Convenings, Call for Papers, Student Chat, Training Tool,Deaths.

Navigation: Main page

Author: Al-Arian, Laila

The Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America will hold their annual joint convention Dec. 24-28 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. This year's theme is "Muslims, Citizens of the West: Rights, Duties and Prospects." Confirmed speakers include Dr. Jamal Badawi and University of Maryland Professor Louis Cantori. Register online at <www.masnet.org>, or call MAS at (816) 765-8383 or ICNA at (718) 658-1199.

The Union of Arab Student Associations will hold its national conference for Arab-American students Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. Hundreds of young students from across the country will gather at George Washington University in Washington, DC to network, discuss pressing issues, coordinate efforts on a national level, and plan an agenda and strategy for the year. UASA hopes to mobilize Arab-American students in order to launch efforts to organize and contribute during the upcoming election year. To register for the conference, visit <http://www.uasaonline.org/conf/>.

The Middle East Center at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington (Seattle) invites presentation proposals for its 2004 regional seminar on the Middle East. The seminar is convened to enable faculty who teach about the Middle East at regional two- and four-year colleges to present their latest research on and teaching strategies for the Middle East and Central Asia. Both individual and panel presentations are encouraged. Some travel funds are available for presenters. Send or e-mail the title of the proposed presentation, along with a short (50-75words) abstract by Feb. 20. Contact Felicia Hecker at <fhecker@u.washington.edu> or (206) 543-4227.

A group of Palestinian students from AnNajah National University in Nablus, Palestine are interested in chatting with people from all over the globe to discuss their current situation in Palestine and explore social, psychological and economic dynamics. Interested persons are invited to add the group's e-mail address <zajjell@hotmail.com> to their Microsoft Network (MSN) Messenger list. To log in to their chat forum and contribute comments or questions about life in Palestine visit: <http://www.najah.edu/english/Youth%20Prog/Youth.asp>.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations New York chapter has launched a "Community Leadership Course" on CD-ROM. The product is an interactive computer-based training course by experts and community leaders who cover different aspects of activism â€" including civil liberties, event planning, leadership, media relations, political empowerment and public speaking. The cost of the CD is $15 plus $3.85 priority shipping. To order, visit <www.cair-ny.com/cdr.shtml> or call (212) 870-2002.

Former Mauritanian president Moktar Ould Daddah, 79, died Oct. 15 in a Paris hospital. No cause of death was reported. The "founding father" of Mauritania, Daddah ruled the West African nation from when it gained independence from France in 1960 until he was ousted by a coup in 1978. His 1975 decision to sign an agreement that divided mineralrich Western Sahara between Mauritania and Morocco sealed his political fate, as Western Sahara separatists, the Polisario Front, fought for independence. Two years later, Daddah appealed to the French government to help stop the war. Additionally, a severe drought and a drop in international demand for iron ore, which accounted for over 50 percent of Mauritania's total exports, spurred the military coup that removed Daddah from office.

A longtime passionate advocate for the Palestinian cause, Dr. Alijah Gordon, 74, died of pneumonia Nov. 18 at the Gleneagles hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Born Shirley Doris Gordon in the United States, her life changed after she learned about the plight of the Palestinian people from a friend while studying at Columbia University. After graduating in 1954, Gordon moved to Egypt and then Lebanon, where she visited Palestinian refugee camps. What she saw there further deepened her sense of commitment to the Palestinian people. She made Malaysia her new home in 1957, when she became chair of the Malaysian Sociological Research Institute, and later strongly supported the work of Medical Aid of Palestinians-Malaysia, which has raised money for medical projects serving the Palestinians and has sent doctors to work with them. Although wheelchair-bound in her final years, Gordon continued to be active, writing letters and articles on behalf of Palestinians.

Former U.S. ambassador to Jordan and Turkey William B. Macomber Jr., 82, died of Parkinson's disease Nov. 19 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. A State Department official during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford presidencies, he served as undersecretary for management from 1969 to 1973. He also was the founding member of the non-profit American Academy of Diplomacy, based in Washington, DC. As the New York Times reported on Nov. 21, Macomber was known within the foreign service community as a reformer who stood up against President Nixon and refused to punish foreign service officers who participated in demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Born in Rochester, New York, Macomber received his undergraduate education and a master's degree in government from Yale University. He then earned a law degree from Harvard University, followed by another master's, in social science, from the University of Chicago. After serving as ambassador to Jordan and Turkey, in 1975 Macomber published a book about his experiences entitled The Angels' Came: A Handbook of Modern Diplomacy. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Phyllis, and a brother, John.

A judge known for sentencing hundreds of Iranians to death after the 1979 revolution died Nov. 26 in a hospital in Tehran after an operation for undisclosed ailments. Called the "Hanging Judge," Ayatollah Sadeq Khalkhali, 77, ordered the execution of opponents of Iran's revolutionary leadership, including former Prime Minister Abbas Hoveida. Some of his trials allegedly lasted only minutes. It was reported in Iran that when a top military official under Shah Reza Pahlavi, Nematollah Nasiri, went before Khalkhali, the judge shot him on the spot with a pistol. Khalkhali was appointed president of the Islamic Revolution Court in February 1979. The judge wrote in his autobiography that he sentenced to death 85 government officials of the former regime.

~~~~~~~~

Compiled by Laila Al-Arian