The Middle East in London Magazine On Persian Music
The Middle East in London Magazine On Persian Music
The Middle East in London Magazine On Persian Music
Volume 12 - Number 2
February March 2016
4
Volume 12 - Number 2
Mission Statement:
The aim of the LMEI, through education and research, is to promote knowledge of all aspects of the Middle
East including its complexities, problems, achievements and assets, both among the general public and with
those who have a special interest in the region. In this task it builds on two essential assets. First, it is based in
London, a city which has unrivalled contemporary and historical connections and communications with the
Middle East including political, social, cultural, commercial and educational aspects. Secondly, the LMEI is
at SOAS, the only tertiary educational institution in the world whose explicit purpose is to provide education
and scholarship on the whole Middle East from prehistory until today.
Coordinating Editor
Megan Wang
LMEI Staff:
Subscriptions:
Listings
Vincenzo Paci
Designer
Shahla Geramipour
The Middle East in London is published
five times a year by the London Middle
East Institute at SOAS
Publisher and
Editorial Office
The London Middle East Institute
SOAS
University of London
MBI Al Jaber Building
21 Russell Square
London WC1B 5EA
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)20 7898 4330
E: [email protected]
www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
ISSN 1743-7598
Disclaimer:
Opinions and views expressed in the Middle East
in London are, unless otherwise stated, personal
views of authors and do not reflect the views of their
organisations nor those of the LMEI and the MEL's
Editorial Board. Although all advertising in the
magazine is carefully vetted prior to publication, the
LMEI does not accept responsibility for the accuracy
of claims made by advertisers.
Contents
LMEI Board of Trustees
Baroness Valerie Amos (Chair)
Director, SOAS
Professor Richard Black, SOAS
Dr John Curtis
Iran Heritage Foundation
Dr Nelida Fuccaro, SOAS
Mr Alan Jenkins
Dr Karima Laachir, SOAS
Dr Dina Matar, SOAS
Dr Hanan Morsy
European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development
Dr Barbara Zollner
Birkbeck College
19
Swaying to Persian and Middle
Eastern tunes in London
Roya Arab
4
EDITORIAL
5
INSIGHT
Sounding the city: Tehrans
contemporary soundscapes
Laudan Nooshin
7
PERSIAN MUSIC
Still singing: female singers in
contemporary Iran
Parmis Mozafari
9
A discursive study of music in
Iran during the 1960s
Mohammadamin Hashemi
11
Shaping the Persian repertoire
Houman M. Sarshar
13
The introduction of piano
practice in Iran
Maryam Farshadfar
15
Music, Islam and Persian
Sufism
Terry Graham
17
Music on the move in the
Middle East
Ilana Webster-Kogen
21
REVIEWS
CD
Rhapsody of Roses: Persian
Classical Music from the 1950s
Pejman Akbarzadeh
22
BOOKS
Iranian Classical Music: The
Discourses and Practice of
Creativity
Stefan Williamson Fa
23
BOOKS IN BRIEF
26
IN MEMORIAM
Homa Nategh (1934-2016)
Touraj Atabaki and Nasser
Mohajer
27
Khodadad Farmanfarmaian
(1928-2015)
Ramin Nassehi
28
EVENTS IN LONDON
EDITORIAL
Dear Reader
Qajar era paintings of female musicians in Sadabad Palace Tehran, Iran. Photographs
courtesy of Jane Lewisohn
INSIGHT
PERSIAN MUSIC
After the 1979 Revolution, female solo
singing performances were banned in Iran.
Parmis Mozafari looks at some of the
ways this ban is being challenged
PERSIAN MUSIC
Public Domain
Ali Akbar Shanazi teaching his pupil Pirayeh Pourafar at the Centre for the
Preservation of Iranian Traditional Music. Courtesy of Pirayeh Pourafar
Public Domain
PERSIAN MUSIC
Shaping
the Persian
repertoire
PERSIAN MUSIC
The introduction of
piano practice in Iran
PERSIAN MUSIC
The Khaniqah
Nimatullahi Music
Ensemble in concert
during the conference
on 'The Legacy of
Medieval Persian
Sufism', SOAS. 6
December 1990.
Courtesy of Terry
Graham
PERSIAN MUSIC
In the aftermath of the Arab uprisings,
the musical cultures of the region are
regrouping. Ilana Webster-Kogen
describes the shifting trends
PERSIAN MUSIC
Swaying to Persian
and Middle Eastern
tunes in London
Public Domain
Hossein Alizadeh in concert with Hamavayan Ensemble London, November 8, 2015. Courtesy of Fariborz Kiani, Nava Arts UK
2015 ghalamDAR
REVIEWS: CD
Rhapsody of Roses:
Persian Classical Music
from the 1950s
Sepideh Raissadat (vocalist),
Iman Vaziri (tar)
Released July 2014, available on iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby
REVIEWS: BOOKS
BOOKS IN BRIEF
Cycle of Fear:
Syrias Alawites in War and Peace
By Leon T. Goldsmith
In early 2011 an elderly Alawite sheikh lamented the long history of oppression and
aggression against his people. Against such collective memories, the Syrian uprising was
viewed by many Alawites and observers as a revanchist Sunni Muslim movement and the
gravest threat yet to the unorthodox Shia sub-sect. But was Alawite history really a constant
tale of oppression and the Syrian uprising of 2011 an existential threat to the Alawites? This
book surveys Alawite history from the sects inception in Abbasid Iraq up to the start of
the uprising in 2011. Goldsmith shows how Alawite identity and political behaviour have
been shaped by a cycle of insecurity that has prevented the group from achieving either
genuine social integration or long-term security. Rather than being the gravest threat yet to
the sect, the Syrian uprising, in the context of the Arab Spring, was quite possibly a historic
opportunity for the Alawites finally to break free from their cycle of fear.
May 2015, Hurst, 25.00
Performing al-Andalus:
Music and Nostalgia across the Mediterranean
By Jonathan Holt Shannon
Performing al-Andalus explores three musical cultures that claim a connection to
the music of medieval Iberia, the Islamic kingdom of al-Andalus, known for its
complex mix of Arab, North African, Christian and Jewish influences. Jonathan Holt
Shannon shows that the idea of a shared Andalusian heritage animates performers
and aficionados in modern-day Syria, Morocco and Spain, but with varying and
sometimes contradictory meanings in different social and political contexts. As he
traces the movements of musicians, songs, histories and memories circulating around
the Mediterranean, he argues that attention to such flows offers new insights into the
complexities of culture and the nuances of selfhood.
July 2015, Indiana University Press, 52.00
February March 2016 The Middle East in London 23
BOOKS IN BRIEF
Oman Reborn:
Balancing Tradition and Modernization
By Linda Pappas Funsch
The Sultanate of Oman is one of the few good news stories to have emerged from the Middle
East in recent memory. This book traces the narrative of a little-known and relatively stable
Arab country whose history of independence, legacy of interaction with diverse cultures, and
enlightened modern leadership have transformed it in less than 50 years from an isolated
medieval-style potentate to a stable, dynamic and largely optimistic country. At the heart of
this fascinating story is Omans sultan, Taboos bin Said, friend to both East and West, whose
unique leadership style has resulted in both domestic and foreign policy achievements during
more than four decades in office. Exploring Oman from a historical perspective, Funsch
examines how the countrys unique blend of tradition and modernisation has enabled it to
succeed while others in the region have failed. Accounts of the authors own experiences with
Omans transformation add rich layers of depth, texture and personality to the narrative.
September 2015, Palgrave Macmillan, 62.50
BOOKS IN BRIEF
IN MEMORIAM
Homa Nategh
(1934-2016)
Touraj Atabaki and Nasser Mohajer
IN MEMORIAM
Khodadad Farmanfarmaian
(1928-2015)
Ramin Nassehi
LISTINGS
Events in London
T
HE
EVENTS
and
organisations listed below
are not necessarily endorsed
or supported by The Middle East in
London. The accompanying texts
and images are based primarily
on information provided by the
organisers and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the compilers
or publishers. While every possible
effort is made to ascertain the
accuracy of these listings, readers
are advised to seek confirmation
of all events using the contact
details provided for each event.
Submitting entries and updates:
please send all updates and
submissions for entries related
to future events via e-mail to
[email protected]
BM British Museum, Great
Russell Street, London WC1B
3DG
SOAS SOAS, University of
London, Thornhaugh Street,
Russell Square, London WC1H
0XG
LSE London School of
Economics and Political Science,
Houghton Street, London WC2
2AE
FEBRUARY EVENTS
Monday 1 February
5:15 pm | L'Aiguire de SaintDenis: The Life and Travels
of a Fatimid Luxury Object
(Seminar)
Jeremy
Johns
(University of Oxford). Organised
by: Department of History, SOAS.
SOAS Near and Middle Eastern
History Seminar. Convener:
Derek Mancini-Lander (SOAS).
Admission free. Room B104,
SOAS. E [email protected] W
www.soas.ac.uk/history/events/
6:15 pm | New Data for the
History of Iron Age Karkemish:
Epigraphic
Discoveries
of
the Turco-Italian Expedition
(Seminar) Hasan Peker (Istanbul
University).
Organised
by:
London Centre for the Ancient
Tuesday 2 February
5:00 pm | The Rise and Fall of
Orientalism in Travel, Tourism
and Cultural Production: Report
from Palestine/Israel (Seminar)
Tom Selwyn (SOAS). (Seminar)
Organised by: Department of
Anthropology and Sociology,
SOAS. Anthropology of Tourism
and Travel Seminar Series.
Admission free. Room 4426,
SOAS. E [email protected] W www.
soas.ac.uk/anthropology/events/
5:15 pm | Beyond the "Tunisian
Exception":
(Un)changing
Politics and Social Movements
(Lecture) Choukri Hmed (Paris
Dauphine University). Organised
by: LSE Middle East Centre. Based
on an ongoing fieldwork, Hmed
presents his paper which proposes
an analysis of the (un)changing
frames and issues in both social
movements and the political
field in the country. Chair: John
Chalcraft (LSE). Admission free.
Pre-booking required. Room 9.04,
Tower 2, Clement's Inn, LSE. T 020
7955 6198 E [email protected] W
www.lse.ac.uk/middleEastCentre/
5:45 pm | Between Radical Islam
and Kurdishness: Hizbullah
in Eastern Turkey (Lecture)
Mehmet Kurt (Bingol University).
Organised by: London Middle East
Institute, SOAS (LMEI). Kurt's talk
will explore the personal, political
and ideological motivations of
radicalised Islamists and will
contextualise these dynamics in
terms of the Turkish state's ongoing
conflict with the PKK. Chair:
Nadje Al-Ali (SOAS). Part of the
LMEIs Tuesday Evening Lecture
Programme on the Contemporary
Middle East. Admission free.
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS. T
020 7898 4330/4490 E vp6@soas.
ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
events/
Wednesday 3 February
5:00 pm | Report Launch:
Narratives of Conversion to
Islam Male Perspectives (Talk)
Organised by: Centre of Islamic
Studies, University of Cambridge.
Report launch to discuss and
reflect on a report focused on the
experiences of nearly 50 British
men of all ages, ethnicities,
backgrounds and faiths (or no
faith) who have all converted
to Islam. Admission free. DLT,
SOAS. T 01223 335103 W www.
cis.cam.ac.uk
6:00 pm | Israel\Palestine\
Africa: From Terra Nullius to
Terra Incognita and Back (Book
Launch) Organised by: Centre for
Palestine Studies, SOAS. Haim
Yacobi (Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev, Israel) Event to mark
the UK launch of Haim Yacobis
newest book, Israel and Africa:
A Genealogy of Moral Geography
(Routledge, 2015) which examines
the ways in which Africa as a
geopolitical entity - is socially
manufactured,
collectively
imagined but also culturally
denied in Israeli politics, and how
in turn such construction has
relevance to the spatio-politics of
Palestine. Discussants: Camillo
Boano (UCL) and Sharri Plonski
(SOAS). Chair: Gilbert Achcar
(SOAS). Admission free. MBI Al
Jaber Conference Room, London
Middle East Institute, SOAS
(LMEI), University of London,
MBI Al Jaber Building, 21 Russell
Square, London WC1B 5EA. T
020 7898 4330/4490 E vp6@soas.
ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmeicps/events/
6:00 pm | Democratisation in
the Maghreb (Lecture) Jonathan
Hill (King's College London).
Organised by: Society for Algerian
Studies in conjunction with LSE.
The Arab Springs influence on the
Maghreb has been piecemeal and
partial. Why did Ben Alis regime
in Tunisia fall and Bouteflikas
in Algeria's survive? Why has
Thursday 4 February
7:00 pm | Kamran Djam Annual
Lectures at SOAS (2016): The
quest of Majnn: Tribulations
of a Lover (Lecture) Leili Anvar
(Institut des Langues et des
Civilsations Orientales, Paris).
Organised by: Centre for Iranian
Studies, SOAS. The second of
two lectures by Leili Anvar (see
Saturday 6 February
7:30 pm | Dina El Wedid & Rasha
(Concert) Organised by: Marsm
and sponsored by Alaraby TV
Network. Egyptian Dina El Wedidi
will be sharing the stage for a
special double bill night with the
Sudanese singer Rasha. Tickets:
17.02. Islington Assembly Hall,
Upper Street, London N1 2UD.
E [email protected] W http://
marsm.co.uk/
Sunday 7 February
5:00 pm | The Herodian Temple
Mount in Jerusalem in the Light
of Recent Excavations next to it
Tuesday 9 February
5:15 pm | EU Foreign Policy
in the Middle East and North
Africa: Lobbying, Networks and
Framing (Lecture) Benedetta
Voltolini (LSE Middle East
Centre and Sciences Po Paris).
Organised by: LSE Middle East
NEW IN PAPERBACK
October 2015
12.99
320 pages
198 x 126 mm
9781784534660
w w w. i b t a u r i s .c o m
Wednesday 10 February
6:00 pm | The Road Taken - Main
Discoveries in the Excavations in
the City of Jerusalem (Lecture)
Ronny Reich (University of
Haifa). Organised by: Anglo
Israel Archaeological Society
and the Institute of Archaeology,
UCL. Followed by refreshments.
Admission free. B404 Lecture
Theatre 2, The Cruciform
Building, Gower Street, University
College London WC1E 6BT. T 020
8349 5754 W www.aias.org.uk
6:30 pm | Saudi-British Society
Annual Dinner Organised by:
The Saudi-British Society. The
Societys Annual Dinner held in
conjunction with the presentation
of the Rawabi Holding Awards.
The awards, for making a
significant contribution to SaudiBritish relations, will be presented
by the donor, Abdulaziz al Turki,
to Judy Houry MBE and Ali
Almihdar LLM PhD. Tickets:
30. Pre-booking required. E
[email protected]
Institute of Directors, 116 Pall
Mall, London SW1.
7:00 pm | Revolutionary Egypt
Five Years On (Panel Discussion)
Jack Shenker (former Egypt
correspondent for the Guardian
and author of The Egyptians A
Radical Story). Organised by:
Frontline Club. It is half a decade
since Egypt's revolution first
erupted, promising something
more than a binary choice
between Islamism and military
Thursday 11 February
7:00 pm | Possible and Imaginary
Lives (Talk) Organised by: The
Mosaic Rooms. Yasmine EidSabbagh discusses the exhibition
and book project that traces the
lives of four Palestinian-Lebanese
sisters who are exiled in different
places across the globe. Admission
free. Pre-booking required. E
[email protected]
The
Mosaic Rooms, AM Qattan
Foundation, Tower House, 226
Cromwell Road, London SW5
0SW. T 020 7370 9990 E info@
mosaicrooms.org
W
http://
mosaicrooms.org/
Monday 15 February
5:15 pm | The Use of Law as an
Instrument of Power in Sudan
and South Sudan (Lecture) Ali
Agab (Sudanese Human Rights
Lawyer). Organised by: Centre
of African Studies, SOAS (CAS).
Sudan-South Sudan Series. Agab
examines the nature, underlying
rationale and impact of the use of
law as an instrument of power in
Sudan since 1989 and considers
emerging parallels in South
Sudan, such as the broad National
Security Services Law adopted
in 2015. Discussant: Mashood
Baderin (CAS/SOAS). Chair:
Lutz Oette (Centre for Human
Rights Law, SOAS). Admission
free. Room 4429, SOAS. E cas@
soas.ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/cas/
events/
6:15
pm
|
Too
Much
Coincidence? ArchaeologicalTextual Complementarity in
Anatolian Funerary Practices
(2nd millennium BC) (Seminar)
Yamur
Heffron
(UCL).
Organised by: London Centre for
the Ancient Near East. Ancient
Near East Seminar. Admission
free. L67, SOAS. E [email protected]
W http://banealcane.org/lcane/
Tuesday 16 February
5:45 pm | Money and Value:
From Qur'an to Contemporary
Islamic Economics (Lecture)
Ersilia Francesca (University
of
Naples
LOrientale).
Organised by: London Middle
East Institute, SOAS (LMEI).
Francesca's presentation will aim
to investigate the way that Islamic
economic ethics as derived from
the Qur'an and Prophetic sunna
can influence the believers
attitude toward earning money
and entrepreneurial activities in
contemporary times. Part of the
LMEIs Tuesday Evening Lecture
Programme on the Contemporary
Middle East. Admission free.
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS. T
020 7898 4330/4490 E vp6@soas.
ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
events/
6:30 pm | C R Ashbees Vision of
Jerusalem, the English Arts and
Crafts Movement in the Middle
East (Lecture) Benedict Leigh
(UCL Qatar, BM). Organised by:
Royal Asiatic Society. Admission
free. Royal Asiatic Society, 14
Stephenson Way, London N1
2HD. E [email protected]
W http://royalasiaticsociety.org/
Wednesday 17 February
6:45 pm | Monir (Film) Organised
by: Asia House and the Iran
Heritage
Foundation
(IHF).
Dir Bahman Kiarostami (2014),
Iran, 54 mins. Documentary
looking at the life and work of
Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy
Farmanfarmaian,
who
first
garnered attention in the 1970s
when she pioneered contemporary
forms of geometric mirror
works. In Persian and English
with English subtitles. Followed
by Q&A with the producer of
the documentary, Leyla Fakhr.
Tickets: 8/6 conc. Asia House,
63 New Cavendish Street, London
W1G 7LP. T 020 7307 5454 W
www.asiahouse.org
7:00 pm | Insight with Janine di
Giovanni - Dispatches from Syria
(Talk) Organised by: Frontline
Club. In May 2012, di Giovanni
travelled to Syria to cover the
peaceful
demonstrations.
It
would mark the beginning of a
relationship with the country that
would continue to draw her back.
In this talk she shares the stories
Thursday 18 February
5:45 pm | Building a Sense
of Community: People and
Architecture
in
Neolithic
Jordan (Lecture) Bill Finlayson
(Council for British Research
in the Levant). Organised by:
MBI Al Jaber Foundation and
the Council for British Research
in the Levant (CBRL). Part of
the MBI Al Jaber Foundation
Lecture Series. Admission free.
Pre-registration required. MBI Al
Jaber Conference Room, London
Middle East Institute, SOAS
(LMEI), University of London,
MBI Al Jaber Building, 21 Russell
Square, London WC1B 5EA. E
[email protected]
W
www.mbifoundation.com
6:00 pm | WHOS HIDING HERE?
Artists and their Signatures
in Persian Manuscripts of the
Poetry as
the Language
of Desire
Lecture One: By-e j-ye Mlyn: Some consideraons on desire, exile and
poetry from Rdak to Rm, Wednesday: 7.00pm
Preceded by a recepon at 6.00pm in the Brunei Suite
Lecture Two: The quest of Majnn: tribulaons of a lover, Thursday: 7.00pm
Khalili Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Admission Free - All Welcome
Enquiries
Tel. No. 020 7898 4330 E-mail [email protected]
Website www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis/events/
February March 2016 The Middle East in London 31
LONDON
MIDDLE EAST
INSTITUTE
TUESDAYS 5:45 PM
KHALILI LECTURE THEATRE, MAIN BUILDING, SOAS
The Lectures are free and open to all. Tea and biscuits are available from 5:15 pm
For further information contact:
The London Middle East Institute at SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square,
London, WC1H OXG, T: 020 7898 4330; E: [email protected], W: www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
Saturday 20 February
9:30 am | The Idea of Iran:
Sunday 21 February
3:00 pm | Get to Know the Temple
of Solomon Organised by: Spiro
Ark. Tickets: Admission free. Prebooking required. The Liberal
Jewish Synagogue, 28 St John's
Wood Road, London NW8 7HA.
T 0207 7944 655 E Education@
spiroark.org W www.spiroark.org/
events/
Monday 22 February
5:15 pm | The Making of an
Egyptian Middle Class Society:
Change and Contestation in an
Age of Oil Boom and Open Door
Policy (Seminar) Relli Schecter
(Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev). Organised by: Department
of History, SOAS. SOAS Near and
Middle Eastern History Seminar.
Social commentators across the
political spectrum and secularreligious divide commented on
1970s and 1980s Egypt as a period
riddled with crises of all sorts,
Schecter looks at the family crisis
at the centre of which was inflation
in marriage costs. Convener:
Derek Mancini-Lander (SOAS).
Admission free. Room B104,
SOAS. E [email protected] W
www.soas.ac.uk/history/events/
Tuesday 23 February
5:45 pm | Lebanon and the 21st
century: Everyday Life in Times
of Permanent Crisis (Lecture)
Andrew Arsan (University of
Cambridge).
Organised
by:
London Middle East Institute,
SOAS (LMEI). Drawing on his
current research, Arsan's talk will
provide a brief overview of some
of the tactics ordinary Lebanese
have devised to make do with
instability and to find a way to live
with the enervating, exhausting
realities of everyday life - from
electricity shortages to traffic
jams and trash crises. Part of the
LMEIs Tuesday Evening Lecture
Programme on the Contemporary
Middle East. Admission free.
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS. T
020 7898 4330/4490 E vp6@soas.
ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
events/
Wednesday 24 February
1:00 pm | Queens of Syria + Boya
Thursday 25 February
7:30 pm | The Moment
(Performance) Organised by:
The Mosaic Rooms. Solo dance
performance by dancer, performer
and choreographer Salah El
Brogy created during a monthlong residency in Morocco.
Followed by a Q&A with Salah El
Brogy. Tickets: 10. Pre-booking
required. E rsvp@mosaicrooms.
org The Mosaic Rooms, A.M.
Qattan Foundation, Tower House,
226 Cromwell Road, London
Friday 26 February
12:00 pm | History in the Making
or False Dawn? How Close are
we to a Cyprus Agreement?
(Seminar) Ioannis Grigoriadis
(Bilkent University) Organised by:
Organised by the SOAS Modern
Turkish Studies Programme
(London Middle East Institute,
SOAS) and Modern Greek
Studies (Kings College London).
Sponsored by Nurol Bank. Part
of the Greek-Turkish Encounters
Series. Admission free. Conveners:
Gamon McLellan (SOAS) and
Yorgos Dedes (SOAS). Room 116,
SOAS. E [email protected] / gm29@
soas.ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/
lmei/events/
6:00 pm | Title TBC (Panel
Discussion) Sharon Dolev (Israeli
Disarmament Movement - IDM),
Dan Plesch (CISD) and others
TBC. Organised by: Centre
for International Studies and
Diplomacy, SOAS (CISD) and
Monday 29 February
5:15 pm | The Bunian Corpus
and the Materiality of Invisible
Worlds (Seminar) Noah Gardiner
(Rheinische Friedrich-WilhelmsUniversitt Bonn). Organised by:
Department of History, SOAS.
SOAS Near and Middle Eastern
History
Seminar.
Gardiner
examines issues of materiality in
the study of premodern Islamic
occultism, with a focus on the
late-Ayyubid and Mamluk era
circulation and reception of
the written teachings of the
North African Sufi and putative
magician Ahmad al-Buni (d.
1225 or 1231-2 CE). Convener:
Derek Mancini-Lander (SOAS).
Admission free. Room B104,
SOAS. E [email protected] W
www.soas.ac.uk/history/events/
EVENTS OUTSIDE
LONDON
Thursday 4 February
5:15 pm | The Syrian Refugee
Crisis and the Impact on the Arab
State: A Preliminary Assessment
(Lecture) Filippo Dionigi (LSE).
Organised by: Centre of Islamic
Studies and the Centre for the
study of the International Relations
of the Middle East and North
Africa in Cambridge, University
of Cambridge. Admission free.
Thomas Gray Room, Pembroke
College, Cambridge CB2 1RF. T
01223 335103 W www.cis.cam.
ac.uk
Friday 5 February
6:30 pm | Report Launch:
Narratives of Conversion to
Islam Male Perspectives (Talk)
Organised by: Centre of Islamic
Studies, University of Cambridge.
Report launch to discuss and
reflect on a report focused on the
experiences of nearly 50 British
men of all ages, ethnicities,
backgrounds and faiths (or no
faith) who have all converted
to Islam. Admission free. Room
3, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms,
University of Cambridge CB21.
T 01223 335103 W www.cis.cam.
ac.uk
Thursday 18 February
5:15 pm | Can Yemen Remain
United? (Lecture) Noel Brehony
(Menas Associates). Organised
by: Centre of Islamic Studies,
University
of
Cambridge.
Admission free. Thomas Gray
Room,
Pembroke
College,
Cambridge CB2 1RF. T 01223
335103 W www.cis.cam.ac.uk
MARCH EVENTS
Tuesday 1 March
4:30 pm | The Notion of Salafiyya:
Between Saudi Arabia and
Turkey
(Seminar)
Andrew
Hammond (University of Oxford).
Organised by: LSE Kuwait
Programme. Salafism, with its
semantic confusions, is finding
its way from Arabic and the Saudi
sphere into Turkey and the Turkish
language. How did it happen?
What are its consequences?
Admission free. 9.04, Tower 1,
Clements Inn, LSE. T 020 7955
6639 E [email protected] W
www.lse.ac.uk/middleEastCentre/
kuwait/events/Home.aspx
5:45 pm | Civil Resistance in
North Africa since 2010 (Panel
Discussion)
Organised
by:
London Middle East Institute,
SOAS (LMEI). Panel discussion
with Adam Roberts, other
participants TBC. Chair: Charles
Tripp (SOAS). Part of the
LMEIs Tuesday Evening Lecture
Programme on the Contemporary
Middle East. Admission free.
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS. T
020 7898 4330/4490 E vp6@soas.
ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
events/
Wednesday 2 March
6:00
pm
|
Alternative
Universalisms? Contemporary
Turkish Discourses on Culture in
International Relations (Lecture)
Katerina
Dalacoura
(LSE).
Organised by: LSE Middle East
Centre. Drawing on the findings
of a research project funded by
the British Academy, the lecture,
and the project, aim to enrich
the theoretical study of culture
in the discipline of International
Relations and contribute to the
current public debate on the
role of culture in world politics.
Admission free. Pre-booking
required. Wolfson Theatre, New
Academic Building, LSE. T 020
7955 6198 E [email protected] W
www.lse.ac.uk/middleEastCentre/
Thursday 3 March
4:00 pm | Reflections in Ancient
Coins of the Maccabean Struggle
against Seleucid Rule (Lecture)
David Jacobson (UCL) Organised
by: Anglo Israel Archaeological
Society and the Palestine
Exploration Fund. Admission free.
Pre-booking required. T 020 7323
8181 W www.britishmuseum.org
Stevenson Lecture Theatre, Clore
Education Centre, BM. T 020 8349
5754 W www.aias.org.uk
7:30 pm | Cairokee (Concert)
Organised by: Marsm and
sponsored by Alaraby TV
Network.
Cairokees
sound
evolved tremendously from one
album to the next, reflecting their
goals and continuous ambition
to sing along with Cairo. Tickets:
18.59. Students Central, The
Venue, Malet Street, London
WC1E 7HY. E [email protected]
W http://marsm.co.uk/
Friday 4 March
7:00 pm | Diasporas of the Modern
Saturday 5 March
8:00 pm | Shahram Nazeri - The
Knight of the Voice (Concert) The
Monday 7 March
5:00 pm | The Right Education
in Israel Versus the CounterKnowledge of the Palestinian
Teachers: The Case of Citizenship
Education (Lecture) Ayman K
Agbaria (Centre for Research and
Evaluation in Muslim Education,
UCL Institute of Education).
Organised by: Centre for Palestine
Studies, SOAS. Agbaria sheds
light on the influence of the
Israeli right-wing politics on the
education system, focusing on
citizenship education and explains
how these politics have moulded
the parameters of the Israeli
educational regime. Chair: Nimer
Sultany (SOAS). Admission free.
MBI Al Jaber Conference Room,
London Middle East Institute,
SOAS (LMEI), University of
London, MBI Al Jaber Building,
21 Russell Square, London WC1B
5EA. T 020 7898 4330/4490 E
[email protected] W www.soas.
ac.uk/lmei-cps/events/
5:15 pm | Objects of Devotion:
Palestinian
Migrants
and
Their Prayer Beads, 18501948 (Seminar) Jacob Norris
(University of Sussex). Organised
by: Department of History, SOAS.
SOAS Near and Middle Eastern
History Seminar. Norris revisits
the early history of the Palestinian
diaspora: a period of Palestinian
migration marked by choice
and opportunity rather than
enforced exile. But he approaches
these
pre-1948
movements
through a peculiar lens: that of
the prayer beads that Palestinian
migrants commonly carried
in their suitcases. Convener:
Derek Mancini-Lander (SOAS).
Admission free. Room B104,
SOAS. E [email protected] W
www.soas.ac.uk/history/events/
6:15 pm | Finding the Philistines:
Ceramic Evidence of the
Northern Sea Peoples at Tell
Tuesday 8 March
5:45 pm | Decoding ISIS: A
Contextual-Conjunctural
Analysis of Sectarian Conflict
in Iraq (Lecture) Kamran Matin
(University of Sussex). Organised
by: London Middle East Institute,
SOAS (LMEI). Matin will seek
to provide a holistic account
of ISIS through a historical
materialist form of contextual and
conjunctural analysis and argues
that central to understanding
ISIS's success is explaining Sunni
Arab support-base in Iraq, ISIS's
birthplace
and
geopolitical
centre of gravity. Part of the
LMEIs Tuesday Evening Lecture
Programme on the Contemporary
Middle East. Admission free.
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS. T
020 7898 4330/4490 E vp6@soas.
ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
events/
Wednesday 9 March
5:00 pm | Knowledge Production
in the Arab World (Lecture) Sari
Hanafi (American University of
Beirut). Organised by: Centre for
Palestine Studies, SOAS. Lecture
by Hanafi to mark the publication
of Knowledge Production in
the Arab World: The Impossible
Promise (Hanafi, S and Arvanitis,
R, Routledge, 2015) in which
the authors investigate research
practices in the Arab world, using
multiple case studies from the
region with particular focus on
Lebanon and Jordan. Admission
free. MBI Al Jaber Conference
Room, London Middle East
Institute,
SOAS
(LMEI),
University of London, MBI Al
Jaber Building, 21 Russell Square,
London WC1B 5EA. T 020 7898
4330/4490 E [email protected] W
www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cps/events/
6:00 pm | Sexual and Gender
Diversity in the Muslim World:
History, Law and Vernacular
Knowledge (Book Launch &
Reception) Rahul Rao (SOAS)
and Ziba Mir-Hosseini (SOAS).
Organised by: SOAS School of
Law. Event to mark the publication
Thursday 10 March
6:00 pm | Scribes and Libraries
in the Mamluk Period (Lecture)
Doris Behrens-Abouseif (SOAS).
Organised by: Royal Asiatic
Society. Admission free. Royal
Asiatic Society, 14 Stephenson
Way, London N1 2HD. E ar@
royalasiaticsociety.org W http://
royalasiaticsociety.org/
7:00 pm | Ideologies in
Archaeology:
Re-imagination
of Iranian Identity through
Dialogue among Civilisations
during the Khatami period
(Lecture) Rana Daroogheh (Iran
Heritage
Foundation
(IHF)
Visiting Fellow in Iranian Studies).
Organised by: Centre for Iranian
Studies, SOAS. Admission free.
DLT, SOAS. T 020 7898 4330/4490
E [email protected] W www.soas.
ac.uk/lmei-cis/events/
Friday 11 March
1:00 pm | Culture Now: Hajra
Waheed (Talk) Organised by:
Institute of Contemporary Arts
(ICA). Artist Hajra Waheed
discusses her practice on
the occasion of her first UK
presentation of the first chapter
from her work Sea Change at The
Mosaic Rooms (see Exhibitions
pp...). Tickets: 5.00 + 1.00
Saturday 12 March
7:00 pm | A Musical Celebration
of Nowruz with Persian, Kurdish
and Azari Music (Concert)
Tickets: 15/10 concs./6 SOAS
students. DLT, SOAS. T 0780 1998
193 E moonlight_culture@yahoo.
com W www.thesantur.com
Monday 14 March
5:15 pm | Portrait of the Martyr
as a Young Man: The Social Life
of Photographs in Revolutionary
Egypt (Seminar) Lucie Ryzova
(University of Birmingham).
Organised by: Department of
History, SOAS. SOAS Near and
Middle Eastern History Seminar.
Ryzova looks at the social lives of
photographs of young Egyptians
who died in the revolutions many
events over the past (almost) 5 years
and who have become martyrs:
their ordinary ID photographs
or private snapshots have been
Tuesday 15 March
5:45 pm | Civil Resistance in
North Africa since 2010 (Book
Launch) Nelida Fuccaro (SOAS).
Organised by: London Middle
East Institute, SOAS (LMEI).
Event with the editor, Fuccaro, to
mark the publication of her latest
book Violence and the City in the
Modern Middle East (Stanford
University Press, 2016) which
explores violence in the public
lives of modern Middle Eastern
cities,
approaching
violence
as an individual and collective
experience, a historical event,
and an urban process. Chair:
Charles Tripp (SOAS). Part of the
LMEIs Tuesday Evening Lecture
Programme on the Contemporary
Middle East. Admission free.
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS. T
020 7898 4330/4490 E vp6@soas.
ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/
events/
5:15 pm | Why Some Contentious
Movements Fail: The Case of
the Syrian Opposition (Lecture)
Jasmine Gani (University of
St Andrews). Organised by:
LSE Middle East Centre. Gani
presents her paper, drawing upon
a contentious politics framework
to assess the successes and failures
of the Syrian external opposition,
represented by the Syrian National
Coalition (SNC). Chair: John
Chalcraft (LSE). Admission free.
Pre-booking required. Room 9.04,
Tower 2, Clement's Inn, LSE. T 020
7955 6198 E [email protected] W
www.lse.ac.uk/middleEastCentre/
Wednesday 16 March
5:00 pm | On the Threshold
of Statelessness: Palestinian
Narratives of Loss and Erasure
(Seminar)
Elena
FiddianQasmiyeh (UCL). Organised by:
Centre for Migration and Diaspora
Studies, SOAS. Fiddian-Qasmiyeh
examines how Palestinians living
in France, Sweden and the UK
negotiate, mobilise and/or resist,
and ultimately problematize,
notions of statelessness as a
concept and as a marker of identity.
Admission free. Room G52, SOAS.
E [email protected] W www.
soas.ac.uk/migrationdiaspora/
seminarsevents/
6:00 pm | Engineers of Jihad:
The
Curious
Connection
between Violent Extremism
and Education (Lecture) Steffen
Hertog (LSE) and Diego Gambetta
(European University Institute,
Italy). Organised by: LSE Middle
East Centre. Under which
socioeconomic conditions do
people join extremist groups? Does
the profile of extremists reflect how
they self-select into extremism
or how groups recruit them?
Does ideology matter in sorting
who joins which group? Lastly,
is there a mindset susceptible to
Thursday 17 March
5:45 pm | Architecture that Fills
the Eye: Building Traditions in
Friday 18 March
1:15 pm | They Tried to Kill Us,
We Survived Lets Eat! Jewish
Celebrations in the Israeli
Household (Seminar) Claudia
Prieto Piastro (Institute of Middle
Eastern Studies, Kings College
London). Organised by: SOAS
Food Studies Centre. SOAS Food
Forum. Convener: Harry West,
SOAS. Admission free. Room
4426, SOAS. E soasfoodstudies@
soas.ac.uk W www.soas.ac.uk/
foodstudies/forum/
Tuesday 22 March
4:30 pm | The Four Eras of Qatari
Foreign Policy (Seminar) David
Roberts (Kings College London).
Organised by: LSE Kuwait
Programme. Without the capacity
to effectively involve itself in the
Gordian conflicts that emerged
from the Arab Spring, Qatar
gained a reputation as a dangerous
dilatant, stoking anger among key
allies in the Arab and western
worlds. Its young Emir must now
navigate a hazardous path between
promoting the maintenance of old
associations and the reality that
Qatar struggles to control and use
these relations effectively. Chair:
Courtney Freer (LSE Kuwait
Programme). Admission free.
Room 9.04, Tower 1, Clements
Inn, LSE. T 020 7955 6639 E
[email protected] W www.lse.
ac.uk/middleEastCentre/kuwait/
events/Home.aspx
Wednesday 23 March
6:30 pm | The Achaemenid
Persian Heritage: Greeks and
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EVENTS OUTSIDE
LONDON
Saturday 19 March
10:00 am | Light & Knowledge
(Symposium)
The
33rd
Symposium of the Muhyiddin
Ibn 'Arabi Society. With Todd
Lawson from Montreal, Sara
Sviri from Jerusalem and Ahmad
Sukkar from Damascus and
Oxford. Tickets: 70/65 Society
Member/50 full-time students.
Wolfson College, University of
Oxford, Linton Road, Oxford OX2
6UD. E events.uk@ibnarabisociety
W http://ibnarabisociety.org/
EXHIBITIONS
Until 6 February | Parastou
Forouhar:
Reimaging
the
Illusion Through animations,
wallpapers,
flipbooks,
and
drawings Forouhar examines the
power structures within certain
authoritarian political systems,
with particular attention to how
they block oppositional discourse
from entering the public sphere
Friday 19 February
Until 23 February | 'Blueprint
Beirut' The Arab British Centre
and the Starch Foundation present
Lebanons first participation in
Fashion Utopias, the British
Council and British Fashion
Councils International Fashion
Showcase 2016 in association
with London Fashion Week, with
Blueprint Beirut, an exhibition
of eight emerging designers.
Admission free. Pre-booking
advised. West Wing Galleries,
Tuesday 23 February
Until 30 June | Akhenhaten:
Heretic, Visionary and Icon
Exhibition
exploring
the
ambiguous
and
contentious
figure of Akhenaten. Displayed
in conjunction with Philip Glass
Akhnaten at the English National
Opera (See March Events, Friday
4 March, March Events, p35).
Admission free. UCL Petrie
Museum of Egyptian Archaeology,
Malet Place, London WC1E 6B. T
020 7679 2884 E petrie.museum@
ucl.ac.uk
W
www.ucl.ac.uk/
museums/petrie
Friday 11 March
Until 21 May | Sea Change
Chapter 1: Character 1, In the
Rough First UK presentation
of the first chapter from Hajra
Waheeds Sea Change an ongoing visual novel and multimedia
archive, commenced in 2011,
which revolves around the
journey and disappearance of
nine persons in the name of
salvation, a better life or new one.
See talk by Waheed at the ICA,
Friday 11 March, March Events,
p36 Admission free. The Mosaic
Rooms, A.M. Qattan Foundation,
Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road,
London SW5 0SW. T 020 7370
9990 E [email protected] W
http://mosaicrooms.org/
Middle East
Summer School
20
July
2016
24
June
26
July
2013
23June-21
June-24
July
2014
An
choice
of two
Anintensive
intensivefive-week
five-weekprogramme
programmewhich
whichincludes
includesatwo
courses:
courses: a language one (Persian or Arabic, the latter at two levels)
an Arabic
Course (introductory
or of
intermediate)
and
anotherLanguage
on the 'Government
and Politics
the Middle and
East' or
another
on
Government
and
Politics
of
the
Middle
East.
'Culture and Society in the Middle East'.
Beginners Persian (Level 1)
This is an introductory course which aims to give the students
a reasonable grounding in the basics of Persian grammar
and syntax as well as to enable them to understand simple
and frequently used expressions related to basic language
use. They will be able to hold uncomplicated conversations
on topics such as personal and family information, shopping,
hobbies, employment as well as simple and direct exchanges
of information related to familiar topics. By the end of the
course they will also progress to read simple short texts.
Timetable
Courses are taught Mon-Thu each week. Language courses
are taught in the morning (10am-1pm) and the Politics and
Culture Courses are taught in two slots in the afternoon
(2:00-3:20 and 3:40-5:00pm).
FEES
Session (5 weeks)
Programme fee*
Accommodation fee**
24 June-21
June26July
July2016
2013(two
(twocourses)
courses)
20
2,500
from 300/week
of 10%
10% apply
toto
course
fees
before
130
March
*** An
early
birddiscounts
discount of
of
10%
applies
to
course
fees
before
15April
April2013.
2014.
AnEarly
earlybird
bird
discount
applies
course
fees
before
2016.
** Accommodation fees must be paid by 1 March 2013 to secure accommodation.
**
can be
be booked
booked at
at the
the Intercollegiate
IntercollegiateHalls
Hallswhich
which arelocated
locatedininthe
theheart
heartofof
** Rooms
Rooms
Please can
check our
website
from mid-October
2012 for are
conrmed prices.
Bloomsbury: www.halls.london.ac.uk.
www.halls.london.ac.uk.
1917
2016
CENTRE FOR PALESTINE STUDIES | SOAS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
ANNUAL LECTURE 2016
RASHID KHALIDI