Middle East Monitor Conversations

Shlaim recalls a time when indigenous Jews resided in Muslim-majority lands harmoniously alongside their Muslim and Christian neighbours and how Israel worked to destabilise their ties Born in Iraq, Avi Shlaim spoke Arabic at home and says he had more in common with his Arab compatriots than his coreligionists from Eastern Europe, but Israel won't allow people to believe Arab Jews lived safely in the Middle East, he says. Join us as we speak to Professor Shlaim about his new book 'Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew' and how he uncovered proof that Israel was behind bombings in Baghdad that led to the mass exodus of Jews from Iraq.Avi Shlaim is an Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and fellow of the British Academy. His main research interest is the Arab-Israeli conflict. He has authored numerous books, including 'The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World', 'The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948' and 'The 1967 Arab-Israeli War: Origins and Consequences'.Professor Shlaim is a frequent contributor to newspapers and commentator on radio and television on Middle Eastern affairs.

here is a drive to have the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism used by all political parties and civil society groups, but its use is silencing debate on human rights abuses committed by Israel against Palestinians. Join us for a conversation with Giovanni Fassina as we discuss how the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is increasingly being used to suppress advocacy for Palestinian rights. Fassina serves as Programme Director of the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) and oversees the legal team and the strategic litigation cases at the ELSC. Previously, he trained as a lawyer in Italy, specialising in cases related to mass torts litigation, Business and Human Rights and civil liability before domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Giovanni graduated in International Law from the University of Trento and worked for many years in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the development sector.

Using Afghanistan, Palestine-Israel and Kashmir as case studies we'll discuss how Islamic law is often misconstrued and mis-represented in the media Join us for a conversation with Kaleem Hussein as we discuss his book 'Peace and Reconciliation in International and Islamic Law' and how the sources of international law and Islamic Law help or hinder the pathway towards peace and reconciliation in selected conflicts.Focusing on Afghanistan, Palestine-Israel and Kashmir, we will discuss how the depiction, interpretation and understanding of Islamic law is often misconstrued and mis-represented across many mainstream media platforms. While also looking at the role of religion and faith in the process of conflict resolution, de-escalation of violence, conflict transformation, as well as creative non-violent contributions that can be inculcated through the prism of interfaith and intra-faith dialogue in the peacebuilding process. Hussain is a British writer, multi-disciplinary change management consultant and geo-political observer with an interest in the intersection of religion in public life, politics and international relations as well as programmes and initiatives fostering peaceful coexistence and reconciliation at a national and international level. He is an Honorary Fellow at the Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, University of Birmingham, and at the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (Muslim Heritage). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Global Diplomatic Forum Alumnus, and a Risk Assistance Network Exchange (RANE) Analyst. He completed his LLB Law (Honours), LLM in International Economic Law at the University of Warwick and a PDLGM at Warwick Business School.

While Rumi is an internationally renowned poet, his ties to Islam are often forgotten or ignored, one man is working to change thatThe 13th century Islamic jurist and mystic Jalal Al-Din Muhammad Rumi is frequently dubbed 'America's best selling poet' and 800 years after his death he has acquired a large following among wellness influencers and spirituality shoppers in the West. However, translations into English of Rumi's work often obscure or erase his Islamic background and Muslim beliefs, instead depicting him as an anti-religion and pro-spiritual figure. These erroneous depictions have sparked a conversation about who the real Rumi was and what his poetry really says. Join us as we speak to Muhammad Ali Mojaradi, founder of the Instagram and Twitter page Persian Poetics, which aims to provide authentic translations of Persian poetry into English, introducing new audiences to Persian-language literary tradition and heritage. We discuss the difficulty of translation, what Rumi means to different people and how living in the diaspora can lead to a loss of connection to the country of origins. Mojaradi graduated from the University of Michigan in 2020 and founded the #rumiwasmuslim campaign to challenge fake quotes attributed to Rumi. 

Join us for a conversation with Professor Khairudin Aljunied as we discuss his latest book 'Shapers of Islam in Southeast Asia', which attempts to capture the progressive and pluralistic nature of Islamic conformism in Southeast Asia from the mid-20th century onwards, as well as the impact of the Middle East on Malaysian scholars and vice versa.Prof Aljunied is a Senior Fellow at the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He's the author of several books including 'Colonialism, Violence and Muslims in Southeast Asia', 'Muslim Cosmopolitanism: Southeast Asian Islam in Comparative Perspective', and 'Hamka and Islam: Cosmopolitan Reform in the Malay World'.

Lebanon is experiencing what the World Bank has said is one of the worst financial crises seen globally since the mid-nineteenth century, it was also the scene of the devastating port blast which destroyed much of its capital, with high levels of corruption and a currency that has lost almost all its value, will Lebanon's cities survive the constant attacks? Nothing symbolises corruption, greed, sectarianism, foreign intervention and neoliberal transformation quite like Beirut. And nothing symbolises resistance, resilience, communal solidarity and a thirst for change quite like Beirut. Join us as we talk to Mona Harb about urban politics in the Lebanese capital.Mona Harb is tenured professor of urban studies and politics at the American University of Beirut (AUB) where she is also co-founder and research lead at the Beirut Urban Lab. Her research investigates urban governance and city-making in contexts of dysfunctional states and disasters, and the role of urban activists in collective action and oppositional politics. She is the author of Le Hezbollah à Beirut: de la banlieue à la ville, co-author of Leisurely Islam: Negotiating Geography and Morality in Shi’i South Beirut, co-editor of Local Governments and Public Goods: Assessing Decentralization in the Arab World and co-editor of Refugees as City-Makers, and of more than 80 journal articles, book chapters and other publications. Harb is the coordinator of the AUB graduate programs in Urban Planning, Policy and Design, and was previously Associate Dean of her faculty, and Chairperson of the department of Architecture and Design. She provides professional advice on urban development issues for several international organisations (ESCWA, WB, EU, UNDP). 

Has Syrian regime President Bashar Al-Assad been victorious after he was allowed back into the Arab League in spite of spending over a decade of killing and torturing his citizens?On 19 May 2023 Syria's leader Bashar Al-Assad arrived in Jeddah for the Arab League summit. It was the first time Damascus attended the summit since being expelled from the league in 2011. Despite hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions displaced, thousands incarcerated, a ruined economy and a country battered and bruised, Riyadh has welcomed Syria back into the fold of Arab Nations. Many see this as a victory for Bashar Al-Assad but are they right? Join us for a conversation with Dr Lina Khatib Khatib is the Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute and MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle East Studies as well as Professor of Practice at the Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS University of London. Prior to this, she served as director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House and before that was director of the Carnegie Middle East Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She also co-founded and led the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law and was a Senior Associate at the Arab Reform Initiative. She has published several books and is a frequent writer and commentator on current affairs in the Middle East.

Subhead: As support for the Palestinian cause increases, so too do efforts by the Friends of Israel to quash it, but who are the key factors in the British Zionist movement?Join us in conversation with Dr Hil Aked as we discuss how Israel's friends in the West are helping maintain its apartheid regime and reverse widening support for the Palestinian cause in Britain.Dr Aked is a writer and author of 'Friends of Israel: The backlash against Palestine solidarity' which  traces the history and changing fortunes of key actors within the British Zionist movement in the context of the Israeli government's contemporary efforts to repress a rising tide of solidarity with Palestinians expressed through the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.    An investigative researcher with a background in political sociology, Aked holds a PhD from the University of Bath and an MSc from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Aked has conducted research on the ‘Israel lobby’, Islamophobia, neoconservative think tanks and the media, the far right, and civil society activism in the struggle for AIDS treatment in South Africa. Aked's work has appeared in the Guardian, Independent, Sky News and Al Jazeera, as well as volumes from Pluto Press and Zed Books/Bloomsbury. 

Can poetry give a voice to the oppressed in Australia and Palestine? Much like with Palestinians, Australia's First Nation people otherwise known as the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander peoples, have suffered dispossession, violence and colonialism from the European settlers. Pro Palestine and Pro First Nation activism are connected in their fight for justice against settler colonialism. Helping us connect the dots is poet and human rights lawyer Sara Saleh. Join us as we explore how poetry and art enable activism. Sara Saleh is a writer, human rights lawyer, organiser, and daughter of Lebanese-Palestinian-Egyptian migrants based on Bidjigal land (Sydney, Australia). Her poems, short stories, and essays have been published nationally and internationally in English and Arabic. She is co-editor of the groundbreaking 2019 anthology Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity. Sara made history as the first poet to win both the coveted Peter Porter and Judith Wright Poetry Prizes. Her debut novel Songs for the Dead and the Living and poetry collection, The Flirtation of Girls, are both out this year. 

George Washington University recently cleared Sheehi of allegations of anti-Semitism, with the probe once again highlighting that criticism of Israel is being conflated with anti-SemitismDr Lara Sheehi was recently cleared of allegations of anti-Semitism brought against her by the notorious anti-Palestinian lobby group StandWithUs. Join us as we discuss concerns over the conflation of anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel and its effect on education.Lara Sheehi, PsyD, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the George Washington University's Professional Psychology Program. She teaches decolonial, liberatory and anti-oppressive theories and approaches to clinical treatment, case conceptualisation and community consultation. She is the president-elect of the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology (APA Division 39), and the chair of the Teachers' Academy of the American Psychoanalytic Association. She is co-editor of Studies in Gender and Sexuality and co-editor of CounterSpace in Psychoanalysis, Culture, and Society. Lara is on the advisory board to the USA–Palestine Mental Health Network and Psychoanalysis for Pride. She is co-author with Stephen Sheehi of the book, 'Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine' which won the Academic Awards in the 2022 Palestine Book Awards.