Dr. Rola El-Husseini
Assistant Professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, where she teaches courses on Middle East Politics, Political Islam, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Her current research focuses on elite politics in postwar Lebanon and on the impact of Iran on Iraqi & Lebanese Shiite political thought.

A look back at some of the main events that affected the Arab World in 2006 such as the ongoing occupation of Iraq and Palestine, the war on Lebanon and the internal matters that shook the country after the Israeli invasion, and the U.S. Foreign Policy towards the Arab World and how that affects what actually happens in the Arab world even with internal matters.

Ambassador Imad Moustapha
Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United States
 
 
Dr. Shibley Telhami
Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, and non-resident senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution
 
 
Dr. Parvez Ahmed
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Board Chairman

Arab and Muslim Perspectives on the Iraq Study Group Report: A panel discussion on the Iraq Study Group Report which took place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on December 12, 2006.

Shaikh Waleed Basyouni
Imam of the Clear Lake Islamic Center, Director of the Texas Dawah Convention, member of the North American Imam Federation, Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America-Fatwa and Research Committee, and Advisor to numerous Islamic Societies and Organizations around the US. Imam Basyouni will talk about the upcoming Texas Dawah Convention titled "Islam: A Light for the Ages".

Dr. Seema Jilani
Dr. Jilani (local Houstonian) visited Palestine and Israel as part of a delegation with the Jewish American Medical Project, a division of Visions of Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine organization, and produced a special documentary titled "Israel and Palestine: The Human Cost of the Occupation".

Nir Rosen
Freelance writer, photographer and film-maker who has worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia, and has just returned from Iraq, Lebanon and Somalia.  Nir has spent a total of two and a half years in Iraq since the invasion. He is a Fellow at the New America Foundation, and author of the book "In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq".

The latest situation in Iraq, and the "Baker-Hamilton" commission report on Iraq.  Nir Rosen says: "The U.S. can make things worse in Iraq, but it can't make things better. Everything it has touched in the region has turned to dust."

Dr. Hamed Ghazali
Superintendent of the Iman Academy of Houston, chairman of the Muslim American Society Council of Islamic Schools, a professor at the Islamic American University and a consultant with the United Nations.

Imam Mahdi Bray
A long time civil and human rights activist, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom Foundation, President of the Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations, national political director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and political adviser and activist in the American Muslim community.

The upcoming MAS 3^rd Annual South Regional Convention to be held in Houston November 23-25, discriminations against Muslims at airports in the U.S., Human Rights violations in the Gaza Strip, and much more.

Dr. Mounzer Sleiman
Washington bureau chief for Almustaqbal Alarabi magazine, vice chair of the National Council of Arab Americans, and an independent senior political-military analyst with expertise in U.S. national security affairs.

The recent elections in the U.S. and whether the outcome will make any difference for the U.S. Foreign Policy towards the Middle East, especially the U.S.-lead occupation of Iraq, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine and parts of Syria and Lebanon.

Dr. Riyad Mansour
Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations
 
The ongoing Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territories, and the devastation Israel has caused in Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip over the past week that killed over 100 Palestinians and injured hundreds others, including today's massacre where Israel murdered 25 Palestinians including many children, women and elderly.

Dr. George Sabra
Academic Dean and an Associate Professor in Systematic Theology at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon, a lecturer in Cultural Studies at the Lebanese American University, and Editor of the Theological Review (a semi-annual journal of theology).

"Arab Christians and Christian Zionism".  A lecture given by professor George Sabra at Rice University in Houston on April 24, 2006.  Arab Voices will air part of Dr. Sabra's speech on November 1, 2006, and the entire speech will be aired at a later date.
 

Membership Drive

Amjad Muhtaseb
Director of the Muslim American Society MAS Freedom Foundation Houston.
 
The importance of the upcoming November 7th elections.

Ali Abunimah
Palestinian-American, Vice-president of the Arab-American Action Network, a well-known media analyst, writer and commentator on Middle East and Arab-American affairs, and co-creator and editor of Electronic Intifada and Electronic Iraq.

Ali's newly released book "ONE COUNTRY: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse", described as a provocative approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will also talk about the dire situation in occupied Palestine, and the new reports about an Israeli plan to reinvade the Gaza Strip.

Dahr Jamail
An independent journalist, who visited Iraq several times, and has recently visited Lebanon and Syria. Dahr has written extensively about the Middle East and especially Iraq to various media outlets including the Guardian, BBC, the Independent, Inter Press Service, and Truthout.

The current situation in Iraq under the U.S.-lead foreign military occupation, Iraqi resistance, fighting within Iraq, Iraqi "reconstruction", U.S. media coverage of realities in Iraq, U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East, and much more.

Ilan Pappe
Senior lecturer in the Political Science department at Haifa University, head of the Institute for Palestinian Studies in Haifa, a prolific Israeli historian, and author of numerous books and articles.

"The Peace Charade in Palestine and Israel".  A lecture given by professor Pappe at Rice University in Houston on February 28, 2006, where he talked about  the Israeli occupation of Palestine, ethnic cleansing, land confiscation, home demolitions, the peace process, Israeli settlements, the Palestinian Uprising, and the gap between reality and representation.

Rodwan Saleh
President of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston

The Pope's recent comments about Islam, the reaction these comments created amongst the Islamic world, and how should Muslims respond to these comments.  We will also talk about the month of Ramadan, why Muslims fast, and the benefits of fasting.

 
We will also talk to Scott Brogan, founding director of Brilliant Lecture Series, and Aida Araissi, Executive Director of the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce about Queen Noor's event scheduled for October 2, 2006 in Houston.

Noam Chomsky
Professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, political activist and writer, who has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, contemporary issues, international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. Chomsky is author most recently of "Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy."

Dr. Tareq Hussein, CAIR-Houston President
 
Chip Pitts, USA Chair of Amnesty International
 
Dennis Storemski, Director of the Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security in Houston
 
Craig Ferrell, Jr., Deputy Director of the Houston Police Department
 
Sahar Wali & Syed Refaie, Representatives for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congressman Al Green

        Chip Pitts
         (keynote speaker)

Speeches made at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Houston Chapter) Annual Fundraising Banquet held on September 9, 2006 in Houston.  The speeches cover various topics including the status of Muslims post September 11, 2001, civil rights, civil liberties, freedom of speech, racial profiling, hate crimes, immigration, human rights, democracy, detention camps, public safety, homeland security, and the services offered by the Houston Police Department to the Muslim community.

Ralph Nader
Prominent Lebanese-American, political activist, former presidential candidate, consumer advocate, lawyer, founder of Democracy Rising, and author of countless books and publications. Nader wrote a letter to President Bush recently harshly criticizing the White House for its response to Israel's bombardment of Lebanon.

Nader's views on the latest situation in the Middle East, Israel's war on Lebanon, the ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem, the U.S.-lead occupation of Iraq, the U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East, and the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Susan Nathan
A Jewish woman from England who followed the Jewish Law of Return and moved to Israel, but ended up choosing to live as the only Jew in Tamra, a Palestinian town in Israel, and author of the book "The Other Side of Israel".

Susan's first hand experience migrating to and living in Israel, and her decision to move and live in an Arab town. We will also talk about the Zionist ideology, Israeli racism and discrimination against Palestinians living in Israel, and much more.

Dr. Lara Deeb
Assistant professor of women's studies at the University of California, Irvine, a cultural anthropologist who has spent extensive time researching community activism in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and author of several books and articles including An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi‘i Lebanon (2006), and Hizballah: A Primer (July 2006).

The situation in Lebanon and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East caused by Israeli wars and occupation. We will also talk about Hizballah, UN Security Council 1701, the future of the Middle East, and much more.

Audio clip of recorded interview with George Galloway, Member of the British Parliament, on Sky News, where he talks about the Israeli attack on Lebanon and Palestine, and a second audio recording of part of an interview conducted on Arab Voices with Afif Safieh, Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mission to the United States talking about the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Nadia Hijab
Senior Fellow at the DC-based Institute for Palestine Studies, independent consultant for international organizations on human rights, human development, gender, and the media, who has served as co-chair of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, and as a past president of the Association of Arab American University Graduates.

The crisis in the Middle East and the root problem(s), the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, the US occupation of Iraq, and the talks about a cease-fire and/or a UN resolution.

Dr. Mounzer Sleiman
Washington bureau chief for the magazine Almustaqbal Alarabi, vice chair of the National Council of Arab Americans, and an independent senior political-military analyst with expertise in U.S. national security affairs, who has just returned from a visit to Beirut and Damascus.

The war on Lebanon, the Israeli massacres and war crimes in Lebanon and Palestine, the U.S. support for the ongoing Israeli attacks, and the U.N. stand on the crisis.
 
Dr. Aziz Shaibani, former president of the Arab-American Cultural & Community Center will also be talking to us about the Humanitarian efforts in Houston to assist the Lebanese people.

Eugene Bird
President of the Center for the National Interest, a 23-year veteran with the US Foreign Service, and former Counselor of the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia, who recently visited Lebanon and Gaza, and met with the Lebanese president, the prime minister and Hizballah's leader Nasrallah.

The Crisis in the Middle East: The daily Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Palestine and their people, the destruction of the Lebanese and Palestinian infrastructure, the attacks on U.N., Red Cross, Media and Medical personnel, and the U.S. role in all of this
 
We will also hear the story of Manal & Billy Brockleman, Lebanese-American Houstonians, who just returned to Houston after being evacuated from Lebanon.

Dr. Ussama Makdisi
Associate Professor of History at Rice University, who grew up in Lebanon, and still has family members, relatives and friends there.  He is a leading expert on Arab and Ottoman history, comparative colonialism, American involvement in the Middle East, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.  He is also author of many books and articles.

 
Special program about Israel's bombardment and destruction of Lebanon, and the war crimes, aggression and massacres Israel is committing against Lebanon!

Nidal Ibrahim
Executive Director of the Arab American Institute in Washington, founder and former publisher of the Arab American Business Magazine, and winner of the 2003 “Ethnic Pulitzer” for best international affairs story.

Laila El-Haddad
Journalist and writer based in the Gaza Strip, a regular contributor to the Guardian Unlimited, and a correspondent for Al-Jazeera Satellite TV Channel's English language website.  She also maintains her own blog "Raising Yousuf: a diary of a mother under occupation".

Laila's eyewitness account of the situation in the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli Prime Minister ordered his military to intensify the assault on Gaza, which is already on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Afif Safieh
Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mission to the United States.

The Israeli attack and invasion of Gaza, the dire situation under foreign military occupation & the international ban on funding, the role of the U.S. in the so called "peace process", the new anti-Palestinian resolutions introduced in the U.S., and much more.

Adam Shapiro
Co-producer and co-director of the new documentary "Darfur Diaries", Country Director in Afghanistan for the international human rights organization Global Rights, founding member of InCounter Productions which produced the documentary film "About Baghdad", and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine, who also serves on the Board of Directors of Partners for Peace.

Adam's latest film documentary "Darfur Diaries", and the current political and humanitarian crisis in Sudan.  We will also discuss with Adam what he witnessed during his visit to Sudan, and what motivated him to produce the documentary.

Barbara Olshansky
Attorney and Director counsel of the Guantanamo Global Justice Initiative at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and author of several books including "Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy", "Against War with Iraq" and "Democracy Detained".

The conditions of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, including the recent "suicide incidents" of Arab detainees and attempted suicide incidents, including the case of Jumah Al Dossari.  We will also discuss the legal aspects of the detention camp and international law, as well as the recent report broadcast on Al-Jazeera Satellite TV network detailing torture and rape inside Iraqi prisons.

 
A special documentary that explores the dramatic expansion of new electronic media outlets in the Arab world.  Satellite TV, radio and the Internet are changing the political landscape of the Middle East.  For better or worse, these new channels are fostering a free flow of information and opinion in ways unthinkable two decades ago.

In "24/7: The Rise and Influence of Arab Media," David Brancaccio, host and editor of the PBS weekly series NOW, and a team of correspondents cover the rapidly changing delivery of information and its possible impact on the Middle East, the United States and world peace.  A central question in the program is: Will the new media explosion lead to greater understanding or fuel tension, fear, and hatred?
 
This new documentary (April 2006) is produced by the Stanley Foundation in association with KQED Public Radio.

Nebeil Al-Oboudi
An Iraqi-American residing in Houston who visited Iraq and has just returned back to Houston after spending six months in Baghdad, Iraq.

The current conditions inside Iraq, and Mr. Al-Oboudi's eyewitness account about the situation in Iraq and his first-hand experience living under military occupation.

Audio clips of recorded speeches and interviews for the late professor Edward Said, Palestine's foremost political commentator, and Tariq Ali, Long-time anti-war activist, political campaigner, historian and novelist.

The US Foreign Policy towards the Middle East, and the occupation of Iraq and Palestine.
 
Tune in and find out how to obtain Tariq Ali's recent books, and CD audio collection of Dr. Edward Said's speeches and interviews.
 
Membership Drive

Dr. Zahi Damuni
Co-founder of Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, who currently serves on Al-Awda's national coordinating and executive committees, and is coordinator of the organization's chapter in San Diego, California.

The 58th anniversary of the dispossession of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel (Al-Nakba), and the current dire situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
 
Membership Drive

Membership Drive

Wafa Abdin
Supervising attorney at Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance at Catholic Charities, and a frequent lecturer at Immigration conferences and trainings.  She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Immigration Commission of the American Bar Association, the Steering committee of the National Detention Network, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Citizenship and Immigration Service Roundtable.  She also serves on the boards of the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, and the Houston Arab-American Cultural and Community Center.

The new proposed changes to immigration laws, policies and procedures, and how will the new changes affect immigrants and residents in the U.S. and outside.

Senator James Abourezk
Lawyer, writer, and the first Arab-American to serve in the U.S. Senate (representing South Dakota from 1973 until 1979).  He is founder of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and co-author of "Through Different Eyes: Two Leading Americans - a Jew and an Arab - Debate U. S. Policy in the Middle East."

The Middle East and the U.S. Foreign Policy towards it (including Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Iran), as well as the U.S. Patriot Act.

Congressman Paul Findley
Republican Member of Congress representing the State of Illinois from 1961 through 1983, author of the bestseller book "They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby" and two other books on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Council for the National Interest, a Washington advocacy group.

Israel Lobby and the U.S. Foreign Policy.

Dr. Bassam Haddad
Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at St. Joseph’s University and Visiting Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. He is also a Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania. Bassam serves as Editor of the Arab Studies Journal, and co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad. He is currently working on his first book on Syria’s political economy and directing a film series on “Arabs and Terrorism”.

"Arabs and Terrorism", a new and ongoing multi-faceted research and documentary project on Arabs and Terrorism directed by Dr. Haddad. It is described as unique in its breadth and scope: researched in 6 languages and filmed on location in 10 countries, with 95 experts/politicians and hundreds of street interviews in the United States, Europe, and the Arab world. It examines the dominant discourse on terrorism in the United States and Europe.

Ferial Masry
The first Saudi born woman to run for office in the United States (Democratic Candidate for the 37th Assembly District of California), mother of a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq, former business owner, high school teacher, an inspiring person to Saudi women fighting for their rights, and a recipient of the 15th annual 2005 Human Rights Award.

Ferial Masry will be in Houston April 10-11.  Click on the Community Calendar for more details.

Dr. As'ad AbuKhalil
Arab-American scholar, professor of political science at California State University-Stanislaus, visiting professor at UC-Berkeley, and author of many books and articles including America and the New "War on Terrorism": Who Split the World into Two?, and Bin Laden, Islam, and America's New "War on Terrorism".

“The Bush Doctrine: Assumptions and Realities in the Arab World”, a speech given by Dr. AbuKhalil at Rice University on March 20, 2006.

Dr. Imad Khadduri
Iraqi Nuclear Scientist who worked with the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission for 30 years, and author of "Iraq's Nuclear Mirage: Memoirs and Delusions".

Special show on the third anniversary of Iraq's invasion and occupation.