oman Chair in Arabic and Islamic Literature at Georgetown University, discussed the religious concerns surrounding the measurement of time, especially in determining prayer times and calendars. She
explained the development of local time measurementsfor prayers and how this relatesto the systemoftime zonesin usetoday. Dr. George Saliba, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Scienceat Columbia University, then discussedIslamic astronomy from the ninth century CE. Dr. Salibaaddressedthe importance of accurately measuring time to Muslims and the resulting developments in astronomy. He also juxtaposed these developments with those that occurred in Europe and explained the relationship between Islamic and European advances in astronomy. Mr. |ames Morrison, a retired engineer and author of TheAstrolabe(fanus, 2007),
introduced the audience to the history of this astronomical instrument. He demonstrated how to use the astrolabe,and showcaseda computerized astrolabe of his invention as well as a simple, personal astrolabe. Susan Douglass, Educational Consultant for the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, conducted a specialsessionfor K-12 educatorsat the end of the workshop. Ms. Douglasselaborated on the connection between Islamic and European science and provided the educatorswith materials on these topics for use in their classrooms.*
MAAS StudentsBring Expertiseto Childrert'sMuseum Robert Duffey hree MAAS studentstook a break from the rigors of academia in I Ifanuary 2010 and volunteered at the National Children's Museum's "Tasteof Nablus" event.Also sponsoredby Tomorrow's Youth Organization (TYO), which provides enrichment programs for disadvantagedchildren in Palestine,the eventinvited American children to explore Palestinian culture through food, images, and narrativesofchildren's lives in Nablus. In total, 148 adults and 128 children attended the program, which included a performance by George Mason University's ASA Dabka DanceTroupe,traditional Palestinian crafts, anda spreadofhummus, pita, stuffed grape leaves, baklawa, and pita with olive oil and za'tar. Photos of Nablus children aided by TYO were also feature4 along with descriptions of their d"ily lives; visitors were given the opportunityto writepostcards to them. CCAS's Ben Stevenson,SamDolbee, and Amanda Roosendahl spent the day writing visitors' names in Arabic, helpi"g with a Palestinian embroidery craft station, and facilitating activities that showcased Palestinian foods and spices. "fhe event generally encouraged children to be curious about different places and cultures," Dolbee said. "More iml-Fl
CCAS News * Spring 2OLO
portantly, it promoted recognition of the humanity of all people." Lisa Hershey Zurer,the Museum'sManager of Cultural Programs,agrees,noting that the eventwas dedicatedto "exploring our commonalities and respecting our differencesin order to teach children to be tolerant and compassionatetoward our neighbors." CCAS Director of Educational Outreach Zeina Seikaly, who recruited the MAAS student volunteers and attended the event,added that the progftrm indeed
MAAS
offered a unique teachablemoment. "It's really important for American children to learn about Palestiniansbeyond what they see on TV and in the movies," she said. "Programs such as this one go a long way toward informing them that the Palestiniansare real people, just like them, and havevery similar needs,hopes, and dreams." The future may seemore beneficial exchangesbetween MAAS students and the Museum.SaysHersheyZrxer:"We hope to workwith CCAS and its studentsagain!"*
student Ben Stevenson makes a good impression on the Museum's visitors.
Outreach News
Teachers Learn about Environmental Sustainability, Youth, and Education in the Middle East educators pproximately 20 gathered at Georgetown on February24 to attend a day-long outreachworkshop entitled "Environment and Development in the Middle East." Bashar Zeitoon, Program Director of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development,kickedoffthe workshopwith a presentationon "EconomicDevelopment and EnvironmentalSustainability:Framing the Debate in the Arab World." He examined the various sectorsthat should be targeted to "start the conversation" about environment and development in the region;theseinclude the transportation, waste,power and water, tourism, and oil and gassectors.He saidthat what drivesthe ofmanyprocesses debateis the convergence such as urban development, population growth, industrialization, globalization, the youth bulge, unemploynent, food and water security, desertification, and the expansion of trade and tourism. Mr. Zeitoon showed several photographs of traditional architecturein the Arab world, which worked harmoniously with nature in its treatment of water and wind, light and shade,and nature and geometry; he concluded that Arabs would do well to take lessonsfrom their own past in order to achievea sustainablebalancebetween nafureand human needs. Dr. Fida Adely, holder of the Clovis and Hala Salaam Maksoud Chair in Arab Studies at Georgetown, addressed "Education in the Middle East and North Africa." After World War II, she noted, educationand developmentbecamelinked in the region,and educationwasperceived as fundamental to state-building in the postcolonialera.Thereiue many challenges in the field ofeducationatpresent,including how to handle languageminorities, rural poverty, poor infrastructure, gender inequalities,and the quality of education in the region. Dr. Adely also talked about foreign aid for educational initiatives, which hasbeenlow until very recently,and atleasthalfofwhichis earmarkedfor higher education.Shementioned the contentious
6
politics around educational reforms and Nabhanopined that such sharedrisks may the many questions in the region about force new cooperationbetweenIsrael and authenticity ("Do we emulatethe West?") its neighborsand increasethe importance and how to assessdevelopment (literacy of nongovernmental organizations and rates?the number of computers?math and community-based grassroots initiatives, scienceprograms?).Thereare many in the which can offer innovative ideas and Arab world working to addresstheseissues, solutions. Like Mr. Zeitoon, he thought and Dr. Adely statedthat more resources that therealreadyexistprinciplesin Islamic needto be investedin schoolsof education, history which support conservation, such as the conceptof hima, or protected which arecrucial to educationreform. "Including 100 Million Youth in the reservesthat arefree of contamination. After a Middle Easternlunch, workshop Middle East:Challengesand Opportunities" participants watched a new f:Jm, Garbage presentation by the was the title of IeanLouis Sarbib,NonresidentSeniorFellow at Dreams, by producer, director, and the Wolfensohn Center for Development cinematographerMai Iskandar.It examines at the Brookings Institution. The high the lives of the zabbaleen(garbagesorters number of young peoplebetweenthe ages and recyclers) in a poor neighborhood of 15 and 29 is the result of many factors, in Cairo (see http://www.garbagedreams. including heavy investment in human com).The film addressedmany of the ideas capitalin the 1960sand l970s,lowerinfant and questionsthat were raisedthroughout mortality in the region,and betteraccessto the duy, especially how economic health facilities. The problems associated development is linked to poverty, waste with the youth bulge are unemployment management, recycling, urban life, and (which is higher for women) and heavy development strategies promulgated by strainson the health and educationsectors. governments.Everyonereceiveda resource Mr. Sarbib talked about the phenomenon packetcontaining backgroundarticlesand of "waithood," where young college suggestedresources for further reading. graduateswait for important life eventslike The resource list will soon be available jobs, marriage,and housing;all this serves on the CCAS website,under the K-12 to make them feel helpless,alienated,and EducationalOutreachsection.r: excludedfrom society. "Environmentaldegradationand contamination pose such severe risks to inhabitantsand nationsof the Middle Eastthat theywill soon trump all other issues affecting survival," asserted Gury Paul Nabhan, ResearchSocial Scientist at the SouthwestCenter,University of Arizona. As an example, he cited the mountain aquifer that servesas the source of drinking water for Israelisand Palestinians; this water has been found to contain high concentrations of pesticidesand antibiotic-resistant microbes,causinggastrointestinal problems and long-term medical issues,such as low sperm counts Mr. Jean-Louis Sarbib emphasizes a point about the that will affect reproduction. Dr. Middle East's youth bulge.
CCAS News
Spring 2010
Public Events Dr. Dimitri Gutas of Yale University Delivers the Kareema Khoury
Annual Distinguished Lecture,"Tre Arabic Backgroundof Western Philosophy and SciencerMedieval Translations and Modern Politics" lvl:rrgaret Dahcr CCAS hosted a renowned colleaguefromYale University,Dr. Dimitri Gutas, as fiis year'sKareema Khoury Annual Distinguished Lecturer on February25.Dr.Gutas's talk highlighted fie intersectionof Arabic schoolsof fiought and the developmentofWestern philosophy and science,and addressedthis confluence in the contexcof fie modern polidcal landscapaDr. Gutas is Professorof ClassicalArabic studiesand Graeco-Arabicstudies in the Department of Near Eastem Languagesand Civilizations atYale University. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Yale (Ph.D. 7974) in classics,history of religions, andArabic and Islamic studies.He has worked extensivelyon fie formation and development of fie medieval Islamic intellecnral radidon, wifi parricular emphasis on its linguistic social,and ideologicalaspects.Dr. Gutas wrote about the transmissionof Greek sciendfic and philosophical works into fie Islamic world through the momentous GraecoArabic translation movement in Baghdad from fie eighth to the tenth centuries in Greek Tbought,Arabic Culture(Roudedge,1998), which has beentranslatedinro sevenlanguages and won the2002 Greek Special Honorary Award for fie Study of Civfuzaaon. He is also an aufiority on fie Arabic philosophicaltradidon, in particular its greatesrexponent,Ibn Sina (Avicenna),about whom he wrote in Avicennaand tbeArktotelian Tradition: Introductionto kading Avicenna'sPbilosophicalWorks (B"ll, 1988). Dr. Gutas has recendy published an edidon, translacion,and commentary of both fie Greek text and fie medieval Arabic translations of Theophrastus's On First Princtples(known ashis Metapbysics)(Btill, 20L0),a double editorial proJectaccomplishedfor the 6rst time in contemporary scholarship by a single aufior. A collecdon of his arricles can be found in GreekPhilosophersin tbeArabic Tradition (Aldershot, 2000). He alsocontinuesto edit, with G. Endressof Bochum Universicy,A Greekand Arabic Lexicon(B.ill, L992tr), He is currendy working on critical edidons of Arabic ransladons of ancient Greek works, a translation of Ibn Sinds works on fie soul, and a generalwork on the transmission of knowledge, firough transladons, from antiquity to the Renaissance
Public Events A Country Called Amreeka November3 Author and civil rights lawyer Alia Malek discussed her new book, A Country Called Amreeka (Free Press, 2009). The book chronicles over 40 years of American history, with each chapter consisting of an American historical event narrated from the point of view of an Arab American. Democracy and Human Rights in EgFpt November4 Dr. Fathi Sorour, President of the Egyptian People's Assembly, spoke about the current state of democracy and human rights in Egypt. Dr. Sorour has held several influential posts in the CCAS News
Spring 20LO
Egyptian administration, including Minister of Education and Presidentof the SupremeCouncil of Universities,as well as severalhigh-level administrative positions at Cairo University.
lecturedaboutthe political and economic links betweenthe coffeetrade, the public coffeehouse (qahwa sha'abiya), and manhood in Tunis, Tunisia.The research for Dr. Collins'slectureentailedtwo years of fieldwork in Tirnis and was compiled War as a Vehicle of Modernity into a historical ethnography entitled "From Coffee to Manhood: Grounds for Novemberl1 Dr. Salim Tamari, Director of the Exchange in the Tirnisian Coffeehouse, Institute of ferusalem Studies and ca.1898-2008." a professor of sociology at Birzeit University, spoke about the experiences Saudi Arabia Today of Arabs during World War I and the November18 war's effecton the Middle East. His Royal Highness Prince Tirrki Al-Faisal served as the Ambassador of From Cofiee to Manhood: An the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Anthropological Inquiry into Tunisia's United Statesfrom 2005 until 2007. He "Social Economy" addressedan audienceabout the current November17 stateof Saudi Arabia vis-i-vis education, Dr. Rodney W. Collins, the 2009- political and economic development in 2010 CCAS Qatar Post-DoctoralFellow, the Middle East, recent foreign policy
on Middle East Democracy (POMED) conferences, and shared their own experiences and thoughts on political change in the region. Kenneth Wollach President of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), responded to their included Participants comments. Mohammad Mahmoud Ahmad Alazraq, Amman, fordan; Karim Bayoud, Beirut, Lebanon;David Edward Linfield, Amman, Jordan;and BassemSamir Awad Michael, Cairo, Egypt.
Dr. Pardis Mahdavi of Pomona College addresses gender and labor in Dubai.
initiatives, and other topics.
Why History Maffers: International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict February16 Victor Kattan, a Teaching Fellow at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and author of The PalestineQuestion in International Law (British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2008), spoke on his recently completed book, From Coexistenceto Conquest: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict 1891- 1949(Pluto Press,2009).
Soccer Wars: Contested Nationalisms between Egypt and Algeria December7 CCAS hosted an assessmentof the fallout from the Egypt-Algeria sagathat unfolded during the matches between the two countries during the World Cup qualifiers. Dr. Tamim al-Barghouti of Georgetown University, Mr. Adel Iskandar of Georgetown University, Traffic fam: Gender, Labor, Migration, and Dr. Azzedine Layachi of St. |ohn's and Trafficking in Dubai University spoke about the various February18 Dr. PardisMahdavi, AssistantProfessor dimensions of the tension between the of Anthropology at Pomona College, two countries. spoke about issues of labor, gender, migration, and statehood through the The Dubai Debt Crisis: Bankruptcy or lens of Dubai's unskilled foreign migrant Bluff? workers. Her researchfindings show that December9 News of the financial crisis in Dubai Dubai is characterized by a unique lack lastNovemberrockedlocal,regional,and of civil society, and that the Emirate's global financial and political circles. A rapid emergence onto the international European Perceptions of Islam and panel of experts discussedthe economic scene has made it an attractive venue and political implicationsof the situation. for migrant labor and the trafficking of America Speakersincluded Mr. PeterBaumbusch, women. Her work exploresthe conflation November 23 Shaykh Yusuf Talal Delorenzo, Chief Gibson Dunn & Crutcher; Mr. Kevin of discourses on trafficking, migration, Shariah Officer at Shariah Capital, is Carey, The World Bank; Dr. Jean- and sex work through the narratives of a scholar of Islamic transactional law FrangoisSeznec,GeorgetownUniversity; women. whose 30-year career was featured in an and Dr. Kristin Smith Diwan, American Theological Jihad in Osama Bin Laden's August 2007 front page story in The WaIl University. Audiotape Library Streetlournal. He led a discussionabout the historical development of modern Emerging Leaders for Democracy March 3 'Islamic finance, the factors that led to Roundtable Discussion Flagg Miller, an associate professor of religious studies at the University the expansion of the Islamic financial lanuary 19 Four emerging leaders working of California, Davis, spoke about the servicesindustry, and the significance of shared enterprise for society and for the in the Middle East discussed the roles of language ideology and poetry revival of serious inquiry into the shari'a. recommendations formed at Proiect in contemporary Muslim reform in Shop Floor Culture and Politics in Egypt November 19 CCAS Assistant Professor Dr. Samer Shehatadiscussedhis new book, Shop Floor Culture and Politics in Egypt (SUNY Press, 2009), which provides an ethnographic portrait of life in two large textile factories in Alexandria, EgFPt. Dr. Shehataworked for nearly a year as a "winding machine operator," which provided him with unprecedented accessto workers. He argues that the social organization of production in the factories-including company rules and procedures, hierarchy, and relations of authority-and shop floor culture profoundly shape what it means to be a "worker" and how this identity is understood.
8
CCASNews* Spring2010
AcademicNews the Middle East as well as the Islamic theology behind Osama Bin Laden's audio releases.
is known for drawing the attention of thousands from various age groups to his readings,both from the Arab world and beyond.On March 23,he attracteda large crowd in GeorgetownUniversity's Copley Hall, where he recited a number of his poems in both Modern Standard Arabic and the Egyptian and Palestinian dialects.
Poetry Recital by Dr. Tamim alBarghouti March 2i Georgetown professor and renowned Palestinian poet Tamim al-Barghouti
Intellectuals and Civil Society in the Middle East April T Dr. Mohammed Bamyeh of the University of Pittsburgh gave a preview of the foundations of his forthcoming volume, Intellectualsand Civil Societyin theMiddle East,which will be releasedby I.B.Taurisin 2011.':i
Academic News
JerusalemFund Displays Photos by Najib Joe Hakim, MAASAIum n October 2006, photographer and 1982 MAAS graduate Najib [oe Hakim visited his birthplace of Beirut, Lebanon. Though less than three months had passedsincethe latestwar with Israel,Hakim did not go with the purpose of documenting the destruction."Lebanon wasthe bridge my parentscrossedto bring us to the United Statesfrom Palestine,"he explainsin an e-mail."Throughthis project, I returned across that bridge 50 years later and tried to engagewith some of the demonsof my history." The result of Hakim's engagement with his past is a photography exhibit entitled "Born Among Mirrors," which will run at the |erusalem Fund in Washington,D.C. from May 14 through fune 25, 2010.According to Hakim, the exhibit seeksto addressthe gap in time betweenhis departure from Lebanon in
Mr. Hakim's favorite image in the exhibit is this
CCAS News
Spring 2OLO
1956 and the country today. Illustrating this contrast,the exhibit will also feature black and white photographs taken by Hakim's father that document his family embarkingon their journey to America. While Hakim is thus interested in documenting a personaljourney, he is alsokeenon educatingthe public through his images."I hope to provide somelevel of insight for Americanviewersregarding Lebanon...thatgoes beyond what they read in the news,"he says. After graduating from MAAS, Hakim worked as an applicationsconsultantfor a softwarecompanyin California. While he always loved photography, Hakim only decided to dedicatehis life to it in 1991 after seeingan exhibition of Paul Strand'sphotographsin SanFrancisco.In 1994,he traveledto Havana,Cuba, using photographyas a means of approaching the local people. Describing the difference between the experience of photographingBeirut and Havana, Hakim notes that, unlike in Cuba, he knows the languageand culture of Lebanon.Yet, he says, he still-at least to a degreefeelslike an outsider there. But this can be a plus, he notes. "That distance or gralfiti message.
A selfportraitbyNajibJoe Hakim,MAAS'82. alienationallowsat leastsomenecessary level of objectivity in a profoundly subjectivecontext." Despite that distance-or perhaps because of it-the exhibit shows Hakim's profound link to his birthplace. His favorite image, for example, providesan excellentillustration of this link A graffiti messageon an old wall surrounding the Hotel Dieu, a French hospital in the Maronite neighborhood of Ashrafiyeh, portrays a flying dove carrying the Lebanese cedar in its heart and the words "Love, Forgiveness, Respect"written in Arabic. "While the artist meant his messagefor everyone," says Hakim, "I personally appreciated his offer of Love, Forgiveness,and Respectfor the accidentalfire I started las a child] with a lighted sparkler, which nearly destroyedthat part of the hospital!" To find out more about "Born Among Mirrors" and the JerusalemFund, please visit www.thejerusalemfund.org. *
Academic News
CCAS Snapshot OnJanuary 26,Margaret Braswell(MAAS'86) and her husband,WilliamJordan, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers, hosted a reception at their residencein honor of Algerian high school students selectedby the Embassy'sOffice of Public Diplomacy to participate in the Model United Nations Conference at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Hailing from difFerentparts of Algeria, the students met for the first time in their country's capital for a full day of training with Public Diplomacy staffbefore departing for the conference,where they representedthe UAE and Singapore.The photo featuresMargaret (third on the right), her husband William (third on the left), U.S. EmbassyAlgiers Public Diplomacy stafi, and Algerian students and teachers.
Faculq News Fida
Adely
a workshop Christopher Newport University in attended
in Beirut in fanuary convened by the Social Science Research Council on "University Governance and Autonomy in the Changing Landscapeof Higher Education in the Arab World." She presenteda paper entitled "The Situation of Student Rights and Autonomy in |ordanian Higher Education: The Case of the National Campaign for Defending " Dr. Adely Students'Rights:Thabahtoona. also presenteda paper on Women and Education in the Middle East and North Africa in March at Kutztown University's annual International StudiesConference. In April, she presented a paper at SwarthmoreCollegeentitled "Competing Visions of DesirableWomanhood: Royal Women, TV Personas,Feminists and Good Muslims."
John
Duke
Anthony
attended the Annual GCC Ministerial and Heads of State Summit in Kuwait on December 14 and 15 and provided C-SPAN an hour and a half briefing on the resultof the summit a weeklater.Over the past few months, he has also given many lectures: "The Changing Nature of American Interests in the Middle East: Implications for U.S. Policies" at
10
Newport News, Virginia (November 6); "The United Statesand the Islamic World: Going Where?" at the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs, after which the lecture was aired three times on Maryland Public Television (fanuary 27); "Arabian Peninsula in Regional and International Affairs" to American armed forces defenseattach6sand U.S. Central Command personnel (fanuary 29); "Ihe Gulf Cooperation Council" to the AdvancedArabian PeninsulaStudies Seminar at the U.S.Department of State (March 9); "Oman: Dynamicsof History and Evolution" and "Oman and Regional Dynamics: Points of Convergenceand Divergence" to a delegation of U.S. Central Command officers en route to Oman (March 10 and 11); "Leadership Development and the World of Foreign Affairs Practitioners:The Skills Required" to the National University Model Arab League at Georgetown University (March 28); "The Coming U.S. Force Null in Iraq: Concerns of Iraq's Arab Neighbors" at the RAND Corporation (April 2); "Yemen:Current Realitiesand Future Prospects" at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service's Middle East and North Africa Forum
(April 15); "The United Arab Emirates: The Dynamics of State Formation" to a delegation of U.S. Military Academy cadets and faculty (April 16); and "The Dynamics of Saudi Arabia's Bilateral, Regional,and Global Positionsand Roles" to members of the Middle East Classof 2010 at the National War College (May 5). Dr. Anthony also presidedover many meetingsand conferences,including at a sessionin the Rayburn Office Building of the U.S. House of Representatives on "Yemen Headlined: Contemporary Myths and Empirical Realities" for Members of Congress, congressional staff, the international diplomatic corps, media representatives,and the broader foreign affairs community (December 13), and at "A Conversation with fordanian AmbassadorZeid Radd Zeid Al Hussein, The Hashemite Kingdom of |ordan's Ambassador to the United States,"at the Ronald Reagan Building that was aired by C-SPAN (March 31). Dr. Anthony briefed U.S. Major GeneralHank Morrow (USAF), the U.S. Defense Department Representativeto the UAE, on the topic of "The United Arab Emirates: Its Founding, Evolution, and Role in Regional and International Affairs" (|anuary 4). Additionally, he was CCAS News " Spring 20lO
interviewed on "TtIe Iranian Dispute and Arab-Israeli Developments" for Saudi Arabian Television Channel TWo's "Political Agenda" program (|anuary 13). Dr. Anthony also published essays on "Oman" and "Qatar" for the annual edition of the EncyclopediaBritannica in fanuary 2010,among other activities.
Rodney
Collins
was the
recipient of the |eanne feffers Mrad Memorial Award presented by the American Institute for Maghrib Studies in the fall of 2009. He delivered papers on his current researchin severalvenues over the course of the fall semester: In October, he was invited to present a paper entitled "City-as-Citizen: Commodities, Coffeehouses, and the 'Common Man' in Contemporary Tunis" at the Library of Congress in the )ohn W. Kluge Center. In November, he presented a paper entitled "Making Air & Killing Time: Transfiguration and the Socio-spatial Imagination in Tunisia" at the Middle East Studies Association Annual Meetings in Boston. He also gave a public lecture at Georgetown University on November 11 titled "From Coffee to Manhood: An Anthropological Inquiry into Tirnisia's Social Economy." In December, he presented a paPer entitled "Changing Rhythms: The Transfigurative Imagination in Urban Tunis" at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association
CCAS's Dr. Fida Adely formulates her argument
CCAS News * Spring 2OlO
in Philadelphia. In addition, he chaired the Gender & Sexuality Public Advisory Cultural Board for the lournal "f Anthropology,bringing together scholars of the Middle East, Pakistan, India, and East Asia for a roundtable to discuss the latest challenges to collaborative scholarship. He is also coordinating the "Cities & Urbanism Initiative" at the lournal of Cultural Anthropology in collaboration with scholars from University Georgetown University, of Wisconsin-Madison, and Stanford University. In Spring 2010, Dr. Collins piloted a seminar at Georgetown University titled "The Politics of North African Masculinities." In conjunction with this course, he curated a weekly public film series entitled "Al-Rujulah: Mediating Masculinitiesof North Africa."
appeared in Anthropology and Global of Counterinsurgency (University Chicago Press,2010) in March. During the spring semester, she taught two classes:"Refugees in the Arab World," which focused on refugees from and displaced populations in Sudan, Somalia, Western Sahara,Palestine,and Iraq; and "Anthropology of War," which explored how peoplenormalizewar and its impact on lives.
Bassam Haddod
*u, inBeirut
for the spring semester,doing researchon EgFptwith the CarnegieEndowment as a Visiting Scholar and teaching a graduate seminar at the American University of Beirut. Stanford University Press will publish his book on Syria's political economyin 2011,so he is also using the time to make revisions. He writes: "Lots of work between Egypt trips, research, Davis's book, Rochelle and writing, but what better place than Histories: Geographies Palestinian Village Beirut to do all this from! And my wife of the Displaced, has been accepted Noura for publication by Stanford University [Erakat] found a fantastic job here is loving the city." and in November Press and is forthcoming 2010.Dr. Davis receiveda GU Graduate School Summer Grant to continue her Jean-Frangois Seznâ‚Źc gave work on the U.S. military's conception a number of lecturesin the fall and spring of culture, and how U.S.servicemenand semesters,including two presentations women and Iraqis interpret, understand, on the UAE at Georgetown University's and react to the conception of cultural McDonough School of Business for its knowledge and its importance in Executive MBA Programs on November the war in Iraq. A book chapter she 6 and November 20; a paper on GCC authored with MAAS graduates Dahlia sovereign wealth funds at the Center Elzein and Dena Takruri on this topic for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) in Doha, Qatar in |anuary; a talk on the Dubai financial crisis at the Middle East Seminar at Columbia University on )anuary 20; a lecture on the GCC's energy future at Chatham House in London on February 2; a presentation to the National Union of Kuwaiti Students visiting Washington, D.C. on February 5; and a lecture entitled "Industrial Diversification in Saudi Arabia" at the RAND Corporation on March 26. He also traveled to the Gulf to advise a large U.S. company on a major industrial project in Saudi Arabia in December 2009. During the spring semester,Dr. Seznectaught a classon "Project Finance in the Gulf" and continued as Interim Director for the Master of Arts in Arab Studies (MAAS) program in Dr. Judith Tucker's absence. at a recent Center event. In this role, he served on the admissions
Continuedfro^ page11 committee for MAAS. Dr. Seznec continues to be an active board member of the Stimson Center, the Oasis Foundation, and the American Bahraini Friendship Society.As for media appearances,he was a gueston Canadian TV's "The Agenda" on December 18, and he also gave numerous interviews to Radio Canada's "L'Heure des Comptes." Bloomberg, the Associated Press, and MEED recently interviewed him on various Gulf issues as well. Other recent activities include participation in the working group "In Pursuit of Democracy and Securrty in the Middle East"aswell asthe Gulf Roundtableon Yemen at the United StatesInstitute of Peace.Last, but not least, Dr. Seznec reports that he and his wife Thackray have been taking care of their two granddaughtersaswell astheir farm in Annapolis and their border collies-though he admits they "actually take care of us."
Samer
Shehatf
presented a paperat the Middle
East Studies Association conference in Boston in November and lectured at Stanford University's Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law on March 30, 2010. The American University in Cairo (AUC) Presspublished a Middle East edition of his recent book, ShopFloor Culture and Politics in Egypt (2009), in March 2010.The AUC Pressedition included a new 6,000-word chapter analyzing the recent strike wave in Egypt. Dr. Shehata also gave a number of media interviews during this period for Al lazeeraEnglish,Time,and other media outlets. *