CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESCENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESCENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESCENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESCENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESCENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESCENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESCENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIESRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEYRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEYRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEYRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEYRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEYRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEYRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEYRUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY

FALL 2008

October 24, 2008, marked a major milestone in Arab and American history, with profound significance for community members in New Jersey and, potentially, the whole nation. On this day, Governor Jon Corzine signed into law the Arab Heritage Commission, making this executive order the first ever of its kind in the United States. Its inception here is fitting, since New Jersey is home to the second largest population of Arabs in the

New Jersey Makes History with LandmarkNew Jersey Makes History with Landmark

Arab Heritage CommissionArab Heritage Commission

The Commission consists of twenty-five members, sixteen of which are members of the Arab-American community in New Jersey, while the remainder are state officials. Mr Hany Mawla Esq., a distinguished attorney and also adjunct professor at CMES and graduate of Rutgers, has been appointed by Governor Corzine as the chair of the Commission. The Commission will ensure that Arab-American culture, history and heritage will be integrated in the core curriculum of high schools statewide. This will have a tremendous effect in honoring the presence of the community in New Jersey and defeating the negative stereotypes that have intensified since September 11th, 2001.

to the second largest population of Arabs in the nation next to Michigan. The Arab American Forum, a local organization, alongside leaders from the Arab-American community in New Jersey, spearheaded the efforts to have the commission enacted into law. Credit is also due to Governor Corzine’s vision, for he has embraced Arab accomplishments and their contributions to American society, by providing them with a platform from which to celebrate their presence in our wonderfully diverse state.

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From left to right: Hany Mawla, Diana Lobosco,Congressman Bill Pascrell, Governor Corzine.

Governor Corzine signs the executive order for theCommission.

CMES NEWSLETTER

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies aims to be an active contributor in the implementation of a statewide program of study that will focus on incorporating the Arab-American experience in classes at all public schools. The Center also looks forward to collaborating with the commission in organizing events at Rutgers and throughout the state, especially during the month of April, which has now been designated by the State of New Jersey as “Arab Heritage Month”. There is hope that the bold and innovative step that Governor Corzine has taken will be replicated by states across the nation, and then adopted at the federal level.

From left to right: Shehnaz Abdeljaber, Atiya Aftab, Hany Mawla, Hani Khoury, Jawid Mojaddedi at the signing of the commission.

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies proudly presents

“IRAQ TODAY“IRAQ TODAY--A PANEL DISCUSSION”A PANEL DISCUSSION”

Thursday, November 20, 2008 (6:00-9:00 PM)

Alexander Library (Teleconference Lecture Hall)

Dr. Amal Shlash (Director of the Bayt al-Hikma Research Center in Baghdad), and Dr. Abbas Kadhim(Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California)

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Why was the Community Advisory Committee formed?

The committee was formed to provide the community with a way offormalizing its commitment to the university and to CMES and not tosimply provide funds to the university without more involvement. Most ofthe donors to CMES are professionals and successful in their own right.Many are also proud New Jerseyeans who are either Rutgers graduatesor affiliated with Rutgers in some way, either because their childrenattend the university or because they have some other connection to it.People of such commitment to their professions, family and theuniversity, want to see CMES succeed in its mission. The CommunityAdvisory Committee was the logical answer to this need.

What role will the Committee play in relation to CMES?

The Committee’s role is to serve as a liaison between the community atlarge and the university. The Committee serves at the pleasure of theuniversity and CMES and thus is charged with assisting CMES infulfilling its goals and spreading its fame. The Committee also sees itselfas serving the community in an unofficial fiduciary role to assure thegrowth of the program regardless of the donors and regardless ofCMES’s management.

InterviewInterview withwith MrMr.. HanyHany MawlaMawla EsqEsq.. onon HisHis RoleRole asas thethe CMESCMES CommunityCommunityLiaisonLiaison andand HisHis RecentRecent AppointmentAppointment asas thethe ChairmanChairman ofof thethe ArabArab HeritageHeritageCommissionCommission

So, to answer your question, we will, based uponthe priorities that the Commission chooses toaddress first, be organizing the Commission in sucha fashion where Commission members will betasked with specific duties to act as liaisons withState and private groups to find out whatmaterials these groups have regarding ArabAmericans and what can be provided through theCommission to assure that Arab Americans andtheir heritage are fairly represented and portrayed inall segments of society. Once we know what existsin terms of information and capabilities in both theprivate and public sector, then the Commission willbe able to proceed to provide more direct andspecific input and assistance to these groups andcoordinate programming that ensures that the ArabAmerican voice is a positive part of the culturaldiversity that already exists in New Jersey.

How do you envision CMES contributing tofulfilling the aims of the Arab HeritageCommission?

CMES is an indispensable partner in theCommission's charge. The reasons for this areseveral. Rutgers, and particularly CMES, enjoysthe special privilege of not only being one of thepremier academic institutions for the study of theMiddle East and Arab culture, it also has what is

What are the main expectations of the MiddleEastern Community from Rutgers and CMES?

CMES will become a world class institutioncommensurate with the reputation of Rutgers toattract the best faculty instructing in Arab studies,the Islamic heritage and the study of the MiddleEast. A world class program of this kind is neededat Rutgers which boasts a significant student basewith interest in the courses provided by CMES.Given the international, national and statewidedialogue that we are now having about Islam andthe Middle East, now is the time to develop a worldclass program with world class talent, and even aworld class reference library on these subjects atRutgers.

What concrete step have been or are beingtaken to strengthen the relationship betweenCMES and the community?

The formation of the Committee, in and of itself,represents the first concrete step to formalize thecommunity’s relationship with the university andvice versa. Rutgers and CMES have made it clearthat by engaging the community in this ambitiousproject, the relationship is not just limited to afinancial one, but rather a deeper interaction. Theuniversity has engaged the community in

FALL 2008

Middle East and Arab culture, it also has what isperhaps the largest and most diverse student body,which has been and continues to enroll in coursesprovided by the university and CMES on the MiddleEast, its peoples, religions and cultures. What betterpartner for the Commission to have to both borrowfrom as a State entity possessing some of the bestfaculty in the country, and to also work with toensure that the heritage of Arab-Americans isproperly shared with students in ouruniversities. The popularity of the courses providedby CMES among Rutgers students of diverse ethnicand religious backgrounds, the prominence of thefaculty affiliated with CMES from severaldepartments such as Political Science, Religion,History, AMESALL, Sociology, Women’s Studiesand Art History, and the extra-curricularprogramming that has been provided by CMES tothe Rutgers community and members of the publicthrough its series of distinguished lectures, makes ita logical and natural partner for this Commission. Ihave no doubt that the Commission will welcomethe opportunity to work with a world class Stateinstitution such as Rutgers.

developing strategies to grow CMES physically byconsulting the community in locating a buildingworthy of CMES and inviting to students and faculty.And, the university and CMES, through its new anddynamic Director and Administrators, has soughtand obtained community input on eventsprogramming, which, by the way, are not onlyintended to serve students, but the community aswell.

What do you hope the Arab HeritageCommission will achieve during its first year,and what are the long-term goals?

Based on the Executive Order signed by GovernorCorzine creating this historic Commission, thecharge of the Commission is broad andimportant. Indeed, the Commission is tasked on ageneral level with recognizing, studying and sharingArab heritage, culture and history, but it is alsogiven the specific duties of collaborating withvarious important State agencies to develop contentand curriculum guides for New Jersey's studentsand to assure that members of the public also arepositively exposed to the heritage of ArabAmericans.

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During the last three months, we have witnessed the beginnings of a major step forward for Middle EasternStudies at Rutgers, in the creation of the Department of African, Middle Eastern and South Asian Languagesand Literatures (AMESALL). Chaired by Professor Richard Serrano of Comparative Literature, a longtimeaffiliate of CMES who specializes in Arabic literature, this new department is designed to ensure that theteaching of Middle Eastern languages, as well as other “Less commonly taught languages”, will be of thehighest quality. To this end, AMESALL has already held a workshop on recent developments in languagepedagogy, and a search is underway for the first ever tenure line in Arabic literature at Rutgers. AMESALL isnot only situated in close proximity to the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, across the hallway on the thirdfloor of the B Wing of Lucy Stone Hall with many shared rooms, but it is operating in close collaborationwith CMES. This is the perfect time to elucidate the nature of the relationship.

As most readers will be aware, the Middle Eastern Studies major requires 16 credits to consist of languagecourses. The Persian and Turkish language courses have been provided by CMES, while the Arabic courseshave historically been provided by Africana Studies. AMESALL now manages all the language and literaturecourses for these three Middle Eastern languages. With the addition of a language coordinator and the firstever tenure-track professor of Arabic literature later this year, as well as training workshops on languageinstruction, AMESALL promises to enhance the courses in Middle Eastern languages and literatures atRutgers to the highest international standards.

The Major in Middle Eastern Studies Administered by CMES

AMESALL:Arabic, Persian And Turkish Languages And Literatures (aswell as South Asian and African Languages andLiteratures)

CMES and Other Departments(e.g. Political Science, Religion):

Non-language and Literature “content” coursesabout the Middle East, such as Media in the Arab

CMES NEWSLETTER

MessageMessage fromfrom thethe Director,Director, DrDr.. JawidJawid MojaddediMojaddedi

Although language courses represent a large chunkof the major in Middle Eastern Studies, theremainder of the 34 credits necessary are obtainedthrough “content” courses, meaning courses on thehistory, politics, religions and societies of the MiddleEast (see diagram above). CMES will thereforecontinue to manage the major in Middle EasternStudies and also provide a wide range of contentcourses for our ever-increasing numbers ofstudents, to supplement those courses alreadyprovided by departments, such as Religion, PoliticalScience, History, and now also Sociology (Prof.Salime) and Art History (Prof. Kahlaoui).

CMES therefore continues to play the mostsignificant lead role at Rutgers in the provision ofcourses about the Middle East.

The transfer of language-teaching faculty and theircourses to AMESALL not only guarantees thelongevity of the Middle Eastern language classes atRutgers through state support for the newdepartment, but it will also allow CMES to focus onnew areas. Therefore, as most of you will alreadyhave noticed, CMES has been expanding itsoutreach and events activities. Ms Aretha OliverCrayton, the Administrator of CMES, Ms ShehnazAbdeljaber, the Outreach Coordinator of CMES,

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Literatures)about the Middle East, such as Media in the ArabWorld, Islamic Law, Iranian History, Turkic Peoples

Faculty specializing on the Middle East at AMESALL:- Richard Serrano (Chair, Arabic, French)- Moha Ennaji (Arabic)- Paul Sprachman (Persian)- Ferhan Tunagur (Turkish)- Charles Haberl 50% (Classical Arabic, Aramaic)- John Soueid (Arabic)- Mohamed Alsiadi (Arabic)- Hanan Elsayed (Arabic)- Hala Issa (Arabic)

Faculty specializing on the Middle East at CMES:

- Jawid Mojaddedi (Director, Islamic Studies)- Peter Golden (Academic Director, Turkic Peoples)- Afshin Razani (Sociology, Contemporary Iran)- Amir Djabini (Iranian Culture and Cinema)- Charles Haberl 50% (Minorities in the Middle East)- Hamid Abdeljaber (Media/Politics in the Arab World)* In addition to faculty based at other departments *

Their involvement was a powerful reminder of whythe role of CMES at Rutgers is so important.Among the interviews I have given this semester,the most memorable was for the show “Talk it Out”on Dandana TV (still available at YouTube and theCMES Facebook page). I was accompanied by MsAbdeljaber and four of our students, and during theinterview, when we talked about the uniqueness ofRutgers, I was reminded of how fortunate we are tohave such a diverse and dynamic student body, alldeeply interested in the Middle East, and fullyappreciative of the support received from ourgenerous donors in this time of financial uncertainty.Now, more than ever, with a new incomingadministration and the first ever Arab HeritageCommission in the nation established here in NewJersey, we have the chance to bring aboutmeaningful change with your continued support.

All of us at CMES would like to give you our verybest wishes for the Holiday Season, and we lookforward to hearing from you and seeing you at ourevents next year.

and Ms. Bahareh Sehatzadeh, our Publicity Officer,have already been working very hard on thisdimension of CMES activities. Reports on all themain events held in Fall 2008 are included in thisnewsletter, as are announcements of the eventsalready planned for Spring 2009, which includeperformances by Haale (February 7th), the Axis ofEvil Comedians (March 25th), and the biggest everconference on Iran to be held in New Jersey inliving memory (February 7-8th; funded by a UISFLGrant from the Department of Education).

Out of our past events this fall, the two which weremost memorable for me personally were the UnityIftar and the tribute to the late Mahmoud Darwish,and this is because of the large number of studentsinvolved in both events. Several students helped inserving meals and clearing up on the evening inSeptember when CMES provided Iftar to more than350 students, and more than twenty students tookpart in the presentations and recitations of poetry (inArabic as well as English) in honor of Darwish.

ArabArab--AmericansAmericans andand CivilCivil LibertiesLiberties

FALL 2008

The Patriot Act was reauthorized in 2006, eventhough this seemed unlikely to happen before the7/7/2005 attacks in London sparked fears ofhomegrown suicide bombers. These horrific attackshad the most unfortunate consequence ofencouraging certain members of the SenateHomeland Security Committee to see the Arab-American community as the source of a threatrather than as partners. The future of such policiesunder the new Obama administration will no doubtbe interesting to witness in the coming years.

After the lecture by Dr Ibish, the audience weregiven a brief introduction to the Arab HeritageCommission by Ms. Engy Abdelkader Esq. of LegalServices of New Jersey, who served as a memberof the steering committee for the enactment of theCommission. She spoke on the importance of thecommission and the impact it will have on Americansociety and the Arab community. For more on theCommission, see the front page of this newsletter.

On October 16th, Dr Hussein Ibish, the ExecutiveDirector of the Hala Salaam Maksoud Foundationfor Arab-American Leadership and Senior Fellow atthe American Task Force on Palestine, came toRutgers to talk about Arab-Americans and civilliberties. This lecture was convened by CMES aspart of the Human Rights lecture series at Rutgersin the 2008-9 Academic Year, to mark the 60thanniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. DrIbish is the ideal person to discuss this importantissue related to human rights inside America, as hehas already written many major studies on this topicand has made thousands of appearances on radioand television to discuss it.

Dr. Ibish discussed the controversial Patriot Act,pointing out what have proven to be the mostproblematic clauses for Arab-Americans, namelythose which established the authority to carry outsecret searches and demand that holders of recordsprovide information without notifying the individualcitizens concerned. He also questioned the wholepremise that giving up civil liberties leads to greatersecurity, citing the lack of any prosecutions basedon information gathered in these ways, even thoughclaims are often made that this lack is due to thesuccessful thwarting of potential attacks before theycould have been made.

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CMES NEWSLETTER

The company of ballet dancers in London hadperformed the famous “Khun-e Seyavash” story ofthe Shahnameh to Ranjbaran’s music, and wearingPersian-inspired costumes. Dramatic scenesincluded the attempted seduction of Seyavash byhis step-mother Queen Sudabeh shortly after hisreunion with his father, and her husband, KingKavus, and the subsequent trial by fire which

On October 3rd, 2008, the Center hosted itsMehregan dinner and lecture, by Professor BehzadRanjbaran of the Juilliard School. Ranjbaran is themost celebrated contemporary Iranian composer ofsymphonic music. His music has been performed byorchestras across the world and he has wonnumerous prestigious prizes, such as the RudolfNissim Award for his violin concerto from theAmerican Society of Composers, Authors andPublishers (ASCAP), and the Charles Ives Awardfrom the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Aperformance in August 2008 of his The PersianTrilogy by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra,together with master naqqal Morshed Torabi,demonstrated his interest in drawing on his Persianheritage for his compositions.

The Persian Trilogy is a collection of threeorchestral works that were inspired by stories fromFerdowsi’s Shahnameh. Professor Ranjbaran talkedabout his childhood fascination with theShahnameh, which started when his mother won anillustrated copy of this work as a prize in acompetition in Tehran. His childhood fascinationwas further enhanced by the stories he heard aboutthe Simorgh, which was popularly believed to live

Mehregan 1387 and Professor Behzad Ranjbaran’s Persian TrilogyMehregan 1387 and Professor Behzad Ranjbaran’s Persian Trilogy

Kavus, and the subsequent trial by fire whichproved her guilt.

One of the most memorable scenes for many in theaudience was that depicting Seyavash’s love forPrincess Farangis, the daughter of King Afrasyab,who by this time had adopted him after his self-imposed exile from his own father King Kavus’sdomain. With sensitivity to Persian traditions of self-sacrificing etiquette, the ballet dancers weredirected to perform in such a way that each step byFarangis down a flight of stairs is anticipated by thebesotted Seyavash, who then stretches his hand forher to step on as she descends, so that her feetnever touch the ground.

After his lecture, Professor Ranjbaran tookquestions from the audience. An important pointthat was clarified is that, while the Persian Trilogydoes not include Iranian instruments, this is whatmakes it all the more effective in sharing Persianheritage as widely as possible. This is because itenables the performance of the Shahnameh by allorchestras across the globe through the symphonicmusic composed by Ranjbaran. His composition inthe international language of music can be read andperformed by all accomplished orchestras, withoutbeing limited to those who have prior knowledge ofPersian or Iranian music.

the Simorgh, which was popularly believed to liveon Mount Alborz, overlooking his native Tehran. Heregards The Persian Trilogy as the culmination ofhis four-decade-long personal journey, which wassparked by these first exposures to the Shahnameh.

Professor Ranjbaran continued his lecture bycommenting on selected scenes which he displayedfor the audience from the video recording of a balletperformance of the third and longest part of ThePersian Trilogy, namely “The Blood of Seyavash”.

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This year’s Unity Iftar culminated in the speech ofProfessor Amaney Jamal from the Political ScienceDepartment of Princeton University. She delivered alecture on pivotal issues pertaining to the portrayalof Muslims and Middle Easterners in the media, andgeneral attitudes towards them based on polls thathave been made. Islam is, for instance, the mostnegatively perceived religion by far in the UnitedStates.

Jamal also spoke about the presidential candidates

More than three hundred students and communitymembers gathered in the Busch MPR to celebrateside by side and to discuss issues of importance toMiddle Eastern students on a night of faith and food,namely the third annual Unity Iftar organized by theCenter for Middle Eastern Studies. This year theevent was also co-sponsored by the office of theBusch Campus Dean and the Anne I. Morgan Fund,and it benefited from support from Hany Mawla,Esq., John Soueid, Douglass' Halal Pizza and Grill,Efes Restaurant, and Sahara Cafe.

Though the event was centered around the iftar orfast-breaking dinner which takes place at sunsetevery night of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,the diversity of faith in the crowd was evident. “Thisevent is open to students of all faiths; we bring aspeaker to inform students and encourage interfaithdialog,” said Shehnaz Abdeljaber '12, one of themain organizers of this event. “We got a positiveresponse to this event after the first Unity Iftar;members of the community and students haveexpressed the need for such an event, and they areglad that we are now holding annully such an eventfocusing on community issues and unity.”

TheThe 20082008 UnityUnity IftarIftar andand LectureLecture onon MuslimsMuslims inin AmericaAmerica sincesince 99//1111 bybyProfessorProfessor AmaneyAmaney AA.. JamalJamal

FALL 2008

From left to right: Jawid Mojaddedi, Hamid Abdeljaber,Amaney Jamal.

Jamal also spoke about the presidential candidatesand their relations to Muslim Americans: “Anymention of terrorism is linked in John McCain'scampaign to some mention of Islam—meanwhileMuslims seek to endorse Barack Obama, becausethey see him as hope for the future, but Obama hasbeen distancing himself from the Muslimcommunity.” Jamal further expressed her disdainwith the current culture of fear and intolerance,“Anti-Muslim rhetoric has become a measure of yourdegree of patriotism,” she said. In such a context itis not difficult to see why politicians would beworried about the unpopularity of Muslims rubbingoff on themselves.

Maaz Enver 2012, Junior and Co-President of thenewly unified Rutgers University Muslim StudentAssociation, expressed his views from an Islamicperspective. “The average person does notdistinguish radical Islam with the real IslamAmericans are practicing. It’s a negative stereotypeMuslims everywhere have had to struggle with.”Enver added, “People have been taking culture andpolitics and mixing them and presenting it as Islam,sometimes you watch the news and it hurts—youfeel helpless. Muslims feel the need to definethemselves more than ever. We need to go out ofour way to counteract the many misconceptions thatare out there. ”

by Pablo Albilal

focusing on community issues and unity.”

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The Center for Middle Eastern Studies and theDepartment of African, Middle Eastern and SouthAsian Languages and Literatures collaborated tocommemorate the achievements of the lateMahmoud Darwish, with an event that honored hislife, poetry and activism, while also highlighting thecontinuity of Palestinian literature as resistance. Notonly Rutgers professors but also their studentsrecited Darwish’s poetry in both Arabic and English,putting to use the valuable language skills they haveacquired through courses at CMES. The eveningincluded short lectures by Professors Abdeljaber,Soueid and Ennaji, on Darwish’s life, poetic style,and political views. The evening also showcased amusical tribute to the late poet, in the form of aperformance on the oud by Professor Alsiadi.

In keeping with the theme of Palestinian poetry asresistance, CMES invited Remi Kanazi, the editor ofthe newly published volume Poets for Palestine.This collection of poetry was written by variousartists of different backgrounds and opensappropriately with a poem by Darwish. Kanazi alsogave a spoken word performance of some of hisown work, giving the audience a fresh taste ofpoetry as resistance in the contemporary styles oftoday. It was a successful event that brought

AA TributeTribute ToTo MahmoudMahmoud DarwishDarwish

CMES NEWSLETTER

Above: students reciting a qasidah by Mahmoud Darwish

Right: Mohamed Alsiadi

Above: AudienceLeft: Remi Kanazi

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies is pleased to announce the conference

“THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: THIRTY YEARS”“THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: THIRTY YEARS”

FEBRUARY 7- 8, 2009Trayes Hall, Douglass Student Center

100 George StNew Brunswick, NJ 08901-1412

Confirmed Speakers:oErvand Abrahamian (CUNY) oReza H. Akbari (Freedom House) oAli Banuazizi (Boston College) oJanetBauer (Trinity College) oKambiz Behi (Harvard University) oMehdi Bozorgmehr (CUNY) oPeter Chelkowski(New York University) oRasmus Christian Elling (University of Copenhagen) oMustafa El-Labbad (East Centerfor Regional and Strategic Studies, Cairo) oMark Gould (Haverford College) oKevan Harris (Johns HopkinsUniversity) oFatemeh Keshavarz (Washington University in St Louis) oAlireza Korangy (University of Virginia)oMehrdad Mashayekhi (Georgetown University) oValentine M. Moghadam (Purdue University) oSina M.Mossayeb (Columbia University) oNegin Nabavi (Montclair State University) rTrita Parsi (NIAC) rBabak Rahimi(University of California, San Diego) oGeorge Sanikidze (Tbilisi State University) oKjetil Selvik (University ofOslo) oMarek Smurzynski (The Jagiellonian University, Cracow) oGüneş Murat Tezcür (Loyola UniversityChicago) oRadwan Ziadeh (Harvard University)

This conference is made possible by a UISFL grant from the US Dept of Education.For more information please visit our website at http://mideast.rutgers.edu.

today. It was a successful event that broughttogether the Rutgers campus community as well asothers from the surrounding area, includingProfessor Ikram Masmoudi from the University ofDelaware, to celebrate a much-loved and

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unforgettable icon of the Arab world and the widerliterary world, Mahmoud Darwish.

CMES PRESENTSCMES PRESENTS

For more information please visit our website at For more information please visit our website at http://mideast.rutgers.edu.

FALL 2008

FacultyFaculty DevelopmentDevelopment WorkshopWorkshop::TheThe IranianIranian CulturalCultural SphereSphere

On Friday October 3rd, 2008, the Center for MiddleEastern Studies sponsored a faculty developmentworkshop as part of its ongoing efforts tointernationalize undergraduate education atRutgers. The subject of the workshop was “TheIranian Cultural Sphere,” a topic of great interest tofaculty both within the newly formed Department ofAfrican, Middle Eastern, and South AsianLanguages and Literatures, and also among thegreater body of Rutgers faculty. The subjectsdiscussed were “Magic Kings: The SymbolicRepresentation of the Ruler in Ancient and MedievalNear Eastern Art” (Michael Barry, PrincetonUniversity and the Metropolitan Museum of Art),“Persian Poetry from the Late Thirteenth Century tothe Mid-Nineteenth Century: One of the PoeticLiteratures of India” (Janet Walker, RutgersUniversity), “Shrines, Oral History, and Identity inBadakhshan” (Jo-Ann Gross, The College of NewJersey), and “Searching for Freedom: Black SlaveManumission Petitions in the Iranian Persian Gulf(1852-1910)” (Niambi Cacchioli, RutgersUniversity). Roughly twenty present, former, andfuture members of the Rutgers faculty participatedin the workshop, which was well-received. The

HAALE IN CONCERT

HAALE IN CONCERT

FEBRUARY 7, 2009

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEW BRUNSWICKin the workshop, which was well-received. Theworkshop was fully funded by the US Department ofEducation through a Title VIa UISFL grant.

KK--1212 WorkshopWorkshop:: IranIran inin thetheClassroomClassroom

On Thursday, October 23rd, 2008, the RutgersCenter for Historical Analysis hosted and co-sponsored a public outreach program coordinatedby the Center for Middle Eastern Studies as part ofits Rutgers Institute for High School Teachers. Thespeakers included Farah Ramazanzadeh(University of Utah), who talked about “HeritageLanguage Loss in the Public Education System”,Paul Sprachman (Rutgers University), whodiscussed “Teaching the Persian Alphabet toRutgers Undergraduates”, Tom Ricks (University ofPennsylvania), who covered “Iran in World History”,Toby Jones (Rutgers University), who introducedthe participants to “A Fifth Column for Iran? Shiitesin the Persian Gulf”, and Mahmood Karimi-Hakak(Siena College), who recounted his experience ofbeing “Exiled to Freedom: A Memoir of Censorshipin Iran”. The program was attended by fifteen publicschool teachers from all over New Jersey. As withthe faculty development workshop, this event wasfunded by the Title VIa UISFL grant from the USDepartment of Education.

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MARCH 25, 2009

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEW BRUNSWICK

MAZ JOBRANIMAZ JOBRANI

DEAN OBEIDALLAHDEAN OBEIDALLAH

MAYSOON MAYSOON ZAYIDZAYID

COMEDY NIGHT

COMEDY NIGHT

and others

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEW BRUNSWICK

Ms. Atiya Aftab, Esq. Dr. Sharokh Ahkami and Mrs. Nahid AhkamiMrs. Senwan Akhtar and Dr. Omar AkhtarDr. Mahshid Assadi and Dr. Cyrus A. AssadiMrs. Aziza Badr and Mr. Galal BadrMr. Omar Boraie and Mrs. Mediha BoraieMr. Osman Boraie and Mrs. Magda BoraieMr. Amar BukhariDr. Jamil Ibrahim El-SamnaDr. Ahmad Jaber and Mrs. JaberMr. Assad Jebara and Mrs. JebaraMr. Ziad JebaraDr. Saleh Khaddash and Mrs. Duha Khaddash

Dr. Parvaiz Malik and Mrs. MalikMr. Hany Mawla Esq.Mr. Mohammad A. Mawla and Dr. Mona MawlaDr. Sherif Naser and Mrs. Randa NaserMr. Mohamed Othman and Mrs. Wafa OthmanMr. Abdel-Reheim Riad and Mrs. RiadMrs. Salwa Siyam and Mr. Farag SiyamDr. Asim Zaidi and Mrs. Amrit ZaidiCelik Brothers ConstructionNBS Group SupplyPaterson Comm. ClinicThe Raritan Valley Turkish Community

We at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies would like to thank all of our supporters during the last two yearsfor their donations and pledges, acknowledging in particular the following major supporters:

New CMES Courses for Spring 2009New CMES Courses for Spring 2009

FOLKLORE OF THE MIDDLE EAST01 685 396 02Instructor: Charles Häberl

INTRODUCTION TO ARAMAIC01 685 496 01

AVICENNA AND ISLAMIC THOUGHT IN IRAN 01 685 396 05Instructor: Kiki Kennedy-Day

WOMEN & GENDER IN ISLAMIC SOCIETIES: IRAN

CMES NEWSLETTER

Special Thanks to our Donors

Center for Middle Eastern Studies Newsletter

01 685 496 01Instructor: Charles Häberl

IRAN01 685 396 03Instructor: Catherine Sameh

Jawid MojaddediDirector

Aretha Oliver CraytonAdministrative Assistant, Ext: 11areolive@rci.rutgers.edu

Shehnaz AbdeljaberOutreach Coordinator, Ext: 25peaceingardens@comcast.net

Center for Middle Eastern StudiesRutgers UniversityLucy Stone Hall, B31654 Joyce Kilmer AvenuePiscataway, NJ 08854Tel: (732) 445-8444Fax: (732) 445-8446mideast@rci.rutgers.eduwww.mideast.rutgers.edu