Past Events

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
"Integrating Palestinian Islamists into the Political Process: Implications for Governance and the Peace Process
Wednesday, October 26, 2005, 4:30 p.m.
Bowl 1, Robertson Hall

Dr. Khalil Shikaki
Director, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Ramallah

Link to the Event: http://webscript.princeton.edu/~transreg/

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Conference: Postcolonial Theory and the Middle East
Saturday evening, October 29 through Monday, October, 31 2005
Cleveland, Ohio

Convener: Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Sponsor: The Samuel Rosenthal Center for Judaic Studies, Professor Peter Haas, Director, Case Western Reserve University

Link to the Event: http://spme.net/conference.html

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Nervous Borders: Culture, Politics & People Flows After 9/11
Conference sponsored by the Cultural Studies Program and the Center for Global Studies
April 6 & 7 2005

This conference brings together scholars, activists and NGO workers to explore the experiences of diasporic, immigrant and foreign communities in the United States and how they have changed since 9/11. It also addresses the impact of a new U.S. nationalism on international affairs and globalization.

Speakers include:
Yvonne Haddad (History, Georgetown University)
Bobby Sayyid (Leeds University, UK)
Saadia Yacoob (MuslimWakeUp!)
Tariq Ramadan (video-conference) (Freibourg University, Geneva, Switzerland)
David Cole (Law School, Georgetown University)
Kareem Shora (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee)

Link to the Event: http://cgs.gmu.edu/nervousborders/

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE
MERCER UNIVERSITY
"Teaching Islam in the Undergraduate Curriculum"
Asheville Institute on Liberal Learning 2005
June 2nd - 4th, 2005
UNC Asheville Campus

Plenary Speakers:
Ahmad Dallal, Ph.D., Chair & Prof., Arabic and Islamic Studies, Georgetown University
Charles Kimball, Ph.D., Chair & Prof., Department of Religion, Wake Forest University
Elise Salem, Ph.D., Prof., Dept. of English, Communication & Philosophy, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Link to the Event: http://www.unca.edu/aill/teachingislam.html

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Postcolonial Theory and the Middle East

Saturday evening, October 29 through Monday, October, 31, 2005
Cleveland, Ohio

An interdisciplinary conference examining the effects of postcolonial theory on cultures, politics, and conflicts, and assessing the extent to which underlying premises and assertions are sound and justified, and thus the degree to which the consequent perceptions of the Middle East are valid.

Twenty five academics and scholars-from fields such as history, philosophy, anthropology, law, Middle Eastern studies, political science.

Contact: Philip Carl Salzman, Ph.D. Professor of Anthropology, McGill University, pcsalzman@aol.com

Link to the Event: http://www.spme.net/conference.html

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
The Columbia University Chapter of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East presents
"The Middle East & Academic Integrity on the American Campus"
Sunday, March 6th, 2005 , 10AM 5PM
301 Uris Hall, Columbia University , New York (Broadway at 117th Street)

Highlights:

11 am - Natan Sharansky, Human Rights Activist, Minister for Diaspora Affairs of the State of Israel (via interactive web cast)

12 pm - Martin Kramer, Wexler-Fromer Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Author: "Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America", Columbia 's Crisis: A Turning Point for Middle Eastern Studies?

1 pm - Documentary film: Columbia Unbecoming, plus Q & A with the producers

2 pm - Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Harvard University, Academic Freedom and the Controversy on the American Campus (via video)

Link to the Event: http://www.gsb.columbia.edu/divisions/dro/spme/registration.cfm

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
The National Resource Center on the Middle East, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and the Center for Peace and Security Studies
"Examining al-Qa'ida's Recruitment Efforts"
Thursday, February 3, 2005
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Executive Conference Room, 7th Floor, Intercultural Center

This workshop will examine the effectiveness of the framing strategies used by al-Qa'ida in recruiting new members and successes and failures of U.S. policy in countering al-Qa'ida's recruitment efforts.
Seating is limited. Please RSVP by January 28, 2005 to Ryan Leeson at leesonr@georgetown.edu

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA LAW SCHOOL
Journal of Constitutional Law Symposium
"Law and Religion"
Saturday February 12, 2005 , 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Location: Levy Conference

Speakers will include Dr. Imad ad-Din Ahmad from the Minaret of Freedom will lecture on the subject "American and Muslim Perspectives on Freedom of Religion."
Open to the Public

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
"An Inevitable Tragedy? Jews, Palestinians, and the Fate of Jerusalem"
Wednesday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Doors open at 7:45. No reservations required
Altschul Auditorium, 417 International Affairs Bldg.
420 West 118th St. (off Amsterdam Ave.)

With Meron Benvenisti, Rashid Khalidi, and Peter Marcuse.

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Persistence of the Palestinian Question
Wednesday March 24 6 PM - 9 PM
Houston Hall G26-Hall of Flags

Joseph Massad, Assistant Professor in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University will be addressing the Penn community on the above.

Link to the Event: http://www.upenn.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/calendar?oldview=day&day=24&event=9861043&page=0&year=2004&month=3

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY
Academic Freedom After September 11th
Friday, February 27, 2004 8:00 AM
Sproul Rooms, International House

In the aftermath of 9/11, the Bush administration has pushed through legislation, including the Patriot Act, that seriously threatens fundamental civil liberties. The impact on institutions of higher learning range from the creation of blacklists of "Un-American" professors to the imminent passage of H.R. 3077, which seeks to create an Advisory Board of political appointees to monitor the activities of federally-funded Title VI National Resource Centers (including Berkeley's CMES). Some of the questions to be raised in this conference are: How has the academy as a whole, and Middle Eastern Studies in particular, been affected by the transformations of post-9/11 America? In what ways are these changes related to the larger processes that have shaped the academy over the past generation? How have students and faculty, especially those with academic or cultural ties to the Middle Eastern and Muslim states targeted by the "War on Terror," responded to threats to their academic freedom?

Link to the Event: http://www.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/events.pl/ZOOM/16204

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
A Day of Skills Workshops for Middle East Activists
Saturday, February 7th, 2004 8:30 AM - 6 PM

8:30 AM Breakfast and registration
9:00 AM Talk about International Solidarity Movement : Patrick Connors

9:30- 10:45 Workshops I (choose 1 of 2)
A. Divestments and Boycotts
B. Networking and Outreach

11 AM to 12:15 PM Workshops II (choose 1 of 2)
C. Protest Art (puppets, murals, poetry etc)
D. Direct Action (Holding an event, signs, dealing with authorities,
Civil disobedience etc)

12:15-1:15 Lunch
1:15-2:30 PM Workshops III (choose 1 of 2)
E. Media (Mainstream, alternative, publicizing events, getting good coverage, counteracting distortions)
F. Organizing (Fund Raising, holding meetings, motivation, literature etc)

2:45-4:00 PM Workshops IV (choose 1 of 2)
G. Influencing Government (lobbying, getting involved in local and national elections)
H. Student Activism (including discussion on setting up a Northeast student activist network)

Closing session and keyonote Invited speaker
Ali Abunimah Unconfirmed

Partial (incomplete) list of Workshop Facilitators (workshops in paranthesis):

Dr. Fatma Antar: Islamic Association of Greater Hartford and We Refuse to Be Enemies Coalition (B) Confirmed
Saqib Bhatti: Yale SJP, Yale Peace Coalition (H) Confirmed
Stanley Heller: Chair of Middle East Crisis Committee (D) Confirmed
Dr. Justine McCabe: CT State Green Party Cochair (G) Confirmed
Frank Panzarella: (D) Confirmed
Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh: Media chair and co-founder, Palestine Right to Return Coalition (E) Confirmed
Angela Saad: Wesleyan SFP (H) Confirmed
Labor Arts and Murals Projects (C) Confirmed

Link to the event: http://al-awda.org/ctupcomingevents/

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Constitutionalism in the Middle East: Israeli & Palestinian Perspectives
January 23-25, 2004
University of Chicago Law School, Room II

Speakers: Geoffrey Stone, Ariel Bendor, Eli Salzberger, Iris Marion Young, Sari Nusseibeh, Martha Nussbaum, Charles Larmore, Moussa Abou Ramadan, Rashid Khalidi, Gary Jacobsohn, Jacob Levy, Michael Karayanni, Ulrich Preuss, Marwan Dalal, Diane Wood, Yoseph Edrey, Fania Oz-Salzberger, Hassan Jabareen, Cass R. Sunstein, Albie Sachs, Yael Tamir, Gordon Wood, Richard Saller, Derek Jinks, Z.M. Yacoob, Michael Kirby, Charles Taylor, Martha Nussbaum, Cass Sunstein.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES
Carrying the Torch of His Legacy: the Mission, the Mind, the Man; EDWARD W. SAID (1935-2003)
Saturday, November 15, 2003, 7:00-10:00 PM
Schoenberg Hall Auditorium

Organized by:
United Arab Society of UCLA / American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee LA/OC Chapter

Speakers: Prof. Najwa Qattan (LMU), Prof. Joseph Mas'ad (Columbia University), Prof. Michael Cooperson (UCLA), and Prof. Saree Makdisi (UCLA, also Edward Said's nephew) will reflect on Said's life and legacy, highlighting his monumental scholastic achievements and his enduring commitment to the Palestinian cause. The evening will feature performances by members of UCLA Prof. Ali Jihad Racy's Near East Music Ensemble and pianist Saree Qattan, as well as a poetry recital by Shawki El-Zatma.

Link to the event: http://www.adclaoc.org/edwardsaid_highres.pdf

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
Edward Said and His Legacy
Friday, November 14th, 2003
Humanities Office Building 135

The Critical Theory Institute will be organizing an event to commemorate the scholar and activist Edward Said, who died of leukemia on September 25th.

Said's work (through readings, taped interviews, videos) will be offered throughout the day regarding his legacy as both an academic and a public intellectual.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL
1st Annual Edward Said Lecture: The Question of Palestine
Thursday, October 16th, 2003, 7:00-9:30 PM
Union Ballroom

Sponsored by the Students Allied for Freedom and Equality

Dr. As'ad AbuKhalil, a professor of Political Science at California State University and author of "Bin Laden, Islam & America's New War on Terrorism," will be joined by Dr. Joseph Massad, a professor of Modern Arab Politics at Columbia University and author of "Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan"(Columbia University Press, 2001).

The evening will begin with lectures regarding the persistence of the Palestinian Question, its connection with the Jewish Question, and the American conception of the Palestinian problem. Afterwards, the speakers will address any audience questions pertaining to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY
The 32nd Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS)
Co-sponsored by Indiana University Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program
East Meets West: Understanding the Muslim Presence in Europe and North America
September 26-28 2003

Indiana University-Bloomington will host a major conference that will address issues facing Muslims in North America and Europe and feature presentations by more than 50 of the world's leading scholars on Islam and the study of Muslim societies worldwide.

The keynote address will be delivered on Sept. 27 by Dr. Ali Mazrui, director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York-Binghamton. His address will examine the subject, "A Marriage of Two Civilizations? The Balance Between Western Norms and Muslim Values."

Link to the Event: http://www.amss.net/AMSSAnnualConference.html

MONASH UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Islam and the West: The Impact of September 11
August 15-16 2003
Location: The Ibis Hotel, 15 Terry Street, Melbourne, Australia

The conference is divided into three sub-themes, each addressing pertinent questions regarding the political implications of Islamic terrorism:
I. Islam-West relations
II. Muslim politics
III. Muslim Diaspora and their response to Islamic terrorism

Link to the Event: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/politics/conference/

EMORY UNIVERSITY
Institute for the Study of Modern Israel
Pre-Collegiate [5-12] Teacher Workshop on Modern Israel
June 22-27, 2003
Location: Emory Conference Center Hotel, 1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia

Topics Covered:

• Zionism
• History of YishuvoHolocaust
• Israeli History
• Israel's Political Institutions
• Foreign Policy
• Music
• Economy
• Culture
• Society
• Hebrew Literature
• Arab-Israeli Conflict
• U.S. Foreign Policy

A registration fee of $150 per participant is required. This subsidized fee covers your single-room lodging,meals, and resource materials. Kosher dietary laws will be observed. Teachers are responsible for their own transportation. The Program is underwritten by The AVI CHAI Foundation of North America. School head letter of commitment required with application.

Link to the Event: http://www.emory.edu/COLLEGE/JewishStudies/ismi.html

THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL, JCRC AND THE TURKISH-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY
Turkey: Challenges and Changes
May 1, 2003; 5:30 P.M
Location: The Marriot Hotel, 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia

Professor Emeritus Bernard Lewis of Princeton University is one of the worlds leading authorities on the Middle East and author of more than two dozen books on the history and culture of the region. His latest works, The Middle East: What Went Wrong and the Crisis in Islam: Holy War or Unholy Terror have received wide acclaim.

Link to the Event: http://www.wacphila.org/programs/evening.htm

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ARAB STUDIES
Imperialism, Globalization and Internationalism: Some Reflections on their Impact on the Arab Middle East at the Beginnings of the 20th and 21st Centuries
Thursday, April 24, 2003 7:00 pm
Location: Intercultural Center Auditorium

As a part of the Kareema Khoury annual distinguished lecture series in Arab Studies, the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown will host Roger Owen, an AJ Meyer Professor of Middle East History at Harvard University, specializing in the political and socio-economic history for the Middle East. Owen is currently on tour talking about US involvement in Iraq. He appeared recently at the University of Pennsylvania where he declared, "America's new world order cannot be created without more and more interventions."

Link to the Event: http://www.ccasonline.org/events/

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Edward Said's Orientalism: The Silver Jubilee
Wednesday, April 16, 2003, 9:30 am - 7:30 pm
Location: Casa Italiana of Columbia University, 1161 Amsterdam Avenue
(On the East side of Amsterdam Ave., 118th - 117th)

Including the following participants:

Hamid Dabashi, Jonathan Cole, Jonathan Arac, Andrew Rubin, Catherine Hall, Abdirahman Hussein, Mary Lousie Pratt, Nicholas Dirks, Elias Khoury, Ping-hui Liao, Gyan Prakash, Fawwaz Traboulsi, Gil Anidjar, Joseph Massad, Emily Apter, Pascale Casanova, Stathis Gourgouris, and Edward W. Said

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
After the Iraq War: Arab Development, Reforms and Oil Wealth
Monday, April 7, 2003, 4:30pm
Location: Lauder Institute Auditorium

This presentation by Professor Roger Owen is part of the University of Pennsylvania's Middle East Lecture Series. Owen is a professor of Middle East history at Harvard University, specializing in the political and socio-economic history for the Middle East.

Link to the Event: http://mec.sas.upenn.edu/upcoming.html

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY
Islam in the Modern World
Monday, March 31 at 5:00 pm
Location: Connelly Center Cinema

Villanova is sponsoring an Awareness Week on Islam, which will include different speakers on various aspects of Islam. Dr. Inati will be co-chairing a panel with Dr. Sayed Omran on "Islam on the Modern World."

Dr. Shams C. Inati is a Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at Villanova.

Link to the Event: http://skinner.villanova.edu/attach/iawflyer.doc?sid=dBHLb5QoFnI&mbox=INBOX&charset=escaped_unicode&uid=1735&number=4&filename=iawflyer.doc

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Middle East Public Lecture Series
Lecture: "The Reception of Orientalism in the West: 25 Years After Edward Said's Orientalism."
Monday, March 31, 2003; 4:30 pm
Location: Logan Hall, Terrace Room

Speaker: Joel Beinin, Stanford University and former president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA)
Commentators: Marilyn Booth, Brown University, Brendan O'Leary, Political Science, Penn, and Rita Barnard, English/Comp Lit, Penn.

Edward Said's Orientalism has become the undisputable guide for Middle East departments across North America. As Martin Kramer notes in Ivory Towers on Sand, "its impact on the broad intellectual climate in American Middle East studies has been far-reaching. Orientalism made it acceptable, even expected, for scholars to spell out their own political commitments as a preface to anything they wrote or did. More than that, it also enshrined an acceptable hierarchy of political commitments, with Palestine at the top, followed by the Arab nation and the Islamic world." What will Joel Beinin have to say about it?

The attacks of September 11 turned Western attention towards lively discussions amongst Muslims on what Islam forbids, allows, or advocates. This symposium aims to address the meaning of "Shari a" by focusing on the ambiguities of this term when used in a contemporary context.

Link to the Event: http://mec.sas.upenn.edu/upcoming.html

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
"Violent Shuttlings: Racism, Patriarchy, and the Gendered Politics of Housing in Jerusalem"
March 27, 2003 4:30PM
Location: 632 Williams Hall

As part of the Middle East seminar series at the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Thomas Abowd will be discussing the above with Professor Emeritus Samuel Klausner.

Thomas Abowd is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Anthropology at Temple University. Abowd wrote his dissertation on the politics of space, racism, and the production of history in contemporary Jerusalem.

Link to the Event: http://mec.sas.upenn.edu/

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies 28th Annual Spring Symposium
"The US in the Middle East: Manifest Destiny?"
Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28
Location: Georgetown University Conference Center, Leavey Center Salons C, H, and F

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has formulated new policies and pursued new strategies at home and abroad, some of which have precipitated intense controversy and debate. Prominent academics, government officials, intellectuals, journalists and political observers from the Middle East, Europe and the United States will analyze the current state of affairs over a period of two days.

Link to the Event: http://www.ccasonline.org/Symposium2003/index.htm

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Muslim Perspectives on Midnight's Children
March 24, 2003 7:00pm
Location: The Assembly Hall at the Riverside Church, located on Claremont Avenue at 120th Street

The Majlis Ash Shurah (Islamic Leadership Council) of New York presents "Muslim Perspectives on Midnight's Children and Related Topics".

Speakers include: Tariq Abdur-Rahman (Islamic Circle of North America), Robina Niaz (the Not in Our Name Coalition), Ghazi Khankan (the Council on American-Islamic Relations), Professor Amir Al-Islam (the Muslim Alliance in North America).

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies 28th Annual Spring Symposium
"The US in the Middle East: Manifest Destiny?"
Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28
Location: Georgetown University Conference Center, Leavey Center Salons C, H, and F

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has formulated new policies and pursued new strategies at home and abroad, some of which have precipitated intense controversy and debate. Prominent academics, government officials, intellectuals, journalists and political observers from the Middle East, Europe and the United States will analyze the current state of affairs over a period of two days.

Link to the Event: http://www.ccasonline.org/Symposium2003/index.htm

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Islam in America Conference
Saturday and Sunday March 8-9, 2003
Location: Harvard Divinity School, Andover Hall Sperry Room

Including the following panels:

• "Determining Islamic Authority in North America" - Sat. 10 am
• "Histories of Marginalization: Learning from African American Experiences" Luncheon Speaker, Sat. 12:45pm
• "Muslim Women Leading Muslim Communities" - Sat. 3:30 pm
• "Civil Discourse: Confronting the Violation of Civil Rights" - Sun. 10 am
• "Struggling to Express: Endeavors in the Arts" - Sun. 12:45 pm

Link to the Event: http://www.hds.harvard.edu/osl/MC

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION IN BERKELEY
Religious Pluralism in the 21st Century: Muslim Identities in the Diaspora
March 14-15, 2003

Keynote speakers include:

- Dr. John L. Esposito from Georgetown University, on "Islam and Religious Pluralism: Issues and Voices for Change"

- Dr. Hamid Algar from University of California, Berkeley, on "Complexities of Self-Perception and Identity among American Muslims"

- Dr. Amina Wadud from Virginia Commonwealth University, on "Pluralism and Invisibility: Hagar, Then and Now."

Link to the Event: www.gtu.edu/islamic.html

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
"Who wrote (down) the Qur'an?"
sponsored by the Middle East Center and the Humanities Forum
Friday, February 21, 2003, 2:00-5:00 pm
Location: Huntsman Hall F95 (38th St. between Walnut and Locust: You can enter the building from either Locust Walk on Campus, or from the Walnut St. entrance)

This conference addresses the issue of when and how the oral message of Islam's revelation became a book. Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the literal word of God, revealed to Muhammad in the seventh century, transmitted by him orally to listeners in Arabia, and written down by his companions during his lifetime. Within decades of Muhammad's death, Muslim historians say, the faithful were able to hold a canonized Qur'an text in their hands. This is thought to have been the same as the Arabic Qur'an of today.

The scholars who are presenting their research and views on the early Qur'anic book are concerned with the physical process of writing, collecting, and canonizing the earliest Qur'ans, not with its authorship. Several journalist accounts have appeared in the US and Great Britain recently about the dating of the Qur'an. Prompted in part by the discovery and evaluation of early fragments of the Qur'an found in Yemen, these accounts question whether Islam as a religion can withstand critical examination of its Holy Book.

Link to the Event: http://mec.sas.upenn.edu/

YALE UNIVERSITY
Symposium: Islamic Shari'a in the Contemporary Context
Inquiries into Normative Discourses of a World Religion
February 8-9, 2003

Speakers will include:

Khaled Abou El Fadl (UCLA)
Shahrough Akhavi (U of South Carolina)
Said Amir Arjomand (SUNY Stony Brook)
Sohail H. Hashmi (Mount Holyoke)
Bernard Haykel (NYU), Marion Holmes Katz (NYU)
David Johnston (Yale)
Mohsen Kadivar (U Teheran / Harvard)
Gudrun Kraemer (FU Berlin)
Roy Mottahedeh (Harvard)
Felicitas Opwis (Yale)
Lamin Sanneh (Yale)
Anna Wuerth (U Richmond)

The attacks of September 11 turned Western attention towards lively discussions amongst Muslims on what Islam forbids, allows, or advocates. This symposium aims to address the meaning of "Shari a" by focusing on the ambiguities of this term when used in a contemporary context.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Teach-In on "America, Iraq and the War on Terrorism"
Wednesday, February 12, 2003, 7 p.m.
Rennert Auditorium, Kraft Center for Jewish Life
Columbia University
606 West 115th Street
New York, NY 10025

Speakers will include:

Panelists include:

• William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education and chairman of AVOT
• James Woolsey, former director of the CIA
• Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, former Ambassador-At-Large for Counter Terrorism
• Frank Gaffney, former Asst. Secretary of Defense, president of Center for Security Policy
• Prof. Walid Phares, Middle East scholar, author and professor at Florida Atlantic University

The panel will discuss why it is necessary and just for America to take action against Iraq. It will also address other disputatious subjects: the ideological roots of militant Islamic terrorism, promoting democracy in the Arab world, the domestic anti-war movement, and securing the American homeland.

Link to the Event: http://www.usnewswire.com

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Middle East Center
TEACH-IN: "Aspirations of Nationhood: Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism, and the Road to Peaceful Coexistence"
Wednesday, January 29, 8-10 pm
Location: Logan Hall, Terrace Room

Speakers:
Dr. David Engel, New York University
Dr. Nubar Hovsepian, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Ian Lustick, University of Pennsylvania

This teach-in aims to portray both sides of the Arab Israeli conflict. Two of the three panelists, Drs. Hovsepian and Lustick, (http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/442) are outspoken critics of Israel. Dr. Engel, a Hebrew and Judaic scholar with an expertise on Holocaust studies, supports Israel's right to exist. This teach-in may well provide a balanced perspective.

THE CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS ON PALESTINE
2003 Winter Conference: Israel's Policy of Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing
Thursday, 23 January 2003, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
National Press Club 529 14th Street NW Washington, DC

The very title reveals the lack of balanced opinions that will be presented at this conference. Israel's inclusive treatment of Arab Israelis, and their right and desire to be included in the Israeli Parliament is a statement of Israel's democracy.

Link to the Event: http://www.palestinecenter.org/palestine/conference_schedule.htm

LAWRENCE UNIVERISTY
Rashid Khalidi "United States Policy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict."
(Part of a lecture series exploring "U.S. Foreign Policy Challenges with the Middle East.")
February 5, 2003
Science Hall, Room 102 on the Lawrence University campus

Khalidi is professor of Middle East history at the University of Chicago, and is likely to be named the "Edward Said Chair in Middle Eastern Studies" at Columbia University.

Link to the Event: http://www.lawrence.edu/media/release/0203/mideast.html

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
What is an appropriate response to the suffering in the Middle East?
Wednesday, December 11 at 7:00pm
McCosh 50

With CORNEL WEST - Class of 1943, University Professor of Religion

There will be an opportunity to make donations to the Palestine Red Crescent Society: http://www.palestinercs.org/

Sponsored by the Princeton Committee on Palestine

MIDDLE EAST STUDIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE

MESA will hold its 36th annual meeting, November 23-26 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.

More than five hundred papers and presentations regarding Middle East Studies that, only one year after September 11, studiously avoid any focused discussion of Islamic fundamentalism or militant Islam's war on America.

Campus Watch's preliminary review: http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/360

Link to the Event: http://fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/MESA02/2002preproghome.htm

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Teach-in Against War on Iraq
Tuesday, November 19, 4:30 - 6:00 PM, Huntsman Hall F85 (enter from Locust Walk)

Dr. Rogers Smith, Political Science, "The New American Empire"
Dr. Ian Lustick, Political Science, "9-11, American Policy & The Iraq War"
Dr. Robert Vitalis, Political Science, "The Iraq War & Its Implications for the Middle East"
Dr. Edward Herman, Wharton School, "Saddam Hussein: From Ally to Demon"
Dr. Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, History, "The Impact of War on Iraqi Society"
Chaired by Dr. Walter Licht, History, Associate Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Penn Faculty & Staff Against War on Iraq

The Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania is conducting a teach-in against War on Iraq claming there is no connection between a war on Iraq and the attacks of September 11, 2001. Campus Watch notes that no speaker for the pro-intervention argument will be allowed to participate.

Link to the Event: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/fsawi

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY - Center for Contemparary Arab Studies
The Program on Justice and Peace and The Young Arab Leadership
Prospects for Justice in Israel and Palestine
Monday November 18, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, McNeir Auditorium

With Norman Finkelstein.

A self-proclaimed "anti-Zionist," Finklesteins view of the conflict is one of Israeli oppression. His bias, therefore, makes it nearly impossible for him to identify the prospects of Justice in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Link to the Event: http://www.beiruttimes.com/events/

SWARTHMORE COLLEGE
JATO Students Against The Occupation
November 20th at 7:00pm

With Tim Wise, director of the Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE).

Since its inception, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has always been a battle for sovereignty between two nationalist movements. Wise, however, erroneously argues that the current violence is a genocide conducted by Israelis against Palestinians. This kind of misinformation only promotes misunderstanding, hatred and anger on American campuses today.

Link to Event: http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2002/2002-11-07/news/12411.php

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Center of Contemporary Arab Studies
US-Saudi Relations Post 9-11
Tuesday, November 12, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Copley Formal Lounge, Georgetown University Main Campus

Panel with Mr. Abdallah Ahmad Alireza, H.E. Dr. Abdulmuhsin Al-Akkas, Dr. Salwa Abdullah Al Hazza.

This event is sponsored by the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies; not one American panelist sits on the above panel. In the aftermath of 9/11, Campus Watch feels it is very difficult to see how this panel will portray the events and the U.S.-Saudi relations objectively without an American representative.

Link to Event: https://data.georgetown.edu/events/calendars/events/index.cfm?Action=View&CalendarID=89&EventID=15411

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs and Concerns
Thursday, Nov, 7, 2002, 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Center of Contemporary Arab Studies Boardroom ICC 241

James J. Zogby will be discussing the topic of Arab values and beliefs. Mr. Zogby was quoted in the Middle East Quarterly as defending extreme Muslim groups. Zogby has come to the defense of extremist Muslim groups such as the Muslim Brethren, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, arguing that these groups are merely "politically" or "religiously" opposed to the peace process.

Mr. Zogby also regularly defends the American Muslim Council (AMC), a Muslim American organization based in Washington that forwards the cause of extremist Islamic organizations such as Hamas, as well as Islamic radical movements in Algeria, Sudan, and other countries. He also has the temerity to call upon Jewish organizations to follow his lead on these issues."

Link to Event: http://www.beiruttimes.com/events/

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Arab Cultural Day
Sunday November 3, 2002, 1:00-6:00 pm
Arch Auditorium, 36th & Locust Streets

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is co-sponsoring this event. It bears noting that its spokesman, Hussein Ibish, was recently quoted saying he sought to "have a nice, dignified, scholarly investigation of Israel's racist practices. ... The only threat of violence is from those beshawled jokers who greeted me with hosannas," referring to orthodox Jewish protestors.

Link to Event: http://www.phillyadc.50megs.com

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
International Seminar on Peace, Jihad and Conflict Resolution
November 2-3, 2002
Thompson Auditorium, 238 Thompson St.

Sponsored by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, this two-day seminar links the "Causes of Terrorism" to the "misconceptions of Islam in the West." Rather than dealing with the harmful internal dynamics of the Muslim world, the focus will be "political domination, imperialism, colonialism and their roles" in Muslim world conflicts.

Link to Event: http://www.amss.net/Conferences/PeaceConference.htm

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FAYETTEVILLE
Seminar: Jihad in Islam
Wednesday, October 30, 2002, 4:30 p.m.
Giffels Auditorium in Old Main

The flyer for this event asserts that since 9/11 the term jihad has been erroneously attributed to the violence of "a very small fringe group." This is not the case. Historically, jihad has often been the justification for hundreds of years of Muslim aggression and bloodshed.

Link to Event: http://comp.uark.edu/~al-islam/

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Teach-in on Iraq: Alternative voices in a time of war
Friday, October 18th 7:00pm
Thompson Auditorium, 238 Thompson St.

- Rabab Abdulhadi
Professor at NYU Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. Longtime Palestinian rights activist.

- Anthony Arnove
Editor, "Iraq Under Siege"; co-editor with Howard Zinn, "Terrorism and War".

-Timothy Mitchell
Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Politics at NYU.

- Mel Lehman
Humanitarian activist in Iraq.

- other speakers pending

Sponsored by (list in formation): NYU Peace Coalition, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, Islamic Center, International Socialist Organization- NYU, Womyn's Center, Pax Christi

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
Workshop on Socio-Religious Movements and the Transformation of Political Community: Israel, Palestine, & Beyond
October 10-12, 2002

Open only to discussants, faculty, and graduate students whose research relates to conference topic, this event appears to be staffed only by left-wing academics, and does not include the participation of centrist or conservative scholars.

Link to Event: http://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/levineconference

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Second National Student Conference on the Palestine Solidarity Divestment Campaign
October 12-14, 2002
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Michigan League

The goal of this highly politicized conference is to hurt Israel economically amidst the ongoing violence waged by both Palestinians and Israelis. That the University of Michigan has allocated University (and therefore federal) funds to host this event concerns Campus Watch.

Link to event, speakers: http://www.divestmentconference.com/index.html
Also see: http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/09/24/3d8fed67d8d7e

SUNY NEW PALTZ
Women: War, Peace and Revolution
Saturday, October 19, 2002

This conference, which in the past included sessions on S&M and sex toys, now trains its sites on Israel with two outspoken anti-Israel keynote speakers, Ruchama Marton, president of Israel's Physicians for Human Rights, and Nadia Hijab, a Palestinian writer and consultant.

Link to event: http://www.newpaltz.edu/wmnstudies/callforpapers.html
Link to Speakers: www.newpaltz.edu/wmnstudies/conference/keynote.html
Also see:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0239/solomon.php
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5498567&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=6

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Noam Chomsky: 'Paths to Peace: Hopes and Barriers'
Thursday, October 3, 2002
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Irvine Auditorium Main Hall

Noam Chomsky is an expert in linguistics, but has emerged an outspoken and scathing critic of American foreign and defense policy among the academic left.

Link to Event: http://www.upenn.edu/cgi-bin/calendar/calendar?day=3&view=day&page=2&year=2002&month=10