BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Center for International and Regional Studies - ECPv6.15.15//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Center for International and Regional Studies
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Center for International and Regional Studies
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Europe/Moscow
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0300
TZOFFSETTO:+0400
TZNAME:MSD
DTSTART:20080329T230000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0400
TZOFFSETTO:+0300
TZNAME:MSK
DTSTART:20081025T230000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0300
TZOFFSETTO:+0400
TZNAME:MSD
DTSTART:20090328T230000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0400
TZOFFSETTO:+0300
TZNAME:MSK
DTSTART:20091024T230000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0300
TZOFFSETTO:+0400
TZNAME:MSD
DTSTART:20100327T230000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0400
TZOFFSETTO:+0300
TZNAME:MSK
DTSTART:20101030T230000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090108T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090109T180000
DTSTAMP:20260511T120021
CREATED:20141027T133327Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T115227Z
UID:10000879-1231401600-1231524000@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:International Relations of the Gulf Working Group II
DESCRIPTION:On January 8-9\, 2009\, CIRS convened the second International Relations of the Gulf working group session. This meeting was part of a year-long research initiative that began with the first working group meeting in June 2008 and which focused on analyzing several key aspects of the International Relations of the Gulf from different angles. CIRS invited a core group of distinguished Gulf studies scholars to Doha to attend the working group meetings and to contribute individual chapters towards a book entitled The International Politics of the Persian Gulf (Syracuse University Press\, 2011). The book covers topics such as the history of Gulf Shaikhdoms\, Gulf security strategies\, and political reform in the region. Concomitantly\, CIRS also invited several other experts in the field to act as discussants and to give critical consultation and enrich the topics under examination.  \n \n \nThis book breaks new ground and will contribute greatly to the literature on the international relations of the Middle East in general and the Gulf in particular. It will be of great interest to academics and scholars specializing in the Gulf and the Middle East\, as well as practitioners and policy-makers\, students\, and interested readers.   \n \n \nParticipants in the International Relations of the Gulf Working Group:  \n \n \n\nMohammed Ayoob\, Michigan State University \nDaniel Byman\, Georgetown University \nGregory Gause\, University of Vermont \nN. Janardhan\, Political Analyst\, Gulf-Asia Affairs\, UAE \nMehran Kamrava\, Georgetown University in Qatar\nRami Khouri\, American University of Beirut \nJoseph Kostiner\, Tel Aviv University \nFred Lawson\, Mills College \nKatja Niethammer\, Georgetown University in Qatar \nGerd Nonneman\, University of Exeter \nJames Onley\, University of Exeter \nJ. E. Peterson\, University of Arizona \nLawrence Potter\, Columbia University \nPaul Salem\, Carnegie Middle East Center \nKristian Coates Ulrichsen\, London School of Economics and Political Science \nRobert Wirsing\, Georgetown University in Qatar\nSteven Wright\, Qatar University \nObaid Younossi\, RAND-Qatar Policy Institute 	 \n\n \nSummary by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/international-relations-gulf-working-group-ii/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Focused Discussions,Regional Studies
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/10/events_21101_20181_1414419019-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090118T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090118T180000
DTSTAMP:20260511T120021
CREATED:20141026T084529Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T115158Z
UID:10000960-1232265600-1232301600@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Katja Niethammer on Political Reform and Confessional Identities in Bahrain
DESCRIPTION:On January 18\, 2009\, CIRS began the 2008-2009 spring semester with a Monthly Dialogue lecture entitled “Democrats and Autocrats\, Shi’ites and Sunnis: Political Reform and Confessional Identities in Bahrain” given by its Postdoctoral Fellow Katja Niethammer. \n \n \nNiethammer’s lecture is part of a larger study undertaken in her PhD research and analyzes the differences in goals\, strategies and behavior between Shi’ite and Sunni Islamist political organizations in Bahrain. As such\, she “shed light on the relationship between Islamist actors and political reform.” Niethammer conducted extensive fieldwork in Bahrain\, during which time she conducted interviews with political and religious activists from both Shi’ite and Sunni communities and also spent time within the Bahraini parliament. During these visits\, she witnessed parliamentarians “engage in serious confessionalist agitation and occasionally scuffles between MPs erupted sparked by discussions on events in Iraq.” \n \n \nThe study of Islamist groups in general is extremely important in the current political climate of the Gulf states as “Islamist groups are currently – and not only in Bahrain – the most important actors besides the ruling elites.” This is because “they have a wide social base and have extensive religious networks at their disposal.” Niethammer noted that the groups portrayed in her research are legal organizations and promote their goals through non-violent means. \n \n \nDuring her lecture\, Niethammer proceeded to debunk the two major assumptions currently holding sway over Islamic studies scholarship. The first assumption is that Islamist parties form a natural partnership with ideas of reform and justice and the second revolves around the hypothesis that Islamist parties will lose any extremist edge and become more democratic if involved in serious parliamentary participation. \n \n \nThese assumptions have been proven valid in some Middle Eastern countries\, but Niethammer proposed that the situation in Bahrain was far more complex. Because those parties that rejected electoral participation – the Shi’ite Islamist parties – called out for more democratic reform\, and those that fully contributed to parliamentary elections – the Sunni Islamist parties – were more concerned about supporting authoritarian rule\, other factors must be useful in explaining moderation and reform-mindedness. \n \n \nNiethammer proposes that one reason why Bahrain does not fit comfortably within the frame-work of these hypotheses is Bahrain’s prevalent sectarian and ethnic fragmentation\, which has created dominant and marginalized groups. Hence\, the social and economic positions of the Islamists vis-à-vis the ruling elite determine their political goals and strategies to a larger extent than their ideological orientation. She suggests that this might also be the case in other fragmented societies in the Middle East. \n \n \nIn conclusion\, Niethammer argued that such experiences from Bahrain suggest that “when Islamists represent a dominant confessional group\, they reject meaningful reforms that enhance political representation and participation. When Islamists represent politically marginalized groups\, they endorse such reforms.” In other words\, Niethammer maintained that Islamist political actors do not exhibit any behavior that is different from their secular counterparts. \n \n \nNiethammer joined CIRS for the 2008-2009 academic year. During her Fellowship spent within the framework of CIRS’ research and scholarship initiatives\, she has been involved in three major projects.  \n \n \nArticle by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/katja-niethammer-political-reform-and-confessional-identities-bahrain/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/10/events_20786_19851_1414313129-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090119T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090119T180000
DTSTAMP:20260511T120021
CREATED:20141026T141913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T115154Z
UID:10001006-1232352000-1232388000@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Female Suicide Bombers in Iraq by Mona Eltahawy
DESCRIPTION:Journalist and opinion-writer Mona Eltahawy was invited by CIRS to give a lunchtime lecture at the SFS-Qatar campus on the subject of “Female Suicide Bombers in Iraq.” Eltahawy is an award-winning syndicated columnist and an international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues. Her opinion pieces have been published frequently in the International Herald Tribune\,The Washington Post\, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper and Qatar’s Al-Arab. \n \n \nEltahawy began the lecture by noting her shift from being a journalist concerned with balance and objectivism to being compelled to speak out as an opinion-writer rather than as an impartial academic on a variety of issues that affect Muslims. This\, she said\, was as a result of the change in political climates all over the world after the attacks of September 11\, 2001. According to Eltahawy\, much of her work is driven by her subject-position as a feminist Muslim\, which is an identity that is not always given the forum to voice an opinion. As a female Muslim residing in the United States\, Eltahawy felt that her views were not being represented\, and this forms the context in which her writing and public speaking are situated. The subject of female suicide bombers\, she said\, was simultaneously “a deeply fascinating and disturbing subject.” \n \n \nTo dispel the myth that female suicide bombers are a new ideological formation particular to Islamic extremism and to the Middle East\, Eltahawy points toward the research conducted in a 1992 book by Eileen McDonald\, Shoot the Women First. The title comes from the West German security-force directive to shoot the women first upon entering a Red Army stronghold\, as the female fighters tended to pose the most aggressive response. The book documents the varied instances of women’s involvement in acts of extremism and violence in organizations such as the Basque separatist movement\, the Kurdish PKK separatists in Turkey\, the Tamil Tigers\, the Baader-Meinhof gang\, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization\, all of which existed long before the instrumentalist use of suicides by certain groups of Islamic extremists. But\, “what distinguishes what is happening in Iraq from these examples”\, Eltahawy notes\, “is that these groups were secular\, militant and terrorist groups” whereas the groups in Iraq are centered on religious extremism. \n \n \nThe question Eltahawy poses is: “What is the motivation for women to join a violent group or to become a terrorist?” She argues that “inherent in that question is the idea that a woman is different from a man in choosing to join these groups.” But scholars on the subject have found that the ideological and political motivations that drive radicalization are largely the same for both men and women.  \n \n \nEltahawy takes Iraq as her case study and presents a number of statistics regarding female suicide bombers. She reports that\, “according to U.S. military statistics\, since the invasion in March 2003 until the end of last year\, Iraq has seen 57 female suicide bombers – including one who surrendered – and they killed a total of 370 people and injured 650.” What is alarming is the rate at which the attacks have tripled in 2008. The reason there is a sharp increase in female bombers has to do with increased security measures all over Iraq since the U.S. military surge. Today\, women can get to places that men cannot.  \n \n \nAlso alarming\, Eltahawy notes\, is the varying nature of the females carrying out this extremist violence in Iraq. One bomber was a 13 year old girl\, another was a woman dressed as a man\, and yet another was a married mother of two. These are unusual characteristics for what constitutes a radical and do not fit within the common profile. Usually\, such acts are carried out by single\, divorced or widowed women who have lost family members during a particular period and so have also lost their primary sources of income.  \n \n \nExtremist violence\, such as suicide bombings\, has been articulated as an act of desperation and a weapon of political and ideological struggle and “resistance against occupying forces” and powerful oppressors. Suicide bombings in Iraq were initially seen as political and ideological resistance to occupying forces\, but these extremist acts have become increasingly religious and sectarian in nature. Ironically\, Eltahawy concludes\, in Iraq\, Pakistan\, Turkey\, and Egypt\, such religiously and ideologically-backed martyrdom has seen more Muslims killing Muslims than supposed enemies\, occupiers\, or infidels. What is more\, most of the victims of suicide bombings are religious Shi’ia pilgrims and not legitimate military targets.  \n \n \nArticle by Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS Publications Coordinator.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/female-suicide-bombers-iraq-mona-eltahawy/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/10/events_22036_20066_1414918892-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090126T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20090126T180000
DTSTAMP:20260511T120021
CREATED:20141022T151858Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T115133Z
UID:10000929-1232956800-1232992800@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Seyyed Hossein Nasr on Islam and the Preservation of the Natural Environment
DESCRIPTION:On January 26\, 2009\, CIRS began its Spring semester FacultyDistinguished Lecture Series with a talk by Seyyed Hossein Nasr\, one of the foremost scholars of Islamic\, Religious and Comparative Studies in the world. He was introduced to the audience by Mohammed Al Sudairi\, SFS-Qatar sophomore and President of the Blue and Gray theater club. \n \n \nNasr’s lecture\, held at the Al Sharq hotel in Doha\, outlined daily environmental struggles within an elaborate frame of spiritual Islam. This subject\, Nasr emphasized\, “is of gravest importance” because people have resorted to covering up the problem without actually finding a solution. Environmental destruction however\, “will not be solved by cosmetics\,” but “requires a change in our way of life.” \n \n \nNasr noted the irony of human mastery over nature by warning that “to dominate nature is to destroy ourselves” in the process. He also said that there is no issue that should be higher on the world’s agenda\, as other peripheral economic and political problems pale in comparison to the environmental crisis. Should the problem of degradation continue at its current rate\, no other problem would even exist.  \n \n \nThe main problem\, Nasr stated\, is that Muslims\, although passionate about performing their religious duties\, do not translate this into a greater awareness of their surrounding environments. This results in what he describes as a “disconnect” between the strength of Muslim faith and the way people’s daily actions and activates do not live up to Islamic principles. This\, he argued\, is because of the prominence of scientism as the singular most important principle of the modern world.  \n \n \nInitially\, scientism became popular in the Muslim world as a means of combating colonialism and saving Islam from the onslaught of the West. This was done by mastering Western schools of thought and combining it with the principles of Islam. During this period\, the Muslim world followed the basic assumptions of positivism; “the humanities were cast aside as insignificant” and “there was no intellectual resistance” to the West.  \n \n \nThe Muslim world has become enslaved to the technological aspirations of the West and one common denominator\, he noted\, is that Muslims worship modern technology and science\, which is falsely considered to be encouraged by Islam. Not only that\, he said\, but these modernized Muslims believe that the West will also take care of any problems that arise from technological developments.  \n \n \nThe solution\, according to Nasr\, is to keep in mind that ultimately\, God is nature and the environment. The question of Islam is integral to the environment as it is the connection humans have to the divine. Religious teaching\, Nasr said\, is paramount for human survival as it informs people about how to be respectful of their natural environments and how to honor every living creature\, of which we are just one species. “Every creature has its rights\, independent of humans” and he emphasized that we cannot overlook them. To reverse the current crisis\, he said\, it is imperative that we consider nature sacred.  \n \n \nNasr concluded on the note that the populations of the Gulf region have an especially important task of conserving the endangered underwater coral reefs in the area. Coral reefs are one of the most fragile ecological life-forms in the world and\, yet\, are also one of the most instrumental in sustaining the environment.  \n \n \nEarlier in the day\, Nasr was invited to visit the SFS-Qatar campus and to have an informal lunch- time discussion with SFS-Qatar Faculty and staff. \n \n \nSummary by CIRS Intern Assma Al-Adawi and CIRS Publications Coordinator Suzi Mirgani. \n \n \nSeyyed Hossein Nasr\, currently University Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University\, Washington D.C.\, is one of the most important and foremost scholars of Islamic\, Religious and Comparative Studies in the world today. Author of over fifty books and five hundred articles which have been translated into several major Islamic\, European and Asian languages\, Professor Nasr is a well known and highly respected intellectual figure both in the West and the Islamic world.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/seyyed-hossein-nasr-islam-and-preservation-natural-environment/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Environmental Studies,Regional Studies
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/10/events_20446_16591_1413991138-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR