Speaker Series: Islam in the World

Current Events:

BCICS Islam in the World :: Mon 10/29 : Noon – 1:00 p.m.
Dahr Jamail, Independent Journalist
“Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq ”
BCICS Building, 1902 Sheridan Road

Lunch will be served

Readers unsatisfied with mainstream coverage of the Iraq War will want to grab this, an up-close look at daily life in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. One of the few unaffiliated journalists in Iraq, journalist Jamail went to see the conditions for himself, and the compelling, heartbreaking stories he sent back over his eight month stay were carried in publications world-wide: from family houses destroyed with their inhabitants to mosques full of people held under siege to the ill-equipped medical facilities and security forces meant to deal with them. Emphatically populist and unapologetically dubious of the U.S. government's party line, Jamail sees "resistance" where "obedient" mainstream reporters see "insurgents," "the occupation" where others see "the war." Jamail is a courageous writer who relates fears and bouts of panic alongside jaunts to Fallujah and other hotbeds unapproached by the press at large. Though the writing can be clunky, and the stories hard to distinguish-without any characters to follow (besides Jamail) one is left with the picture of a terrible forest, but few of the trees-this fascinating, eye-opening document of Iraq's day-to-day has a unique perspective and moments of incredible impact.

Book Description

"Dahr Jamail does us a great service, by taking us past the lies of our political leaders, past the cowardice of the mainstream press, into the streets, the homes, the lives of Iraqis living under US occupation. If what he has seen could be conveyed to all Americans, this ugly war in Iraq would quickly come to an end. A superb journalist."-Howard Zinn

We walk slowly under the scorching sun along dusty rows of humble headstones. She continues reading them aloud to me, "Old man wearing jacket with dishdasha, near industrial center. He has a key in his hand." Many of the bodies were buried before they could be identified. Tears welling up in my eyes she quietly reads, "Man wearing red track suit." She points to another row, "Three women killed in car leaving city by American missile."

As the occupation of Iraq unravels, the demand for independent reporting is growing. Since 2003, unembedded journalist Dahr Jamail has filed indispensable reports from Iraq that have made him this generation's chronicler of the unfolding disaster there. In these collected dispatches, Jamail presents never-before-published details of the siege of Fallujah and examines the origins of the Iraqi insurgency.

Dahr Jamail makes frequent visits to Iraq and has published his accounts in newspapers and magazines worldwide. He has regularly appeared on Democracy Now!, as well as the BBC, Pacifica Radio, and numerous other networks.

BCICS and Model Arab League Presents :: Tue 10/09 : 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
"Governance in the Palestinian Territories"
University 102

In recent months Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas has begun unprecedented cooperation with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and has met several times with other regional and Israeli leaders to discuss the continuing Middle Eastern peace process. An upcoming US sponsored peace conference, scheduled for this fall, hopes to partially save the Bush Administration's legacy in the Middle East and finally secure the two state solution that has so long eluded the Israeli and Palestinian people. However, Hamas' summer take over of the Gaza Strip and increasing disunity among Palestinians has threatened the possibility of making progress by these historic talks. The question that remains is how these culturally different, ideologically opposed, and geographically isolated people will govern themselves and move toward their own separate or united futures. Regional experts Professor Mark Tessler from University of Michigan and University of North Texas Professor Emile Sahliyeh will explore these and other obstacles to the Palestinian people in an hour long panel discussion titled "Governance in Palestine" on October 9th.

BCICS Islam in the World :: Wed 10/10 : 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
John L. Esposito, Departments of Religion and International Affairs, Georgetown
“Who Speaks for Islam: Listening to Voices of a Billion Muslims”
Ripton Room, Scott Hall 201, 601 University Place

BCICS Islam in the World :: Wed 10/24 : 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Augustus Richard Norton, Departments of Anthropology and International Relations,
Boston University
“Hezbollah: A Short History”
Ripton Room, Scott Hall 201, 601 University Place

_____________________________________________________________

BCICS Islam in the World:: Wed 04/11 : 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Jerusalem Women Speak : “Three Women, Three Fiaths, One Shared Vision”
McCormick Tribune Forum, 1870 Campus Drive


The Thirteenth national Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women, Three Faiths, One Shared Vision tour will feature the voices of Huda Abu Arqoub, Tal Dor and Amal Nassar. These three women - Muslim, Jewish, and Christian - are living the realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They come to the United States to call for an end to war and suffering in the Middle East and share their experiences and hopes for a just peace with American audiences.

These women are working professionals, activists, mothers, daughters, and partners, all involved in their own way in resolving the conflict and charting a brighter future for their region.

Each woman lives the hardships of conflict and the tragedy of occupation in unique ways. Each has also witnessed the deterioration around them over the past six years of Israeli-Palestinian violence and the intermittent attempts to rekindle peace talks. They have made a commitment to address American audiences about their hopes for the future and what must be done to improve today’s deteriorating situation.

These three women will travel together on a national speaking tour for three weeks (April 9 - 26) to address realities of the conflict – the loss of family, the demolition of homes, persecution, occupation, violence, the separation barrier currently being constructed in the West Bank, Israel’s unilateral "disengagement" from the Gaza Strip, recent escalations of the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, and more. They are here to demonstrate that peace, while difficult, is possible.The Thirteenth national Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women, Three Faiths, One Shared Vision tour will feature the voices of Huda Abu Arqoub, Tal Dor and Amal Nassar. These three women - Muslim, Jewish, and Christian - are living the realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They come to the United States to call for an end to war and suffering in the Middle East and share their experiences and hopes for a just peace with American audiences.

These women are working professionals, activists, mothers, daughters, and partners, all involved in their own way in resolving the conflict and charting a brighter future for their region.

Each woman lives the hardships of conflict and the tragedy of occupation in unique ways. Each has also witnessed the deterioration around them over the past six years of Israeli-Palestinian violence and the intermittent attempts to rekindle peace talks. They have made a commitment to address American audiences about their hopes for the future and what must be done to improve today’s deteriorating situation.

These three women will travel together on a national speaking tour for three weeks (April 9 - 26) to address realities of the conflict – the loss of family, the demolition of homes, persecution, occupation, violence, the separation barrier currently being constructed in the West Bank, Israel’s unilateral "disengagement" from the Gaza Strip, recent escalations of the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, and more. They are here to demonstrate that peace, while difficult, is possible.

For More Information Visit : www.partnersforpeace.org

Previous Events:

THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE STUDIES

Presents :

Roy Mottahedeh

Gurney Professor of History, Harvard University

The Recent History of Iraq and the Formation
of the Shiite Parties

October 16, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Ripton Room, Scott Hall, 601 University Place

"The Formation of Shiite Parties in Iraq," will deal with the period from 1958 to 2003. It will discuss the leadership of the Shiites among the clergy of Najaf and will describe the process by which such leadership is generated. The presentation will also deal with the background of the parties now led by Muqtada Sadr and his rival, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. I will seek to describe the social support for the different factions within the Shiite population.

Professor Roy Mottahedeh's major work is on the pre-modern social and intellectual history of the Islamic Middle East. His publications include Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society (1980) and The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran (1985). He is the faculty adviser of a new journal, The Harvard Middle Eastern and Islamic Review. He is currently working on the medieval Middle Eastern literature on "marvels."