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Seminar: Middle Eastern Cultures and Societies
Five sessions (each session is 2 hours long)
Presented by Dr. Hassan Diab
- When: Five Wednesdays (September 28, October 5-12-19-26, 2011), 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Where: Ottawa, Ontario (near Meadowlands)
- Cost: $100 for five sessions, to be donated to the Hassan Diab Legal Defence Fund
- Contact: diab1492@yahoo.com
The situation in the Middle East – Arab Spring – is Big News every day. But how much do we really know about (and understand) the people living there – in Lybia, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, etc.?
This seminar by Dr. Hassan Diab offers an in-depth perspective about Middle Eastern cultures and societies in an engaging, conversational, and informal atmosphere. The seminar is composed of five sessions or meetings, each session is 2 hours long.
This is a unique opportunity to find answers to many of the questions you have about the Middle East, as well as participate in interesting discussions.
SEMINAR DESCRIPTION
Session 1 (History and Economy): A Historical Perspective of Middle Eastern Societies. This session covers some of the major historical events that led to the formation of current societies and states in the Middle East. We will focus on the relationship between colonialism and the rise of the "dependent" contemporary societies and states in the region.
Session 2 (Culture): Cultural Perspectives and Practices in the Middle East: The Non-Orientalist Approaches. In this session, we will focus on the similarities and differences in cultural formations and practices in the region. We will also discuss the problems that arise from adopting the orientalist approach to understanding societies in the region. Edward Said's views will be critically discussed and examples from cultural practices in the Middle East will be objectively presented.
Session 3 (Politics): Political Development and the Formation of Current Political Systems in the Middle East. This session seeks to shed some light on the historical formation of current political systems in the region. We will examine the aspirations of various political movements, and the obstacles faced in developing mostly tribal societies into modern democratic political entities. Unfulfilled promises of modernization theories will be probed.
Session 4 (Religion): Religion and Its Role in Societies and Cultures in the Middle East: Myths and Realities. This session will provide a general view of the three main religions in the Middle East, focusing mainly on Islam and its main branches. We will examine the role of religion in Middle Eastern societies. We will also analyze Western media coverage of events in the Middle East.
Session 5 (Arab Spring): The Future of the Middle East: A Vibrant or Stagnant Region? This session discusses the current events which led to the "Arab Spring" and its potential to achieve the hopes and aspirations of people in the region.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
(Additional readings may be assigned as needed).
Novels:
- Cities of Salt, by Abdul Rahman Munif (a novel translated from Arabic; available at the Public Library)
- Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa (a novel; may be available in the Public Library).
Articles & Chapters in Books:
- Said, Edward. 1995. “Introduction.” Pp. 1-28 in Orientalism. London, England: Penguin Books.
- Amin, Samir. 1989. “The Construction of Eurocentric Culture.” Pp. 89-117 in Eurocentrism. New York, New York: Monthly Press Review.
- Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2002. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist 104(3):783-790.
- Said, Edward. 1995. “The Latest Phase.” Pp. 284-328 in Orientalism. London, England: Penguin Books.
Teaching is Dr. Diab’s livelihood and passion. We hope that YOU will not miss this great opportunity to attend his lectures.
Dr. Hassan Diab is a Lebanese Canadian sociology professor who is an expert on the Middle East. He holds a Ph.D. (1995) in Sociology from Syracuse University, New York. He is the author of the book “Beirut: Reviving Lebanon's Past” which examines Beirut’s financial role in the Middle East, and the repercussions of that role on Lebanese society and politics.
In addition to his academic credentials, Dr. Diab has over 20-years teaching experience in various universities in North America and the Middle East.
Teaching is Dr. Diab's livelihood and passion, but he has not been able to find employment since he lost his teaching job at Carleton University due to external pressure.
Since November 2008, Dr. Diab has been fighting his extradition to France for his alleged involvement in a bombing in Paris in 1980 – a crime he did not commit. Dr. Diab's fingerprints do not match those of the suspect. His palm prints do not match. His physical description does not match. Yet, at the end of a lengthy extradition hearing in June 2011, the Canadian judge decided to commit Hassan to extradition based on flawed handwriting analysis that the judge himself described as “problematic”, “very confusing”, and with “conclusions that are suspect”. The judge said he must commit because he is bound by Canada’s extradition treaty with France.
Hassan is appealing the judge’s decision, and needs your support. Hassan's case is a wake up call for all of us. We must prevent the erosion of human rights here in Canada.
For more information, see:
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/9223-canadian-qkq-hassan-diabs-kafkaesque-twilight.html
Imagine going to sleep and having a dream. In the soft, surreal landscapes of this dream you are a normal person living a normal life. You begin to be followed by shadowy figures, so you call the police - but it continues.
After a year of this recurring theme, the dream takes a turn; the authorities come and take you away. You've 'disappeared' into a labyrinth of byzantine officialdom, where human rights and reality and rationality are not always what they seem; where you've been charged with a hideous crime 30 years in the past; where the evidence is either secret, or ludicrous enough to be laughable - if it were only a dream.
This is not Syria or North Korea, or any other number of corrupt and paranoid police states to be found aplenty. And it's not the dust jacket blurb from a newly discovered Franz Kafka novel. It's a reality, today, in Canada...
Read the full article at:
The Vegetable News Network, Blog for the week of August 1, 2011
http://www.vegnewsnet.com/Aug1-11.html
You are invited to join a Sunday service, with special speaker Dr. Monia Mazigh.
- Title: Our Civil Liberties: Myths and Realities
- Time: Sunday, July 31, 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
- Location: First Unitarian Congregation, 30 Cleary Ave (off Richmond Road, one traffic light East of Woodroffe Ave), Ottawa, Ontario
Bus 18 and 2, lots of parking
Special guests will be Hassan Diab and his partner Rania Tfaily, and Sophie Lamarche Harkat (wife of Mohamed Harkat)
Refreshments will be served after the service, which will also give you the opportunity to personally meet and talk with Monia and the special guests.
For more information, call: 613-828-8468
"Despite Incredibly 'Weak Case', Hassan Diab Forced to Keep Resisting Extradition to France", by Matthew Behrens
Dr. Hassan Diab is a Canadian university professor fighting for his freedom, and for his life.
The French government wants him to face trial for what they allege is Dr. Diab's involvement in a 1980 bombing that killed four people. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
There's a small problem: Dr. Diab's fingerprints don't match the suspect's. His palm prints do not match. The physical description does not match. The handwriting does not match. Allegations against him have been found "weak", "suspect," and "confusing" by a Canadian judge; that same judge concluded June 6 that "the case presented by the Republic of France against Mr. Diab is a weak case; the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial, seem unlikely."
With such a strong defence, one would think Dr. Diab would be breathing easy. Instead, he is strapped to a GPS monitoring bracelet for which he must pay $2,000 a month (a new version of the Dickensian debtors' prison, in which your freedom is now dependent on your ability to pay the state's surveillance costs), barred from leaving his home without a court-approved monitor, and faced with a curfew worse than that imposed on most 10-year-olds. He cannot teach, his home is frequently invaded by RCMP agents, and he lives with the unimaginable stress that he might spend the rest of his life in a small French jail cell...
Read the full article at:
http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/9223-canadian-qkq-hassan-diabs-kafkaesque-twilight.html
Hassan Diab's case highlights the injustice of Canada’s Extradition Law and should be of concern to everyone. The issue was widely covered in the media, including the following:
- Hassan Diab Press Conference, Ottawa, June 6, 2011
- CBC Radio interview with Hassan’s lawyer, Mr. Don Bayne, conducted by Alan Neal of “All in a Day”, June 6, 2011
- The Complex Case of Hassan Diab, by Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen, June 10, 2011
- Why the Diab case should worry all Canadians, by Randal Marlin, Ottawa Citizen, June 16, 2011
- Canada’s Extradition Law: The Least Fair Act on Earth?, by Gary Botting, Prism Magazine, June 17, 2011
Please take the time to send a brief letter to the Editor in support of Hassan Diab.
On Wednesday May 25, Hassan Diab's lawyer asked the extradition judge to take into account a recent ruling by the Ontario Court of appeal, and allow the introduction of additional handwriting reports to demonstrate (once again!) the total unreliability of France's handwriting evidence. Several French handwriting experts are willing to testify that the methodology and conclusions of the handwriting evidence are totally flawed.
Read Ottawa Citizen coverage of Wednesday's hearing.
This morning, the judge denied the lawyer’s request. A decision on whether to "commit" Hassan for extradition (basically, the first step in shipping Hassan overseas, which involves imprisonment) will be issued on June 6th.
Read Ottawa Citizen coverage of today’s decision
Please write letters to the Editor expressing your concern about the extradition process and your support for Hassan Diab.
In your letters, you can raise one or more of the following points:
- As Hassan's case shows, the standard of evidence for extraditing Canadian citizens does not come near to meeting standards for a fair trial.
- It is very alarming that Hassan's extradition may be allowed to proceed SOLELY on the basis of handwriting analysis that the judge himself has said is “very problematic, very confusing, and with conclusions that are suspect".
It is unacceptable that France based its original extradition request on completely unsourced and secret intelligence that may be the product of torture.
- It is unacceptable that France has withheld information favourable to Hassan from the judge, such as the fact that Hassan’s palm prints and fingerprints do not match those of the suspect.
- Letters must be very short (100 words or less); include name, postal address and daytime phone number of the writer; state "Letter to the Editor" in the Subject line; and content should be in the body of the email (i.e. do not send as an attachment).
Email addresses are provided below:
Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.com
National Post: letters@nationalpost.com
Ottawa Citizen: letters@thecitizen.canwest.com
Ottawa Sun: ottsun.oped@sunmedia.ca
Hill Times (Federal Parliament): news@hilltimes.com
Thanks for your continued support.
Hassan Diab Support Committee
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
diabsupport@gmail.com
We urge you to take a stand for the principles of fundamental justice and for the presumption of innocence in the case of Dr. Hassan Diab by signing the petition at:
http://stopextradition.diabpetition.org/
As you may recall, Dr. Diab is a Canadian citizen and sociology professor who lives in Ottawa. He is fighting extradition to France where he is accused of involvement in a bombing near a Paris synagogue in 1980. The allegations are based on deeply flawed handwriting analysis and secret "intelligence" that has not been disclosed to Hassan's defence or the Canadian judge.
On June 6, 2011, a decision is expected regarding whether Dr. Diab will be committed for extradition. If committed, a judge will decide whether Hassan remains on bail or is put in jail while he appeals his extradition in the Canadian courts, a process that could take several years.
We urge you add your name to the petition asking the judge to renew Hassan’s bail while he is appealing his extradition.
Since his release from detention on April 1st, 2009, Hassan has dutifully abided by all the terms of his bail, and has not committed a single infraction.
This petition is not a declaration of guilt or innocence. Rather, it is an attempt to uphold the principle of innocent until proven otherwise, and the right for Hassan to be free on bail while defending himself in the courts.
Finally, please help us spread the word by sharing this appeal and the petition widely.
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.
Hassan Diab Support Committee
diabsupport@gmail.com
http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Join us for an event in Toronto highlighting the injustices in Canada's extradition law.
Kafka in the Court: Hassan Diab v. Canada's Unjust Extradition Law
Where: Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto
When: Thursday, May 19, 7:15 PM
SPEAKERS
- Rania Tfaily, sociology professor, Carleton University; wife of Hassan Diab
- Jessica Orkin, criminal justice lawyer, with an emphasis on constitutional law and human rights; appears before the Supreme Court
- Matthew Behrens, Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada
SPONSORED BY
- Toronto Action for Social Change
- Christian Peacemaker Teams
- Canadian Arab Federation
For further information about this event, contact: tasc@web.ca
Hassan Diab is a Canadian facing unjust extradition proceedings – which could see him forcibly removed to France - based on deeply flawed “evidence”. He has always maintained his innocence and condemns all ethnically and religiously motivated violence. Canada’s unfair Extradition Law allows Canadians to be shipped to foreign countries based on flimsy, unreliable evidence not accepted in domestic Canadian trials.
In Hassan's case, Canadian Extradition Law has:
- Allowed deeply flawed handwriting analysis as evidence, despite the Canadian judge finding it "very problematic, very confusing, and with conclusions that are suspect".
- Allowed the authorities to proceed despite the fact that Hassan's physical description and his finger and palm prints do not match those of the suspect.
- Allowed the case to go forward despite numerous serious contradictions and misrepresentations, and despite reliance on secret intelligence in the Record of the Case.
We all have a stake in supporting Hassan in his pursuit of justice. Canada’s shockingly low standard for extraditing its citizens is a threat to the principles of fairness and fundamental justice, and could be used against any of us.
For more information about Hassan's case, read the article on rabble.ca: http://rabble.ca/news/2010/11/ottawa-professor-fights-extradition-1980-bomb-attack-france
For additional information, visit: http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org
Date: Samedi le 16 avril 2011 de 16h30 à 20h30
Au: Mosaic Carling Buffet, 2583 Avenue Carling, Ottawa
Le souper bénéfice est une activité pour supporter le Dr. Hassan Diab, Canadien d’origine libanaise et professeur de sociologie faisant face à des procédures d’extradition injustes. L’injuste loi canadienne d’extradition permet que des Canadiens et des Canadiennes soient envoyé.es vers des pays étrangers sur la base de preuves peu solides et peu fiables qui ne sont pas acceptées par les tribunaux canadiens. Nous sommes tous et toutes concernées par la poursuite de la justice menée par le Dr. Diab.
Les billets pour le souper bénéfice sont de 20$ par personne et de 60$ par famille. Les prix incluent le buffet à volonté du Mosaic.
Les billets sont disponibles en pré-vente à Ottawa. Vous pouvez trouver un point de vente ici.
You are invited to a fundraising dinner in support of Hassan Diab. Click here for a flyer for the event.
When: Saturday, April 16, 2011, 4:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Where: Mosaic Carling Buffet, 2583 Carling Avenue, Ottawa
Dinner tickets are $20 per person or $60 per family. This includes Mosaic’s ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET.
You can purchase fundraising dinner tickets in three ways:- Send e-money transfer, $20 for each single ticket or $60 for a family pass, to diabsupport@gmail.com. Include your name with the money transfer. Your tickets will be available for pickup at the event.
- Or visit one of the following stores to purchase tickets directly:
- New Middle East Supermarket, 1755 Bank St, Ottawa, Tel (613) 526-3423
- Al Sham Food and Meat Market, 4000 Bridal Path, Ottawa, Tel (613) 745-2477
- Sultan Supermarket, 2446 Bank St., Ottawa, Tel (613) 736-1600
- Guardian / Hunt Club Pharmacy (Contact: Solly Saloojee), 2430 Bank St, Ottawa, Tel (613) 521-7955
- Malak Pastry (Contact: Abou-Rabeih), 1216 Bank St, Ottawa, Tel (613) 526-2002
- Aladdin Bakery (Contact: Samera Ghadban-Farhat), 1801 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Tel (613) 728-5331
- Damas Supermarket, 3033 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Tel (613) 726-1792
- Or call (613) 686-5599, and make arrangements for ticket pickup.
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