Middle East Studies Association

All Committee on Academic Freedom

July 23, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

New set of procedures for the participation of Algerian scholars in conferences, colloquia, seminars, and workshops held outside the country

Letter to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Rachid Haraoubia expressing deep concern about a set of directives to the heads of Algerian institutions of higher education and research on a new set of procedures for the participation of Algerian scholars in conferences, colloquia, seminars, and workshops held outside the country. The document permits Algerian scholars to accept invitations to attend such meetings only with the prior approval of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS). International gatherings to be held in Algeria must also receive prior approval from the Ministry.

June 25, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Protesting the two-year suspension of Mr. Wa’el al-Qubati

Letter to University of Aden Rector Abd al-Aziz Saleh Bin Habtoor protesting the two-year suspension of Mr. Wa’el al-Qubati, a fourth-year student in the Journalism and Mass Communications Faculty. Mr. al-Qubati was suspended without due process or notification, apparently for writing newspaper articles critical of the university administration.

June 11, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Protesting the dismissal of Mr. Ahmad Galal

Letter to Suez Canal University President al-Zoghby protesting the dismissal of Mr. Ahmad Galal, a student in his final year in the Faculty of Medicine. Last April Mr. Galal was the victim of a severe beating by the University Security Forces (USF) for distributing a magazine on campus. Rather than protest against this flagrant violation of academic freedom, a University Disciplinary Committee issued a suspension order against Mr. Galal. No disciplinary action is known to have been taken against the members of the USF involved in the incident.

May 26, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Ban inhibiting 400 Palestinian students from Gaza from studying in West Bank universities

Letter concerning Israel’s ongoing travel restrictions and new military orders which effectively ban over 400 Palestinian students from Gaza from studying in West Bank universities.

May 26, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Sentences for non-violent student activists in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Letter concerning the recent death sentences and executions, as well as continued harassment, imprisonment, and expulsions targeting university faculty and administrators, teachers, and non-violent student activists in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

May 18, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Pennsylvania Senate Resolution 315 (SR315)

Letter to Pennsylvania senators regarding senate resolution 315. In its current state, SR315 threatens academic freedom and freedom of expression by deploying an overly broad and vague definition of anti-Semitism. In addition, SR315 makes unsupported and inaccurate allegations against a number of universities and colleges, as well as against unnamed departments of Middle Eastern studies.

February 23, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Concern about the university’s response to the disruptive behavior of 11 students during a public talk by Ambassador Michael Oren

Letter to University of California, Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake expressing concern about the university's disproportionate response (severe disciplinary action and possible criminal prosecution) to the disruptive behavior of 11 students during a public talk by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren on February 8, 2010.

February 22, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Two scholars who were barred from entering Kuwait

Letter to Kuwaiti Minister of the Interior Lt. General Sheikh Jabir al-Khaled al-Jabir al-Sabah regarding two scholars who were barred from entering Kuwait. As a result, these prominent scholars were unable to present their research at professional meetings to which they had been invited. In both cases, the scholars were issued entry visas by Kuwait that were later revoked.

February 18, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Concern about the recent closure of the Université Libre de Tunis

Letter to Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to express concern about the recent closure of the Université Libre de Tunis(ULT), Tunisia’s first and pre-eminent private university, and the withdrawal of that institution’s authorization to operate for the next three academic years.

February 09, 2010
Committee on Academic Freedom

Violent treatment, arrest, and harsh sentencing of students and activists across Iran since the Ashura demonstrations

Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing the grave concern over the violent treatment, arrest, and harsh sentencing of students and activists across Iran since the Ashura demonstrations of late December 2009.

December 14, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Violence during Student Day anniversary

Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei regarding the December 7, 2009, national Student Day anniversary in Iran, which was marked by large-scale violence carried out against protesting students across the country by the Iranian security forces.

November 11, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Arrest and subsequent deportation to Gaza by Israeli authorities of Berlanty Azzam

Letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli’s Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George J. Mitchell, and Israeli Ambassador Michael B. Oren regarding the arrest and subsequent deportation to Gaza by Israeli authorities of Ms. Berlanty Azzam who was weeks away from completing her degree at Bethlehem University.

October 26, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Shock and dismay at the arrest, conviction, and harsh sentencing of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh

Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing shock and dismay at the arrest, conviction, and harsh sentencing of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh.

October 26, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Protesting the procedures followed in the expulsion of two students

Letter to University of Khartoum President Mustafa Idris protesting the procedures followed in the expulsion of two students, Mr. Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Hassan Abbas Shatir and Ms. Rasha Abd al-Hamid Hasan Ali.

October 07, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Grave concern over the continued intimidation against peaceful student activists

Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing very grave concern and mounting consternation over the continued intimidation, arrests, expulsions, and unwarranted violent crackdown carried out by the Iranian authorities against peaceful student activists on Iranian university campuses, as well as the latest spate of harassment and dismissal of university faculty on grounds of political and ideological dissent.

October 07, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Denial of Rima Najjar Merriman entry into West Bank

Letter to Israeli officials regarding the denial of Rima Najjar Merriman, a citizen of the US and Assistant Professor of American Literature at the Arab American University in Jenin (AAUJ), entry into the West Bank at Allenby on September 14, 2009.

September 21, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Concern at the disciplinary action taken against university student Ms. Noor Abbas

Letter to University of Bahrain President Ebrahim Ahmed Aljanahi expressing concern at the disciplinary action taken against university student Ms. Noor Abbas. Earlier this year, Ms. Abbas circulated a statement on behalf of the Student Union List criticizing some policies and facilities at the University.

September 14, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Protesting the decision to remove all images of Mohammed from Jyette Klausen’s book The Cartoons that Shook the World

CAF-endorsed open letter to Yale University President Richard Levin and members of the Yale Corporation written by the National Coalition Against Censorship protesting the decision to remove all images of Mohammed from Jyette Klausen's forthcoming book The Cartoons that Shook the World published by Yale University Press.

September 02, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Protesting the Erasmus University Rotterdam’s August 19 decision to terminate Dr. Tariq Ramadan

Letter to Rector Henk Schmidt protesting the Erasmus University Rotterdam’s August 19 decision to terminate Dr. Tariq Ramadan’s guest professorship in Citizenship and Identity at the EUR due to his hosting a program on the Iranian English-language television channel Press TV.

August 27, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Comments approving Ben Gurion University to dismiss Neve Gordon

Letter to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev President Rivka Carmi expressing concern over her comments approving BGU’s search for legal means to dismiss Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Government and Politics Department, Neve Gordon. These comments came in response to an opinion piece published by Dr. Gordon in the Los Angeles Times on 21 August, in which he called for a comprehensive boycott of his country as a means to pressure Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

July 16, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Recent arrests and continued detention of a large number of academics

Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei expressing concern about the recent arrests and continued detention of a large number of academics, scholars, and student activists in Iran without any formal charges and without access to legal representation. The 9 July 2009 arrest of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a prominent Iranian-American social scientist, is a primary focus.

June 30, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Intimidation, arrests, and campus expulsions carried out by Iranian security forces

Letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressing grave concern regarding the large-scale wave of intimidation, arrests, and campus expulsions carried out by Iranian security forces against peaceful student activists and protesters on various university campuses throughout Iran since December 2008.

June 26, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Disciplinary hearing of Vincent Geisser

CAF-endorsed open letter to Madame Catherine Bréchignac, Présidente du CNRS regarding a disciplinary hearing of Vincent Geisser voicing concern that this is related to his work on Islam in France.

June 22, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Response from the Office of the Hon. Gary Goodyear to June 19, 2009 letter

Response from the Office of the Hon. Gary Goodyear to June 19, 2009 letter regarding a second review of the grant-in-aid secured from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

June 19, 2009
Committee on Academic Freedom

Gary Goodyear request for a second review of the grant-in-aid

Three letters sent regarding the request by the Minister of State (Technology and Science) Gary Goodyear for a second review of the grant-in-aid secured from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The grant helped fund the York University conference, Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace. The three letters were sent to Minister Gary Goodyear, SSHRC President Chad Gaffield, and York University President Mamdouh Shoukri. [A reply from Minister Goodyear’s office received June 22, 2009.]

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