MESC Activities

Valarie Kaur, Dynamic Leader Using the Power of Media for Social Change

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 20:06:00 +0000

We had the honor of co-hosting Valarie Kaur with the Multicultural Center, OSU Hillel, Mundo, OSU First Year Experience, the Office of Student Life, Asian American Association, Better Together, Indian Student Association, and the South Asian Student Association.

Twelve years ago, in the wake of September 11, 2001, Kaur set off across the country to discover the stories of those affected by this post-9/11 anger and hatred toward what Mahmoud has called "Muslim-looking others". Since September 11th Sikhs, who often wear turbans as a part of religious observance, have been targets of related hate crimes. The months on the road with her cousin, recording and filming these stories, shone light on the effects of hate and ignorance in a time where unity in the United States was being preached from the rooftops. As this post is coming from a center focused on the Middle East, it is important to note that Sikhs originate in South Asia, not the Middle East. However, in teaching about the Middle East, and its diversity, we also teach about the groups outside of the Middle East to help make distinctions.

Kaur´s dedication and passion for social change have affected the course of her own life, and the lives of everyone she meets. She is a powerful activist for multifaith movements, promoting social change through legal avenues, and advocate for the Sikh community. One legal victory she highlighted is that the Justice Department now includes Sikh's as a demographic group, allowing tracking of crimes against members of the community.

On November 14, 2013 Kaur ran a storytelling for social change workshop, and held conversations with students about her films: Divided We Fall, and a short documentary on the shooting at a Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek Wisconsin (View: here). We screened "Divided We Fall" at the Ohio Union. Her storytelling for change workshop was an meaningful time for the 20 participants to reflect on social injustices in the United States. Through dialogue about personal experiences they developed ideas for how their stories could make an impact for social change.

Kaur´s time at Ohio State was highly influential. Close to 200 students were at the screening and many used Twitter to thank her for her work and help heighten awareness. For example: "Tonight I had the honor of meeting @valariekaur and watching her documentary "Divided We Fall." What an incredible, life changing experience" and "Just finished watching "Divided We Fall" that @valariekaur produced, heartbroken at how little things have changed since it was filmed." The Middle East Studies Center gained from this experience in ways which will bolster our outreach methods with media and story, and raise awareness of the importance of reducing discrimination against the "Muslim-looking-other" and indeed to work against othering in general for a U.S. society that embraces diversity within unity.

Dateline Kabul: The Quest to Give Afghan Women a Voice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:54:00 +0000

On Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - from 1:00pm - 2:00pm we had the pleasure of listening to Amie Ferris-Rotman, reporter for Reuters, share her experiences living and working in Afghanistan. Since December 2011, as senior correspondent for Reuters in Afghanistan, she has focused on the struggles women face eleven years into the NATO-led war. She scooped the story of a woman’s public execution near Kabul, which sparked global outcry. We gained insights on the true plight many women there are currently facing. Further the subject of violence against women is a critical global issue, which takes shape in numerous ugly forms in every country.

Presenting the perspective that the country has undergone 34 years of incessant war, she emphasized the courage of the women she knew there and the women whose stories she covered, rather than their victimhood. In particular she shared the story of Muzhgan Masoomi who was brutally attacked by her cousin. He claimed that she shouldn't be working, and continually harassed her until finally attacking her and leaving her for dead. Fortunately now, according to her parents, he is in jail for this crime. However, her debilitating injuries now prevent her from continuing in her former government job. Her father wept as he told Amie the story. It was he who insisted she get an education and he made many sacrifices to support her in her work toward her degree in accounting.

The underlying issue of security, or the utter lack of security, was a theme in the discussion we had after Ms. Ferris Rotman's talk about four different Afghan women she's known or covered, from very different walks of life. The Director of the Middle East Studies Center, Dr. Alam Payind, commented that none of his sisters donned the veil until the Soviets invaded, as there was a sense that women were no longer safe on the streets. It seems that 34 years later what began with reasonable fears has escalated into a circumstance in which no remembers the time when women were not only safe on the streets, but free to come and go as they pleased. Amie noted that men and women of Dr. Payind's generation have a certain grief due to their memory of how it used to be. One of the women she mentioned is a former police officer who is of the same generation. She is an outgoing, confident women who sometimes boasts about the numerous men she put in jail for committing violence against women.

This event was co-sponsored by The Mershon Center for International Security Studies, the School of Communication, The Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Women's Place and the Middle East Studies Center

Defusing Human Bombs, film screening

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:47:00 +0000

Sabaoon ("first morning light" in Pashto) is a rehabilitation school particularly for adolsecent boys who had been recruited by militant groups, often as suicide bombers. Most have received training in Swat Valley from the Taliban who teach that their interpretation of Islam is the only correct one. This documentary focuses on what Sabaoon is doing to reprogram their thinking, and reintegrate them into mainstream Pakistani society. This is very important as the militarization of boys in this way results in thousands of deaths across in Pakistan every year.

Forced to do hard labor, and subjected to beatings, the Taliban's "training" is brutal. They are also given "suicide jackets", and told they will be given heaven by waging war against infidels.

The school creates psychological "profiles" for each child. They consider them children so they don't punish them. They try to build trust instead. Some are considered "high risk" or potentially violent. But they are not kept separate from the others. The goal is to reintegrate them back into society.

They don't try to make them feel guilty. "Shame is a good thing, guilt is not." the head psychologist states. The film then shows a confession of a boy telling the story of how he was made to whip a girl.

"Madam [to the head psychologist], we are here because of terrorism." one of the boys said when asked why he thought he had be enrolled in the program.

Only 11 had been reintegrated into mainstream Pakistani society when the filming of the documentary commenced, but by the end of the film 21 graduated and thus began their process of reintegration. Obviously, the outcomes are as of yet unsure.

Professor Yussef Yacoubi, who gave background information and conducted Q&A, pointed out that, in addition to the trauma the Taliban inflicted, there are national traumas to overcome: postcolonial trauma, the trauma of partition, and subsequent trauma from the elites' inability to govern with justice. Will the rehabilitation affect trauma at the national level? some students asked. He pointed out the way that the Taliban used, not only physical tactics, but mental ones. Their religious teachings were actually a form of indoctrination, which negates one's ability to question and eventually even to think about what is being taught. Indoctrination can be political, cultural, not just religious as in this case.

The students who went to the film screening wondered what happens next. The documentary doesn't provide much information on that. One student commented that as soon as they go back to society they will be subject to the same trauma that originally made them vulnerable to Taliban indoctrination.

Chocolate in Heat, Stage Reading of the play by Betty Shamieh

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 20:31:00 +0000

The OSU Theatre Department brought an excellent stage reading of Betty Shamieh's "Chocolate in Heat" to campus last night and the night before. Produced by the "Lab Series, A Department-Nurtured, Student-Driven Production Series." We are very fortunate to have such a program, and especially fortunate that two of the finest actors in Egypt happen to be in Columbus and could play the main roles. Amany Seleem, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department, and her husband, Assem Ngaty, Ph.D, performed multiple roles powerfully. The play was directed by Allison Brogan. If you haven't had a chance to check her plays out, they are quite worth it, and her intellectual output as a whole.

This play demonstrated the way (one of the ways) Middle Eastern, in this case Arab, Americans stay very close to their home countries. In particular, the way knowledge of history and current politics can play a role in their everyday lives. Of course, this comes with a whole range of emotions and connections to individual lives, an aspect which was portrayed incredibly well in the way multiple interlocking stories unfolded. The script lent itself well to a reading as it uses monologues to describe each facet of the story. Bravo!

Middle Eastern American Identities

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:49:00 +0000

We were honored to bring together scholars, students and educators on Wednesday to discuss Middle Eastern American identities. Dr. Mehdi Bozorghmehr spoke first about the unique challenges of representation that Middle Easterners face in post-9/11 America, and specifically the ways in which the diversity of this heterogeneous group is overlooked. The intense focus on the raging conflicts in the Middle East in American popular culture reinforces existing negative stereotypes, further concealing the diversity of this panethnic group. It is very difficult for these ethnic minorities to overcome such challenges and advocate for their interests, partly because Middle Eastern groups are not recognized as official minorities. For instance, governmental forms (e.g., the U.S. Census and those pertaining to affirmative action) subsume Middle Easterners under the White racial category and hence contribute to their invisibility and inability to combat discrimination.

Jonathan Friedlander expanded on the topic of diversity versus the monolithic image of Middle Easterners held in the collective imagination of American society. He talked about Middle Eastern identities "from A to Z" (Arab to Zoroastrian). While there is a sizeable population of individuals of Middle Eastern origin in the U.S., the group is more diverse here due to migrant selectivity (e.g., religious minorities from the Middle East are overrepresented in America). So, as we study the Middle East, it is important to remember that many Middle Eastern individuals we meet in the U.S. will not fit the expectation of what the Middle East tends to be (i.e., Arab and Muslim). For example, about half of Middle Eastern Americans are non-Arabs, and a large segment is also non-Muslim (Christian, Jewish, etc.).

We take this opportunity to thank our partner, Kenyon College, and all of the OSU sponsoring departments who helped make this and related events possible. They include the Mershon Center for International Security Studies; the Department of History; the Center for African Studies; the Undergraduate International Studies Program; the Department of African and African American Studies; and the Multicultural Center.

The guest scholars were interviewed on "All Sides" with Ann Fisher while they were here. Please check it out! Here is a link to the recording from the "All Sides" page: http://streaming.osu.edu/wosu/allsides/091912a.mp3 We will be posting the video of their presentation, as well as other related materials in our Knowledge Bank Community.

Indonesian ambassador to the U.S., Dino Patti Djalal, May 24 2012

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:29:00 +0000

The ambassador described a new mentality that is forming, an optimism stimulated because success is now being seen as home grown. In past success had a strong connection to names like Henry Ford, Colonal Sanders, and Bill Gates. . ."now success can have our faces and our names as well. " noted the ambassador.

According to him, it's not military success but corporate success that matters most in global relations. In past Indonesia had strong movements against colonialism and the related capitalist economic structures, which has been a hinderance. 21st have to believe in markets, so now people replace the word capitalism with "entrepreneurship" and it works, lots of enthusiasm.

Indonesia is the 3rd largest democracy in the world with the largest middle class in Asia. This is quite surprising from point of view of 1999, after economic crash. 85% of Indonesians believe in their democratic system and that their economy is good, disagreements with particular policies or election choices notwithstanding.

He warned, however, that it's possible to become stuck with a middle income level, inertia prevents high GDP status. There are lessons from the US's economic growth during the fifty years Fter WWII.

This event was brought to the Ohio State University thanks to The College of Education and Human Ecology and PERMIAS, the Indonesian Student Association.

Marwan Muasher (Saturday, April 21 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Dr. Muasher is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment. He served as foreign minister (2002–04) and deputy prime minister (2004–05) of Jordan, and his career has spanned the areas of diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications. He is also a senior fellow at Yale University.

Muasher began his career as a journalist for the Jordan Times. He then served at the Ministry of Planning, at the prime minister’s office as press adviser, and as director of the Jordan Information Bureau in Washington.

In 1995, Muasher opened Jordan's first embassy in Israel, and in 1996 became minister of information and the government spokesperson. From 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington again as ambassador, negotiating the first free trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation. He then returned to Jordan to serve as foreign minister, where he played a central role in developing the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East Road Map.

In 2004 he became deputy prime minister responsible for reform and government performance, and led the effort to produce a 10-year plan for political, economic, and social reform. From 2006 to 2007, he was a member of the Jordanian Senate.

Most recently, he was senior vice president of external affairs at the World Bank from 2007 to 2010.

He is the author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation (Yale University Press, 2008).

He spoke about "The Arab Awakening: One Year On" at the Ohio State University, Saturday, April 21 2012 - The event was co-sponsored by The Mershon Center for International Security Studies, The Middle East Studies Center, The Department of History, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and The Alumni of the American University in Beirut.

The major themes he spoke about were:

The current process of seeking democratic government is not a battle between secularists and Islamists. It's a struggle for pluralism that needs to come from both sides.
There is a new awareness of the strength of organized political action. Further, it is an irreversible process, even if it is a problematic one.
With education and pluralism jobs can be created and representational government will be possible.

Long-range perspective on some of the key challenges:

The electoral process is not moving forward quickly due to a multiplication of parties. However,
After Franco 161 parties competed in the elections, now there are less than 10. It's a natural progression.
There are underrepresented groups. Equality of education that emphasizes critical thinking and democratic values. He said: "A citizen should be concerned about the rights of all his fellow citizens.
Economic problems, such as a lack of jobs, prevent progress. The only way to create enough jobs will be created is if human capital is increased through education.
Islamists have 15% of actual popular support despite garnering 34% of the electoral support. This is because they haven't yet been in power so they haven't been tested. Muasher predicts they won't do as well in the future.

This talk was organized by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut, and co-sponsored with the Mershon Center, the Department of History, and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.

Betty Shamieh on Representations of Women in Theatre

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:10:00 +0000

The first thing she stated was that she hopes one day to be known mainly as a woman playwright, not only an Arab playwright. She also noted that the meaning of being Arab American has changed since 9-11, and that Arab voices are now actively censored. For those reasons, the Arab identity is even more front and center. Shamieh emphasized that, of course she has had very specific life experience, and she can't claim to represent all Arabs or all Arab Americans. In being herself she breaks many stereotypes of Arabs as soon as people come in contact with her - for many she is the first Arab intellectual they have met (wow!).

Her lament was the non-representation of women in American Theatre - citing that a mere 16% of plays, which are actually produced, are written by women; the exact same amount which was true at the last turn of the century. The late Christopher Hitchen's thesis that women are incapable of being funny was of particular concern to her. She was comforted by the idea that he may be meeting Gilda Radner and Lucille Ball in heaven now. She pointed out, however, that dominant culture codes such figures as exceptions - thus reinforcing the prevailing notions about women's abilities.

She reminded us of the prevalent stereotype that Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern women are oppressed and downtrodden and explicated the problems that poses for American society. For example, former First Lady Laura Bush used her position to bring the plight of Afghan women to light as a way to rally the U.S. left to support the war on Afghanistan. She pointed out that in America 1 in 5 women are either raped or suffer sexual assault - from an outsider's perspective it would seem extreme, just as from a US perspective the situation in Afghanistan would seem extreme.

She brought many excellent insights to bear on race, gender and class in American and Global society, but I will stop here. The final piece which needs to be shared is that her play "Roar" will be read on stage tonight. Please join us! http://breakinggroundroar730.eventbrite.com/

The Middle East Studies Center would like to express its appreciation to the Women's Place and the Department of Theatre for bringing Ms. Shamieh on campus and organizing these events.

Ali Mazrui, Talk on "Islam in Africa's Experience: Expansion, Revival & Radicalization"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:47:00 +0000

While the Center of Islam, Mecca, is on the Arabian Peninsula and very close to Africa, scholarly attention and the media tend to focus on the Middle East and Asia in connection to the religion. Professor Mazrui eloquently re-centered its history, placing its core, not only in West Asia, but in North Africa as well.

Among other fascinating points, Dr. Mazrui shared that Major Islamic centers of theology and higher learning, AlAzhar University in Cairo, and Fez, Morocco, are in Africa, for example. Major contributors to the early history of Islam, such as Usman, the third Sunni Caliph, spent significant portion of his life in what was then Abbysinia.

He also pointed out that the Muslim population of Nigeria is actually larger than that of Egypt and is one of the largest in the world. Africans and Muslims - two groups which are not mutually exclusive, but which overlap - have commonalities in regard to global struggles for power as well.

It was a stimulating and potentially controversial talk. One of the questions at the end was whether or not he faced hostility in the past at one of his public talks. At an earlier point he had said "Nuclear weapons are not for Africans, Muslims or children under 16." He explained that when he critiqued the actions of Israel he received complaints, but that he has the highest respect for Jewish people. That helped to address the pervasive stereotype that Muslims and Jewish people are against each other.

The talk was organized by the Columbus Council on World Affairs, The Center for African Studies and the Middle East Studies Center at OSU. We are very grateful to Professor Mazrui for agreeing to come as he is in demand all around the world for such engagements.

Link to view the talk: http://livestre.am/1iJYi

Dr. Karima Korayem, Professor of AlAzhar University, Cairo, on "The Challenges Egypt is Facing During This Time of Change"

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:36:00 +0000

To give a big picture of how the revolt has been making an impact, she broke it down to the following socio-economic-political needs the country is grappling with:

Security
Economic vision
Establish democracy

Factors for lack of security: mistrust of police, and their lack of control/authority; police stations were attacked by public; police don't intervene in crime.

Economic challenge centers on unemployment. Security and economics are interrelated. Economic situation creates "criminals" people transgressing the law in order to survive, in order to feed their family. Need to unify economic vision, propose scenarios for economic development, policy to cover financial and monetary needs, to support the financial sector. Businesses needs loans, foreign investors need to feel safe to work in Egypt. In the past investors could be sued for paying lower price. Meetings between ministers and businesses, they need money, labor.

To form a sustainable democracy the needs above must be fulfilled, in addition to the following: the people need to be raised with democracy, they need to have political literacy. The country also needs strong parties and ability to transfer power.

Some of Minister Gouda's related comments:

Don't look at the Egyptian case in isolation. Pivotal country through out history. If revolution succeeds Saudi Arabia will feel it, which why they asked for Mubarak's release.

Egypt is being transformed from a state of subjects to a state of citizens. There are 85 million Egyptians who need to undergo this transformation. So far the change has been peaceful, industry still intact, agriculture still intact, tourism intact though below capacity. In comparison with other revolutions, they are doing well. For example, there has been no absolute decline in GDP in Egypt so far. The GDP fell 30% during first year after revolutiin in Poland.

Sponsors:
Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Department of Economics, Middle East Studies Center, The Women's Place, Department of History, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Moritz College of Law, International Studies Program, and Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Revolution in Egypt, Minister Addresses Political and Economic Dimensions

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:31:00 +0000

Yesterday at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Gouda Abdel-Khalek, Minister of Supply and Domestic Trade, Egypt, spoke on "The Political Economy of Egypt and the Arab Spring: International Support Packages"

He addressed the tripartate slogan of Tahrir: "Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice!" from a political/economic analytical perspective. He also identified the causal factors of the revolution as inequality and poverty. In particular unemployment: as high as 20% very high among youth, above 30%.

Thus, logical that young Egyptians spearheaded the movement. Inequality between old generation and young generation. High poverty rates is the number one factor. Not caused by corruption. Below mean level of corruption worldwide.

What kind of economic system is it?
Pendulum between free market and regulated. Question of what controls will be put in place for social justice remains. Progressive taxation has not been implemented, which would be a step toward it. Equality in terms of opportunities between the social strata. The Mubarak regime gave lip service to liberalizing the economy, but actually implemented a system of cronyism. The minister supports the integration of a regulated free market economy.

A recording of this very substantive lecture and the Q&A session afterward will be available online at: http://mershoncenter.osu.edu/events/11-12events/Jan12/egyptandthearabspringjan12.htm

Sponsors:
Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Department of Economics, Middle East Studies Center, The Women's Place, Department of History, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Moritz College of Law, International Studies Program, and Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Islam and Rationality Conference

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:05:00 +0000

The Islam and Rationality: The Impact of al-Ghazali Conference was a smashing success! We are grateful to Professor Georges Tamer for convening such a high-calibur opportunity for scholarly exchange. Allen Tuazon, graduate student in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures also deserves a huge thanks for being instrumental in pulling it all together. See paper abstracts here: http://www.islamandrationality.org/about/2011/10/23/conference-abstracts-program-poster.html

MESC was honored to be a co-sponsor, along with:

BBC Kabul Bureau Chief, Dawood Azami

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:26:00 +0000

Azami discussed the power of the media and communication technologies in swaying the hearts and minds of Afghans.

The Taliban have an edge on this front. . .

For further information about Dawood and today's talk:
oia.osu.edu/news-releases/2141-BBC-Kabul-chief-speaks-about-afghan-war.html

Turkey Trip for Scholars and Educators, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:56:00 +0000

We recently took a group of scholars and educators to Turkey, to meet with fellow scholars and educators in schools and universities, and members of the current government, and to experience the history and culture of Turkey through historic site/museum visits and meals with Turkish families. To see photos from the trip, visit: https://picasaweb.google.com/102822450394872771629/TurkeyTripForScholarsAndEducators2011?feat=directlink

Poll on Democracy in Education

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:19:00 +0000

There have been numerous polls regarding democracy in the Middle East and in the Muslim community world-wide. One aspect of democracy is education preparation for citizenship, which is one that every country must address.
For that reason we ask this question:
More on the subject of polls regarding democratic aspirations in the Middle East and Muslim community world-wide: http://wp.me/p1lo2o-o

Roger Owen on February 23, 2011 on "Presidents for Life in the Arab World"

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:59:00 +0000

Professor Owen gave additional meaning to the current developments regarding protest and regime change in the Arab world by giving historical background and cultural information such as the following image from a recent protest in Jordan:

Owen pointed out the ability amongst countries of the Arab world to share linguistically across political borders, and the way that meaning could often be gained in translation, rather than lost. His translation and description of the sign above:

"O my dear, where are you [when we need you]?”

In the slogan under the round flat bread, "my dear" (azizi) refers both to the bread and to Mohamed Bou-Azizi. He died after setting himself on fire in protest against conditions in Tunisia, sparking demonstrations that toppled President Ben-Ali.

Discussion

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:13:00 +0000

The director of the Center, Dr. Alam Payind, takes a question from an audience member during last week's Egypt Forum. Audio to be posted soon.

Egypt Forum, February 18, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (MESC) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:11:00 +0000

The forum on Egypt last Friday went very well. We plan to upload audio, and perhaps a video of the event very soon. We are very thankful for the great people involved who made it successful at the Glenn School, as well as our guest speaker, Joshua Stacher.