Letter to the King of Bahrain to protest the continuing detention and deteriorating health of Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, a Bahraini professor of engineering sentenced to life in prison after taking part in peaceful political protests in 2011.
Letter to Israeli authorities protesting the arrests of Palestinian students and professors and demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
Letter to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and Heritage Minister Rodriguez objecting to the flawed definition of antisemitism used by the government's antiracism strategy.
Congratulations to Michelle Hartman for receiving honorable mention for "Teaching Modern Arabic Literature in Translation" for the 2019 Teaching Literature Book Award.
MESA and other scholarly organizations have written to Israeli authorities regarding procedures for visas and work permits for international academics working in Palestine.
Letter to Iranian authorities on behalf of Dr. Kameel Ahmady, protesting his arrest and detention on the basis of what appear to be politically motivated charges.
Letter to the Egyptian government requesting that it end all probationary measures placed on University of Washington doctoral student, Walid Salem -- who was released from prison in December 2018 after 6 months in detention without any charges against him -- and allow him to travel freely and continue his work.
MESA mourns the passing of Professor Emeritus John Masson Smith of the University of California, Berkeley.
Fifth letter to Iranian authorities on behalf of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, expressing alarm over his recent transfer to an undisclosed location, raising new threats of torture and execution.
A list of resources and links to websites related to academic freedom.
Letter to Iranian authorities protesting the detention and unsubstantiated accusation of espionage of Dr. Fariba Adelkhah.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a two-year grant of $350,000 to UCLA to support a pilot project seeking to reframe how Middle Eastern studies are conceptualized and taught.
MESA mourns the passing of University of Michigan Professor Michael Bonner.
Letter demanding Israel lift the restrictions preventing international academics from staying and working in the West Bank, refrain from imposing arbitrary restrictions on the duration of stay or extension of stay for international academics, and order the publication of a clear and lawful procedure for issuing entry visas and work permits for international academics in the West Bank, to enable the university to manage and maintain its academic freedom.
Letter demanding that the Egyptian government investigate new information provided by Italian authorities on suspects in the murder of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni and end government obstruction of the investigation into his death.
AUC Provost Ehab Abel-Rahman responds to CAF's letter regarding the termination of the Abdulhadi H. Taher Endowed Chair.
Letter acknowledging SOAS for cancelling an event organized by the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK) and calling upon SOAS and other reputable institutions to refrain from collaborating with YÖK as long as the current climate of repression for academics persists in Turkey.
Letter to Iraqi authorities expressing concern over the threats made against academics who highlight cases of corruption by Iraqi members of parliament.
Letter regarding recent developments in the prosecution and specifically imprisonment of scholars who signed the declaration “We will not be a party to this crime”—commonly referred to as the “Academics for Peace Petition.”
Letter to the administration of the American University in Cairo to express concerns regarding the termination of the Abdulhadi H. Taher Endowed Chair.
This memo offers basic guidance for those seeking to conduct academic research in countries impacted by U.S. sanctions (notably, Iran, Sudan and Syria).
Letter protesting the US government's denial of a visa to Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi.
MESA mourns the passing of McGill University Professor Emeritus Issa Boullata.
A federal court in Maryland has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to outright dismiss IRAP v. Trump, a lawsuit challenging the president’s Muslim ban executive order that bars people from select Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States.
MESA is very pleased to report that Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi was released from prison in Saudi Arabia on May 2, 2019, and has been allowed to return home to her family. Dr. al-Fassi is a renowned historian of women in pre-Islamic Arabia, a prominent advocate for women's rights, and a long-time member of MESA. She was the recipient in November 2018, in absentia, of the MESA Academic Freedom Award, the highest recognition MESA can bestow in acknowledgement of contributions to academic freedom. Dr. al-Fassi's release has been characterized as "temporary;" we continue to call for her full exoneration. We call, as well, for the release of the other women's rights advocates who remain in detention.