In This Issue ...

Volume XVIII, No. 1 The Newsletter of the Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations June 2013An Affiliate of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

❏ Iraq in Transition: A View from Kurdistan Seepagesonethroughfive.

❏ Witnessing Cultural Change: A Visit to Saudi Arabia Seepagessixandseven.

❏ ConverseAgainTakes Top Spot at National Model Arab League Seepageeight.

❏ Same Schools Again Dominate SERMAL Seepagenine.

❏ ConverseHosts Jordanian Students Seepageten.

❏ BookReview: MarkL.Haasand DavidW.Lesch,eds., The Arab Spring: Change and Resistance in the Middle East Seepageeleven.

❏ Arab Spring/Arab Winter: A Symposium Seepagetwelve.

Carolinas Committee

on U.S.–Arab Relations

N E W S L I N E S

(continued on page 2)

Joe & Jenny Dunn at a destroyed Saddam Palace in northern Kurdistan

Iraq in Transition: A View from Kurdistan

Travel is broadening, often bothofthemindandthebody.LastfallIhad another of those experiences that enhanced the girth and the intellect,indeed one of the best learning opportunities inallour travels. OneofmyformerstudentswhoworkedinthedevelopmentofKurdistanRegionalGovernmentin2007-2008hasinsisted

foryearsthatImusttravelthere.Iwaspleasedfinallytohavetheopportunity.InNovember,mywifeandIwereamongnineteen American Presbyterians who traveledtoIraq,undertheauspicesofthePresbyterianOutreachFoundation,to participate in a ConsultativeAssembly on the Presbyterian Church

by Joe P. Dunn

NEWS AND ARTICLES NEWS AND ARTICLES

2 3

(continued from page 1)

Lunch at Kirkuk Church

in Iraq. The approximately fiftyattendees included Arab clergy from the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanonandrepresentativesfromthefour remaining Presbyterian churches inIraq—inBaghdad,Basrah,Kirkuk,andthetinyremnantinMosul. Half the American group spentfive days previous to theAssemblyatthechurchinBasrah,whichmostofthemhadvisitedthepreviousyear.Theotherhalfofthegroup,includingmy wife and me, traveled insteadto Kurdistan, the semiautonomousregion of northern Iraq. Jenny andI particularly were interested in spending time with a couple who are ourfriendsandwhoseworkwiththeKurds is partially sponsored by our church in Spartanburg. Althoughthey are enthusiastically welcomed andofficiallyrecognizedasChristianworkers by the Kurdistan RegionalGovernment,forsecurityreasons,wedonotmentiontheirnamesorspecificsabouttheiractivities. First, a brief word about thefour churches which constitute the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Iraq. The Baghdad PresbyterianChurch (Arabic speaking) and theAssyrian Presbyterian Church in Baghdad (Assyrian language) haverecently joined together with a combinedtotalofabout250families,but this is less than half the membership that the two churches together enjoyed only a few years ago. The BasrahChurch in the Shia South has about 25familiesandwithouttheservicesof an ordained pastor is led by a prominent surgeon at the Basrah Hospital. The church has a strongrelationship with the Shia community and its kindergarten serves almostexclusivelyShiachildren.TheKirkukEvangelical Church in the disputedterritory is a Kurdish congregation ofapproximately150familiesthatisthriving inarelativelysecuresectorof the city. TheMosulChurch, the

oldest Presbyterian congregation in the country, faces particular challenges.The historic church building is in thecentralareaofthiswar-torncity,whereviolenceandAlQaedaarestillprevalent.Theelderinchargeofthecongregationwaskilledbyterroristsin2007,andhisfoursistershavekeptaremnantofthecongregationalivebymeetinginprivatehomes. In response to violence fromfundamentalists and terrorists,Christians are fleeing from Iraq,Syria, and other countries in theregion. That Christians, who tracetheirhistorybacktothefirstcenturies,and Jews,with even longer history,are disappearing is a great loss to the culturalandreligiousdiversityoftheentire region. IraqiChristianspointoutthatSaddamHussein,forhisownpoliticalpurposes,protectedChristianareas,butthatsecuritynolongerexists.Syrian Christians fear the fall of the Assadregime,whichhistoricallyhasprotected the Christian minority, asthey foresee the same fundamentalist targetingofChristiansasinIraq.Forthose who can, the great ongoingmigration of Christians from Iraq,Syria,Egypt,Lebanon,andPalestineto Europe, theAmericas,Australia,New Zealand, and other places isaccelerating.Forthosewholackthemeansordesiretoleave,thesituationisprecariousandfearful. One counter to this tread is inKurdistan.Thepoliticaldynamicsofthis semiautonomous region of about 4 million Kurds in northeastern Iraq is a long and fascinating saga which Iwillnotundertakehere.Thefutureof the region and the allied question of thedisputed territoriesofKirkukand Mosel will be a decisive issuefor the entire Iraqi nation in the next years and decades. Kurdistan hasbecome somewhat of a beacon for Christians.IraqiChristians,bothArabsandotherminorities,aremigratingtothis relatively safe region formany

reasons,includingfreedomtopracticetheirfaith.TheleveloftoleranceandthediversityandgrowthofChristianexpressionsinKurdistanisdistinctivethroughouttheMiddleEastregion. No formal Presbyterian churches existinKurdistanatthemoment.Acouple of efforts at house churches for different ethnic communities are in process, but the Presbyterianrequirement for seminary-educatedordained pastors makes it almostimpossible to form actual Presbyterian churches. On a wider dimensionthough, other mainline Protestantsare appearing and the growth of evangelicals is significant. AllProtestants in the region tend to be called Evangelical, but a truedistinction exists between those who definetheirmanifestationofthefaithasevangelicalsandotherProtestants.Baptist, Pentecostal, Adventist, andunaffiliatedcommunitychurchesareemergingquickly,oftensupportedwithlarge amounts of outside money at their disposal. Many of the conversion-drivenevangelicalsarenotsensitiveto the fact that proselytizing amongMuslim populations is not acceptable culturallyorlegally. As the indigenous Chaldean Christians,peopleofthelandwhoserootsintheregiongobacktothefirstcenturies, explain, the very mantraof the new evangelists of “bringingChristianitytosavesouls”isoffensiveboth to Muslims and long-standingChristiancommunities.ChristiansinIraq,Syria, andelsewherepointoutthattheyliveinaprecariousexistencein themidst of passionate upheavalandtheirverylivesandexistencearejeopardizedbyirresponsibleactionsbyzealousnewcomerstotheenvironmentaswellasthehate-filledanti-Muslimpontificatingbycertainsmall-mindedreligiousvoicesinAmerica. These themes were articulated eloquently by many of the Syrian and Lebanese pastors with whom

we interacted at the ConsultativeAssembly, and both Iraqis andSyrians explained their conception of the responsibilities of practicing Christianitywithintheenvironmentsinwhichtheylive.Butnowherewasthis message better demonstrated than by two Chaldean bishops whom we met. At the magnificent cathedral inKirkuk,Archbishop Louis Sako [inthe last months since our trip named Patriarch of the Chaldean Church] described the roots of the violencein the city and showed the memorial tothe37ChristiansfromKirkukwhohadbeenmurdered(amongtheover1000priestsandbelieversthroughoutIraq).Althoughabout500,000IraqiChristianshavefledinrecentyears,heemphasizedwhyitwasnecessaryforastrong contingent of faithful Christians to stay the course.To quote from astatement on a German televisioninterview,“Wehavenofutureunlesswe are negotiating with the religious andpoliticalleaders.WehavetomakeitclearthatweareIraqis.Thisisourland. Longagowewerehere. Wewant to stay and be a part of it and to offerwhatwecantosociety.”Aswiththeotherchurchleadersthatwemet,a primary means of practicing their faithwasthroughprovidingeducationatthekindergartenandearlyyearsforchildren—MuslimandChristian--asaforcefortolerance,reconciliation,andprogress. Thisperspectivewasevenmorevivid, albeitwitha specificKurdishfocus, when we met the dynamicChaldean Bishop Rabban Al Qas,the founder and director of the International School in Dohuk, aman whose passion for education across sectarian and ethnic lines is overwhelming.AttheKurdishDohukschool,studentswhetherKurds,Arabs,orAssyriansandChristians,Muslim,or Yezidis interacted openly andpeacefully with little concern for the

distinctions that are the basis for so muchviolencethroughouttheregion.Although the language of instruction isEnglish,studentsstudyfourotherlanguages—French,Arabic,Kurdish,andAramaic.Noreligiousinstructionexists at the school as the Bishop believes that religious instructionshouldbereservedtowithinthevariousfaithcommunities.AsthecharismaticFatherbouncedfromoneclassroomto

anotherhuggingstudents,encouragingthemtospeaktothevisitingstrangers,andshowingofftheiruseofthevariouslanguages,hisloveforallthestudentsand his vibrant personality weremanifest.Hewasindeedafatherinallsensesoftheword.ForBishopRabbanthestudentsarethefuture.Wetalkedwith three young high school girls who stressed that religious differences were notdecisive.Asthegirlsexplained,

NEWS AND ARTICLES

4 5

NEWS AND ARTICLES

theywereaMuslim,aChristian,andaYezidi, but they loved each otherandsharedeverything.WenotedthedifferenceinArchbishopSako’sfocuson Iraqi citizenship and the themeatDohuk that “we are the futureofKurdistan.” Obviously, Kurdistan and Iraqprovidematerialforseriousscholarlyanalysis about the issues of cultural identity, conflict, and convergence.Drawingonthis trip,Igaveapaperon this topic at a conference in March and I will not repeat that

lengthydiscoursehere. The impactandramificationsoftheSyrianCivilWar,withwhichwedealtconstantlyduringthetrip,isanothermajortopicworthyoftreatment.However,sincemyaudiencehereismoregeneralist,Iwill devote the rest ofmy limitedspace to the less challenging subject of atravelogueinKurdistan.Ourhostsmade sure that we experienced the regiontoitsfullest,andthusthetripwas a great educational experience for meonmanygrounds. After a long trip fromChicago,

the entire delegation landed in the new IstanbulAirport,oneofthefinestintheworld,andwesplitintotheBasrahandKurdistan factions.After a ten-hourlayoverinIstanbul,wecontinuedonandlandedat3:45a.m.attheErbil,KurdistanAirport,whichisalsooneofthefinestintheregion.Wegotafewhourssleepbeforethetwo-and-a-half-hourdrivetoDohuk,inthenorthnear the Turkey border. In Dohukthenextday,Sunday,wevisitedtheSchool of the Medes (the Kurds trace their ancestry back to these ancientpeople), the International Schoolnotedabove,thehouseofPresbyterianmissionary Roger Cumberland who was murdered in 1938 after fifteenyears’serviceinMosulandDohuk,acaveandrecreationalareaatthedamontheTigressRiveroutsidethecity,and the local souk.Intheevening,weattendedaworshipserviceinArabicatanewNazarenechurch,oneoftheexamples of the diversity of housechurchesemerginginthearea. On Monday, we traveled tothe ancient mountain peak city ofAmaydia,whosehistorycanbetracedto the Assyrian era; the city has 34 archaeologicalsitesoftheAssyrians,Medes,andKurdswhoeachoccupieditduringitslonghistory.FromtherewetraveledintothebeautifulnorthernmountainstoSulavWaterfalls,AnishkaCave, and a mountaintop palaceof Saddam Hussein that had beenthoroughly destroyed by the Kurds after his downfall. It was a hugestructure,reportedlyaslavishaswereall his palaces, ofwhich therewere26inKurdistanalone.Wecouldseeanotherformerpalaceacrossthevalleyon anothermountaintop. At dinnerthat evening we were the guests ofMr.Faiz,thedirectoroftheKurdistanReconstructionOrganization,whowasresponsibleforsignificantbuildinginKurdistan after thewar. The lavishspread at the stunning Restaurant Mevandari was one of the several

memorablefeastsduringourtrip. TuesdaywevisitedthesprawlingDuhok University, located in thefast-developingnewareaofthecity,acampuswith11,000students (andthenumbersexplodingannually),verynicenewbuildings,andconstructionprojects everywhere. The problemfor the university, as we witnessedin other places during our travels,is that environmental esthetics hasnot penetrated very deeply yetin Kurdistan. Trash is piled upeverywhereonelooksandcleaningupdoesn’tappeartoresonate.Ofcourse,thisistypicalfordevelopingcountriesundergoingrapidgrowth,andasourhost,Dr.LaylaRaswol,headof theschoolof architecture andplanning,emphasized,thisnextstepwillcomeintime.WealsovisitedtheInstituteofArt,animpressivesecondaryschoollocatedontheuniversitycampus. Intheafternoon,wejourneyedtotheDomizRefugeeCampjustoutsidethecity.ThisisasettlementforSyrianKurdsfleeingthewarintheircountry.Onthedaythatwevisited,thecamphadsome44,000inhabitantsandthenumberswere swelling daily. Withtentsasfarastheeyecouldsee,refugeecampsareadepressingsight. ButIhavevisitedrefugeecampsintheWestBank,Gaza,Lebanon,Jordan,Syria,and elsewhere in theworld. By allstandardsthisonewasatthehighend,anobviouscaseofKurdstakingcareofKurds.Thiscamplikelywilldoubleasthewarprogresses.[Atthetimeofpublicationofthispiece,thenumberin the camp exceeds 100,000 andproblemsofdrugs,crime,prostitution,andviolencenowareprominent].Intheeveningthegroupsplitaswehaddinner at the homes of two local church leaders. On Wednesday, we left Dohukfor a lengthy day of sightseeing on the way to Erbil. We ascended tothe striking edifice of the RabbanHormizedChaldeanMonasteryhigh

Monument in Tribute to Victims of Saddam's Anfal Genocide, Dohuk, Kurdistan

onamountain. In thenearby townofAl Qosh, we toured the tomb ofthe Jewish Prophet Nahum, whoprophesied to King Josiah about the falloftheAssyrianEmpireinthe7th CenturyBCE.Thedilapidatedtomband synagogue are cared for by a Chaldean family who promised the last rabbiwholeftthecityin1948thattheywould care for the tomb as best they could.Thesonhasnowfollowedhisdeceasedfatherincontinuingtofulfillthiscommitment.ThelocalChaldeansprovided an exceptional lunch feastbeforewemovedontoLalish,northeastofMosulinNinevahProvince,whereweexploredtheholysiteoftheYezidifaith,asyncreticreligionwithelementsofZoroastrianism,Sufism,andlocalKurdishbeliefs.Theestimatesofthenumber of Yezidi in Kurdistan, orindeedintheworld,verydramaticallywith one authority judging that they do not exceed 250-300,000worldwide.FromLalishwecontinuedtoJerwan,site of an ancient Assyrian aqueduct and artifacts, where the Assyrianshaveaccused theKurdsof“culturalgenocide”againsttheirarcheologicaltreasures. IntheeveningwearrivedinErbilattheHotelKarlovyVaryinAnkawa,theChristiansectorofthecity,tobeginthethree-dayConsultativeAssemblythenextday.AttheconclusionoftheAssemblyonthelastdayofourtrip,welefttheKurdishRegiontogotoKirkukinthedisputedterritoryinIraqproper.The contrast was stark. The threemajorcitiesoftheKurdishRegion--Erbil,Dohuk,andSulaymaniyah--arethrivingexplosiveeconomicmiracles,notquitetheGulfStates,butclearlyaspirant.Developmentasexhibitedinskyriseapartments,shoppingmalls,recreationalcenters,andbuildingsofallkindsisproceedingatrecordpace.Theimpactofoilrevenuesisobvious.The stability and prosperity of the region attracts foreign investment.TurkeyandChinaareomnipresent.

Kirkuk, a city divided amongits contending factions of Kurds,Turkman,Circassian,SunniandShiaArabs,andterroristssuchasAlQaeda,isquiteadifferentplace.Theflaresfrom the huge oil fields distinctlydisplay the economic importance of this city for all contenders, but thelackofstabilityandsafetypreventtheprosperity enjoyed within the Kurdish Region.TheEvangelicalChurchofKirkuk,constructedin1958,thoughislovelyandPastorHaithamJezrawiisaleaderofseriousstature.Followinga tour of the church’s kindergartenthat serves primarily local Muslimchildren, the congregation servedanotherfeast.Duringtheafternoon,the pastors from Syria and Lebanon heldaSynodmeetingatthechurch,andtheeveningworshipservicewasimpressive. Wereturnedthatevening,andasweapproached the demarcation boundary back into the Kurdish Region, wetraversed the several checkpointsthattheKurdishPeshmerga(militia)maintaintomaximizesecurityintheKurdish Region. When the guardslearnedthatwewereAmericans,theywelcomedusenthusiastically.Aguardexpressed thanks for the Americansupport of theNo-Fly zone in1991that was the beginning of Kurdish autonomy and for the elimination of theSaddamRegime. Thenextmorning,webeganthelongtrekhomefromamostrewardingexperience. I hasten to emphasizethat no snapshot portrait of a country andpoliticalenvironmentcanbeanymorethananintroduction,aglimpse,aperception.OurtravelstoKurdistanwerejustthat.Butcertainlyitwasanenlightening perspective that helpsme much better to understand the dynamics, crises, and prospects forthecountryandtheregion.WehopetoreturntoIraqinthenearfuture.

NEWS AND ARTICLES NEWS AND ARTICLES

6 7

Last December I had the opportunitytotraveltoSaudiArabiafortendays.ThetripwassponsoredbytheNationalCouncilonU.S.-ArabRelations,theSaudiArabianCulturalMissiontotheUnitedStates,andtheSaudi Arabian Ministry of HigherEducation.SaudiArabiaisabeautifuland gracious country with enormous potential.Itshospitalityisunrivaled,itseducationalsystemisimpressive,and it is experiencing unprecedented political and cultural change.Unfortunately, many Americansperceive the country primarily instereotypesasaterrorismhub,acenterofanti-Americanism,andareligious

Witnessing Cultural Change: A Visit to Saudi Arabiaby Kaylee Boalt

breedinggroundformisogyny.Iusethe word Islamaphobia to describe thissimplisticview,andasapoliticalscientist major with an interest in the MiddleEast,itispartofmymissiontoaddressthisperspective. Whileinthecountry,mygroupandIvisitedeightuniversities,andIgaineda lot of insight.Education inSaudiArabiaispaidforbythegovernmentwithstudentsreceivingstipendsratherthan student loans. Traditionally,universities have been segregated,but today efforts are proceeding toward various experiments withlimited forms of gender integration albeit different thanwhatwe know

intheWest.Al-FaisalUniversityinRiyadh recently built classrooms in which males and females are in the same classroom, withmales on thegroundfloorandwomeninbalconiesbehindfrontedpanels.Theworld-classKingAbdullahUniversityofScienceand Technology is fully-integrated.Consistent with worldwide patterns today, women comprise more than60% of university students in theKingdom,andindeedSaudiArabia’sproblem is that young males are not pursuingeducationasignificantlevelstofillthenation’sneeds.Thecountrymust find ways of more effectivelyemploying its educated population,whichmeansitsfemales. Inadditiontotouringuniversities,my group visited businesses, non-profits, and governmental agencies.Ateverysingle institution,wewerewelcomedwithArabiccoffee,dates,handshakes, and smiles. SaudiArabian hospitality exceeds the famed AmericanSouthernhospitality.Gift-givingisasignofrespect,andwecamehomewithmanybeautifulpresents.Saudis are also extremely social. Icannot begin to recount how many offers we received for dinners andsocialgatherings.Unfortunatelywedidnothavethetimetoenjoymostoftheseoffers,butIfeltmorewelcomeintheKingdomthananyplaceIhavevisitedinAmerica.TheUnitedStateshas a lot to learn from this unique aspect of Saudi culture. One particularlynoteworthysocialeventwasadinnerwith the American ambassador and his wife,atrulydelightfulevening. As Saudi Arabia undergoes incredible political and cultural changes,womenareintheforefrontofthispotentialtransformation.Dressis just one indication.Traditionally,womenarecoveredandveiledbyitems

ofclothingknownastheabaya and the hijab.Theabaya isa fullblackcloak that covers the body and thehijab is a headscarf that can be worn inavarietyofways.ThecapitalcityofRiyadhisstillveryconservative,butin the more relaxed cities of Dammam andJeddah,Isawmanywomenwhochose to forego the hijab.AlthoughIknewaboutthemutawain,thereligiouspolice, and expected to see them,our group never encountered them,probably because they are restricted frombotheringWesternwomen. In Jeddah, we visited manywomen’s activist groups. One inparticular,theAl-SayedaKhadijaBintKhowailid Businesswomen Center,was created in 2004 as a lobbyingcenter for the removal of obstaclesto businesswomen. The Center hasundertaken important efforts toeducate both women and men on the balanceofmotherhoodandwork.Ithas also pursued the developmentof sexual harassment laws in the

workplaceandprovidedlecturesandworkshops to increase awarenessaboutthisissue.Althoughattitudestoward women in the workplacehave changed dramatically in thelastdecade,itwilltakeconsiderablylonger than we in the West may wish forwomen togain their just rights.Dr. Mody Al-Khalaf, the assistantattaché for cultural and social affairs at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the United States, met with ourgroup before our departure from the UnitedStatesandagainatherpersonalhome in Riyadh on our last night in theKingdom.Sheemphasizedthatchange in Saudi Arabia has to come from within the country if it is to last.Dr.Modycautioned“togowithoverexpectations” and to be “openwithoutresentment.”Herwiseadvicewas integral not only to my time in Saudi Arabia but to other aspects of lifeaswell. Do terrorist attitudes, anti-Americanism,andmisogynyexistin

Kaylee Boalt, a senior at Converse College, is the Secretary General of the 2014 National Model Arab League conference.

SaudiArabia?Yes,buttheimportantthing to remember is that these deeply ingrained attitudes are changing.Just after our return, on January11, 2013, King Abdullah of SaudiArabia announced that women would now occupy thirty seats in the Royal Consultative Assembly.Saudiconservativesmayconsiderthisrevolutionary;infactitislargelymeretokenism,butsuchgesturesarepartof very important gradual progress.Cultures are complicated; changing norms is challenging. Rather thanignorance and condemnation of that which is quite foreign to our perceptions, our role as educatedglobal citizens is to attempt tounderstand the basis of that with whichwemaynot agree. Throughbetter insight and appreciation of the difficulties inculturalevolution,wehelp to be part of solutions rather than ineffectiveobstacles.InDr.Mody’swords,weneedtostrive“tobeopenwithoutresentment.”

8 9

NEWS AND ARTICLES NEWS AND ARTICLES

The 25th Southeast Model Arab League met at Converse, March 15-17,2013.Forthesecondconsecutiveyear, Nora Nassri, a 2008 ConverseCollege graduate who is now writing herPh.D.dissertationinpoliticalsci-enceattheUniversityofSouthCaro-lina, was the keynote speaker. Ms.Nassri spoke about the Syrian CivilWar from both an academic and per-sonalperspective.

Converse Again Takes Top Spot at National Model Arab League

With awards in six of the sevencouncilsforthesecondyear,theCon-versedelegation,representingOman,displayed another dominant perfor-mance and was cited as the #1 del-egation at the National Model Arab Leagueconference,heldApril12-14,2013atGeorgetownUniversity.Con-versewasnamedasExceptionalDel-egation.PerennialrivalNortheasternUniversity (Qatar) finished #2 andwas also designated as an Exceptional

Delegation. Georgia State (Libya)and theUniversityofUtah (Kuwait)were cited as Outstanding Delega-tions. HE Ambassador MohammedAl-husseini Alssharif, head of theLeague of Arab States Mission to the UnitedStates, providedwelcome re-marksandearliermetwithdelegatesat a drop-in breakfast roundtable.Ambassador Richard Schmierer, thedeputy assistant secretary for public

Converse delegations at SERMAL

Secretary-General Ashley BlountPresides at Summit

Although several long-time par-ticipant schools were not able to at-tend the 2013 Model, new schoolsincluded Georgia College, GuilfordTechnical Community College, andSouthsideChristianSchool,aGreen-villehighschool.WilsonHall,apri-vateacademyinSumter,SouthCaro-lina, also attended for a second yearasanobservercountry.Otherpartici-pating schools included Converse (2delegations),SpartanburgCommunityCollege(2delegations),UniversityofNorth Carolina—Charlotte, GeorgiaPerimeterCollege, JacksonvilleStateUniversity (2 delegations), Geor-gia State University, Virginia Tech,NortheasternUniversity,TheCitadel,Mercer University, Kennesaw StateUniversity,andaClemson/GreenvilleTechjointdelegation. Three delegations decisivelydominatedtheconference.Invirtually

everycounciltheoutstandingdelega-tionswereConverse(Oman),GeorgiaState (Libya), andNortheastern (Qa-tar).Withaperfectrecordinallsevencouncils,Converseemergedasthetopdelegation followed by Georgia State andNortheastern. TheUniversityofNorth Carolina—Charlotte (Egypt),Citadel (Saudi Arabia), and VirginiaTech (Palestine) gained honorablementionstatus. Ashley Blount (Converse) pre-sided as secretary-general and NeilMangrum (Spartanburg Community College) was the assistant secretary-general. Kaylee Boalt (Converse)was selected as outstanding chair andSagenBlackwell (Converse) andLara Cole (Northeastern) were citedashonorablementionchairs. Oneofthe conference highlights was a large multiple-partcrisisthatengagedeverycouncilandalmosteverycountry.

Same Schools Again Dominate SERMAL

Converse visits the Sultanate of Oman Embassy

Converse Oman Delegation with Awards

diplomacy at the U.S. State Depart-ment Bureau of Near East Affairs,provided the keynote address. Ashe does annually, HRH Prince Ab-dulAzizbinTalalbinAbdulAzizAlSaud attended the summit session and graciously posed for pictures with thevariousdelegationsfollowingtheawardsceremony. As always the National Model demonstratedspiritedsessions,manyintensified by the Syrian delegationrepresentingtheAssadregime.Attheprevious regional models, the Syr-ian delegations represented the new regime now supported by the Arab League. Several crisis simulationsalso challenged delegates’ creativ-ity as they strived to find solutionsto complex problems; and the two dockets of theArabCourt of Justicedemandedlengthydeliberations. Catia Sharp (Northeastern) pre-sided as the secretary-general withKat Teebagy (Northeastern) and J.J.Manser (GrandValley State Univer-sity) as assistant secretary-generals.Converse provided the chief justiceof theArabCourtofJustice,chairedfourof the councils, andcontributedthreevicechairsaswell.Thefacultyselected Ashley Blount (Converse),whoheadedthejointdefensecouncil,as the outstanding chair; and Kay-lee Boalt (Converse), a last-minutereplacement to head the economics council,receivedthehonorablemen-tion outstanding chair distinction.Ms.Boaltalsowasselectedtobethesecretary-generalforthe2014Model.Three other Converse students willserve on the upper secretariat withVictoria Ball as assistant secretary-general and Rebecca Edwards and MollyGlibberyaschairsrespectivelyof the economics and environmentalcouncils.

10

NEWS AND ARTICLES

11

During late January ConverseCollege hosted a delegation of six girls and six boys, primarily high schoolfreshmen and sophomore students,from the Modern Montessori School inAmman, Jordan. The delegationwasorganizedbyBeyondDiscovery,an Amman-based organization thatspecializesinavarietyofeducationalprograms and extra-curriculumactivities that address and discussthe issues facing today’s youth.The program director for Beyond Discovery,MeganMadison, a 2009Converse graduate, who was aFulbrightScholar in Jordanandhas

livedthereforfouryears,coordinatedtheprogramandledthedelegation. Although the visit includedmanyactivities,thecentraleventwasthe Converse Model Arab LeaguedelegationprovidingtrainingfortheJordanian students to participate in the Mubadara Model Arab League plannedinAprilinAmman.Thelasttwoyears,ConversehassentstudentstoJordan,Dubai,andAbuDhabi toassist in training and administering theMubadaraModel. Intheintensivefour-hourtrainingsession,aConversestudentwaspairedwith a Jordanian student to teach them about research, parliamentaryprocedure, debating techniques,networking,anddraftingresolutionsaspartofanactualmodelsimulation.The Converse mentors noted howbright, motivated, and eager theJordanian students were, and eachConversementorexpressedpride inthe progress that her partner made duringthetrainingsessions. OtheractivitiesfortheJordanianstudents included attending a college class and a leadership workshop,observing a Model Arab Leaguedemonstration provided for the

Converse Academic ScholarshipWeekend, participating in a serviceproject in honor of Martin Luther King Day, and sharing meals withConversestudents.Thestudentsalsoattended dinner at the Islamic Center ofSpartanburg,spentanafternoonatafunpark,visitedtheBiltmoreEstatesinAsheville, and shoppedat a localoutletmall.AfterleavingConverse,thegroupspenttwodaysinNewYorkCitybeforereturningtoJordan. Dr.JoeP.Dunn,chairofhistoryandpoliticsdepartment atConverse andsponsoroftheConverseModelArabLeaguedelegation,remarked,“Thisisawonderfulcross-culturalpartnershipopportunity. The students weredelightful,intelligent,andspirited.Wehopetohavemadearealconnectionand someday see some of the young womanasstudentsatConverse.”SallyHammond,Conversevicepresidentforenrollmentmanagement,theprimaryConverseprojectofficerforthevisit,stated, “This was one of the mostenjoyableactivitiesthattheConversecommunity has engaged in, andwehopethatitbecomesanannualevent.”MeganMadisonexplained,“Itwasadistinct honor to bring these students tomyhome campus, andwe beganplanning immediately for the next group.” The Jordanian students also enjoyedtheexperience.Severaloftheyoung women commented that they wishedtoattendConversewhentheyselectedacollege.Acoupleoftheboyswere disappointed that they were not eligible at thewomen’s college, butone young man insisted that this was definitelytheplaceforhisoldersisteranduponreturnheintendedtotalkwithherabouthisimpressions.Indeedhissister has applied to be a freshman at ConverseinFall2014. By virtually every standard thisfirstJordanianvisitationwasagreatsuccess and both parties hope that it isacontinuingtradition.

Converse Hosts Jordanian Students

Book ReviewDr. Joe P. Dunn Charles A. Dana Professor of History and Politics, Converse College

The Arab Spring: Change and Resistance in the Middle East

LEARNING RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

MarkL.Haas andDavidW.Lesch,eds.,The Arab Spring: Change and Resistance in the Middle East (West-viewPress,2013).

The so-called “Arab Spring,ArabWinter”hasgivenrisetoacot-tageindustryofarticlesandbooksonthe subject. Stating with James L.Gelvin’s The Arab Uprising: What Everyone Needs to Know(2012),sev-eral collections of essays are now in print. Two interestingexamplesareCesareMerliniandOlivierRoy,eds.Arab Society in Revolt: The West’s Mediterranean Challenge (2012)andNicholasBurns and Jonathon Price,eds., The Arab Revolutions and American Policy (2013). Books onindividualcountriesarenowpouringoffthepressessuchasDanTschirgi,WalidKazziha, andSeanF.McMa-hon, eds.,Egypt’s Tahrir Revolution (2013)andCarstenWieland’sSyria—A Decade of Lost Chances: Repres-sion and Revolution from Damascus Spring to Arab Spring (2012), asexamples of what will be many oth-ers.ButIfocushereonamostusefulbroad selection of brief essays by two MiddleEastscholars,politicalscien-

tist Mark Haas and historian DavidLesch. Part 1, “Spring in theArabWorld” consists of short, readable,and profound overviews by leadingscholars on affected Arab countries—Tunisia,Egypt,Libya,Syria,Jordan,and Saudi Arabia (which thus far has avoideddirectimpact).Part2,“TheRegional and International Context of theArabSpring”treatstheimpactonIran,Turkey, Israel,andRussiawithessays on theObama administrationresponseandJamesGelvin’spercep-tiveoverallanalysis. Gelvin explains why the ArabSpring metaphor is misleading: (1) the uprising did not start in theSpring,(2)thetermSpringconnotesjoy and renewal but so far much of thechangehas,inhisterms,“turnedprettysour,”and(3)thetermhasal-ready been claimed in 2005 by theevents inArab world following the2003 invasion of Iraq and GeorgeW. Bush’s “freedom agenda.”Moreimportant,heoutlinesthefourtrans-national factors that made the Arab world vulnerable to the uprisings,whatevertheyarecalled:(1)theneo-liberal revolution in the region thatbrought a new relationship between citizensandatavisticgovernmentsnolonger able to supply the wants and needsofthepopulation,(2)demogra-phythatincludes60%ofArabpopu-lationunderage30andtheveryhighrates of unemployment for this age sector, (3) skyrocketing food prices,and (4) unresponsive political sys-tems not subject to the electoral will of the populace. Gelvin notes thatonly five of the 22members of theArab League did not experience pro-testandhedividesresponsesintofourclusters according to the nature of the protestandtheregimeresponse. All the articles are rich in insights

and analysis and worthy of full discussion. I will select only one,however, for comment. Probablybecause I was teaching Russian Politics when I read the book, theessay by Robert O. Freedman onRussia andArab Spring stands out.Likeallcountries,Russiawascaughtby surprise by events in the Arabworld. After significantdetachmentin theYeltsin years,Vladimir Putinhad worked assiduously to restoreRussia’spresenceandinfluenceintheregion.TheuprisingsinTunisiaandEgypt,whichmightstrengthensimilarpro-democracy stirrings in Russia,worried Putin; but ultimately the fall ofthepro-AmericanregimesinthesetwocountrieshadasmanypositivesasnegativesforMoscow.LibyaandSyriawereanothermatter. Moscowhadsignificanteconomicstakeinbothof these countries as arms supplier and through commercial and industrial agreements.InSyria,RussianenjoyedtheuseofanavalfacilityandRussiaalso maintained close ties with Assad alliesHezbollahandHamas. Russia vacillated onwhat to dobutultimatelysacrificedQaddafiwhileremaining committed to the Assad regime. AsFreedman reports,ArabSpringmay have been costly to theU.S.asithadtoabandonlong-timeallyHosniMubarakinEgypt,butRussiacould end up paying a much greater price for continuing to undergird the increasingly unsupportable Assad regime. Insum,thisisavaluablecollection.FornovicestudentsThe Arab Uprisings maybethebetterchoice,butforseriousstudents who are not authorities on the region,HaasandLeschisanexcellentbook that Iwill employ inmy ownclass.

12

Arab Spring/Arab Winter: A Symposium

OnMay7,2013,ConverseCollegesponsoredasymposiumentitled,“ArabSpring/ArabWinter:CausesandConsequencesofRecentUprisings inNorthAfrica: APrograminHonorofDr.NabihaJerad.”ConverseassociateprofessorofFrenchandwoman’sstudiesDr.CathyJonesorganizedtheeventintributetoherlong-termfriendNabiha,whodiedasaresultahit-and-runautomobileaccidentinOctober2011.Dr.Jerad,aprofessorattheUniversityofTunisandacommittedactivistfordemocracyandwomen’srights,madeseveraltripstoConverseandshehostedmanytravel-studytripsofConversestudentstoTunisia.NabihadevotedherlifetotheissuesraisedintherevolutionthatwassparkedinTunisinDecember2010.Shediedatatimewhenthenationwas strugglingwithboth thepositive andnegativeoutcomesoftheuprising. TheConverseprogramincludedtributesbyNabiha’ssisterMonia Chehata; Dr. Bruce Lawrence, retired professor ofreligionatDukeUniversityandworld-renownstudentofIslam;Dr.MariamCooke,headoftheMiddleEastStudiesCenteratDuke,whereProfessorJeradheldanadjunctappointment;Dr.Jones;andConversestudentsandalumnaewhohadmetNabihaatConverseandinTunisia.ThelatterincludedMorganRoach,whosang;ConversealumnaeCapucinePhilson,apoetandsinger,whoofferedoriginalreadingsandmusictributes;andConversealumnaeNatashaSenanayake,nowpursuingamastersdegreeincompositionatKingCollege,London,whoplayedthreerecentpianocompositions.CherifAmirAliBourekha,ademocracy-activistwhospent18yearsintheinfamousTazmamartPrisoninMoroccoasapoliticalprisonerunderKingHassanIIinthe1970sand1980s,gavethekeynoteaddress.ClipsfromthemovieOn the Dignity of the Human Soul,afilmbyIngelaRomare,andapressinterviewwithMr.BourekhaonthebeginningofArabSpringwereshown.Mr.BourekhanowlivesinHendersonville,NorthCarolina. TheeveningconcludedwithasumptuousMaghrebArabmeal,muchofwhichwaspreparedbyMr.Bourekha.PaintingsbyTunisianartistHamadiBenSaadandvariouspiecesofMagrebjewelryandotherartifactsgracedthevenue,andtheTunisian online journal Kapalitispublishedareviewofthesymposium.Dr.Joneshopestorepeattheeventnextyear.

NEWS AND ARTICLES

Dr.JoeP.Dunn,DirectorJennyDunn,AssociateDirectorandco-editorofNewslines

CarolinasCommitteeonU.S.–ArabRelationsConverseCollege•580EastMainStreet•Spartanburg,SC29302