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Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc.
3542 N. Geronimo Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85705
520 333-2577 phone
520 207-3166 fax
Letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regarding Israel’s recent and ongoing actions that threaten academic freedom and the right to education more broadly in the West Bank.
Letter to Haifa University regarding concerning disciplinary proceedings initiated against Dr. Ilan Pappe, a professor of history at the university.
Letter to President Bashar al-Asad regarding the arrest on September 9 and subsequent detention of Professor Arif Dalila following his participation in a meeting of the National Dialogue Forum.
Letter to President Hosni Mubarak to express concerns regarding the arrest of Professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim and staff members of the Ibn Khaldun Center; voiced distress both at the manner in which the trial was conducted by the Supreme Security Court, and the unduly harsh sentences imposed on Professor Ibrahim and his colleagues.
Escalating attacks on Tunisian scholars
Israel’s intensified closure policy with particular impact on Birzeit University.
Iranian government attacks on scholars.
Letter to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to express concern over the continued persecution of Dr. Moncef Marzouki, a professor of community medicine with the faculty of medicine at the University of Sousse.
Letter to President Hosni Mubarak to express concern over the June 30 arrest and imprisonment of the professor and several of his associates from the research institute he directs, the Ibn Khaldun Center.
Letter to President Yasser Arafat to Express concern over the arrest and continued detention without charge of Dr. Abd al-Sattar Qassim of An-Najah National University in Nablus.
Letter to the President of the Republic of Tunisia to express concern over dismissal of Jean-François Poirier from his position as assistant professor of philosophy at the Institut des Sciences Humaines, University of Tunis.
Letter to Emir of Kuwait to Express concern over the sentencing in a Kuwaiti court of `Aleya Shu`ayb, professor of philosophy at Kuwait University, for her writings; one of which was published in a student newspaper.
Letter to the University of Jordan issued jointly with Human Rights Watch to protest the dismissal of Dr. Mustafa Hamarneh as director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and calls for his reinstatement.
Response letter by John D. Gerhart to concern about threats to academic freedom at AUC as a result of the ongoing controversy over the inclusion of Muhammad Choukri's novel, Al-Khubz Al-Hafi, in a freshman seminar on Arabic literature and urges maintenance of AUC’s tradition of academic freedom.
Letter to President Hosni Mubarak to urge a public commitment to defend academic freedom in Egypt and the free flow of information and ideas, in response to reports of increasing censorship and book-banning by the Ministry of Information.
Letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express continued concern at restrictions the Israeli government imposes on students in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and alarm regarding the recent arrest, subsequent detention, and denial of right to legal counsel of Iyad Habib Muhamma, president of the Bir Zeit University student council.
Letter to President Mohamed Khatami regarding the continued denial of the right to higher education to the Baha'is of Iran.
Letter to President Hosni Mubarak regarding an order to the American University in Cairo prohibiting the use of the book Muhammad, a classic text by Maxime Robinson. A student circulated a petition and a journalist published an article in the 13 May 1998 issue of al-Ahram, stating that the book contained passages that insult Islamic beliefs and ridicule the Holy Book.
Letter to Bahraini officials regarding the deteriorating conditions of academic life and violation of academic freedom in Bahrain. Many intellectuals and academics are subjected to a coercive policy that limits their academic freedom and their opportunities for employment and professional advancement; an officially sanctioned policy of intimidation and the selective application of restrictions on academics.
Letter to Palestinian authorities regarding arrest of Birzeit student Ghassan Abdul al-Addassi by the Palestinian Preventive Security Service on March 29, 1998.
Letter to Sudanese officials regarding the arrest of thirty-three women on 1 December 1997, who were members of the Sudanese Women Association and the Mothers of the Sudanese Students Union. They organized a march to the UN headquarters in Khartoum protesting the forcible conscription of students and to deliver a memorandum to the UN representative.
Letter to TOEFl regarding the new policy that effectively prohibits students from Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea from taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This test is required for gaining admission to universities in US, Canada and Hong Kong.
Letter to Israeli authorities regarding the arrest on December 10, 1997 and continuous torture of a Palestinian student from Birzeit University.
Letter to Israeli Authorities expressing concern over the strict closures of the West Bank and Gaza Strip causing disruptions to institutions of higher education as well as the harassment of Gazan students in the West Bank including arbitrary denials, delays or non-renewals of student permits.
Second letter to Iranian Authorities regarding the case of Dr. Soroush and the threats and intimidation he is facing which not only reduce his academic freedom but also endanger his life, the most recent of which is the confiscation of his passport preventing him from attending major academic conferences. (See 31/1/1996)