URGENT ALERT FROM THE ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE
This is not the work we normally do, but we were so upset by these two stories that we felt we had to act.
This week added insult to injury:
1) Insult
Dunkin Donuts ran an ad with Rachael Ray (America's favorite 30-minute cook)...Yes, that's a kaffiyeh!
We take delight in the way the kaffiyeh, a traditional peasant head covering, has become a fashionable part of U.S. pop culture. And here it was in a Dunkin Donuts ad!
But not so fast, said Michelle Malkin - a far right buffoon who often utters anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments. Malkin accused Dunkin Donuts of failing to recognize that the kaffiyeh "symbolizes murderous Palestinian jihad" and is "a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos."
Instead of weathering the silly dust-up, Dunkin Donuts folded and pulled the ad.
We cannot tolerate a situation where Michelle Malkin defines what is culturally acceptable, in effect becoming the P.C. Czarina of the far right.
Tell Dunkin Donuts to reinstate the online ad, and let them know that they should not be bullied by petty bloggers. Make your voice heard.
The head of marketing at Dunkin Donuts is Frances Allen; her e-mail address is frances.allen@dunkinbrands.com
The Dunkin Donuts Customer Care service line: (800) 859-5339. Be patient calling this number, it takes some time to get through. You can e-mail your concerns to customerservice@dunkinbrands.com or send a letter to:
Dunkin' Donuts Public Relations Department130 Royall StreetCanton, MA 02021Tel: 781.737.5200
2) Injury
Much more seriously, and even less explicably, as The New York Times and AP reported today, eight Palestinians in Gaza have lost their Fulbright scholarships.
Why?
Because the Israeli government would not let them out of Gaza, and the U.S. government never lifted a finger to help resolve the situation - and that is the most shameful aspect of the whole affair. U.S. silence.
Born of the same type of anti-Arab bias that fuels attacks on kaffiyehs in ads, this time it frustrated the purpose of one of the most prestigious U.S. public diplomacy programs, U.S. efforts to promote peace and build Palestinian civil institutions, and shattered the dreams of eight promising young people - people who are exactly what U.S. policy depends on. "I was building my hope on this scholarship," says one disappointed young woman who, according to the article in the New York Times, voluntarily remained in Gaza even as her family fled.This outrage should not be allowed to stand.
The Fulbright program provides life-changing opportunities for young men and women all over the world. Palestinians should not be denied the right to participate in this because of Israeli obstructionism, and the U.S. should not be silent in the face of this Israeli behavior.
Let the responsible parties know that you insist that the Fulbright scholarships be reinstated, and that Israel be pressed to allow the awardees to travel:
Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board ChairMs. Shirley Moore Green202.453.8189greenm@state.gov
Office of Israel and Palestinian AffairsPolitical Affairs OfficeMatthew Rosenstock(202) 647-1481rosentstockms@state.gov
Deputy Secretary of State for Visa ServicesStephen A. "Tony" Edson(202) 647-9584tonye@state.gov
This email was sent to: rayhanania@comcast.netTo unsubscribe, go to: http://www.aaiusa.org/unsubscribe/membersArab American Institute1600 K Street, NW Suite 601Washington, DC 20006www.aaiusa.org
Friday, May 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Iran sentences two Kurdish journalists to death
Kurdish activists Hiwa Butimar and Adnan Hasanpoor have had their appeals rejected and have been sentenced to death by Iran’s Revolutionary Court, the Iranian Minorities’ Human Rights Organisation (IMHRO) reported on April 18, 2008.
Sources:Iranian Minorities’ Human Rights Organisation (IMHRO)Defend InternationalTwo Kurdish journalists and activists, Hiwa Butimar (29) and Adnan Hasanpoor (27), have been sentenced to death by branch number one of the Revolutionary Court in Mariwan city, for a second time. They were found guilty of ‘moharebe’ (taking up arms against the Islamic state) and espionage.
NAAJA urges Iran to revoke the death sentences and to release the two men. We also urge Iran to remove censorship and restrictions on the Iranian media and call for more openness and freedom of speech for all Iranians.
For more information on Butimar and Hasanpoor, visit: www.MidEastYouth.com.
NAAJA
Sources:Iranian Minorities’ Human Rights Organisation (IMHRO)Defend InternationalTwo Kurdish journalists and activists, Hiwa Butimar (29) and Adnan Hasanpoor (27), have been sentenced to death by branch number one of the Revolutionary Court in Mariwan city, for a second time. They were found guilty of ‘moharebe’ (taking up arms against the Islamic state) and espionage.
NAAJA urges Iran to revoke the death sentences and to release the two men. We also urge Iran to remove censorship and restrictions on the Iranian media and call for more openness and freedom of speech for all Iranians.
For more information on Butimar and Hasanpoor, visit: www.MidEastYouth.com.
NAAJA
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Politics played in war-related contract corruption cases
Playing politics with alleged abuses in war-linked contracts
By Ray Hanania
As the public demands answers to why billions of dollars in war related contracts have been abused and mismanaged, the response from the Bush administration has been to target individual employees and ignore the clout heavy corporations themselves.
Several individual employees mostly tied to Halliburton and a sub-contractor, Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., (KBR), have been indicted, charged and convicted of corruption.
Halliburton and KBR, on the other hand, remain the Bush administrations most favored contractors, even though they have admitted to under-balling cost estimates and despite the unending circus of alleged corruption in their rank and file management. Why?
Halliburton was run by Dick Cheney before he became vice president. Many believe Cheney will benefit from the war profiteering from Halliburton’s success when Cheney retires from in January.
All of the corruption cases bristle with questions of political hypocrisy involving American foreign policy, double standards in selective prosecutions, and the apparently intentional snubbing of Federal Laws by the prosecutor.
Some of those charged appear to be political targets and scapegoats targeted to take pressure off Halliburton and KBR. If these cases are so important, why are they being handled out of the low-visibility courtrooms of Springfield, Illinois rather than on a high profile stage in Washington D.C.?
Later this month, one of the indictees will be brought to trial, not in Washington DC, but in Springfield. Jeff Mazon, a former KBR employee, is accused of defrauding the U.S. Government of $3.5 million.
The second indictee is Ali Hijazi, who legally is out of reach of American prosecution.
The Mazon and Hijazi indictments were politically timed, announced two days before the two year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. The indictments were announced March 17, 2005 by then U.S. Attorney Jan Paul Miller of the Central Illinois District. A Bush appointee, Miller joined a prestigious law firm a few months later and was replaced by Rodger Heaton.
Hijazi is a Lebanese citizen living in Kuwait. Although American law does not allow prosecutors even in downstate markets to prosecute foreign citizens living in foreign countries, Miller has refused to drop the indictment, as is common practice. The prosecution is a violation of Federal Law. There is no extradition agreement.
Three years later, Hijazi lives in a virtual imprisonment, according to filings by his Washington DC attorneys. Hijazi’s life and reputation have been nearly destroyed and his travel rights have been restricted.
There have been numerous examples of wasteful spending by employees of Halliburton, yet Halliburton continues to enjoy billions more in American military contracts. Headlines, like those generated by the case against Mazon and Hijazi, give the public the false impression that war related corruption is aggressively being pursued.
And there is so much more.
In other Halliburton/KBR related cases, many people have pled guilty and pointed fingers at others, including, allegedly, at individuals at First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting. But there hasn’t been followup.
First Kuwaiti has clout and was awarded the contract to build the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The embassy promises to be one of the most expensive ($592 million) and most fortified American embassy in the world.
In September 2007, the Associated Press reported the director of First Kuwaiti, Wadih al-Absi, also a manager for KBR, was named in grand jury testimony by another former KBR manager, Anthony J. Martin. Martin pled guilty in July to taking kickbacks in 2003 and is a witness against Mazon. Al-Absi has not been charged with any crimes and First Kuwaiti is continuing with the embassy contract.
Luck, not justice, spared First Kuwaiti.
According to the AP story, "Although the government has tried to keep First Kuwaiti's name out of public records related to Martin's case, details from his grand jury testimony were found by a defense lawyer, J. Scott Arthur of Orland Park, Ill., who included a summary in a six-page document filed last Friday in an unrelated federal court case in Rock Island, Ill. The AP downloaded a copy of the document from the court's Web site shortly before a judge ordered the document sealed and removed from the public record."
AP reported Martin told the grand jury he engaged in the kickback scheme with al-Absi. First Kuwaiti is not accused of any crimes and details of individuals involved in corruption remain under seal. Although several congressmen have already challenged millions of dollars in cost overruns in the project, First Kuwaiti officials told AP "Martin's allegations are ‘without merit’."
Some observers believe that politics is behind the embassy contract. Is the Bush Administration concerned about what Hijazi may or may not know about cost overruns and other criticism involving the new embassy?
We’ll never know these answers even if Mazon’s trial proceeds.
But what we will have are headlines that give the public the false impression that there is a serious focused effort by the Bush administration to reign in corruption and wasteful spending on war related contracts.
What we won’t have, though, is an end to the corruption. That may have to wait until Bush and Cheney finally leave office and a new prosecutor takes over.
But, can the American taxpayers afford it?
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, author and Chicago radio talk show host. He can be reached at www.RadioChicagoland.com.)
By Ray Hanania
As the public demands answers to why billions of dollars in war related contracts have been abused and mismanaged, the response from the Bush administration has been to target individual employees and ignore the clout heavy corporations themselves.
Several individual employees mostly tied to Halliburton and a sub-contractor, Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., (KBR), have been indicted, charged and convicted of corruption.
Halliburton and KBR, on the other hand, remain the Bush administrations most favored contractors, even though they have admitted to under-balling cost estimates and despite the unending circus of alleged corruption in their rank and file management. Why?
Halliburton was run by Dick Cheney before he became vice president. Many believe Cheney will benefit from the war profiteering from Halliburton’s success when Cheney retires from in January.
All of the corruption cases bristle with questions of political hypocrisy involving American foreign policy, double standards in selective prosecutions, and the apparently intentional snubbing of Federal Laws by the prosecutor.
Some of those charged appear to be political targets and scapegoats targeted to take pressure off Halliburton and KBR. If these cases are so important, why are they being handled out of the low-visibility courtrooms of Springfield, Illinois rather than on a high profile stage in Washington D.C.?
Later this month, one of the indictees will be brought to trial, not in Washington DC, but in Springfield. Jeff Mazon, a former KBR employee, is accused of defrauding the U.S. Government of $3.5 million.
The second indictee is Ali Hijazi, who legally is out of reach of American prosecution.
The Mazon and Hijazi indictments were politically timed, announced two days before the two year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. The indictments were announced March 17, 2005 by then U.S. Attorney Jan Paul Miller of the Central Illinois District. A Bush appointee, Miller joined a prestigious law firm a few months later and was replaced by Rodger Heaton.
Hijazi is a Lebanese citizen living in Kuwait. Although American law does not allow prosecutors even in downstate markets to prosecute foreign citizens living in foreign countries, Miller has refused to drop the indictment, as is common practice. The prosecution is a violation of Federal Law. There is no extradition agreement.
Three years later, Hijazi lives in a virtual imprisonment, according to filings by his Washington DC attorneys. Hijazi’s life and reputation have been nearly destroyed and his travel rights have been restricted.
There have been numerous examples of wasteful spending by employees of Halliburton, yet Halliburton continues to enjoy billions more in American military contracts. Headlines, like those generated by the case against Mazon and Hijazi, give the public the false impression that war related corruption is aggressively being pursued.
And there is so much more.
In other Halliburton/KBR related cases, many people have pled guilty and pointed fingers at others, including, allegedly, at individuals at First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting. But there hasn’t been followup.
First Kuwaiti has clout and was awarded the contract to build the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The embassy promises to be one of the most expensive ($592 million) and most fortified American embassy in the world.
In September 2007, the Associated Press reported the director of First Kuwaiti, Wadih al-Absi, also a manager for KBR, was named in grand jury testimony by another former KBR manager, Anthony J. Martin. Martin pled guilty in July to taking kickbacks in 2003 and is a witness against Mazon. Al-Absi has not been charged with any crimes and First Kuwaiti is continuing with the embassy contract.
Luck, not justice, spared First Kuwaiti.
According to the AP story, "Although the government has tried to keep First Kuwaiti's name out of public records related to Martin's case, details from his grand jury testimony were found by a defense lawyer, J. Scott Arthur of Orland Park, Ill., who included a summary in a six-page document filed last Friday in an unrelated federal court case in Rock Island, Ill. The AP downloaded a copy of the document from the court's Web site shortly before a judge ordered the document sealed and removed from the public record."
AP reported Martin told the grand jury he engaged in the kickback scheme with al-Absi. First Kuwaiti is not accused of any crimes and details of individuals involved in corruption remain under seal. Although several congressmen have already challenged millions of dollars in cost overruns in the project, First Kuwaiti officials told AP "Martin's allegations are ‘without merit’."
Some observers believe that politics is behind the embassy contract. Is the Bush Administration concerned about what Hijazi may or may not know about cost overruns and other criticism involving the new embassy?
We’ll never know these answers even if Mazon’s trial proceeds.
But what we will have are headlines that give the public the false impression that there is a serious focused effort by the Bush administration to reign in corruption and wasteful spending on war related contracts.
What we won’t have, though, is an end to the corruption. That may have to wait until Bush and Cheney finally leave office and a new prosecutor takes over.
But, can the American taxpayers afford it?
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, author and Chicago radio talk show host. He can be reached at www.RadioChicagoland.com.)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Vermont Academy offers scholarships to Arab students seeking to improve Arabic language skills
The Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy is offering scholarships to students of Arabic heritage who want to continue and improve their knowledge of Arabic. We offer a four-week, residential, Arabic immersion summer camp in Vermont or California. See the MMLA website http://www.mmla.middlebury.edu
David Toomey
___________________
David C. Toomey, Ph.D.
Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy
72 South Main Street, Suite 350
White River Junction, VT 0500
1802.296.2459
www.mmla@middlebury.edu
mmla.info@middlebury.edu
David Toomey
___________________
David C. Toomey, Ph.D.
Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy
72 South Main Street, Suite 350
White River Junction, VT 0500
1802.296.2459
www.mmla@middlebury.edu
mmla.info@middlebury.edu
Sunday, March 16, 2008
AAI offers internships for summer 2008
Want to be part of the most exciting election of today's generation?
The Arab American Institute is pleased to announce our 2008 summer/fall paid Field Organizing Internships. This is a great opportunity for rising juniors, seniors, grad students or recent graduates who are interested in community organizing and voter mobilization. Interns will be provided with extensive preparation and guidance during an all-expenses-paid training in Washington, DC at the end of May and will be a part of AAI's "Our Voice. Our Future: Yalla Vote 2008" campaign. Positions are available in six states: New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, California and Florida. Interns will gain a full understanding of the Arab American community and will have invaluable experience with ethnic outreach. The experience--exposure, networking with other field organizers, and planning political events--will prepare interns for work in almost any sector!
If you are interested, or you know a passionate politico in the making, please get in touch or forward this announcement on to a prospective intern.
For more information on the internships and how to apply, please visit:
http://www.aaiusa.org/foundation/154/student-resource-center Applications are due by April 16, 2008. Have you signed the Yalla Vote 2008 National Petition yet? Sign the Arab American petition online and make your voice heard this election year. We will deliver the petition and accompanying signatures to the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees at their parties' nominating conventions at the end of the summer.
Sign online:http://www.aaiusa.org/page/s/YallaVote2008Pet
The Arab American Institute is pleased to announce our 2008 summer/fall paid Field Organizing Internships. This is a great opportunity for rising juniors, seniors, grad students or recent graduates who are interested in community organizing and voter mobilization. Interns will be provided with extensive preparation and guidance during an all-expenses-paid training in Washington, DC at the end of May and will be a part of AAI's "Our Voice. Our Future: Yalla Vote 2008" campaign. Positions are available in six states: New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, California and Florida. Interns will gain a full understanding of the Arab American community and will have invaluable experience with ethnic outreach. The experience--exposure, networking with other field organizers, and planning political events--will prepare interns for work in almost any sector!
If you are interested, or you know a passionate politico in the making, please get in touch or forward this announcement on to a prospective intern.
For more information on the internships and how to apply, please visit:
http://www.aaiusa.org/foundation/154/student-resource-center Applications are due by April 16, 2008. Have you signed the Yalla Vote 2008 National Petition yet? Sign the Arab American petition online and make your voice heard this election year. We will deliver the petition and accompanying signatures to the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees at their parties' nominating conventions at the end of the summer.
Sign online:http://www.aaiusa.org/page/s/YallaVote2008Pet
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
ALO Hayati Magazine now offered on major airlines
ALO® MAGAZINE lifts
off with major Airlines
Amercia’s top Middle Eastern lifestyle magazine strikes a deal with Airlines bringing readership to 1.2 million!
Northridge, CALIFORNIA – March 10, 2008 – ALO magazine, the top magazine connecting cultures from East to West through lifestyle living, has proudly formed an alliance with two major airlines bringing its readership to 1.2 million.
A breakthrough publication in cultural unity, diversity, and understanding, ALO takes charge of advancing its mission through a new distribution agreement with Delta Airlines and Kuwait Airways, in New York, Boston, Seattle, Washington DC airports. This expansion brings ALO into VIP club rooms, shuttle services and on board international major airlines.
“Our international and national outreach is rewarding each day as we continue our mission of delivering the highest standards of publishing for Middle Eastern Americans.” says Wafa Kanan, publisher. “We are pleased with this airlines distribution as it confirms the needs and stamps the vision of cultural understanding in corporate America. Pioneering in ethnic marketing, we see even greater distribution is on the horizon.”
Delta Air Lines operates worldwide destinations and is the leader across the Atlantic, Latin America and the Caribbean while Kuwait Airways has proven itself all over the world by not limiting itself to the Middle East and covering the missing links in the Middle East that other international airlines often do not cover.
Now with an accrued readership of 1.2 million, ALO is gaining an increased level of awareness, broadening its reach to all existing forms of lifestyles across cultures and communities.
About ALO Hayati magazine
As America’s Top Middle Eastern Lifestyle magazine, ALO is an indispensable lifestyle guide, cultural reference and source of entertainment for a highly influential audience. ALO attracts elite lifestyle enthusiasts who want to expand, explore and experience the richness of the Middle Eastern culture.
With an insider's eye toward the unique aspects of this dynamic and diverse worldwide community, we cover the finest it has to offer in the worlds of heritage, beauty, culture, social issues, dining, art, entertainment, fashion, interior design, nightlife, philanthropy, business, sports and travel.
ALO is available by subscription, at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores nationwide and published by Unique Image, Inc.
off with major Airlines
Amercia’s top Middle Eastern lifestyle magazine strikes a deal with Airlines bringing readership to 1.2 million!
Northridge, CALIFORNIA – March 10, 2008 – ALO magazine, the top magazine connecting cultures from East to West through lifestyle living, has proudly formed an alliance with two major airlines bringing its readership to 1.2 million.
A breakthrough publication in cultural unity, diversity, and understanding, ALO takes charge of advancing its mission through a new distribution agreement with Delta Airlines and Kuwait Airways, in New York, Boston, Seattle, Washington DC airports. This expansion brings ALO into VIP club rooms, shuttle services and on board international major airlines.
“Our international and national outreach is rewarding each day as we continue our mission of delivering the highest standards of publishing for Middle Eastern Americans.” says Wafa Kanan, publisher. “We are pleased with this airlines distribution as it confirms the needs and stamps the vision of cultural understanding in corporate America. Pioneering in ethnic marketing, we see even greater distribution is on the horizon.”
Delta Air Lines operates worldwide destinations and is the leader across the Atlantic, Latin America and the Caribbean while Kuwait Airways has proven itself all over the world by not limiting itself to the Middle East and covering the missing links in the Middle East that other international airlines often do not cover.
Now with an accrued readership of 1.2 million, ALO is gaining an increased level of awareness, broadening its reach to all existing forms of lifestyles across cultures and communities.
About ALO Hayati magazine
As America’s Top Middle Eastern Lifestyle magazine, ALO is an indispensable lifestyle guide, cultural reference and source of entertainment for a highly influential audience. ALO attracts elite lifestyle enthusiasts who want to expand, explore and experience the richness of the Middle Eastern culture.
With an insider's eye toward the unique aspects of this dynamic and diverse worldwide community, we cover the finest it has to offer in the worlds of heritage, beauty, culture, social issues, dining, art, entertainment, fashion, interior design, nightlife, philanthropy, business, sports and travel.
ALO is available by subscription, at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores nationwide and published by Unique Image, Inc.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Censure Congressman Steve King over hateful anti-Muslim/Obama comments
Don't Let Congressman Steve King Off the Hook--Call Your Member of Congress and Ask for a Formal Censure
Last Friday, Iowa Congressman Steve King (R) told the Daily Reporter in Spencer, Iowa, "The radical Islamists, the al-Qaida ... would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror" if Barack Obama were elected president. He added, "His middle name does matter. It matters because they read a meaning into that."
Do not let Congressman King--Ranking Member of House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law--off the hook for making these bigoted and inflammatory statements! Call your member of Congress and express your belief that King should be formally censured by Congress. Click here to visit the AAI website and find out who your representative is, and how to contact him or her.
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper if you believe that King should not be awarded a pass by his colleagues, given his stature and the nature of his rhetoric. Click here to read the initial Associated Press story on King's comments.
If you need help taking action, please contact Leigh O'Neill, AAI Government Relations and Policy Analyst, at 202-429-9210.
Join AAI President James Zogby's eloquent call for action on the Huffington Post (below) and King's formal censure by Congress:Congress Should Censure Representative Steve King
Congressman Steve King's (R-IA) comments regarding the "joy" that a Barack Obama presidency would bring to "radical Islamists" are despicable, but they do not stand alone in two important respects. On the one hand, they echo outrageous comments that have become commonplace among right-wing commentators and radio talk show hosts. More disturbingly, they reflect a pattern of bizarre comments made by Congressman King on too many instances in the past.
King once dismissed the shameful horrors of Abu Ghraib as mere "hazing;" he advocated treating "illegals" like "livestock;" and even once denounced efforts to give revolutionary war hero General Pulaski posthumous citizenship as being akin to "amnesty."
Some have called for King to apologize, and others have called for Senator McCain to repudiate his views. These should be done, but they are not enough. This situation should be seen as being beyond partisanship and politics.
King is not merely some quack with a loose and tasteless mouth, venting his venom on a radio show, he is the Ranking Member of House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law. His words matter.If a member of parliament in a foreign country were to have made equally despicable and bigoted comments, we would be right to demand that action be taken against that individual. King must be held accountable by his colleagues for his remarks, which send a dangerous message to the world. He should be formally censured by the Congress, so as to make it clear that remarks such as these are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Last Friday, Iowa Congressman Steve King (R) told the Daily Reporter in Spencer, Iowa, "The radical Islamists, the al-Qaida ... would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror" if Barack Obama were elected president. He added, "His middle name does matter. It matters because they read a meaning into that."
Do not let Congressman King--Ranking Member of House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law--off the hook for making these bigoted and inflammatory statements! Call your member of Congress and express your belief that King should be formally censured by Congress. Click here to visit the AAI website and find out who your representative is, and how to contact him or her.
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper if you believe that King should not be awarded a pass by his colleagues, given his stature and the nature of his rhetoric. Click here to read the initial Associated Press story on King's comments.
If you need help taking action, please contact Leigh O'Neill, AAI Government Relations and Policy Analyst, at 202-429-9210.
Join AAI President James Zogby's eloquent call for action on the Huffington Post (below) and King's formal censure by Congress:Congress Should Censure Representative Steve King
Congressman Steve King's (R-IA) comments regarding the "joy" that a Barack Obama presidency would bring to "radical Islamists" are despicable, but they do not stand alone in two important respects. On the one hand, they echo outrageous comments that have become commonplace among right-wing commentators and radio talk show hosts. More disturbingly, they reflect a pattern of bizarre comments made by Congressman King on too many instances in the past.
King once dismissed the shameful horrors of Abu Ghraib as mere "hazing;" he advocated treating "illegals" like "livestock;" and even once denounced efforts to give revolutionary war hero General Pulaski posthumous citizenship as being akin to "amnesty."
Some have called for King to apologize, and others have called for Senator McCain to repudiate his views. These should be done, but they are not enough. This situation should be seen as being beyond partisanship and politics.
King is not merely some quack with a loose and tasteless mouth, venting his venom on a radio show, he is the Ranking Member of House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law. His words matter.If a member of parliament in a foreign country were to have made equally despicable and bigoted comments, we would be right to demand that action be taken against that individual. King must be held accountable by his colleagues for his remarks, which send a dangerous message to the world. He should be formally censured by the Congress, so as to make it clear that remarks such as these are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Monday, March 10, 2008
AAI Condemns Congressman's Anti-Muslim Remarks, Calls on Congressional Leaders to Censure Rep. King
AAI Condemns Congressman's Anti-Muslim Remarks, Calls on Congressional Leaders to Censure Rep. King
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDirector of Communications: Christina Zola, 202-429-9210, ext. 21 or 202-494-9859
AAI Condemns Congressman's Anti-Muslim Remarks, Calls on Congressional Leaders to Censure Rep. KingWASHINGTON - March 10, 2008 - The Arab American Institute (AAI) condemns remarks made by Congressman Steve King (R-IA) linking Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) to al-Qaeda and Islamist extremism and suggesting that the senator's election as U.S. President would jeopardize national security. AAI calls on Congressional leadership to formally censure these comments. AAI is deeply troubled that Senator Obama's name continues to raise suspicions about his religious affiliation and is especially concerned about how commonplace and acceptable it has become to defame and degrade Islam. Any notion that questions the fitness of any loyal American to elected office because of race or religion is unacceptable and must be addressed.
Congressman Steve King (R-IA) said this weekend that "if [Obama] is elected president, then the radical Islamists and their supporters will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11 because they will declare victory in this War on Terror." The congressman went on to say that "[Obama's] middle name does matter...because they read a meaning into that in the rest of the world...They will be dancing in the streets because of his middle name [and] because of who his father was and because of his posture that says: pull out of the Middle East and pull out of this conflict." These disparaging and dishonest comments by Congressman King only demonstrate how anti-Muslim rhetoric and general Islamophobia have come to be accepted in our national discourse since September 11, 2001.
"We believe that Congressman King's comments and behavior go beyond politics and partisanship and must be addressed by Congress as a whole," said AAI President Dr. James Zogby. "It is outrageous when a radio talk show host spews such venom, but it is much worse and sends a dangerous message when such statements come from the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law. He must be held accountable by his colleagues."
Founded in 1985, the Arab American Institute (AAI) is a nonprofit organization committed to the civic and political empowerment of Americans of Arab descent. AAI provides policy, research and public affairs services to support a broad range of community activities.
For more information on AAI, please visit www.aaiusa.org.
1600 K Street, NW, Suite 601 Washington, DC 20006
phone (202) 429-9210 fax (202) 429-9214
http://www.aaiusa.org aai@aaiusa.org
http://www.aaiusa.org/unsubscribe/media
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDirector of Communications: Christina Zola, 202-429-9210, ext. 21 or 202-494-9859
AAI Condemns Congressman's Anti-Muslim Remarks, Calls on Congressional Leaders to Censure Rep. KingWASHINGTON - March 10, 2008 - The Arab American Institute (AAI) condemns remarks made by Congressman Steve King (R-IA) linking Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) to al-Qaeda and Islamist extremism and suggesting that the senator's election as U.S. President would jeopardize national security. AAI calls on Congressional leadership to formally censure these comments. AAI is deeply troubled that Senator Obama's name continues to raise suspicions about his religious affiliation and is especially concerned about how commonplace and acceptable it has become to defame and degrade Islam. Any notion that questions the fitness of any loyal American to elected office because of race or religion is unacceptable and must be addressed.
Congressman Steve King (R-IA) said this weekend that "if [Obama] is elected president, then the radical Islamists and their supporters will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11 because they will declare victory in this War on Terror." The congressman went on to say that "[Obama's] middle name does matter...because they read a meaning into that in the rest of the world...They will be dancing in the streets because of his middle name [and] because of who his father was and because of his posture that says: pull out of the Middle East and pull out of this conflict." These disparaging and dishonest comments by Congressman King only demonstrate how anti-Muslim rhetoric and general Islamophobia have come to be accepted in our national discourse since September 11, 2001.
"We believe that Congressman King's comments and behavior go beyond politics and partisanship and must be addressed by Congress as a whole," said AAI President Dr. James Zogby. "It is outrageous when a radio talk show host spews such venom, but it is much worse and sends a dangerous message when such statements come from the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law. He must be held accountable by his colleagues."
Founded in 1985, the Arab American Institute (AAI) is a nonprofit organization committed to the civic and political empowerment of Americans of Arab descent. AAI provides policy, research and public affairs services to support a broad range of community activities.
For more information on AAI, please visit www.aaiusa.org.
1600 K Street, NW, Suite 601 Washington, DC 20006
phone (202) 429-9210 fax (202) 429-9214
http://www.aaiusa.org aai@aaiusa.org
http://www.aaiusa.org/unsubscribe/media
Thursday, February 14, 2008
NPR radio seeks interns
Chicago Public Radio is seeking journalism interns for spring and summer terms. Internships are three or six months depending on your area of focus. You will work closely with reporters and producers to cover a wide range of local issues: from Art’s and culture, religion, urban issues, and city politics with hands on experience in a major market news room. Internships are open to juniors, seniors, grad students and recent alumni. Print backgrounds welcome.
Visit www.chicagopublicradio.org/internships for more info.
Visit www.chicagopublicradio.org/internships for more info.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Israel Supreme Court endorses violations of international law in Gaza Strip
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
30 January 2008
In response to Supreme Court’s rejection of petition against fuel and electricity cuts:
Gisha and Adalah: “This decision sets a dangerous legal precedent that allows Israel to continue to violate the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and deprive them of basic humanitarian needs, in violation of international law.”
Today, 30 January 2008, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a petition by ten Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations to stop Israel from cutting supplies of fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip, as part of a governmental decision authorizing punitive measures against the population of Gaza. The petitioners had argued that cutting fuel and electricity supplies constitutes forbidden collective punishment and violates the prohibition in international law against deliberately targeting civilians. The fuel cuts, which have forced Gaza’s only power plant to reduce production of electricity, have severely disrupted the functioning of vital humanitarian services, including hospitals, water wells, and sewage pumps.
The court’s decision allows the state to proceed with its plan to cut electricity sold to Gaza directly by Israel’s Electric Company from 7 February 2008. Gaza is already experiencing a 20% electricity deficit, which is forcing rolling blackouts in hospitals and other vital humanitarian institutions. The petitioners submitted extensive documentation showing that cuts in supplies of electricity and the industrial diesel needed to produce electricity will necessarily mean longer and more frequent power outages across Gaza, from which vital humanitarian institutions will not be spared.
At the last hearing held on Sunday, 27 January 2008, utility officials from Gaza were prevented from attending the hearing, in violation of the state’s commitment to the court. The state offered oral testimony by a military official, unsubstantiated by affidavit as required, claiming that the cuts would not harm humanitarian needs.
According to Sari Bashi, Director of Gisha: “This is an unprecedented decision authorizing collective punishment in its most blatant form. The court ruling relies on unsubstantiated declarations by the military and ignores the indisputable and well-documented evidence of harm to civilians caused by the fuel and electricity cuts – with no legally valid justification.”
According to Hassan Jabareen, General Director of Adalah: “According to the Supreme Court’s decision, it is permitted to harm Palestinian civilians and create a humanitarian crisis for political reasons. This constitutes a war crime under international criminal law.”
For more information: Noga Eitan, Gisha spokeswoman: 0547-533644, Sari Bashi, Gisha Director, 054-8172103; Adalah Attorney Fatmeh El-’Ajou: 050-907-2729; Rina Rosenberg, International Media, Adalah: 052-849-8807, or 04-950-1610, ext. 118.
Background
Currently, the Gaza Strip is suffering from a 20% deficit in electricity. During the winter, the demand for electricity in the Gaza Strip is approximately 240 mega-watts or more per day, depending on the weather. Currently, Gaza is receiving 120 mega-watts sold by Israel and 17 megawatts supplied by Egypt to Rafah. Gaza’s power plant is able to produce 80 megawatts per day, but the restrictions imposed on the supply of industrial diesel sold to Gaza limits the power plant to generating just 55 megawatts. As a result, the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO) is unable to provide the electricity needed to operate hospitals, water pumps and schools, and so institutes rolling blackouts across main lines. Some humanitarian institutions have back-up generators, but the restrictions on the supply of diesel have disrupted the operation of the generators, too.
Israel controls Gaza’s borders and does not allow Gazans to purchase fuel except via Israeli-controlled crossings.
The petition was submitted on 28 October 2007, the day that Israel cut supplies of petrol (benzene), diesel, and industrial diesel to Gaza. Residents of Gaza purchase fuel from an Israeli company and receive it via Israeli-controlled crossings.
A prior decision of the Supreme Court temporarily prevented Israel from cutting supplies of electricity sold to Gaza by Israel’s Electric Company. Today’s court decision allows the direct electricity cuts to be implemented on 7 February 2008.
The organizations which petitioned the Supreme Court are:
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement
HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights-Gaza
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
Al–Haq
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
-- Julia FitzpatrickHuman Rights Advocacy FellowAdalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in IsraelP.O. Box 510Shafa'amr 20200, IsraelTel: +972-4-950-1610 ext. 117Fax: +972-4-950-3140E-mail: julia@adalah.org
www.adalah.org/eng/index.php
PRESS RELEASE
30 January 2008
In response to Supreme Court’s rejection of petition against fuel and electricity cuts:
Gisha and Adalah: “This decision sets a dangerous legal precedent that allows Israel to continue to violate the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and deprive them of basic humanitarian needs, in violation of international law.”
Today, 30 January 2008, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a petition by ten Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations to stop Israel from cutting supplies of fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip, as part of a governmental decision authorizing punitive measures against the population of Gaza. The petitioners had argued that cutting fuel and electricity supplies constitutes forbidden collective punishment and violates the prohibition in international law against deliberately targeting civilians. The fuel cuts, which have forced Gaza’s only power plant to reduce production of electricity, have severely disrupted the functioning of vital humanitarian services, including hospitals, water wells, and sewage pumps.
The court’s decision allows the state to proceed with its plan to cut electricity sold to Gaza directly by Israel’s Electric Company from 7 February 2008. Gaza is already experiencing a 20% electricity deficit, which is forcing rolling blackouts in hospitals and other vital humanitarian institutions. The petitioners submitted extensive documentation showing that cuts in supplies of electricity and the industrial diesel needed to produce electricity will necessarily mean longer and more frequent power outages across Gaza, from which vital humanitarian institutions will not be spared.
At the last hearing held on Sunday, 27 January 2008, utility officials from Gaza were prevented from attending the hearing, in violation of the state’s commitment to the court. The state offered oral testimony by a military official, unsubstantiated by affidavit as required, claiming that the cuts would not harm humanitarian needs.
According to Sari Bashi, Director of Gisha: “This is an unprecedented decision authorizing collective punishment in its most blatant form. The court ruling relies on unsubstantiated declarations by the military and ignores the indisputable and well-documented evidence of harm to civilians caused by the fuel and electricity cuts – with no legally valid justification.”
According to Hassan Jabareen, General Director of Adalah: “According to the Supreme Court’s decision, it is permitted to harm Palestinian civilians and create a humanitarian crisis for political reasons. This constitutes a war crime under international criminal law.”
For more information: Noga Eitan, Gisha spokeswoman: 0547-533644, Sari Bashi, Gisha Director, 054-8172103; Adalah Attorney Fatmeh El-’Ajou: 050-907-2729; Rina Rosenberg, International Media, Adalah: 052-849-8807, or 04-950-1610, ext. 118.
Background
Currently, the Gaza Strip is suffering from a 20% deficit in electricity. During the winter, the demand for electricity in the Gaza Strip is approximately 240 mega-watts or more per day, depending on the weather. Currently, Gaza is receiving 120 mega-watts sold by Israel and 17 megawatts supplied by Egypt to Rafah. Gaza’s power plant is able to produce 80 megawatts per day, but the restrictions imposed on the supply of industrial diesel sold to Gaza limits the power plant to generating just 55 megawatts. As a result, the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO) is unable to provide the electricity needed to operate hospitals, water pumps and schools, and so institutes rolling blackouts across main lines. Some humanitarian institutions have back-up generators, but the restrictions on the supply of diesel have disrupted the operation of the generators, too.
Israel controls Gaza’s borders and does not allow Gazans to purchase fuel except via Israeli-controlled crossings.
The petition was submitted on 28 October 2007, the day that Israel cut supplies of petrol (benzene), diesel, and industrial diesel to Gaza. Residents of Gaza purchase fuel from an Israeli company and receive it via Israeli-controlled crossings.
A prior decision of the Supreme Court temporarily prevented Israel from cutting supplies of electricity sold to Gaza by Israel’s Electric Company. Today’s court decision allows the direct electricity cuts to be implemented on 7 February 2008.
The organizations which petitioned the Supreme Court are:
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement
HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights-Gaza
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
Al–Haq
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
-- Julia FitzpatrickHuman Rights Advocacy FellowAdalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in IsraelP.O. Box 510Shafa'amr 20200, IsraelTel: +972-4-950-1610 ext. 117Fax: +972-4-950-3140E-mail: julia@adalah.org
www.adalah.org/eng/index.php
Chicago Area Arab American business leaders profiled
Big Dreams Turning Into Big Realities
Four Chicago based businessmen doing their part to change Chicago
Chicago is a big city with big dreams and its residents are turning their dreams into reality everyday. These four Arab-American businessmen are of the top business men in the country. What do they all have in common? They are changing the world as we know it with their relentless motivation and drive.
Talat M. Othman- Mr. Talat Othman is the President of Arab-American Business & Professional Association in Chicago. The AABPA is a non-profit, cooperative, voluntary-joined organization of business and professional Arab-Americans, organized to assist its members in dealing with mutual business and professional concerns. The purpose of the Association is to promote the common interests of the Arab-American Business and Professional community. Both Mayor Daley and Governor Blagojevich serve as Honorary Chairman in this association.
Ahmed Abdelaziz- After his hard work and perseverance, Ahmed Abdelaziz is now the successful owner and CEO of Omarica Builders, Inc. After coming to the US in 1980, Ahmed worked his way in the hotel business in Chicago and Boston to the management level before establishing his presence on Wall Street in 1987. After trading for several firms in the financial markets, he decided to diversify his experience by going into real estate development. His solid success in this field led him to expand his contracting services to the public sector. With Ahmed’s his extraordinary talents as a real-estate developer Omarica not only designs and builds dream homes for his clients but has also branched out into hotel renovations, including prominent, upscale hotels across the nation.
Dr. Naser Rustom- Beginning as just a family practitioner Dr. Naser Rustom has come along way to be one of the most prominent and successful businessmen in the Chicagoland area. Dr. Rustom not only has expanded his practice into several offices across the city, but also has three full diagnostic facilities and a surgical center all to provide the top medical care to Chicagoans. However, his day does not end there; instead Dr. Rustom goes to his other, more entertaining business venture, Alhambra Palace Restaurant in which he recently spent several million dollars building. There Dr. Rustom provides an authentic cultural getaway featuring Moroccan cuisine and his hand-picked array of live entertainment including belly dancing, flamenco, salsa and jazz.
Ali Al-Arabi- As the President of Vanguards for Human Rights and Freedom Mr. Ali Al-Arabi organizes meetings to address issues of bigotry and discrimination between victims, support groups and government agencies. Al-Arabi organized the meeting with Mayor McLaughlin and Police Chief McCarthy and the mayor vowed to create several community liaisons to address Arab American concerns.
For media inquiries please contact:
Lina Khalil
Account Executive
Empower PR
O: 312.255.4017
C: 312.479.2162
Lkhalil@Empowerpr.com
Four Chicago based businessmen doing their part to change Chicago
Chicago is a big city with big dreams and its residents are turning their dreams into reality everyday. These four Arab-American businessmen are of the top business men in the country. What do they all have in common? They are changing the world as we know it with their relentless motivation and drive.
Talat M. Othman- Mr. Talat Othman is the President of Arab-American Business & Professional Association in Chicago. The AABPA is a non-profit, cooperative, voluntary-joined organization of business and professional Arab-Americans, organized to assist its members in dealing with mutual business and professional concerns. The purpose of the Association is to promote the common interests of the Arab-American Business and Professional community. Both Mayor Daley and Governor Blagojevich serve as Honorary Chairman in this association.
Ahmed Abdelaziz- After his hard work and perseverance, Ahmed Abdelaziz is now the successful owner and CEO of Omarica Builders, Inc. After coming to the US in 1980, Ahmed worked his way in the hotel business in Chicago and Boston to the management level before establishing his presence on Wall Street in 1987. After trading for several firms in the financial markets, he decided to diversify his experience by going into real estate development. His solid success in this field led him to expand his contracting services to the public sector. With Ahmed’s his extraordinary talents as a real-estate developer Omarica not only designs and builds dream homes for his clients but has also branched out into hotel renovations, including prominent, upscale hotels across the nation.
Dr. Naser Rustom- Beginning as just a family practitioner Dr. Naser Rustom has come along way to be one of the most prominent and successful businessmen in the Chicagoland area. Dr. Rustom not only has expanded his practice into several offices across the city, but also has three full diagnostic facilities and a surgical center all to provide the top medical care to Chicagoans. However, his day does not end there; instead Dr. Rustom goes to his other, more entertaining business venture, Alhambra Palace Restaurant in which he recently spent several million dollars building. There Dr. Rustom provides an authentic cultural getaway featuring Moroccan cuisine and his hand-picked array of live entertainment including belly dancing, flamenco, salsa and jazz.
Ali Al-Arabi- As the President of Vanguards for Human Rights and Freedom Mr. Ali Al-Arabi organizes meetings to address issues of bigotry and discrimination between victims, support groups and government agencies. Al-Arabi organized the meeting with Mayor McLaughlin and Police Chief McCarthy and the mayor vowed to create several community liaisons to address Arab American concerns.
For media inquiries please contact:
Lina Khalil
Account Executive
Empower PR
O: 312.255.4017
C: 312.479.2162
Lkhalil@Empowerpr.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
New online interview program Point to Point with Ray Hanania
Veteran and award winning journalist and author Ray Hanania launches a new online based interview program called "Point to Point."
The show is hosted exclusively by YallaTunes.com (and YallaNews.com) and also featured by the National Arab American Times Newspaper (www.AATimesNews.com).The program will bring guests from around the world together for 10 minute interviews using the Internet and online video.
Hanania, based in Chicago, will speak with guests remotely. The program features two separate "windows" with the guests in one window and Hanania in the other, using the latest in online business video technology.
The inaugural show features Palestinian-Israeli dialogue facillitators Len and Libby Traubman, who are based in San Francisco, and was taped Jan. 28, 2008. The Traubman's, whose web site is http://traubman.igc.org/dg-prog.htm, have been involved in "living room dialogue groups" for two decades or more. In the interview, they offer instruction and advice on how to conduct successful peace dialogues.
The fiirst show features very good video, and the audio is good but will be improved in future shows. Interviews often depend on the quality of the audio and video equipment used by guests, the speed of their computers, and the quality of the Internet. All kinds of factors impact the final product, which then must be rendered and edited into an online broadcast quality feature.
The shows are made possible by YallaTunes.com, a new and increasingly popular online social networking web site that brings together Arabs and Muslims and anyone interested in Middle East news, music and videos.# # #
The show is hosted exclusively by YallaTunes.com (and YallaNews.com) and also featured by the National Arab American Times Newspaper (www.AATimesNews.com).The program will bring guests from around the world together for 10 minute interviews using the Internet and online video.
Hanania, based in Chicago, will speak with guests remotely. The program features two separate "windows" with the guests in one window and Hanania in the other, using the latest in online business video technology.
The inaugural show features Palestinian-Israeli dialogue facillitators Len and Libby Traubman, who are based in San Francisco, and was taped Jan. 28, 2008. The Traubman's, whose web site is http://traubman.igc.org/dg-prog.htm, have been involved in "living room dialogue groups" for two decades or more. In the interview, they offer instruction and advice on how to conduct successful peace dialogues.
The fiirst show features very good video, and the audio is good but will be improved in future shows. Interviews often depend on the quality of the audio and video equipment used by guests, the speed of their computers, and the quality of the Internet. All kinds of factors impact the final product, which then must be rendered and edited into an online broadcast quality feature.
The shows are made possible by YallaTunes.com, a new and increasingly popular online social networking web site that brings together Arabs and Muslims and anyone interested in Middle East news, music and videos.# # #
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Arab American Writers Group writer hired by mainstream American newspaper
I am happy to inform you that on Thursday, January 24th, The Record (formerly known as The Bergen Record, New Jersey's second largest daily newspaper and the 60th in the nation) will be launching my new weekly opinion column! The column will be appear every Thursday.
I will be using the column to express views and analysis on issues related to both New Jersey, and the issues facing our international society as well. This is a major breakthrough for an important perspective which I and others feel is severely lacking in the public discourse. I hope that ALL OF YOU will do what you can to support this new development in balanced media.
A showing of support and appreciation for this new column can include (1) obtaining a subscription to The Record for those of you who live in North Jersey, stating that you are subscribing in order to read Ahmed Soliman's column; (2) writing letters to the editor in response to the column's I write and subsequently showing a solid following and increased discourse; and (3) for all of you, who live in North Jersey and outside that area as well, to hit the online version fo the column to show a demand for the perspective it provides (webpage address forthcoming).
More updates to come. Thanking you in advance and reminding you to feel free to share your ideas and perspectives with me: it might make it to the pages of a newspaper that has hundreds of thousands of readers.
Your friend,
Ahmed Soliman
I will be using the column to express views and analysis on issues related to both New Jersey, and the issues facing our international society as well. This is a major breakthrough for an important perspective which I and others feel is severely lacking in the public discourse. I hope that ALL OF YOU will do what you can to support this new development in balanced media.
A showing of support and appreciation for this new column can include (1) obtaining a subscription to The Record for those of you who live in North Jersey, stating that you are subscribing in order to read Ahmed Soliman's column; (2) writing letters to the editor in response to the column's I write and subsequently showing a solid following and increased discourse; and (3) for all of you, who live in North Jersey and outside that area as well, to hit the online version fo the column to show a demand for the perspective it provides (webpage address forthcoming).
More updates to come. Thanking you in advance and reminding you to feel free to share your ideas and perspectives with me: it might make it to the pages of a newspaper that has hundreds of thousands of readers.
Your friend,
Ahmed Soliman
Friday, December 28, 2007
Neiman Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers
The Nieman Foundation would greatly appreciate it if you would encourage NAAJA members to apply for the 2008 Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers. The award, which carries a $10,000 prize, was established through gifts for an endowment by members of the Taylor family, who published The Boston Globe from 1872 to 1999. For the first time, second and third place finalists will receive $1,000 each. The purpose of the award, which is administered by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, is to encourage fairness in news coverage by America’s daily newspapers.
Nominations may be a single story, a photograph, an editorial or a commentary; a series of stories, photographs, editorials or commentaries; or a body of work by an individual journalist. Entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, Jan. 18, 2008, for work published in a U.S. daily newspaper during the previous calendar year.
Anyone may submit a nomination by sending to the address below five copies of the work and a letter explaining why the entry is an exemplary example of fairness in newspapers. The letter should also describe how the work was developed, reported and presented to readers in the context of fairness. In evaluating work, submitters should consider all aspects of the journalistic process: reporting, writing, editing, headlines, photographs and illustrations, and presentation.
Taylor Family Award for Fairness
Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
One Francis Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
For more information about the Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers, visit:
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/events/honors/taylor
Best regards,
Ellen Tuttle
**********************************************
Ellen Tuttle
Communications Officer
Nieman Foundation for Journalism
at Harvard University
617-495-2342
ellen_tuttle@harvard.edu
www.nieman.harvard.edu
Nominations may be a single story, a photograph, an editorial or a commentary; a series of stories, photographs, editorials or commentaries; or a body of work by an individual journalist. Entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, Jan. 18, 2008, for work published in a U.S. daily newspaper during the previous calendar year.
Anyone may submit a nomination by sending to the address below five copies of the work and a letter explaining why the entry is an exemplary example of fairness in newspapers. The letter should also describe how the work was developed, reported and presented to readers in the context of fairness. In evaluating work, submitters should consider all aspects of the journalistic process: reporting, writing, editing, headlines, photographs and illustrations, and presentation.
Taylor Family Award for Fairness
Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
One Francis Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
For more information about the Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers, visit:
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/events/honors/taylor
Best regards,
Ellen Tuttle
**********************************************
Ellen Tuttle
Communications Officer
Nieman Foundation for Journalism
at Harvard University
617-495-2342
ellen_tuttle@harvard.edu
www.nieman.harvard.edu
Friday, December 14, 2007
NAAJA announces 2008 Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award, Excellence in Journalism Contest
NAAJA is proud to announce the 2008 Mehdi Courage in Journalism Contest and the Excellence in Journalism Contest for Middle East, Arab American and general writing for print, TV, radio and web blogs.
The contest is open to anyone.
The deadline for submissions is Feb. 1, 2008. Winners are announced in April 2008.
Get details at: http://naaja-us.com/MehdiAwards.htm
You can't win unless you enter.
Thanks
Ray Hanania
www.NAAJA-US.com
The contest is open to anyone.
The deadline for submissions is Feb. 1, 2008. Winners are announced in April 2008.
Get details at: http://naaja-us.com/MehdiAwards.htm
You can't win unless you enter.
Thanks
Ray Hanania
www.NAAJA-US.com
Friday, November 30, 2007
Israeli-Palestinian Journalism Conference Monday Dec. 3 East Jerusalem
Israeli and Palestinian Journalism Conference
Ambassador Hotel, Sheikh Jarrah, Off Nablus Road (at the
intersection for the police department)
It is a few blocks north of the American Colony Hotel ... the number there is
541-2222
Journalists from the print media and Internet media address their experiences, your background, what you have learned about covering the Middle East, describe your beat, what you look for, what challenges you might face and how you deal with them ... any
examples of great stories, tough stories, stories you can't get to do because of barriers ... things you would like to see change, etc. (Humor is always good)
Our purpose is not to get into a political debate, but obviously, as we all know, politics is the world in the Middle East so it will surely inject itself into the discussion. But the purpose is to focus on professional journalism, and also introduce journalists together, Palestinians and Israelis.
------------------- Program ------------------
NAAJA EVENTS
SPJ-Arab Journalists
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007
Ambassador Hotel, Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem
1st Floor Conference Room
Sponsored by NAAJA, SPJ-Arab Journalists
PANEL 1: Internet Media: Strategies and Challenges facing Internet News Web and
Blog sites
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 12-2:30
- Moderator, Charley Warady, co-host, Israelisms, an online weekly audio blog of
life in Israel (Confirmed)
- Alan Abbey, Former editor, YnetNews.com, one of the most popular English
language news sites from Israel (Confirmed)
- Khaled Abou-Aker, Editor, AMIN.org, online Middle East analysis (Confirmed)
- Elisheva Cohen, MidEastYouth.com one of the highest ranked Middle East news
blogs on the Internet (Confirmed)
- Fadi Abu Sada, Director Palestine News Network, an online news agency
(Confirmed – or a representative if he is not allowed to cross from Bethlehem)
- Sherif Hedayat, standup comedian, online video producer
PANEL 2: Traditional Media: Strategies and Challenges facing coverage of the
Palestine-Israel Conflict
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 2:45-5:30
- Moderator: Ray Hanania, syndicated columnist, SPJ-Arab Journalists coordinator, and Arab Writers Group Syndicate manager.
(Confirmed)
- Steve Linde, managing editor, The Jerusalem Post, editor at Israel Radio.
Linde has worked at the Jerusalem Post for the past 10 years and 18 years at
Israel Radio. (Confirmed)
- Lisa Zilberpriver, reporter Haaretz Newspaper. (confirmed)
- Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Jerusalem Bureau (Confirmed)
- Joel Greenberg, Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune (Confirmed)
- Zaki Abu Al-Halaweh, correspondent for al-Quds Newspaper (Confirmed)
- Issa Sharbati, correspondent for al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper (Confirmed)
The event is open to the public. We encourage you to have lunch at the
Ambassador Hotel prior to the conference.
end
Ambassador Hotel, Sheikh Jarrah, Off Nablus Road (at the
intersection for the police department)
It is a few blocks north of the American Colony Hotel ... the number there is
541-2222
Journalists from the print media and Internet media address their experiences, your background, what you have learned about covering the Middle East, describe your beat, what you look for, what challenges you might face and how you deal with them ... any
examples of great stories, tough stories, stories you can't get to do because of barriers ... things you would like to see change, etc. (Humor is always good)
Our purpose is not to get into a political debate, but obviously, as we all know, politics is the world in the Middle East so it will surely inject itself into the discussion. But the purpose is to focus on professional journalism, and also introduce journalists together, Palestinians and Israelis.
------------------- Program ------------------
NAAJA EVENTS
SPJ-Arab Journalists
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007
Ambassador Hotel, Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem
1st Floor Conference Room
Sponsored by NAAJA, SPJ-Arab Journalists
PANEL 1: Internet Media: Strategies and Challenges facing Internet News Web and
Blog sites
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 12-2:30
- Moderator, Charley Warady, co-host, Israelisms, an online weekly audio blog of
life in Israel (Confirmed)
- Alan Abbey, Former editor, YnetNews.com, one of the most popular English
language news sites from Israel (Confirmed)
- Khaled Abou-Aker, Editor, AMIN.org, online Middle East analysis (Confirmed)
- Elisheva Cohen, MidEastYouth.com one of the highest ranked Middle East news
blogs on the Internet (Confirmed)
- Fadi Abu Sada, Director Palestine News Network, an online news agency
(Confirmed – or a representative if he is not allowed to cross from Bethlehem)
- Sherif Hedayat, standup comedian, online video producer
PANEL 2: Traditional Media: Strategies and Challenges facing coverage of the
Palestine-Israel Conflict
Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 2:45-5:30
- Moderator: Ray Hanania, syndicated columnist, SPJ-Arab Journalists coordinator, and Arab Writers Group Syndicate manager.
(Confirmed)
- Steve Linde, managing editor, The Jerusalem Post, editor at Israel Radio.
Linde has worked at the Jerusalem Post for the past 10 years and 18 years at
Israel Radio. (Confirmed)
- Lisa Zilberpriver, reporter Haaretz Newspaper. (confirmed)
- Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Jerusalem Bureau (Confirmed)
- Joel Greenberg, Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune (Confirmed)
- Zaki Abu Al-Halaweh, correspondent for al-Quds Newspaper (Confirmed)
- Issa Sharbati, correspondent for al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper (Confirmed)
The event is open to the public. We encourage you to have lunch at the
Ambassador Hotel prior to the conference.
end
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
CAIR Publishes Guide on Islam and Muslims
Help Improve Coverage of Islam in the U.S. Media
Sponsor 'A Journalist's Guide to Understanding Islam and Muslims'
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/13/2007) - CAIR today called on Muslims to support a major new initiative to help improve coverage of Islam in the American news media.
At a press conference in the nation's capital, CAIR said the centerpiece of its "Beyond Stereotypes" campaign will be distribution of the newly-published "American Muslims: A Journalist's Guide to Understanding Islam and Muslims" to some 40,000 media professionals nationwide.
Muslims are being asked to sponsor copies of the guide for $20 or to order hard copies for distribution to local media outlets.
SEE: Beyond Stereotypes: A CAIR Initiative to Enhance Understanding of Islam in the Media
CAIR's new guide offers journalists the tools needed to gain a better understanding of Islam and to write accurate and balanced stories about Muslims. The guide also offers background information on issues related to Islam and Muslims, best practices for reporting on the American Muslim community and definitions of terminology often used in news stories or editorials.
In challenging common misconceptions about Islam and Muslims, the guide provides an Islamic perspective on hot-button issues such as Islam and democracy, freedom of religion, women's rights, and interfaith relations.
Media professionals may request a free copy of CAIR's journalist guide through the "Beyond Stereotypes" website. (Sample pages of the guide can be viewed on the website.)
Along with distribution of the guide to editors, reporters, producers, and other journalists, CAIR is offering media relations training to Muslim communities nationwide. The "Beyond Stereotypes" website also offers tips on pro-active educational activities such as hosting media events and meeting with newspaper editorial boards.
"Because we work with media professionals on a daily basis, we know the vast majority of journalists are doing the best job they can with the information resources they have available," said CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed. "It is our duty, and that of the Muslim community, to make sure every journalist who writes about Islam or Muslims has access to accurate information."
In a statement released at today's news conference, CAIR said: "We recognize that much of the negative perception of Islam and Muslims is the result of negative actions by a tiny minority of Muslims. That minority should not be allowed to overshadow the vast majority of Muslims in this country and worldwide who reject terrorism and religious extremism."
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED:
1. SPONSOR A JOURNALIST'S GUIDE. For only $20, you can help improve coverage of Islam and Muslims in the U.S. media. Click here to sponsor a journalist's guide.
2. ORDER HARD COPIES OF THE JOURNALIST'S GUIDE for distribution to local media outlets. Click here to order a guide.
3. REQUEST MEDIA RELATIONS TRAINING for your community. Either contact a local CAIR chapter, or click here to request training or learn about other actions you can take.
end
Sponsor 'A Journalist's Guide to Understanding Islam and Muslims'
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/13/2007) - CAIR today called on Muslims to support a major new initiative to help improve coverage of Islam in the American news media.
At a press conference in the nation's capital, CAIR said the centerpiece of its "Beyond Stereotypes" campaign will be distribution of the newly-published "American Muslims: A Journalist's Guide to Understanding Islam and Muslims" to some 40,000 media professionals nationwide.
Muslims are being asked to sponsor copies of the guide for $20 or to order hard copies for distribution to local media outlets.
SEE: Beyond Stereotypes: A CAIR Initiative to Enhance Understanding of Islam in the Media
CAIR's new guide offers journalists the tools needed to gain a better understanding of Islam and to write accurate and balanced stories about Muslims. The guide also offers background information on issues related to Islam and Muslims, best practices for reporting on the American Muslim community and definitions of terminology often used in news stories or editorials.
In challenging common misconceptions about Islam and Muslims, the guide provides an Islamic perspective on hot-button issues such as Islam and democracy, freedom of religion, women's rights, and interfaith relations.
Media professionals may request a free copy of CAIR's journalist guide through the "Beyond Stereotypes" website. (Sample pages of the guide can be viewed on the website.)
Along with distribution of the guide to editors, reporters, producers, and other journalists, CAIR is offering media relations training to Muslim communities nationwide. The "Beyond Stereotypes" website also offers tips on pro-active educational activities such as hosting media events and meeting with newspaper editorial boards.
"Because we work with media professionals on a daily basis, we know the vast majority of journalists are doing the best job they can with the information resources they have available," said CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed. "It is our duty, and that of the Muslim community, to make sure every journalist who writes about Islam or Muslims has access to accurate information."
In a statement released at today's news conference, CAIR said: "We recognize that much of the negative perception of Islam and Muslims is the result of negative actions by a tiny minority of Muslims. That minority should not be allowed to overshadow the vast majority of Muslims in this country and worldwide who reject terrorism and religious extremism."
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED:
1. SPONSOR A JOURNALIST'S GUIDE. For only $20, you can help improve coverage of Islam and Muslims in the U.S. media. Click here to sponsor a journalist's guide.
2. ORDER HARD COPIES OF THE JOURNALIST'S GUIDE for distribution to local media outlets. Click here to order a guide.
3. REQUEST MEDIA RELATIONS TRAINING for your community. Either contact a local CAIR chapter, or click here to request training or learn about other actions you can take.
end
Sunday, November 11, 2007
3rd Annual National Arab American Book Awards, submissions due Feb. 1, 2008
Dear Publishers and Writers:
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is proud to announce that submissions are now being accepted for the
2007 Arab American National Museum
Book Award
Books submitted for consideration must be written or illustrated by an Arab American, or address the Arab-American experience. It must be an original work and published in English between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. Submissions must be postmarked no later than February 1, 2008. An award will be given to an author or illustrator in each of the following three categories:
Adult Non-Fiction in the areas of the Social Sciences and Humanities
Adult Fiction, including Arts and Literature
Children or Young Adult, Fiction or Non-Fiction
Submission forms are attached to this email and can also be found on the AANM website: http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/resource/attach/93/AANMSubmissionForm2007.pdf. For additional information regarding the Book Award please contact Dima Kanakri of the AANM Library & Resource Center at 313-624-0223 or dkanakri@accesscommunity.org.
The Arab American National Museum Book Award was established in 2006 to encourage the publication and excellence of books that preserve and advance the understanding, knowledge, and resources of the Arab American community by celebrating the thoughts and lives of Arab Americans. The purpose of the Award is to inspire authors, educate readers and foster a respect and understanding of Arab American culture.
The Arab American National Museum documents, preserves, celebrates, and educates the public on the history, life, culture, and contributions of Arab Americans. We serve as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in this country. The Arab American National Museum is a project of ACCESS, a Dearborn, Michigan-based nonprofit human services and cultural organization.
Arab American National Museum 13624 Michigan Avenue Dearborn, MI 48126
www.arabamericanmuseum.org
end
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is proud to announce that submissions are now being accepted for the
2007 Arab American National Museum
Book Award
Books submitted for consideration must be written or illustrated by an Arab American, or address the Arab-American experience. It must be an original work and published in English between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. Submissions must be postmarked no later than February 1, 2008. An award will be given to an author or illustrator in each of the following three categories:
Adult Non-Fiction in the areas of the Social Sciences and Humanities
Adult Fiction, including Arts and Literature
Children or Young Adult, Fiction or Non-Fiction
Submission forms are attached to this email and can also be found on the AANM website: http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/resource/attach/93/AANMSubmissionForm2007.pdf. For additional information regarding the Book Award please contact Dima Kanakri of the AANM Library & Resource Center at 313-624-0223 or dkanakri@accesscommunity.org.
The Arab American National Museum Book Award was established in 2006 to encourage the publication and excellence of books that preserve and advance the understanding, knowledge, and resources of the Arab American community by celebrating the thoughts and lives of Arab Americans. The purpose of the Award is to inspire authors, educate readers and foster a respect and understanding of Arab American culture.
The Arab American National Museum documents, preserves, celebrates, and educates the public on the history, life, culture, and contributions of Arab Americans. We serve as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in this country. The Arab American National Museum is a project of ACCESS, a Dearborn, Michigan-based nonprofit human services and cultural organization.
Arab American National Museum 13624 Michigan Avenue Dearborn, MI 48126
www.arabamericanmuseum.org
end
Journalism Conference in East Jerusalem Monday Dec. 3
Journalism Panels -- Jerusalem
Monday, Dec. 3, 12 – 5:30 PM
Ambassador Hotel East Jerusalem
Sponsored by NAAJA, SPJ-Arab Journalists
PANEL 1: Internet Media: Strategies and Challenges facing Internet News Web and Blog sites
Tentatively: Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 12-2:30/3
- Moderator, Charley Warady, co-host, Israelisms, an online weekly audio blog of life in Israel (Confirmed)
- Alan Abbey, Former editor, YnetNews.com, one of the most popular English language news sites from Israel (Confirmed)
- Khaled Abou-Aker, Editor, AMIN.org, a center for Palestinian, Israeli and Middle East opinion (Confirmed)
- Elizabeth Cohen, MidEastYouth.com one of the highest ranked Middle East news blogs on the Internet (Confirmed)
- Fadi Abu Sada, Director Palestine News Network, an online news agency (Confirmed – or a representative if he is not allowed to cross from Bethlehem)
PANEL 2: Traditional Media: Strategies and Challenges facing coverage of the Palestine-Israel Conflict
Tentatively: Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 3-5:30/6
- Moderator: Ray Hanania, syndicated columnist and Arab Writers Group Syndicate manager. (Confirmed)
- Steve Linde, managing editor, The Jerusalem Post, editor at Israel Radio. Linde has worked at the Jerusalem Post for the past 10 years and 18 years at Israel Radio. (Confirmed)
- Sara Miller, reporter Haaretz Newspaper. (confirmed)
- Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Jerusalem Bureau (Confirmed)
- Joel Greenberg, Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune (Confirmed)
- Zaki Abu Al-Halaweh, correspondent for al-Quds Newspaper (Confirmed)
- Issa Sharbati, correspondent for al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper (Confirmed)
END
Monday, Dec. 3, 12 – 5:30 PM
Ambassador Hotel East Jerusalem
Sponsored by NAAJA, SPJ-Arab Journalists
PANEL 1: Internet Media: Strategies and Challenges facing Internet News Web and Blog sites
Tentatively: Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 12-2:30/3
- Moderator, Charley Warady, co-host, Israelisms, an online weekly audio blog of life in Israel (Confirmed)
- Alan Abbey, Former editor, YnetNews.com, one of the most popular English language news sites from Israel (Confirmed)
- Khaled Abou-Aker, Editor, AMIN.org, a center for Palestinian, Israeli and Middle East opinion (Confirmed)
- Elizabeth Cohen, MidEastYouth.com one of the highest ranked Middle East news blogs on the Internet (Confirmed)
- Fadi Abu Sada, Director Palestine News Network, an online news agency (Confirmed – or a representative if he is not allowed to cross from Bethlehem)
PANEL 2: Traditional Media: Strategies and Challenges facing coverage of the Palestine-Israel Conflict
Tentatively: Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, 3-5:30/6
- Moderator: Ray Hanania, syndicated columnist and Arab Writers Group Syndicate manager. (Confirmed)
- Steve Linde, managing editor, The Jerusalem Post, editor at Israel Radio. Linde has worked at the Jerusalem Post for the past 10 years and 18 years at Israel Radio. (Confirmed)
- Sara Miller, reporter Haaretz Newspaper. (confirmed)
- Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Jerusalem Bureau (Confirmed)
- Joel Greenberg, Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune (Confirmed)
- Zaki Abu Al-Halaweh, correspondent for al-Quds Newspaper (Confirmed)
- Issa Sharbati, correspondent for al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper (Confirmed)
END
Friday, November 09, 2007
NAAJA-Palestine launched
A new networking chapter of the National Arab American Journalists Association has been launched based in Jerusalem, Palestine. The group, NAAJA-Palestine, features 10 Palestinian journalists working with a wide range of Palestinian print and online news media.
The group plans to organize a new Palestinian journalism union to replace the former union which has collapsed through inactivity and politics.
For more information, visit www.NAAJA-US.com.
Ray Hanania
The group plans to organize a new Palestinian journalism union to replace the former union which has collapsed through inactivity and politics.
For more information, visit www.NAAJA-US.com.
Ray Hanania
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Arab Press Freedom to be explored at Beirut Conference
The 2nd Arab Press Freedom Forum, to be held in Beirut, Lebanon, next month, will provide an overview of press developments in the Arab world, from the latest government policies to case studies of newspapers that combine editorial independence with commercial success.
The event, organised by the World Association of Newspapers in collaboration with Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper, will include four sessions on topics of urgent concern to newspapers and media experts from across the Middle East.
For more information about the event, to be held on 9 and 10 December next, contact Kajsa Tornroth, Co-Director of Press Freedom Programmes at the Paris-based WAN, by e-mail at ktornroth@wan.asso.fr.
The 2nd Arab Press Freedom Forum takes the theme, "Fighting Back: Challenges and Opportunities for the Arab Press". The sessions include:
"Backsliders and the usual suspects - the latest government policies that affect the press", which will address the recent government clampdowns on independent media in several Arab countries, and how the media has reacted.
"Combing editorial independence with commercial success," which will focus on independent Arab newspapers that have become profitable yet still maintain their independence and a critical stance towards those in power. Confirmed speakers include Egyptian Publisher Hisham Kassem, Rajeh Khoury a Political Analyst for An-Nahar in Lebanon and Ali Anouzla, Editor of Al-Massae in Morocco.
"Blogs, an alternative way of telling the news," which is dedicated to the increasing role of blogs and alternative news channels in the Arab world. Speakers in the session include Mohammad Azraq, a blogger from Bahrain, Wael Abbas, a blogger for Misr Digital blog in Egypt and Wadih Tueni, IT Manager for the An-Nahar Newspaper in Lebanon.
"How to best address the challenges faced by newspapers," which will examine the existing structures for independent Arab media professionals to work together for the common good. Speakers include Rafik Khoury, Editor in Chief of Al Anwar Newspaper in Lebanon, Said Essoulami, Director of the CMF-MENA Center in Morocco, and Abdelrahim Abdallah, Journalism Unit Coordinator at the Media Institute/Birzeit University in Palestine.
Plus more speakers to be announced.
The event will also feature the presentation of the second Gebran Tueni Award, which annually honours a newspaper publisher or editor in the Arab world who demonstrates the free press values upheld by Gebran Tueni, the An-Nahar publisher and WAN Board Member who was killed in a roadside bomb attack in December 2005. The award, which carries a 10,000 Euros stipend for newspaper leadership training, will be given to an editor or publisher of an Arabic-language publication whose activity reflects a profound attachment to the freedom and independence of the press, courage, leadership, ambition and the search for high managerial and professional standards.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr.
end
The event, organised by the World Association of Newspapers in collaboration with Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper, will include four sessions on topics of urgent concern to newspapers and media experts from across the Middle East.
For more information about the event, to be held on 9 and 10 December next, contact Kajsa Tornroth, Co-Director of Press Freedom Programmes at the Paris-based WAN, by e-mail at ktornroth@wan.asso.fr.
The 2nd Arab Press Freedom Forum takes the theme, "Fighting Back: Challenges and Opportunities for the Arab Press". The sessions include:
"Backsliders and the usual suspects - the latest government policies that affect the press", which will address the recent government clampdowns on independent media in several Arab countries, and how the media has reacted.
"Combing editorial independence with commercial success," which will focus on independent Arab newspapers that have become profitable yet still maintain their independence and a critical stance towards those in power. Confirmed speakers include Egyptian Publisher Hisham Kassem, Rajeh Khoury a Political Analyst for An-Nahar in Lebanon and Ali Anouzla, Editor of Al-Massae in Morocco.
"Blogs, an alternative way of telling the news," which is dedicated to the increasing role of blogs and alternative news channels in the Arab world. Speakers in the session include Mohammad Azraq, a blogger from Bahrain, Wael Abbas, a blogger for Misr Digital blog in Egypt and Wadih Tueni, IT Manager for the An-Nahar Newspaper in Lebanon.
"How to best address the challenges faced by newspapers," which will examine the existing structures for independent Arab media professionals to work together for the common good. Speakers include Rafik Khoury, Editor in Chief of Al Anwar Newspaper in Lebanon, Said Essoulami, Director of the CMF-MENA Center in Morocco, and Abdelrahim Abdallah, Journalism Unit Coordinator at the Media Institute/Birzeit University in Palestine.
Plus more speakers to be announced.
The event will also feature the presentation of the second Gebran Tueni Award, which annually honours a newspaper publisher or editor in the Arab world who demonstrates the free press values upheld by Gebran Tueni, the An-Nahar publisher and WAN Board Member who was killed in a roadside bomb attack in December 2005. The award, which carries a 10,000 Euros stipend for newspaper leadership training, will be given to an editor or publisher of an Arabic-language publication whose activity reflects a profound attachment to the freedom and independence of the press, courage, leadership, ambition and the search for high managerial and professional standards.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr.
end
American University of Beirut plans journalism workshops
The Journalism Training Program at the American University of Beirut (AUB) is organizing two workshops for Arab journalists. Application deadline for both courses: November 16.
The first workshop, “Environment/Health Coverage,” is scheduled to run for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m from November 26 to 30 in the Regional External Programs Conference Room at AUB . The second workshop, “Citizen/Online Journalism,” will run from December 3 to 7 at the same venue. The Dutch Embassy is supporting the programs, which are open to print, broadcast and online journalists.
This training is free, but journalists from outside Lebanon must cover their own travel and lodging costs, organizers said. Those wishing to participate should send resumes and three work samples to Magda Abu-Fadil at ma145@aub.edu.lb, or fax +961 (0)1 748539.
The first workshop, “Environment/Health Coverage,” is scheduled to run for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m from November 26 to 30 in the Regional External Programs Conference Room at AUB . The second workshop, “Citizen/Online Journalism,” will run from December 3 to 7 at the same venue. The Dutch Embassy is supporting the programs, which are open to print, broadcast and online journalists.
This training is free, but journalists from outside Lebanon must cover their own travel and lodging costs, organizers said. Those wishing to participate should send resumes and three work samples to Magda Abu-Fadil at ma145@aub.edu.lb, or fax +961 (0)1 748539.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
MPAC host journalism confernece on Muslims Nov. 15 Columbia
MPAC-NY TO HOLD PANEL ON MEDIA COVERAGE OF MUSLIMS POST-9/11 AT COLUMBIA UNIV. ON NOV. 15
(New York - 11/7/07) -- On Thursday, November 15, the Muslim Public Affairs Council's New York City chapter will host a panel discussion on "Media Coverage of Muslims Post-9/11" at Columbia University in Manhattan.
Moderated by Sheheryar Azhar, host of GEO TV's "The Forum", the panel discussion will feature Columbia University Journalism Professor Ari Goldman, award-winning journalist, filmmaker and Professor Anisa Mehdi, and MPAC Communications Director Edina Lekovic.
Co-sponsored by the Columbia University Muslim Students Association, panelists will draw on their decades of experience in the news media to provide a critical examination of news and entertainment media portrayals of Muslim Americans as a community as well as public discourse on the Islamic faith.
WHAT: The Coverage of Islam & Muslims in the American Mass Media Post-9/11
WHEN: Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Columbia University
James Room on the 4th Floor Bernard Hall
2960 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6902
WHO: Professor Ari Goldman, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
Anisa Mehdi, Journalist and Professor at Seton Hall University
Edina Lekovic, MPAC Communications Director
Shaheryar Azhar, host of "The Forum" on ARY
Goldman is the director of the Columbia's Scripps Howard Program in Religion, Journalism and the Spiritual Life. Goldman also co-directs the Universitys Religion-Journalism Dual M.A. Program. Previously, he spent 20 years at The New York Times, most of it as a religion writer. He is the author of three books, including "The Search for God at Harvard".
Mehdi is an Emmy award-winning journalist specializing in religion, the arts, and people. For over 20 years she has reported, written, directed and produced television news and documentary programs for major American media outlets, including National Geographic, PBS, ABC News, and CBS. Her commentaries are heard on NPRs award-winning newscast All Things Considered. She is also Adjunct Professor of Communication at Seton Hall University. She is producer/director of "Inside Mecca," the National Geographic Special that premiered on PBS in 2003. She was also executive producer with Alvin Perlmutter of the two-hour PBS FRONTLINE special "Muslims".
Call 213-383-3443 or email events@mpac.org for more information.
Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council is an American institution which informs and shapes public opinion and policy by serving as a trusted resource to decision makers in government, media and policy institutions. MPAC is also committed to developing leaders with the purpose of enhancing the political and civic participation of Muslim Americans.
end
(New York - 11/7/07) -- On Thursday, November 15, the Muslim Public Affairs Council's New York City chapter will host a panel discussion on "Media Coverage of Muslims Post-9/11" at Columbia University in Manhattan.
Moderated by Sheheryar Azhar, host of GEO TV's "The Forum", the panel discussion will feature Columbia University Journalism Professor Ari Goldman, award-winning journalist, filmmaker and Professor Anisa Mehdi, and MPAC Communications Director Edina Lekovic.
Co-sponsored by the Columbia University Muslim Students Association, panelists will draw on their decades of experience in the news media to provide a critical examination of news and entertainment media portrayals of Muslim Americans as a community as well as public discourse on the Islamic faith.
WHAT: The Coverage of Islam & Muslims in the American Mass Media Post-9/11
WHEN: Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Columbia University
James Room on the 4th Floor Bernard Hall
2960 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6902
WHO: Professor Ari Goldman, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
Anisa Mehdi, Journalist and Professor at Seton Hall University
Edina Lekovic, MPAC Communications Director
Shaheryar Azhar, host of "The Forum" on ARY
Goldman is the director of the Columbia's Scripps Howard Program in Religion, Journalism and the Spiritual Life. Goldman also co-directs the Universitys Religion-Journalism Dual M.A. Program. Previously, he spent 20 years at The New York Times, most of it as a religion writer. He is the author of three books, including "The Search for God at Harvard".
Mehdi is an Emmy award-winning journalist specializing in religion, the arts, and people. For over 20 years she has reported, written, directed and produced television news and documentary programs for major American media outlets, including National Geographic, PBS, ABC News, and CBS. Her commentaries are heard on NPRs award-winning newscast All Things Considered. She is also Adjunct Professor of Communication at Seton Hall University. She is producer/director of "Inside Mecca," the National Geographic Special that premiered on PBS in 2003. She was also executive producer with Alvin Perlmutter of the two-hour PBS FRONTLINE special "Muslims".
Call 213-383-3443 or email events@mpac.org for more information.
Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council is an American institution which informs and shapes public opinion and policy by serving as a trusted resource to decision makers in government, media and policy institutions. MPAC is also committed to developing leaders with the purpose of enhancing the political and civic participation of Muslim Americans.
end
IBDAA media awards for students approaches deadline
Ibdaa Media Awards 2007 Gathers Momentum As November 15 Deadline Appoaches
Application Forms Available at www.ibdaa-awards.ae
Dubai, UAE - November 6, 2007: With the November 15 submission deadline for the coveted Ibda’a Media Student Awards 2007 fast approaching, the competition is receiving an unprecedented response from international and local media students vying for top honours in the region’s most recognised award for emerging industry talent.
Ibda’a Media Student Awards is organized on an annual basis by Dubai Media City, member of TECOM Investments, in association with the International Advertising Association (IAA). Designed on the concept of ‘Flammable Talent’, the Awards aim to recognize, nurture and promote young media talent.
The competition is open to all undergraduate and fresh graduates of the year 2006-2007. Entry forms are available on the dedicated website www.ibdaa-awards.ae
Over the years, the Ibda'a Media Student Awards has attracted a multitude of entries from the Gulf region and around the globe. Its success is marked by the increasing number of entries, participating countries and the inclusion of additional categories to accommodate the diverse components of new age media. In 2006, the competition received more than 2,200 entries from 20 countries.
Mohamed Al Mulla, Director of Dubai Media City and Coordinator General of the Awards, said: “Ibda'a Media Student Awards 2007 will continue to discover outstanding creative talent from all over the world. Serving as a springboard for students, Ibda'a Awards spotlight young talent on the international media arena, and offer them an opportunity to showcase their work and realize their aspirations.”
Award finalists will be flown to Dubai for a gala celebration that will give away exciting prizes, as well as internship opportunities with leading media organisations including Arabian Radio Network (ARN), Xische, Team Y&R, Motivate Publishing, Nikon, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, CNBC Arabia, CNN and MBC.
Dubai Media City will host the Career Day on 26 December. On the sidelines of the awards, an exhibition of short-listed entries will be held from 25-29 December.
To be presented on 27 December in Dubai, the Ibda’a Media Student Awards cover 10 main categories, including journalism, radio, animation, graphic design, analogue photography, digital photography, print advertising, TV advertising, TV documentary and film/TV feature.
Dubai-based Ziad Galadari Group is the title sponsor of the event this year, while Emirates Bank, Arabian Automobiles, OMD and Carassi are the co-sponsors. Media partners include Motivate Publishing, Zee Arabia, Showtime, Xische, 7 Star Events, Arabian Radio Network, Al Emarat Al Youm and Emirates Today, CNBC Arabia and DMI.
end
Application Forms Available at www.ibdaa-awards.ae
Dubai, UAE - November 6, 2007: With the November 15 submission deadline for the coveted Ibda’a Media Student Awards 2007 fast approaching, the competition is receiving an unprecedented response from international and local media students vying for top honours in the region’s most recognised award for emerging industry talent.
Ibda’a Media Student Awards is organized on an annual basis by Dubai Media City, member of TECOM Investments, in association with the International Advertising Association (IAA). Designed on the concept of ‘Flammable Talent’, the Awards aim to recognize, nurture and promote young media talent.
The competition is open to all undergraduate and fresh graduates of the year 2006-2007. Entry forms are available on the dedicated website www.ibdaa-awards.ae
Over the years, the Ibda'a Media Student Awards has attracted a multitude of entries from the Gulf region and around the globe. Its success is marked by the increasing number of entries, participating countries and the inclusion of additional categories to accommodate the diverse components of new age media. In 2006, the competition received more than 2,200 entries from 20 countries.
Mohamed Al Mulla, Director of Dubai Media City and Coordinator General of the Awards, said: “Ibda'a Media Student Awards 2007 will continue to discover outstanding creative talent from all over the world. Serving as a springboard for students, Ibda'a Awards spotlight young talent on the international media arena, and offer them an opportunity to showcase their work and realize their aspirations.”
Award finalists will be flown to Dubai for a gala celebration that will give away exciting prizes, as well as internship opportunities with leading media organisations including Arabian Radio Network (ARN), Xische, Team Y&R, Motivate Publishing, Nikon, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, CNBC Arabia, CNN and MBC.
Dubai Media City will host the Career Day on 26 December. On the sidelines of the awards, an exhibition of short-listed entries will be held from 25-29 December.
To be presented on 27 December in Dubai, the Ibda’a Media Student Awards cover 10 main categories, including journalism, radio, animation, graphic design, analogue photography, digital photography, print advertising, TV advertising, TV documentary and film/TV feature.
Dubai-based Ziad Galadari Group is the title sponsor of the event this year, while Emirates Bank, Arabian Automobiles, OMD and Carassi are the co-sponsors. Media partners include Motivate Publishing, Zee Arabia, Showtime, Xische, 7 Star Events, Arabian Radio Network, Al Emarat Al Youm and Emirates Today, CNBC Arabia and DMI.
end
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
New York: Challenges facing Muslims in the West, Nov. 6
Tuesday November 6, 2007, 6:30-8:30 pm
At NYU’s Silver Center for Arts and Science,
Jurow Lecture Hall, 100 Washington Square East,
New York, NY 10003.
We invite you to attend and help us continue our conversation, significant to contemporary political, economical and cultural issues, facing Muslims in the Western world.
Our conference in Salzburg brought together 60 policy makers, community leaders, scholars, media professionals and activists from Europe, North America and the Muslim World. Mustapha Tlili opened the discussion with “a call for creative thinking about the inclusion of Islam and Muslims in the west”. The participants yielded to this request that led to stimulating and insightful conversations. While Farah Pandith, Senior Advisor on Muslim engagement at the State Department, shared lessons learned from the American experience of integrating Muslims and other minorities, Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Ursula Plassnik, emphasized the need to develop tools that encourage integration and prevent hopelessness in young Muslims.
Other participants raised interesting questions such as: Is it appropriate and feasible to speak in terms of a “Western Islam”? How best can tensions created by the presence of Islam and of Muslims in the West be overcome? What role does public policy play in addressing these tensions? What best practices, if any, can be developed regarding security and integration?
Our panelists for the evening are experts & leaders in matters related to the Islamic world and Muslims in the West and the relationship between Islam and West.
Abdullah M. Alsaidi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, who, prior to his current appointment, served as his country's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1999-2002.
Jon Benjamin, Deputy Consul-General of the United Kingdom in New York and considered one of the most knowledgeable experts on Muslim communities in the West.
Jytte Klausen, Professor of Comparative Politics at Brandeis University who has authored several books, including The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe.
Piet de Klerk, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations, former Netherlands Ambassador at large for Human Rights.
Please RSVP to 212-998-8693 or nlh2@nyu.edu by November 4, 2007 if you would like to attend.
To learn more about and to read online copies of our publications please visit us at www.islamuswest.org
end
At NYU’s Silver Center for Arts and Science,
Jurow Lecture Hall, 100 Washington Square East,
New York, NY 10003.
We invite you to attend and help us continue our conversation, significant to contemporary political, economical and cultural issues, facing Muslims in the Western world.
Our conference in Salzburg brought together 60 policy makers, community leaders, scholars, media professionals and activists from Europe, North America and the Muslim World. Mustapha Tlili opened the discussion with “a call for creative thinking about the inclusion of Islam and Muslims in the west”. The participants yielded to this request that led to stimulating and insightful conversations. While Farah Pandith, Senior Advisor on Muslim engagement at the State Department, shared lessons learned from the American experience of integrating Muslims and other minorities, Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Ursula Plassnik, emphasized the need to develop tools that encourage integration and prevent hopelessness in young Muslims.
Other participants raised interesting questions such as: Is it appropriate and feasible to speak in terms of a “Western Islam”? How best can tensions created by the presence of Islam and of Muslims in the West be overcome? What role does public policy play in addressing these tensions? What best practices, if any, can be developed regarding security and integration?
Our panelists for the evening are experts & leaders in matters related to the Islamic world and Muslims in the West and the relationship between Islam and West.
Abdullah M. Alsaidi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, who, prior to his current appointment, served as his country's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1999-2002.
Jon Benjamin, Deputy Consul-General of the United Kingdom in New York and considered one of the most knowledgeable experts on Muslim communities in the West.
Jytte Klausen, Professor of Comparative Politics at Brandeis University who has authored several books, including The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe.
Piet de Klerk, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations, former Netherlands Ambassador at large for Human Rights.
Please RSVP to 212-998-8693 or nlh2@nyu.edu by November 4, 2007 if you would like to attend.
To learn more about and to read online copies of our publications please visit us at www.islamuswest.org
end
Arab-US Association for Communications Educators focuses on importance of media
Role of media, varsities in Arab-US ties stressed
By Zoe Sinclair
30 October 2007
DUBAI — The importance of media and universities in sharing ideas and developing understanding between cultures was stressed at the twelfth Arab-US Association for Communication Educators (AUSACE) conference at Shaikh Zayed University this week.
Speaking at a session yesterday, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and President of Zayed University Shaikh Nahyan Mubarak bin Al Nahyan said the conference came at a time when there was a critical need for Arab-American understanding and dialogue.
The need for Arab-American understanding was also highlighted by key speaker ‘Washington Post’ Middle East correspondent Anthony Shadid on Sunday who related his experiences working in the region by describing a deep sense of loss.
Shadid recounted an experience sitting in a Baghdad bookstore surrounded by famous texts as everyday life continued around him and the bookstore owner.
As visitors passed by to speak with the bookstore owner and relate their news, updating the owner on the conflict, they would often smoke an apple-flavoured ‘shisha’ and Shadid said it was the ordinariness of these moments that made them special — “Life as it should have been and could have been.”
It was also what struck him with a feeling of loss when the bookstore keeper died as the result of a bomb blast and how he related the story such that the ‘Washington Post’ audience could understand.
Shaikh Nahyan said the media, particularly new media, and educators were bridge builders between the Arab world and the United States.
“This understanding, which can only be built on shared beliefs, values, and ideals, will help us all to be more sensitive to each other’s needs,” he said.
“I strongly believe that common ground is possible when both the Arab and the American sides come to know one another as equals. And in this endeavour, universities and educators have a unique role to play.”
The three-day conference that began on Sunday attracted 200 professors representing 40 countries, including from the region.
The attendees are taking part in a series of sessions and workshops aimed at developing exchanges between Arab and US university faculty, media professionals and senior journalism students.
Shaikh Nahyan said some of the issues that often mark political and cultural divisions that the conference was rightly addressing included the role and representation of women, the propagation of stereotypes and issues of access to and ownership of the media.
“How societies address these issues reveal the values and beliefs of those societies,” he said.
“It is my hope that your insights and analyses can suggest productive avenues and possible solutions as we move forward to establish common ground and productive connections.”
A third keynote speaker, former US Ambassador to the UAE and Yemen William A. Rugh spoke at the opening of AUSACE.
Attendees including University of Bahrain professor Dr Hoda Al Mutawah and University of Hong Kong students welcomed the conference as an opportunity to share ideas and research.
AUSACE president Douglas A. Boyd said the conference’s success in sharing of knowledge meant that it was now more common to find Arab experts researching and publishing works on the region where previously such fields were dominated by Western study.
By Zoe Sinclair
30 October 2007
DUBAI — The importance of media and universities in sharing ideas and developing understanding between cultures was stressed at the twelfth Arab-US Association for Communication Educators (AUSACE) conference at Shaikh Zayed University this week.
Speaking at a session yesterday, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and President of Zayed University Shaikh Nahyan Mubarak bin Al Nahyan said the conference came at a time when there was a critical need for Arab-American understanding and dialogue.
The need for Arab-American understanding was also highlighted by key speaker ‘Washington Post’ Middle East correspondent Anthony Shadid on Sunday who related his experiences working in the region by describing a deep sense of loss.
Shadid recounted an experience sitting in a Baghdad bookstore surrounded by famous texts as everyday life continued around him and the bookstore owner.
As visitors passed by to speak with the bookstore owner and relate their news, updating the owner on the conflict, they would often smoke an apple-flavoured ‘shisha’ and Shadid said it was the ordinariness of these moments that made them special — “Life as it should have been and could have been.”
It was also what struck him with a feeling of loss when the bookstore keeper died as the result of a bomb blast and how he related the story such that the ‘Washington Post’ audience could understand.
Shaikh Nahyan said the media, particularly new media, and educators were bridge builders between the Arab world and the United States.
“This understanding, which can only be built on shared beliefs, values, and ideals, will help us all to be more sensitive to each other’s needs,” he said.
“I strongly believe that common ground is possible when both the Arab and the American sides come to know one another as equals. And in this endeavour, universities and educators have a unique role to play.”
The three-day conference that began on Sunday attracted 200 professors representing 40 countries, including from the region.
The attendees are taking part in a series of sessions and workshops aimed at developing exchanges between Arab and US university faculty, media professionals and senior journalism students.
Shaikh Nahyan said some of the issues that often mark political and cultural divisions that the conference was rightly addressing included the role and representation of women, the propagation of stereotypes and issues of access to and ownership of the media.
“How societies address these issues reveal the values and beliefs of those societies,” he said.
“It is my hope that your insights and analyses can suggest productive avenues and possible solutions as we move forward to establish common ground and productive connections.”
A third keynote speaker, former US Ambassador to the UAE and Yemen William A. Rugh spoke at the opening of AUSACE.
Attendees including University of Bahrain professor Dr Hoda Al Mutawah and University of Hong Kong students welcomed the conference as an opportunity to share ideas and research.
AUSACE president Douglas A. Boyd said the conference’s success in sharing of knowledge meant that it was now more common to find Arab experts researching and publishing works on the region where previously such fields were dominated by Western study.
American University of Beirut adds journalism training program
AUB Adds journalism training program
http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/archive/preview.php?id=72300
The American University of Beirut launched on May 16 a wide-scale journalism training project for Arab reporters working in print, broadcast and online media.
The project was made possible through a generous sponsorship agreement made between Ms. Sarah S. Alfadl, a Saudi-American lawyer/activist, and the REP's Office.
"AUB is proud to be part of this endeavor to provide reputable and reliable training to journalists in the region," said Provost Peter Heath, during a news conference, held in College Hall B-1 to announce the new program. "We are deeply grateful to Ms. Sarah El-Fadel for providing both inspiration and financial backing for this program of training."
"I believe people cannot intelligently participate in the democratic process unless they have access to accurate and timely information provided by a free and professional press," said Alfadl of the new program, adding that she hoped others would follow suit and invest in Lebanon's revival.
Al-Fadl added that she chose to support the program because she believes in Lebanon's long history of press freedom and its ability to remain a leading democracy in the region. Moreover, she said that she found in AUB the perfect partner for such an endeavor.
The Journalism Training Program (JTP), which is part of AUB's Regional External Programs, is scheduled to conduct its first workshop in "Investigative Journalism," in July 2007 and plans to offer other courses in the coming months focused on "Citizen Journalism," "Elections Coverage," "Newsroom Management," and "Science/Health/Environment Journalism."
The JTP was created to provide journalists from the Gulf to North Africa with year-round courses in various topics including basic news reporting and writing, editing, war/safety coverage, online journalism, and media ethics in Arabic, English and French.
Additionally, it will conduct workshops in media literacy and corporate communications/media crisis management, both at AUB and in-house where requested, and is destined to become a regional hub for Arab journalism training -- something Alfadl hopes other sponsors will also encourage.
AUB's Regional External Programs, which has been running other successful training and consulting projects for about two decades, aims to plug the gaps in existing efforts and meet new needs of the media through the JTP. While the Arab world has seen a proliferation of media in recent years, not all have been adequately serviced by sustainable training to meet their needs and to cope with technological advances.
Leading the new effort is Magda Abu-Fadil, the JTP's founding director, who brings years of experience as a foreign correspondent and editor with international news agencies such as Agence France-Presse,and United Press International; newspapers such as Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Riyadh and Defense News ; and magazines such as The Middle East and Events; and, as an academic and a media trainer.
Until February 2007, Abu-Fadil was director of the Institute for Professional Journalists at the Lebanese American University. She taught journalism at American University in Washington, D.C. -- from where she graduated -- and was coordinator of the journalism program at LAU for six years.
"The Journalism Training Program's aim is to train journalists so they can confront any challenges they might face in their work, thus sparking a renaissance in this sector in this part of the world," said Abu-Fadil, during the news conference.
" This is an exciting challenge and we hope to turn AUB into a beehive of Arab journalism training and education with state-of-the-art facilities," she said. "It's only fitting that Lebanon, with AUB at the helm, lead the charge."
Communications Professor and chair of the JTP steering committee called the new program "a dream come true" for which he had worked for more than 40 years. The need for such a program is ever more important, he said, because most news outlets have focused on building infrastructure and acquiring hi-tech equipment instead of investing in human potential.
end
http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/archive/preview.php?id=72300
The American University of Beirut launched on May 16 a wide-scale journalism training project for Arab reporters working in print, broadcast and online media.
The project was made possible through a generous sponsorship agreement made between Ms. Sarah S. Alfadl, a Saudi-American lawyer/activist, and the REP's Office.
"AUB is proud to be part of this endeavor to provide reputable and reliable training to journalists in the region," said Provost Peter Heath, during a news conference, held in College Hall B-1 to announce the new program. "We are deeply grateful to Ms. Sarah El-Fadel for providing both inspiration and financial backing for this program of training."
"I believe people cannot intelligently participate in the democratic process unless they have access to accurate and timely information provided by a free and professional press," said Alfadl of the new program, adding that she hoped others would follow suit and invest in Lebanon's revival.
Al-Fadl added that she chose to support the program because she believes in Lebanon's long history of press freedom and its ability to remain a leading democracy in the region. Moreover, she said that she found in AUB the perfect partner for such an endeavor.
The Journalism Training Program (JTP), which is part of AUB's Regional External Programs, is scheduled to conduct its first workshop in "Investigative Journalism," in July 2007 and plans to offer other courses in the coming months focused on "Citizen Journalism," "Elections Coverage," "Newsroom Management," and "Science/Health/Environment Journalism."
The JTP was created to provide journalists from the Gulf to North Africa with year-round courses in various topics including basic news reporting and writing, editing, war/safety coverage, online journalism, and media ethics in Arabic, English and French.
Additionally, it will conduct workshops in media literacy and corporate communications/media crisis management, both at AUB and in-house where requested, and is destined to become a regional hub for Arab journalism training -- something Alfadl hopes other sponsors will also encourage.
AUB's Regional External Programs, which has been running other successful training and consulting projects for about two decades, aims to plug the gaps in existing efforts and meet new needs of the media through the JTP. While the Arab world has seen a proliferation of media in recent years, not all have been adequately serviced by sustainable training to meet their needs and to cope with technological advances.
Leading the new effort is Magda Abu-Fadil, the JTP's founding director, who brings years of experience as a foreign correspondent and editor with international news agencies such as Agence France-Presse,and United Press International; newspapers such as Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Riyadh and Defense News ; and magazines such as The Middle East and Events; and, as an academic and a media trainer.
Until February 2007, Abu-Fadil was director of the Institute for Professional Journalists at the Lebanese American University. She taught journalism at American University in Washington, D.C. -- from where she graduated -- and was coordinator of the journalism program at LAU for six years.
"The Journalism Training Program's aim is to train journalists so they can confront any challenges they might face in their work, thus sparking a renaissance in this sector in this part of the world," said Abu-Fadil, during the news conference.
" This is an exciting challenge and we hope to turn AUB into a beehive of Arab journalism training and education with state-of-the-art facilities," she said. "It's only fitting that Lebanon, with AUB at the helm, lead the charge."
Communications Professor and chair of the JTP steering committee called the new program "a dream come true" for which he had worked for more than 40 years. The need for such a program is ever more important, he said, because most news outlets have focused on building infrastructure and acquiring hi-tech equipment instead of investing in human potential.
end
Saturday, October 27, 2007
NAAJA launches Media Watch Committee
NAAJA has launched a media Watch Committee to monitor excesses involving racism, stereotyping and unprofessional conduct by mainstream American media.
This is not a place for political discussion.
NAAJA is forming a Media Watch Committee consisting of professional Arab American Journalists. We will accept complaints involving mainstream American media and consider taking acting.
To join, you must be a professional journalist of Arab American heritage working either in the mainstream American media or the Arab American/Muslim American ethnic media. If you would like to join and help:
1) Review and discuss complaints
2) Issue a formal written letter, when appropriate, to the mainstream media after NAAJA Media Watch committee discuss the transgressions
3) Media that refuse to respond will be put on a MEDIA WATCH DISCRIMINATION LIST posted on the official NAAJA web site (www.NAAJA-US.com) until they respond
4) NAAJA will seek the support of other Arab journalism organizations and mainstream American Arab organizations to publicize this unprofessional behavior
Here is how to join this list if you meet the above criteria:
Post message:
NAAJA-MediaWatch@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe:
NAAJA-MediaWatch-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe:
NAAJA-MediaWatch-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner:
NAAJA-MediaWatch-owner@yahoogroups.com
Thanks
Ray Hanania
This is not a place for political discussion.
NAAJA is forming a Media Watch Committee consisting of professional Arab American Journalists. We will accept complaints involving mainstream American media and consider taking acting.
To join, you must be a professional journalist of Arab American heritage working either in the mainstream American media or the Arab American/Muslim American ethnic media. If you would like to join and help:
1) You must be a member of NAAJANAAJA Media Watch will
2) You must identify yourself fully for members to know who you are
3) This is not a political discussion list
4) Your contributions would be to highlight obvious and glaring
transgressions that really rise to the necessity of addressing formally.
1) Review and discuss complaints
2) Issue a formal written letter, when appropriate, to the mainstream media after NAAJA Media Watch committee discuss the transgressions
3) Media that refuse to respond will be put on a MEDIA WATCH DISCRIMINATION LIST posted on the official NAAJA web site (www.NAAJA-US.com) until they respond
4) NAAJA will seek the support of other Arab journalism organizations and mainstream American Arab organizations to publicize this unprofessional behavior
Here is how to join this list if you meet the above criteria:
Post message:
NAAJA-MediaWatch@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe:
NAAJA-MediaWatch-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe:
NAAJA-MediaWatch-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner:
NAAJA-MediaWatch-owner@yahoogroups.com
Thanks
Ray Hanania
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
NAAJA member's new book now available
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ahmed Soliman
Oct. 24, 2007
732-715-9775
New Voice Emerges in American Media
Arab & Muslim-American Journalists Offer Essential Perspective
(Maple Shade, NJ, Oct. 21st, 2007) — Arab and Muslim-American journalist Ahmed Soliman believes his new book, “Born in the USA: Reflections of an Arab and Muslim-American Journalist,” will give mainstream Americans a fresh perspective into the Islamic and Arab Worlds that is unique and rare.
Soliman argues that despite the events of Sept. 11th, 2001, Americans still do not understand the Arab and Muslim Worlds. By sharing his many interviews with Arab and Muslim leaders in the post-Sept. 11th World he believes he can not only change that but also improve the American journalism profession.
“There have been many post 9/11 books written with the Muslim-American perspective and some written by journalists who have covered such stories as the war on terror, domestic surveillance and the conflict between Israel and Palestinians,” explains Soliman who has been a journalist for more than seven years.
“But I think I bring a special knowledge as a professional journalist who has covered international issues for the past two years and who is both Arab and Muslim. I believe I bring a fresh and more objective perspective to the international discussion on these and other important issues. It’s a freshness that contrasts the sometimes cynical views often reflected in the writings of longtime, veteran journalists, many of whom are neither Arab nor Muslim and who have witnessed the often tragic events of the Middle East repeat themselves over and over again.”
The book features many voices and opinions not often heard, based on firsthand interviews Soliman conducted as a reporter for broadcast and print Arab, Muslim and mainstream American newspapers.
“It's not often that Americans really get to hear the perspective of the Pakistani foreign minister on such issues as the war on terror, and whether or not the US government is correct in saying that they're not doing enough. Understanding the people on the other side of the ocean is crucial to resolving our contemporary challenges,” he says.
And, Soliman believes the book might help initiate “a broader discussion about the role of our own American media, whether that is opening some eyes among editors and news directors about the importance of integrating more diverse voices in their newsrooms, specifically regarding Arab American journalists, or also aspiring Arab American journalists who could benefit from the experiences I share in the book.”
Like many Arab and Muslim Americans, Soliman had planned on entering a professional career in medicine or engineering. But it was when he wrote an essay that received immediate notice and was recognized with a prestigious journalism award that he decided to pursue journalism, instead.
“Prior to the 9/11 attack, the vast majority of Muslim-Americans entered the engineering and medical fields, the result of the influence they received from their immigrant parents,” explains Soliman, who worked for two years as senior anchor and producer for the nationally televised Daily World news on Bridges TV.
“The result was that Muslim-Americans, now numbering over 7 million according to the Zogby poll, never had much influence on public opinion or policy. Now, after the 9/11 attack, the few of us who did enter the journalism field are trying to keep the dialogue and coverage in the media more balanced and insightful.”
Soliman’s story is a poignant, eye-opening portrayal of the challenges facing media coverage of the Arab and Muslims, and on international issues including the war on terror, and racism.
“No reasonably minded person would disagree with anything [Soliman] has said in this book,” said Ambassador Richard Parker, former U.S. representative in the Middle East.
Prior to working at Bridges TV, Soliman produced and directed a post-911 documentary for a PBS affiliate titled Born in the USA: Muslim Americans. The film followed a Muslim American doctor and teacher in the months following the September 11th Attack, and received positive reviews and press from WCBS – TV in New York, The Star Ledger Newspaper in New Jersey, and The Home News Tribune. Soliman started his career as the Managing Editor of the Gazette-Leader, a weekly newspaper for the towns of Elizabeth and Hillside in New Jersey, where he covered crime, education, and government related stories. He also interned for WNBC-TV in New York.
“It’s not always easy being an Arab and Muslim-American journalist. A lot of people in our profession throw obstacles in our way,” Soliman argues.
“But I believe that when your argument is for more objective and balanced coverage, by way of including more diverse voices in the perspectives offered in the media, eventually people will realize that it can only be a good thing. Writing Born in the USA was just the next domino in the set that will be falling on this issue.”
Soliman is a columnist with the Arab Writers Syndicate (www.ArabWritersGroup.com) and a member of the Steering Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists-Arab American Journalists group. He is also a member of the Arab professional journalism associations NAAJA (www.NAAJA-US.com) and AMEJA.
The book is available from most major bookstores, and online from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. It is published by iUniverse Inc., in New York.
ET
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ahmed Soliman
Oct. 24, 2007
732-715-9775
New Voice Emerges in American Media
Arab & Muslim-American Journalists Offer Essential Perspective
(Maple Shade, NJ, Oct. 21st, 2007) — Arab and Muslim-American journalist Ahmed Soliman believes his new book, “Born in the USA: Reflections of an Arab and Muslim-American Journalist,” will give mainstream Americans a fresh perspective into the Islamic and Arab Worlds that is unique and rare.
Soliman argues that despite the events of Sept. 11th, 2001, Americans still do not understand the Arab and Muslim Worlds. By sharing his many interviews with Arab and Muslim leaders in the post-Sept. 11th World he believes he can not only change that but also improve the American journalism profession.
“There have been many post 9/11 books written with the Muslim-American perspective and some written by journalists who have covered such stories as the war on terror, domestic surveillance and the conflict between Israel and Palestinians,” explains Soliman who has been a journalist for more than seven years.
“But I think I bring a special knowledge as a professional journalist who has covered international issues for the past two years and who is both Arab and Muslim. I believe I bring a fresh and more objective perspective to the international discussion on these and other important issues. It’s a freshness that contrasts the sometimes cynical views often reflected in the writings of longtime, veteran journalists, many of whom are neither Arab nor Muslim and who have witnessed the often tragic events of the Middle East repeat themselves over and over again.”
The book features many voices and opinions not often heard, based on firsthand interviews Soliman conducted as a reporter for broadcast and print Arab, Muslim and mainstream American newspapers.
“It's not often that Americans really get to hear the perspective of the Pakistani foreign minister on such issues as the war on terror, and whether or not the US government is correct in saying that they're not doing enough. Understanding the people on the other side of the ocean is crucial to resolving our contemporary challenges,” he says.
And, Soliman believes the book might help initiate “a broader discussion about the role of our own American media, whether that is opening some eyes among editors and news directors about the importance of integrating more diverse voices in their newsrooms, specifically regarding Arab American journalists, or also aspiring Arab American journalists who could benefit from the experiences I share in the book.”
Like many Arab and Muslim Americans, Soliman had planned on entering a professional career in medicine or engineering. But it was when he wrote an essay that received immediate notice and was recognized with a prestigious journalism award that he decided to pursue journalism, instead.
“Prior to the 9/11 attack, the vast majority of Muslim-Americans entered the engineering and medical fields, the result of the influence they received from their immigrant parents,” explains Soliman, who worked for two years as senior anchor and producer for the nationally televised Daily World news on Bridges TV.
“The result was that Muslim-Americans, now numbering over 7 million according to the Zogby poll, never had much influence on public opinion or policy. Now, after the 9/11 attack, the few of us who did enter the journalism field are trying to keep the dialogue and coverage in the media more balanced and insightful.”
Soliman’s story is a poignant, eye-opening portrayal of the challenges facing media coverage of the Arab and Muslims, and on international issues including the war on terror, and racism.
“No reasonably minded person would disagree with anything [Soliman] has said in this book,” said Ambassador Richard Parker, former U.S. representative in the Middle East.
Prior to working at Bridges TV, Soliman produced and directed a post-911 documentary for a PBS affiliate titled Born in the USA: Muslim Americans. The film followed a Muslim American doctor and teacher in the months following the September 11th Attack, and received positive reviews and press from WCBS – TV in New York, The Star Ledger Newspaper in New Jersey, and The Home News Tribune. Soliman started his career as the Managing Editor of the Gazette-Leader, a weekly newspaper for the towns of Elizabeth and Hillside in New Jersey, where he covered crime, education, and government related stories. He also interned for WNBC-TV in New York.
“It’s not always easy being an Arab and Muslim-American journalist. A lot of people in our profession throw obstacles in our way,” Soliman argues.
“But I believe that when your argument is for more objective and balanced coverage, by way of including more diverse voices in the perspectives offered in the media, eventually people will realize that it can only be a good thing. Writing Born in the USA was just the next domino in the set that will be falling on this issue.”
Soliman is a columnist with the Arab Writers Syndicate (www.ArabWritersGroup.com) and a member of the Steering Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists-Arab American Journalists group. He is also a member of the Arab professional journalism associations NAAJA (www.NAAJA-US.com) and AMEJA.
The book is available from most major bookstores, and online from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. It is published by iUniverse Inc., in New York.
ET
Monday, October 22, 2007
CAIR on IslamoFacism Week of Hatred
‘ISLAMO-FASCISM’ WEEK SPEAKER MEETS WITH EUROPEAN 'NEO-NAZIS' - TOP
Robert Spencer is main speaker for upcoming Islamophobic campus tour
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/21/2007) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed today that the main speaker for an upcoming series of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" lectures at university campuses nationwide recently offered a keynote address at a European gathering that included representatives of racist or "neo-Nazi" political parties.
Author Robert Spencer, who is scheduled to appear beginning next week at universities such as Brown, DePaul and Dartmouth, is regarded by American Muslims as one of the nation's worst Islamophobes. His virulently anti-Islam website promotes the idea that life for Muslims in the West should be made so difficult that they will leave.
Spencer recently spoke at a so-called "Counterjihad Brussels 2007" conference in Belgium attended by those with links to far-right parties such as Filip Dewinter of Vlaams Belang (Belgium) and Ted Ekeroth of Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden). Both parties have been accused of either having a racist platform, a neo-Nazi past or having links to neo-Nazis and other racists.
Vlaams Belang is the successor to the Vlaams Blok party, which was banned in 2004 for being an illegal racist political faction. (Vlaams Belang's founders were Nazi collaborators in World War II.)
Of Sverigedemokraterna, the International Herald Tribune wrote: “Sverigedemokraterna, or the Sweden Democrats, have been part of this country's political landscape for almost 20 years, but they were considered too close to the Nazi-inspired far-right to contend for large numbers of votes.” (7/7/06)
SEE: European Organizations Gather in Brussels to Organize Resistance to Islamization and Shariah
SEE: Court Rules Vlaams Blok is Racist
Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch Board Vice President "Hugh Fitzgerald" wrote on that hate site: "Only one group, only one belief-system, distinguishes itself by appearing incapable of fitting in. And that is Muslims, and Islam ... if one really knew what Islam contained ... then how could any decent person remain a Muslim?"
He also recommended that western nations be "Islam-proofed the way a house is child-proofed," compared Muslims to Nazis and urged that they be boycotted: "[I]t should not be hard to find ways to limit the spread or practice of Islam. And if in addition to whatever local, state and federal government officials do, private parties simply conduct their own boycott of goods and services offered by Muslims, in the same way that they would have refused to buy, in 1938, a German Voigtlander camera..."
Other speakers on the "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" tour include Ann Coulter, who refers to Muslims as "rag heads," and Daniel Pipes, a supporter of the internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II and of the views of French racist Jean-Marie Le Pen.
“All those who value religious tolerance and diversity should be concerned about the growing links between European racists and American Islamophobes,” said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Publicity for the tour got off to a bad start when it was revealed that the poster promoting the campus events used a photograph that purportedly showed a Muslim woman being stoned to death, but which was in fact an image from a fictional movie.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
WA: MUSLIMS UPSET BY CAMPUS EVENT - TOP
Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times, 10/20/07
A controversial week of events, billed as Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, launches at the University of Washington and some 100 other colleges next week — drawing condemnations from Muslim groups here and across the country.
The UW College Republicans, organizer of the local events, say the week is intended to foster awareness of the terrorist threat posed by a small number of extremists within Islam.
But some local Muslims say the week fosters Islamophobia and racism and attempts to paint all Muslims as terrorists.
Beginning Monday, the group plans to hand out information sheets describing what the week's activities are all about.
And it's hosting two events open to the public: a showing of "Suicide Killers," a documentary about suicide bombers, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Smith Hall, and a talk by conservative author and talk-show host Michael Medved at 7 p.m. Thursday in Kane Hall.
Amin Odeh, a board member with the local Arab American Community Coalition, said he agrees that "radical anything is dangerous — radical Muslims, radical Christians, radical Jews. Education is needed."
But Odeh says Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week makes too general a link between extremism and Islam, and that the term "Islamo-fascism" links fascism with an entire religion.
"Unfortunately, when people hear the term they don't think of only a small group of extremists, but of Islam in general," he said.
Hala Dillsi, a member of the UW Muslim Student Association, believes Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week promotes fear and intolerance. She is distributing green armbands and encouraging people to wear T-shirts that are green — traditionally the color associated with Islam — on Wednesday in solidarity with local Arabs and Muslims.
The student group also is organizing a forum Oct. 29 in which professors and local Muslims discuss and answer questions about Islam.
Members of the Muslim Student Association, along with other organizations, also plan to hold protests outside Wednesday and Thursday evening's Awareness Week events.
Assistant Chief Ray Wittmier with the UW Police Department said his department is meeting with student organizers on all sides "to make sure everybody stays safe."
Robert Spencer is main speaker for upcoming Islamophobic campus tour
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/21/2007) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed today that the main speaker for an upcoming series of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" lectures at university campuses nationwide recently offered a keynote address at a European gathering that included representatives of racist or "neo-Nazi" political parties.
Author Robert Spencer, who is scheduled to appear beginning next week at universities such as Brown, DePaul and Dartmouth, is regarded by American Muslims as one of the nation's worst Islamophobes. His virulently anti-Islam website promotes the idea that life for Muslims in the West should be made so difficult that they will leave.
Spencer recently spoke at a so-called "Counterjihad Brussels 2007" conference in Belgium attended by those with links to far-right parties such as Filip Dewinter of Vlaams Belang (Belgium) and Ted Ekeroth of Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden). Both parties have been accused of either having a racist platform, a neo-Nazi past or having links to neo-Nazis and other racists.
Vlaams Belang is the successor to the Vlaams Blok party, which was banned in 2004 for being an illegal racist political faction. (Vlaams Belang's founders were Nazi collaborators in World War II.)
Of Sverigedemokraterna, the International Herald Tribune wrote: “Sverigedemokraterna, or the Sweden Democrats, have been part of this country's political landscape for almost 20 years, but they were considered too close to the Nazi-inspired far-right to contend for large numbers of votes.” (7/7/06)
SEE: European Organizations Gather in Brussels to Organize Resistance to Islamization and Shariah
SEE: Court Rules Vlaams Blok is Racist
Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch Board Vice President "Hugh Fitzgerald" wrote on that hate site: "Only one group, only one belief-system, distinguishes itself by appearing incapable of fitting in. And that is Muslims, and Islam ... if one really knew what Islam contained ... then how could any decent person remain a Muslim?"
He also recommended that western nations be "Islam-proofed the way a house is child-proofed," compared Muslims to Nazis and urged that they be boycotted: "[I]t should not be hard to find ways to limit the spread or practice of Islam. And if in addition to whatever local, state and federal government officials do, private parties simply conduct their own boycott of goods and services offered by Muslims, in the same way that they would have refused to buy, in 1938, a German Voigtlander camera..."
Other speakers on the "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" tour include Ann Coulter, who refers to Muslims as "rag heads," and Daniel Pipes, a supporter of the internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II and of the views of French racist Jean-Marie Le Pen.
“All those who value religious tolerance and diversity should be concerned about the growing links between European racists and American Islamophobes,” said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Publicity for the tour got off to a bad start when it was revealed that the poster promoting the campus events used a photograph that purportedly showed a Muslim woman being stoned to death, but which was in fact an image from a fictional movie.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
WA: MUSLIMS UPSET BY CAMPUS EVENT - TOP
Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times, 10/20/07
A controversial week of events, billed as Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, launches at the University of Washington and some 100 other colleges next week — drawing condemnations from Muslim groups here and across the country.
The UW College Republicans, organizer of the local events, say the week is intended to foster awareness of the terrorist threat posed by a small number of extremists within Islam.
But some local Muslims say the week fosters Islamophobia and racism and attempts to paint all Muslims as terrorists.
Beginning Monday, the group plans to hand out information sheets describing what the week's activities are all about.
And it's hosting two events open to the public: a showing of "Suicide Killers," a documentary about suicide bombers, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Smith Hall, and a talk by conservative author and talk-show host Michael Medved at 7 p.m. Thursday in Kane Hall.
Amin Odeh, a board member with the local Arab American Community Coalition, said he agrees that "radical anything is dangerous — radical Muslims, radical Christians, radical Jews. Education is needed."
But Odeh says Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week makes too general a link between extremism and Islam, and that the term "Islamo-fascism" links fascism with an entire religion.
"Unfortunately, when people hear the term they don't think of only a small group of extremists, but of Islam in general," he said.
Hala Dillsi, a member of the UW Muslim Student Association, believes Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week promotes fear and intolerance. She is distributing green armbands and encouraging people to wear T-shirts that are green — traditionally the color associated with Islam — on Wednesday in solidarity with local Arabs and Muslims.
The student group also is organizing a forum Oct. 29 in which professors and local Muslims discuss and answer questions about Islam.
Members of the Muslim Student Association, along with other organizations, also plan to hold protests outside Wednesday and Thursday evening's Awareness Week events.
Assistant Chief Ray Wittmier with the UW Police Department said his department is meeting with student organizers on all sides "to make sure everybody stays safe."
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Hate victim in New York Arabic School controversy speaks out
Debbie Almontesar, who was targeted in a hate campaign led by notorious anti-Arab and anti-Muslim Daniel Pipes, issued the following statement that was published in the New York Times Oct. 16, 2007:
Good evening. My name is Debbie Almontaser. I am the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, which is known as KGIA. Over a two-year period beginning in 2005, I devoted my life to establishing a school that reflected not only my vision, but the ideas of a design team that included other educators, prospective parents, community members, and the Arab American Family Support Center.
In early August of this year, under pressure from The New York Post, The New York Sun, and right-wing bloggers, representatives of the mayor, the chancellor, and New Visions demanded that I resign as KGIA’s principal. They threatened to close down KGIA if I refused. The next day, I submitted my letter of resignation. Because I believe that I am the person to carry forward the mission of KGIA, I have today submitted my application to become the principal of KGIA. I have also asked my lawyer to begin preparing a lawsuit against the D.O.E. for violation of my constitutional rights.
When I first discussed with New Visions for Public Schools the creation of an Arabic dual-language public school in New York City, controversy was far from my mind. I was thrilled to create a unique school that would provide a rigorous regents-based curriculum with Arabic language and cultural studies, and that would equip students for work in such areas as international affairs diplomacy and cross-cultural understanding. As with the more than 60 other dual language programs in the city, KGIA was created to foster multilingual and multicultural education. It was also joining many New York City public schools that use theme-based approaches to inform and enrich curriculum across subject areas. As an Arab-American Muslim, born in Yemen and raised in the U.S., establishing KGIA was my American dream. It turned into an American nightmare.
On Feb. 12, 2007, the Department of Education announced the establishment of KGIA. In the days following, right-wing blogs began spinning KGIA as an Islamist school with a radical extremist jihad principal. And local New York City papers fanned the flames with headlines like: “Holy war! Slope Parents Protest Arabic School Plan,” “A Madrassa Grows in Brooklyn,” and “Arabic School Idea Is a Monstrosity.” From the day the school was approved to the day I was forced to resign, The New York Sun plastered my picture on its website with a link to negative articles about KGIA.
Leading the attack was the “Stop the Madrassa Coalition” run by Daniel Pipes, who has made his career fostering hatred of Arabs and Muslims. The coalition conducted a smear campaign against me and the school that was ferocious. Members of the coalition stalked me wherever I went and verbally assaulted me with vicious anti-Arab and anti-Muslim comments. They suggested that, as an observant Muslim, I was disqualified from leading KGIA, even though the school is rigorously secular, and its namesake, Khalil Gibran, was a Lebanese Christian. To stir up anti-Arab prejudice, they constantly referred to me by my Arabic name, a name that I do not use professionally. They even created and circulated a YouTube clip depicting me as a radical Islamist.
Then in early August, The New York Post and the Stop the Madrassa Coalition tried to connect me to T-shirts made by a youth organization called Arab Women in the Arts and Media. The T-shirts said, “Intifada NYC.” Post reporters aggressively sought my comment. Because the T-shirts had nothing to do with me or KGIA, I saw no reason to discuss the issue with the media. I agreed to an interview with a reporter from The Post at the D.O.E.’s insistence. During the interview, the reporter asked about the Arabic origin of the word “intifada.” I told him that the root word from which the word intifada originates means “shake off” and that the word intifada has different meanings for different people, but certainly for many, given its association with the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, it implied violence. I reiterated that I would never affiliate myself with an individual or organization that would condone violence in any shape, way, or form. In response to a further question, I expressed the belief that the teenage girls of AWAAM did not mean to promote a “Gaza-style uprising” in New York City.
Although The Post story distorted my words, it accurately reflected my view that I do not condone violence. That should have been the end of the matter. D.O.E. officials should simply have said that it was clear that neither I nor KGIA had any connection to the T-shirts. They should have pointed out that I had devoted my entire adult life to the peaceful resolution of conflict and to building bridges between ethnic and religious communities. In other words, they should have said that the attacks upon me were utterly baseless. Instead, they forced me to issue an apology for what I said. And when the storm of hate continued, they forced me to resign.
In closing, permit me to explain why I am speaking out at this time. While I have been the victim of a serious injustice, the far larger offense has been to the Arab and Muslim communities of New York City. In the years since 9/11, our communities have been the object of the most vile and hateful attacks. The attacks on me are part of a larger campaign to intimidate and silence marginalized communities. Among other strategies, the right-wing is trying to get people from other communities to view Arabs and Muslims as threats to their safety and security. As a result, well-meaning people sometimes act out of fear—not just a knee-jerk anti-Arab, anti-Muslim response, but the fear that, if they do not succumb to right-wing pressure, they too will become targets.
Those seeking to harm our communities would like nothing more than for me to remain silent in response to their hate. For the sake of the Arab and Muslim communities and for all marginalized communities, for the sake of the families of KGIA, and for the sake of all of us committed to creating a society that we can be proud to leave to future generations, I stand here today to say that they will not prevail. I will continue to stand against division, intimidation and hatred; I will stand for a society based on mutual respect and understanding and dignity for all our communities. These are values to which I have devoted my entire adult life and career.
I am applying to be the principal of KGIA because, as its founding principal and the person who envisioned the school, I believe I am the person most qualified to be its educational leader. Throughout the planning process, I worked with a wonderful and devoted design team comprised of educators, parents, students, and community members. I would like to continue that work and to build KGIA into a model dual language school that, to quote KGIA’s mission statement, “helps students of all backgrounds learn about the world” and fosters in them “an understanding of different cultures, a love of learning, and desire for excellence in all of its students.”
Good evening. My name is Debbie Almontaser. I am the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, which is known as KGIA. Over a two-year period beginning in 2005, I devoted my life to establishing a school that reflected not only my vision, but the ideas of a design team that included other educators, prospective parents, community members, and the Arab American Family Support Center.
In early August of this year, under pressure from The New York Post, The New York Sun, and right-wing bloggers, representatives of the mayor, the chancellor, and New Visions demanded that I resign as KGIA’s principal. They threatened to close down KGIA if I refused. The next day, I submitted my letter of resignation. Because I believe that I am the person to carry forward the mission of KGIA, I have today submitted my application to become the principal of KGIA. I have also asked my lawyer to begin preparing a lawsuit against the D.O.E. for violation of my constitutional rights.
When I first discussed with New Visions for Public Schools the creation of an Arabic dual-language public school in New York City, controversy was far from my mind. I was thrilled to create a unique school that would provide a rigorous regents-based curriculum with Arabic language and cultural studies, and that would equip students for work in such areas as international affairs diplomacy and cross-cultural understanding. As with the more than 60 other dual language programs in the city, KGIA was created to foster multilingual and multicultural education. It was also joining many New York City public schools that use theme-based approaches to inform and enrich curriculum across subject areas. As an Arab-American Muslim, born in Yemen and raised in the U.S., establishing KGIA was my American dream. It turned into an American nightmare.
On Feb. 12, 2007, the Department of Education announced the establishment of KGIA. In the days following, right-wing blogs began spinning KGIA as an Islamist school with a radical extremist jihad principal. And local New York City papers fanned the flames with headlines like: “Holy war! Slope Parents Protest Arabic School Plan,” “A Madrassa Grows in Brooklyn,” and “Arabic School Idea Is a Monstrosity.” From the day the school was approved to the day I was forced to resign, The New York Sun plastered my picture on its website with a link to negative articles about KGIA.
Leading the attack was the “Stop the Madrassa Coalition” run by Daniel Pipes, who has made his career fostering hatred of Arabs and Muslims. The coalition conducted a smear campaign against me and the school that was ferocious. Members of the coalition stalked me wherever I went and verbally assaulted me with vicious anti-Arab and anti-Muslim comments. They suggested that, as an observant Muslim, I was disqualified from leading KGIA, even though the school is rigorously secular, and its namesake, Khalil Gibran, was a Lebanese Christian. To stir up anti-Arab prejudice, they constantly referred to me by my Arabic name, a name that I do not use professionally. They even created and circulated a YouTube clip depicting me as a radical Islamist.
Then in early August, The New York Post and the Stop the Madrassa Coalition tried to connect me to T-shirts made by a youth organization called Arab Women in the Arts and Media. The T-shirts said, “Intifada NYC.” Post reporters aggressively sought my comment. Because the T-shirts had nothing to do with me or KGIA, I saw no reason to discuss the issue with the media. I agreed to an interview with a reporter from The Post at the D.O.E.’s insistence. During the interview, the reporter asked about the Arabic origin of the word “intifada.” I told him that the root word from which the word intifada originates means “shake off” and that the word intifada has different meanings for different people, but certainly for many, given its association with the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, it implied violence. I reiterated that I would never affiliate myself with an individual or organization that would condone violence in any shape, way, or form. In response to a further question, I expressed the belief that the teenage girls of AWAAM did not mean to promote a “Gaza-style uprising” in New York City.
Although The Post story distorted my words, it accurately reflected my view that I do not condone violence. That should have been the end of the matter. D.O.E. officials should simply have said that it was clear that neither I nor KGIA had any connection to the T-shirts. They should have pointed out that I had devoted my entire adult life to the peaceful resolution of conflict and to building bridges between ethnic and religious communities. In other words, they should have said that the attacks upon me were utterly baseless. Instead, they forced me to issue an apology for what I said. And when the storm of hate continued, they forced me to resign.
In closing, permit me to explain why I am speaking out at this time. While I have been the victim of a serious injustice, the far larger offense has been to the Arab and Muslim communities of New York City. In the years since 9/11, our communities have been the object of the most vile and hateful attacks. The attacks on me are part of a larger campaign to intimidate and silence marginalized communities. Among other strategies, the right-wing is trying to get people from other communities to view Arabs and Muslims as threats to their safety and security. As a result, well-meaning people sometimes act out of fear—not just a knee-jerk anti-Arab, anti-Muslim response, but the fear that, if they do not succumb to right-wing pressure, they too will become targets.
Those seeking to harm our communities would like nothing more than for me to remain silent in response to their hate. For the sake of the Arab and Muslim communities and for all marginalized communities, for the sake of the families of KGIA, and for the sake of all of us committed to creating a society that we can be proud to leave to future generations, I stand here today to say that they will not prevail. I will continue to stand against division, intimidation and hatred; I will stand for a society based on mutual respect and understanding and dignity for all our communities. These are values to which I have devoted my entire adult life and career.
I am applying to be the principal of KGIA because, as its founding principal and the person who envisioned the school, I believe I am the person most qualified to be its educational leader. Throughout the planning process, I worked with a wonderful and devoted design team comprised of educators, parents, students, and community members. I would like to continue that work and to build KGIA into a model dual language school that, to quote KGIA’s mission statement, “helps students of all backgrounds learn about the world” and fosters in them “an understanding of different cultures, a love of learning, and desire for excellence in all of its students.”
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Missing Egyptian Editor, four years later
Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465‑1004 Fax: (212) 465‑9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: media@cpj.org
http://www.cpj.org
Contact: Abi Wright
e-mail: info@cpj.org
Telephone: (212) 465-1004 ext. 105
The Forgotten Man
A CPJ special report:
An Egyptian editor disappears and no one can say why
New York, October 17, 2007—Four years ago, a senior editor at Egypt’s leading state-run daily vanished in central Cairo. In a special report, “The Forgotten Man,” the Committee to Protect Journalists traces the last known movements of editor Reda Helal, who disappeared on his way home from a routine workday at the prominent daily Al-Ahram. Some Egyptian journalists believe Helal was a victim of an “enforced disappearance” undertaken by domestic or foreign security agents, CPJ’s Joel Campagna writes.
The report’s release coincides with an Egyptian government crackdown on the press that has included a flurry of prosecutions and convictions of outspoken journalists. CPJ has designated Egypt as one of the world’s worst backsliders on press freedom, citing an increase in the number of attacks on the press over the past five years—including Helal’s disappearance.
“It is inconceivable that a journalist can simply vanish in the center of Cairo in broad daylight and for the authorities to say they have no clues,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “The Egyptian government’s failure to shed light on this alarming disappearance, or even to release its findings after four years, is deplorable. We call on Egyptian officials, including President Mubarak, to provide answers.”
CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465‑1004 Fax: (212) 465‑9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: media@cpj.org
http://www.cpj.org
Contact: Abi Wright
e-mail: info@cpj.org
Telephone: (212) 465-1004 ext. 105
The Forgotten Man
A CPJ special report:
An Egyptian editor disappears and no one can say why
New York, October 17, 2007—Four years ago, a senior editor at Egypt’s leading state-run daily vanished in central Cairo. In a special report, “The Forgotten Man,” the Committee to Protect Journalists traces the last known movements of editor Reda Helal, who disappeared on his way home from a routine workday at the prominent daily Al-Ahram. Some Egyptian journalists believe Helal was a victim of an “enforced disappearance” undertaken by domestic or foreign security agents, CPJ’s Joel Campagna writes.
The report’s release coincides with an Egyptian government crackdown on the press that has included a flurry of prosecutions and convictions of outspoken journalists. CPJ has designated Egypt as one of the world’s worst backsliders on press freedom, citing an increase in the number of attacks on the press over the past five years—including Helal’s disappearance.
“It is inconceivable that a journalist can simply vanish in the center of Cairo in broad daylight and for the authorities to say they have no clues,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “The Egyptian government’s failure to shed light on this alarming disappearance, or even to release its findings after four years, is deplorable. We call on Egyptian officials, including President Mubarak, to provide answers.”
CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Washington Post Iraq freelancer/photograper killed in Baghdad
Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465‑1004 Fax: (212) 465‑9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: media@cpj.org
http://www.cpj.org
Contact: Abi Wright
e-mail: mideast@cpj.org
Telephone: (212) 465-1004 x-105
Washington Post reporter killed in Baghdad
New York, October 15, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of a reporter for The Washington Post in Baghdad on Sunday. Salih Saif Aldin, 32, was killed at close range by a single gunshot to the head while photographing fire-damaged houses on a street in Baghdad’s southern neighborhood of Saydiya, The Post reported.
Saif Aldin was on assignment interviewing residents about the sectarian violence raging between Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents in the neighborhood, long a center of violence, the newspaper said. The Post reported that a man used Saif Aldin’s cell phone to inform an employee at the paper that the journalist was killed.
“We condemn this deplorable attack, which is a fresh reminder of why Iraq remains the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, especially Iraqis,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “Accounts that Salih Saif Aldin may have been murdered by Iraqi soldiers are alarming, and they demand swift action by the Iraqi government in providing answers and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.”
Washington Post Baghdad Bureau Chief Sudarsan Raghavan told CPJ that it remained murky as to who shot Saif Aldin and why. Some residents suspect that the Iraqi army, some of whose members are loyal to the Mahdi Army, a militia led by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, is responsible for the slaying, The Post reported. Iraqi police suspect Sunni gunmen from the Awakening Council, a group consisting of Sunni tribes working alongside U.S. forces, The Post said.
Saif Aldin, who wrote under the pseudonym Salih Dehema for security purposes, began his journalism career as a reporter for the weekly Al-Iraq al-Yawm in Tikrit, and joined The Post in January 2004 as a stringer, the newspaper said. Saif Aldin has been arrested, beaten, and threatened while carrying out his assignments.
Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Post, called Saif Aldin a “brave and valuable reporter who contributed much to our coverage of Iraq.” Saif Aldin was known for his tenacity and his willingness to take assignments that put him in harm's way, The Post reported.
On March 7, cameraman Yussef Sabri of Biladi satellite channel was killed along with several other people by a suicide bomber in Saydiya, and on July 13, New York Times journalist Khalid W. Hassan was shot and killed in the same neighborhood.
In all, at least 119 journalists, including Saif Aldin, and 41 media support staffers have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, making it the deadliest conflict for the press in CPJ’s 26-year history. About 85 percent of media deaths have been Iraqis.
CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
end
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465‑1004 Fax: (212) 465‑9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: media@cpj.org
http://www.cpj.org
Contact: Abi Wright
e-mail: mideast@cpj.org
Telephone: (212) 465-1004 x-105
Washington Post reporter killed in Baghdad
New York, October 15, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of a reporter for The Washington Post in Baghdad on Sunday. Salih Saif Aldin, 32, was killed at close range by a single gunshot to the head while photographing fire-damaged houses on a street in Baghdad’s southern neighborhood of Saydiya, The Post reported.
Saif Aldin was on assignment interviewing residents about the sectarian violence raging between Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents in the neighborhood, long a center of violence, the newspaper said. The Post reported that a man used Saif Aldin’s cell phone to inform an employee at the paper that the journalist was killed.
“We condemn this deplorable attack, which is a fresh reminder of why Iraq remains the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, especially Iraqis,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “Accounts that Salih Saif Aldin may have been murdered by Iraqi soldiers are alarming, and they demand swift action by the Iraqi government in providing answers and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.”
Washington Post Baghdad Bureau Chief Sudarsan Raghavan told CPJ that it remained murky as to who shot Saif Aldin and why. Some residents suspect that the Iraqi army, some of whose members are loyal to the Mahdi Army, a militia led by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, is responsible for the slaying, The Post reported. Iraqi police suspect Sunni gunmen from the Awakening Council, a group consisting of Sunni tribes working alongside U.S. forces, The Post said.
Saif Aldin, who wrote under the pseudonym Salih Dehema for security purposes, began his journalism career as a reporter for the weekly Al-Iraq al-Yawm in Tikrit, and joined The Post in January 2004 as a stringer, the newspaper said. Saif Aldin has been arrested, beaten, and threatened while carrying out his assignments.
Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Post, called Saif Aldin a “brave and valuable reporter who contributed much to our coverage of Iraq.” Saif Aldin was known for his tenacity and his willingness to take assignments that put him in harm's way, The Post reported.
On March 7, cameraman Yussef Sabri of Biladi satellite channel was killed along with several other people by a suicide bomber in Saydiya, and on July 13, New York Times journalist Khalid W. Hassan was shot and killed in the same neighborhood.
In all, at least 119 journalists, including Saif Aldin, and 41 media support staffers have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, making it the deadliest conflict for the press in CPJ’s 26-year history. About 85 percent of media deaths have been Iraqis.
CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
end
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Arab Journalists Declare Sianis' Cubs-curse Goat is NOT a real Goat
Sianis Goat and Curse are a Fraud, Hoax, fake, Arab Journalists Declare
Chicago -- The National Arab American Journalists Association today declared that the goat owned by the late Billy Goat Owner Billy Sianis is NOT a real goat and therefore the Curse of the Goat o the Chicago Cubs is a hoax.
Arab Americans have long suspected that the alleged Goat, aka "Murphy," aka "Sinovia," aka "Harry Faced Carey," was not a Goat at all and was not from the Mediterranean. It was a Llama with short legs, and horns glued to his head by the enterprising Greek American restauranteur and owner, Billy Sianis, who brought the alleged goat to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series in which the Cubs were playing against the Detroit Tigers.
Before the game ended, Sianis and his goat, which had limped to his Tavern after falling off a wagon cart, were thrown out of the game by Andy frain ushers and Cubs owner Philip Knight Wrigley, who was quoted as mumbling while chewing a mouthfull of chewing gum, "Dat ain't no Goat. It smells like Fernando Llamas!"
"Clearly, therefore, the power of the curse that Sianis invoked when his so-called 'Goat' was evicked from Wrigley Field is in fact a fraud, a hoax, and trick," said NAAJA member Ray Hanania, a die-hard Cubs fan since he discovered that the only way he could get a date with his first high school sweetheart was to invite her to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs
"If this were a goat," Hanania explained, "the curse would have merit. But, it's not a goat. The Arabs and the Middle East get blamed for everything. This goat is a fraud. It never walked the rockey hills overlooking Bethlehem, or the coast of Jordan or struggled through the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia. It was never nurtured by caring parent goats in a little grotto off the Mediterranean coast. This goat that limped it's way off a South American tomato peddlers cart is in fact a Llama that escaped from the Brookfield Zoo and took up the appearance of a Goat to fool the easily fooled Cook County Sheriff's police."
This is was discussed between Dwight Eisenhower and Saudi Prince Saud right after the World War II, but an exchange of oil between the two nations prevented the truth from coming out. Isn't oil behind all of the world's problems?
For more information, visit http://www.hanania.com/
end
CLick Image to go to cartoon web page
Chicago -- The National Arab American Journalists Association today declared that the goat owned by the late Billy Goat Owner Billy Sianis is NOT a real goat and therefore the Curse of the Goat o the Chicago Cubs is a hoax.
Arab Americans have long suspected that the alleged Goat, aka "Murphy," aka "Sinovia," aka "Harry Faced Carey," was not a Goat at all and was not from the Mediterranean. It was a Llama with short legs, and horns glued to his head by the enterprising Greek American restauranteur and owner, Billy Sianis, who brought the alleged goat to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series in which the Cubs were playing against the Detroit Tigers.
Before the game ended, Sianis and his goat, which had limped to his Tavern after falling off a wagon cart, were thrown out of the game by Andy frain ushers and Cubs owner Philip Knight Wrigley, who was quoted as mumbling while chewing a mouthfull of chewing gum, "Dat ain't no Goat. It smells like Fernando Llamas!"
"Clearly, therefore, the power of the curse that Sianis invoked when his so-called 'Goat' was evicked from Wrigley Field is in fact a fraud, a hoax, and trick," said NAAJA member Ray Hanania, a die-hard Cubs fan since he discovered that the only way he could get a date with his first high school sweetheart was to invite her to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs
"If this were a goat," Hanania explained, "the curse would have merit. But, it's not a goat. The Arabs and the Middle East get blamed for everything. This goat is a fraud. It never walked the rockey hills overlooking Bethlehem, or the coast of Jordan or struggled through the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia. It was never nurtured by caring parent goats in a little grotto off the Mediterranean coast. This goat that limped it's way off a South American tomato peddlers cart is in fact a Llama that escaped from the Brookfield Zoo and took up the appearance of a Goat to fool the easily fooled Cook County Sheriff's police."
This is was discussed between Dwight Eisenhower and Saudi Prince Saud right after the World War II, but an exchange of oil between the two nations prevented the truth from coming out. Isn't oil behind all of the world's problems?
For more information, visit http://www.hanania.com/
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