CAFMENAletters

April 7, 2005

The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

By facsimile: 212 788 8123

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

I write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our grave concern regarding the recent decision by the Chancellor Joel I. Klein to exclude Professor Rashid Khalidi from any further participation in teacher development workshops. This decision violates the right to impart and exchange information, one of the basic tenets of academic freedom and an essential right for elementary and secondary school teachers as well as university professors.

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Chancellor Klein’s decision, which was announced by his press secretary, Mr. Jerry Russo, was explained as a response to past statements made by Professor Khalidi that were critical of Israel. Mr. Russo is reported to have said, “Considering his past statements, Rashid Khalidi should not have been included in a program that provided professional development for DOE teachers and he won’t be participating in the future.” The suggestion that responsible criticism of Israel and its policies should disqualify Professor Khalidi or any other respected scholar from participating in a teachers’ in-service training program undermines the values of free expression that we value in our society.

We had hoped that this letter would be unnecessary, given your demonstrated commitment to the fundamental values of freedom in our society, but we have been disappointed by your silence on this matter. We would like to emphasize that Professor Khalidi is a respected historian, a former President of this organization, and a highly regarded teacher. It is noteworthy that prior to his dismissal he offered two lectures on the Middle East as part of the teacher development workshops that elicited only praise. Moreover, many of Professor Khalidi’s colleagues have heard him publicly criticize Palestinian political authorities. By Chancellor Klein’s logic, Professor Khalidi would on these grounds also be disqualified from lecturing on either side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would be absurd, as I am sure you agree.

This decision by the head of New York’s Department of Education reflects poorly on a city renowned for its willingness to embrace a rich diversity of people and opinion, and especially on a school system justly revered for its bounty of fine graduates. Chancellor Klein’s decision necessarily raises fundamental questions about freedom of speech in the New York City’s schools when issues concerning the Middle East are concerned.

As you know, the New York Civil Liberties Union, in a letter to Chancellor Klein, dated March 2, 2005, stated that the Chancellor was violating Professor Khalidi’s First Amendment right to free speech, and the Civil Liberties Union cited constitutional case law to that effect. Columbia’s President Bollinger called the decision, “wrong not only as a matter of constitutional law but as a matter of good policy and as a matter of the conduct of education.” He is reconsidering Columbia’s participation in any future teacher training programs.

We note that Chancellor Klein’s arbitrary decision was announced at a time when there appears to be a momentum toward a peaceful solution to the conflict that enjoys wide support among Israelis and Palestinians, not to mention many Americans. While public opinion should not be the criterion of free speech, it appears that the Chancellor of New York’s schools may have improperly allowed himself to be swayed by loud and unrepresentative voices of those determined to de-legitimize and suppress any thoughtful discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that includes criticism of Israeli policies. In some cases these have been the voices of individuals seeking to gain political advantage by their posturing vis-à-vis Professor Khalidi and his colleagues at Columbia University.

Therefore, we respectfully request that you review the Chancellor’s decision with him, with a view to restoring, protecting, and advancing the free exchange of ideas to education in the City. We would also be grateful for a prompt public statement by you making clear that New York City’s teachers, and the children that they teach, will continue to be exposed to a diversity of perspectives in the classroom rather than merely to what the Chancellor may deem politically expedient or find personally comfortable.

Sincerely,

Ali Banuazizi

President, Middle East Studies Association

Professor, Boston College

MESA Board of Directors

Laurie Brand, University of Southern California and CAFMENA

Juan Cole, University of Michigan

Ahmad Dallal, Georgetown University

Ellen Fleischman, University of Dayton

Dina Rizk Khoury, George Washington University and CAFMENA

Leslie Peirce, University of California at Berkeley

Donald M. Reid, Georgia State University and CAFMENA

Amira Sonbol, Georgetown University

MESA Committee on Academic Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa

Joe Stork, Human Rights Watch/Middle East

Lisa Anderson, Columbia University

Kaveh Ehsani, University of Illinois at Chicago

Gregory Gause III, University of Vermont

Augustus Richard Norton, Boston University

Marsha Pripstein Posusney, Bryant College

Eve Troutt Powell, University of Georgia

Glenn E. Robinson, Naval Postgraduate College

Gershon Shafir, University of California at San Diego

Keith Watenpaugh, LaMoyne College

cc: Chancellor Joel I. Klein, Chancellor of the Department of Education

REPLY RECEIVED

New York City Department of Education
Joel I. Klein, Chancellor
Chancellor’s Strategic Response Group
52 Chambers Street, Room 215, New York, NY 10007

April 18, 2005

Mr. Ali Banauazizi, President
Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc.
1219 North Santa Rita Avenue
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721

Dear President Banuazizi:

Thank you for writing to Mayor Bloomberg to express your concern regarding Professor Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University. The Mayor received your letter and forwarded it to Chancellor Klein who has asked that I respond on his behalf.

The New York City Department of Education greatly values the opinions of the academic community. The Department’s decision concerning Professor Khalidi was based on the program’s function in providing professional development for public school teachers who in turn instruct children in the classroom. We recognize that members of the academic community may agree or disagree with the Department’s decision, and we appreciate your interest in and commitment to the education of our children.

Sincerely,

Terry Bowman
Director, Chancellor’s Strategic Response Group

Friday, 05 November 2004

Dr. Lee Bollinger
President
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027

Dear Dr. Bollinger,

I write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our concern regarding numerous public calls for Columbia University to suppress or infringe upon academic freedom. Recently these pressures have extended to demands for the dismissal of a professor in the Department of Middle East and Asian Language and Culture (MEALAC). We are heartened that the university administration has insisted on upholding the fundamental right of free expression in the university community. In this you have our unconditional support, and our encouragement to persevere.

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The latest salvo against academic freedom at Columbia has come in reports of a film by a Boston-based organization containing allegations against Professor Joseph Massad. According to these allegations, Dr. Massad had expressed views of Israel that were tantamount to anti-Semitism, and had intimidated students who did not share his views. The film has not, as of this writing, been available for public viewing. Its allegations have nonetheless received prominent notice in several New York-area tabloids, assisted by a letter to you, dated October 21, from Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a Brooklyn Congressman, publicly calling on you to “fire” Dr. Massad. Rep. Weiner’s letter also invoked earlier campaigns against Columbia’s appointment of Professor Rashid I. Khalidi to an endowed chair, and the appointment of former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson as Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs.

In the most thorough journalistic account of the controversy over Dr. Massad, in the November 2 issue of The Jewish Week, staff writer Liel Leibovitz interviewed four of the seven students who reportedly appear in the film, and several dozens others who have attended MEALAC classes over the last five years. According to the article, those who took classes with Dr. Massad, including Jewish and Israeli students, were strikingly positive about their experience.

We understand that you have asked the Provost of the university to look into the matter. This is certainly an appropriate step if there are any genuine grounds for concern regarding these allegations. Such a response, however, because it has been made public, may also suggest that the university is open to politicized pressure from the outside to silence debate and dissent on Columbia University’s campus. We therefore urge you to take every appropriate opportunity to reassert that Columbia University will continue to uphold the fundamental values of freedom of expression and the free exchange of ideas, and that the campaign of defamation against Dr. Massad will find no resonance within your administration. We assure you of our full support in this endeavor.

Sincerely,

Laurie Brand
President, Middle East Studies Association

Joe Stork, Human Rights Watch, Middle East
Lisa Anderson, Columbia University
Sheila Carapico, University of Richmond
Kaveh Ehsani, University of Illinois at Chicago
Gregory Gause, University of Vermont
Azzedine Layachi, St. John’s University
A. R. Norton, Boston University
Marsha Pripstein Posusney, Bryant College
Donald Reid, Georgia State University
Glenn Robinson, Naval Postgraduate School

cc: Rep. Anthony D. Weiner, Member of Congress

August 30, 2004

The Honorable Colin Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 2052

and

The Honorable Tom Ridge
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Secretary Powell and Secretary Ridge:

We, the Middle East Studies Association of North America’s Committee on Academic Freedom and the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Religion, are writing to express our very grave concern regarding the decision of the Department of State, made public last week, to rescind the visa for the well-known scholar of Islam Dr. Tariq Ramadan. Dr. Ramadan was slated to take up an appointment in the religion department of the University of Notre Dame, beginning earlier last week. He had received his visa in April 2004, only to have it rescinded, without explanation, in early August. The Department of State’s decision was reportedly taken on the basis of information provided by the Department of Homeland Security. Neither department has made public any reason for the decision. We request that you take the necessary steps to reverse this decision as a matter of urgency, in order that Dr. Ramadan can lecture and meet with students.

The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) is…

The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the major scholarly society and professional association of scholars and teachers in religion. With 10,000 members, the Academy fosters excellence in research and teaching in the field and contributes to the broad public understanding of religion and religions. The AAR publishes the flagship scholarly journal in religion and books in five series through Oxford University Press.

The decision to rescind Dr. Ramadan’s visa is particularly troubling on two grounds. First, he had already received his visa, going through the rigorous screening process that your Departments have implemented for foreign visitors. As far as we are aware, neither Dr. Ramadan nor the University of Notre Dame were consulted regarding any problems or new information that might give cause to rescind his visa.

Second, the lack of explanation for rescinding the visa raises serious questions about the cause of the decision. In the absence of any explanation, we fear that pressures were applied to reverse the granting of the visa by people who disagree with Dr. Ramadan’s views as a scholar and as a public intellectual. That fear is exacerbated by the unsourced comments in some media outlets about alleged “links” between Dr. Ramadan and terrorist groups. There is absolutely nothing in the public record regarding Dr. Ramadan, or in his scholarly production, that would indicate any basis whatsoever for such allegations—and Dr. Ramadan is a scholar very much in the public eye in Switzerland, where he resides and teaches, and in Europe more generally. To us, these allegations smack of a character assassination campaign designed to suppress Dr. Ramadan’s voice at a prominent American university.

Denying qualified scholars entry into the United States because of their political beliefs strikes at the core of academic freedom. On that basis alone the decision to deny Dr. Ramadan access to our country is unacceptable. We also find the decision profoundly counter-productive to the stated aims of our national policy. As our country tries to understand better the Muslim world and to encourage interpretations of Islam which reject violence and terrorism, we will have to be open to dialogue with Muslims who hold political opinions that do not espouse violence but do differ from the opinions of some Americans or are critical of U.S. policies. If controversy is cause enough to deny someone a visa, our prospects for reaching out to Muslims around the world are very dim. The decision to bar Dr. Ramadan from teaching and meeting students and other academics, if allowed to stand, will represent a very low mark with regard to the Bush administration’s commitment to the free exchange of ideas and freedom of expression.

We are aware of absolutely no evidence for allegations that Dr. Ramadan has advocated violence or been associated with groups which perpetrate violence. On the contrary, important scholars and reputable universities have testified to his academic credentials and his character as a researcher and teacher. If the U.S. government has evidence to the contrary, let it be made public, to reassure the American public that untoward political pressures are not affecting the government’s decisions. In the absence of such evidence we can only conclude that denying Dr. Ramadan permission to enter the country constitutes a direct attack on academic freedom and freedom of speech. We respectfully urge you to reconsider this unfortunate decision and reinstate Dr. Ramadan’s visa without delay.

Yours sincerely,

Amy W. Newhall
Executive Director
Middle East Studies Association of North America

and

Barbara DeConcini
Executive Director
American Academy of Religion

cc: Hon. Paula Dobriansky, Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs
      Hon. Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
      Hon. William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
      Sen. Richard Lugar, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
      Sen. Joseph Biden, Ranking Minority Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
      Rep. Henry Hyde, Chairman, House Committee on International Relations
      Rep. Tom Lantos, Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on International       Relations
     The Rev. Edward A. Malloy, President, University of Notre Dame
     Professor Scott Appleby, Director, The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies,    The University of Notre Dame
      Matthew V. Storin, Associate Vice President, Office of News and Information, The University of Notre Dame
      Professor Tariq Ramadan

[Response to the above letter.]

Reply sent September 3, 2004

United States Department of State
Washington DC 20520

Ms. Amy W. Newhall,
Executive Director
Middle East Studies Association of North America

and

Ms. Barbara DeConcini,
Executive Director
American Academy of Religion
The University of Arizona
1219 North Santa Rita Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85721

Dear Ms. Newhall and Ms. DeConcini:

This is in response to your letter of August 30, to Secretary of State Colin Powell, expressing your concerns regarding the State Department's decision to prudentially revoke the visa of Dr. Tariq Ramadan. Secretary Powell asked that I reply on his behalf.

We appreciate your taking the time to express your concerns over the revocation of Dr. Ramadan's visa. We understand that a scholar of Dr. Ramadan's stature and prominence would be of great interest to your organization and that you question the decision to revoke his visa after it was already approved.

Mr. Ramadan’s visa was revoked prudentially based on information that became available after the visa was issued. If he chooses to apply for a new visa, that information will be reviewed in the context of his new application and a determination made about his eligibility for a visa. We cannot predict in advance the outcome of a visa application.

Due to the confidentiality of visa records, as provided for in the Immigration and Nationality Act, we are not able to provide any details concerning this matter.

Rest assured that the State Department has always and, will continue to, support academic freedom by encouraging students and scholars from all over the world to come to the United States. The revocation of Mr. Ramadan's visa is not an attempt to prevent him from sharing his ideas with students and scholars in the United States. We both appreciate and understand that the free exchange of ideas is one of the hallmarks that make this country great.

Please fee free to contact me if I can be of assistance in the future.

Sincerely,

June O’Connell, Chief
Public Inquiries Division
Visa Division

March 29, 2004

Prince Nayif bin Abd al-Aziz
Ministry of the Interior
PO Box 2933
Airport Road
Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Your Highness:

I write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, and its Committee on Academic Freedom, in order to express our grave concern about the recent arrests of a number of Saudi university professors and former professors. These include Dr. Matrouk Al Faleh, Dr. Tawfiq Al Qusair, Dr. Abdullah Al Hamed, Dr. Khalid Al Humaid, and Dr. Adnan Al Shakhs. According to media reports, they were arrested for criticizing what they saw as the lack of independence of the National Committee on Human Rights recently formed by the government and for requesting a license to establish an independent human rights organization.

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The arrested academics were among a group of thirteen Saudi citizens detained in recent weeks solely for peacefully expressing views critical of government policies. Dr. Matrouk Al Faleh is a professor of international relations at King Saud University who wrote a widely read study of Saudi Arabia after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, calling for fundamental political reforms in the kingdom. Dr. Khalid Al Humaid is a political science professor at King Saud University; Dr. Al Humaid was apprehended in front of students, while he was teaching a class. Dr. Adnan Al Shakhs is a professor of mathematics at King Fahd University who has participated in many of the reform activities in recent years. Both Dr. Tawfiq Al Qusair and Dr. Abdallah Al Hamed are former university professors who lost their positions in the early 1990s for peaceful political activity. As of March 24, 2004 Dr. Matrouk Al Faleh, Dr. Abdallah Al Hamed and Dr. Tawfiq Al Qusair were still in custody.

These arrests are an affront to international standards of academic freedom and freedom of expression generally, which guarantee that university faculty have the freedom to discuss issues of public concern without fear of official retribution. No evidence has been presented that those arrested did anything but express their opinions in a peaceful manner. There is no evidence that they took actions that violate laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or that threaten public order.

We also strongly object to the fact that a number of those arrested were reportedly released only on the condition that they pledge not to sign petitions or comment publicly on political issues. Such obvious infringement on the right to freedom of expression and the right to impart and receive information is unacceptable, and reinforces our impression that these arrests were nothing but a blatant attempt at political intimidation.

We have grave doubts that these arrests are legal within the Saudi judicial system. Article 36 of the Saudi Basic Law guarantees that no citizen may be detained without due process of law. As of yet, there is no evidence that due process of law has been followed in this case. No formal charges have been filed, to our knowledge. Nor, to our knowledge, have those still detained been given the right to consult legal counsel.

These arrests also call into question the sincerity of the Saudi government in pursuing the recently launched reform process. The hopes generated by the National Dialogue process and by the announcement of municipal elections for a new atmosphere of free discussion and debate in the Kingdom cannot be sustained in the face of such repressive measures.

We urge that the government release immediately and without condition all university faculty members and former faculty members as well as others still in custody solely for making statements critical of government policy. We call upon the government to allow all those faculty members arrested to resume their professional responsibilities without conditions or limitations upon their academic freedom, and without professional sanction or penalty.

We appreciate your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Amy W. Newhall
Executive Director

cc:
His Excellency Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, Ambassador to the United States
Khalid bin Muhammad Al Anqari, Minister of Higher Education

December 23, 2003

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E.Javad Zarif
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Your Excellency:

We are contacting you to express grave concern about the recent trial and sentencing to prison of Maliheh Maghazei, translator; Jafar Homaei, publisher; Banafsheh Samgis, literary critic ; and Majid Sayadi, Cultural Director for the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

These individuals were accused, according to the court verdict, of “insulting and undermining the holy tenets of Islam,” “sullying the person of the Prophet Muhammad,” and “distorting Islamic history” by “publishing false, slanderous, and fabricated texts.” Following our examination of the cases against the accused we find these charges to be baseless. We call for an immediate end to their persecution and their unconditional exoneration.

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The criminal case against Banafsheh Samgis stems from a favorable review she published in the official Iran Daily of a book entitled Iranian Women Musicians: from the epic age to the present. The criminal court of Tehran charged that Ms. Samgis used ”unscientific and discredited sources,” which caused “serious displeasure and stress among the senior ulama and the population.” Ms. Samgis was faulted for observing that the Prophet of Islam liked to listen to music performed by women artists, and that women artists have practiced their craft throughout Islamic history. She was sentenced to one year in prison.

The charges against Maliheh Maghazei, Jafar Homaei, and Majid Sayadi pertain to the translation and publication of The Veil and the Male Elite by Moroccan sociologist Fatima Mernissi. The Criminal Court of Tehran found Ms. Maghazei guilty of “deliberately distorting the history and undermining the basic tenets of Islam” by translating a work “most of which content is a misrepresentation of Quranic verses…a work imbued with feminist opinions and infatuation with the West… a work which shamelessly assigns certain positions to the Prophet and to Islam which will undermine the very bases of Islamic beliefs.” Ms. Maghazei and Mr. Sayadi were sentenced to one year in prison, and Mr. Homaei to eighteen months. The court also ordered the copies of Mernissi’s book to be shredded.

These cases were tried in a branch of the General Court in Tehran. Judge Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran’s prosecutor general, presided. The court ruled that four-fifths of the sentences of Samgis, Maghazei and Sayadi would be suspended, but that Sayadi would have to serve his full sentence.

Your Excellency, we find these charges and judicial proceedings reminiscent of the darkest moments of the 15^th and 16^th century Inquisitions that permanently damaged the reputation of the Roman Catholic Church. We strongly condemn the persecution of scholarly and social scientific inquiry on the basis of their critical analysis of history and of sacred texts. As the head of the Islamic Republic, and as the only official to whom the Judiciary is answerable, we urge you to request in the strongest terms that the Judiciary dismiss these cases and the verdicts with immediate effect.

Your Excellency, the very nature of scholarly and scientific inquiry demands a critical and dispassionate approach to history, as well as all texts, intellectual traditions and belief systems. Professor Mernissi’s book is widely recognized as a text of high professional and academic standard. It is widely translated and taught in many countries and universities, including Middle Eastern and Muslim countries, and by many members of this association. Nowhere to our knowledge is Professor Mernissi’s book considered to be an ”anti-Islamic” text, or disrespectful of Islam and the Prophet. In fact, Professor Mernissi’s book emphasizes, in a scholarly and well-researched manner, the inherently egalitarian and anti-discriminatory history of early Islam.

Jafar Homayei, the Iranian publisher of the book and one of the accused, included a 43-page critical introduction by a prominent religious scholar, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Karimi Zanjani-Asl, in order to ensure that opposing and clerical opinions were represented. Furthermore, he published the book only after receiving official permission from the official censor of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Majid Sayadi. While in no way condoning the highly objectionable practice of censoring books before publication, we deplore the fact that the above individuals were brought to court and condemned to prison even after the publisher had secured the required permissions from the appropriate authorities.

Your Excellency, the rights of individuals to freedom of thought, opinion, and speech are explicitly protected under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Article 23), as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 18, 19, 21), to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is also a state party.

Your Excellency, we feel the necessity of reminding you of the serious harm caused by these criminal cases to the reputation of Iran as a country where scientific and scholarly research and inquiry are highly valued. The prison sentences of one year each for Ms Samgis, Ms Maghazei, and Mr Sayadi, and 18 months for Mr Homayei, blatantly violate not only the individual and legal rights of these individuals, but send an intimidating signal to all scholars, researchers, and publishers in Iran. These court cases can only be conceived as a direct violation and attack upon academic scholarship and critical intellectual inquiry.

Having reviewed the Prosecutor’s case and the Judge’s verdict against the accused, we note that it would have been entirely appropriate for them to publish their objections to Ms Samgis’ review and to Professor Mernissi’s book in the format of critical reviews. However, these gentlemen used the punitive power of the State to persecute scholars, writers, and publishers for expressing their opinion, a blatant abuse of the public office entrusted to them.

Your Excellency, we urge you again to communicate to the Judiciary the need to remedy this travesty of justice without delay. These steps are critical to help prevent further deterioration of Iran’s reputation as a country with a great tradition of learning and scholarly inquiry.

We thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and look forward to your reply.

Yours respectfully,

Amy W. Newhall
Executive Director

cc.
HE Mohammad Khatami, President of the IRI
HE Kamal Kharrazi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, IRI
HE Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Head of the Judiciary, IRI
HE Mehdi Karroubi, Speaker of the Majlis, IRI

November 19, 2003

Dr. Amina Hamza Mahmoud al-Guindy
Minister of Social Affairs and Insurance
3 al-Alfy Street
Cairo
Egypt

Your Excellency:

We are writing to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom. We wish to convey our great concern that the application of the New Woman Institution (NWI) to register with the Ministry of Social Affairs be processed as speedily as possible in order that it may undertake without delay its full range of important activities. This step is essential now that the administrative court (Giza) on October 26, 2003 reversed the Ministry’s June 8, 2003 refusal – on unspecified security grounds – of the NWI’s application to register under Law 84/2002.

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According to information we have received, since beginning its activities informally in 1984 and registering in 1991 under Egyptian civil law, the New Woman Institution (formerly the New Woman Research Center, NWRC) has been a significant actor in Egyptian civil society. The NWI has tirelessly campaigned on issues related to women’s human rights in particular and human rights in general. The organization has done much-needed research on women’s roles and status in Egyptian society, and made the results of this research freely available through workshops, seminars, position papers, books, articles, a newsletter, and an Arabic-language journal.

Although all human rights are of concern to MESA and its Committee on Academic Freedom, as an academic organization we are especially dedicated to promoting academic and intellectual freedom for those doing research in and about the Middle East. We believe that the NWI has done significant research on neglected and sometimes controversial topics of vital importance to Egyptian society. The following are some of the topics on which the NWI has sponsored research: negotiating women’s reproductive rights; women, law and development in the context of structural adjustment policies and political Islam; Egyptian women between state and fundamentalism; women’s image in the media; violence against women; women in NGOs; women and adult literacy, and feminist movements in Arab countries.

The unwarranted June 8, 2003 decision of the Ministry of Social Affairs to deny the NWI’s application to register came as a severe blow. MESA was therefore most pleased with the administrative court’s ruling on October 26, 2003 reversing the June decision, thus clearing the way for consideration of the NWI’s application as originally requested. The court decision’s was a strong affirmation of democracy and an expanded role for civil society institutions, human rights, and intellectual freedom in Egypt.

Our present concern is to urge that the Ministry approve the registration of the New Woman Institution as expeditiously as possible. Five months have already gone by since the original rejection, which severely inhibited the ability of the NWI to carry on its critical work. We understand, for example, that the NWI cannot access its bank account until it receives its official registration clearance from the Ministry. A prolonged or indefinite delay in approving the registration would only compound the harm to the organization and its good work.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your positive response.

Sincerely,
Amy W. Newhall
Executive Director

cc:
His Excellency Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, Washington, DC
U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, David C. Welch

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

We are contacting you to express our great concern about and strong condemnation of the violent attacks on university students, and the wide scale arrest, imprisonment, intimidation, and maltreatment of hundreds of students throughout Iran in recent weeks.

According to the information we have received, following some minor student protests on June 12 in Elm-o Sanaat and Shahid Beheshti Universities, the dormitories of these universities were viciously attacked by bands of vigilantes in the early hours of the morning on June 12 and 14, when their residents were asleep and defenseless. The attackers broke down the doors with pick axes and sledge hammers, destroyed the personal property of the residents, and physically abused and attacked the students with knives, clubs, and chains. Subsequent to these attacks 80 students were arrested, some in the hospital where they were taken for treatment, but very few of the perpetrators of these crimes have been identified and arrested.

The attacks on the Tarasht, Shahid Beheshti, and the Tarbiat Modaress (June 17) dormitories are clearly a recurrence of the criminal attacks by vigilantes and police forces on the dormitories of the Tehran University that took place on July 9, 1999. On that occasion at least one student, Ezzat Ebrahimnejad, was killed, and several other students were maimed and seriously injured. The subsequent criminal court, in a travesty of justice, vindicated the attackers, including General Farhad Kazemi, the police commander who had led the attacks. But a number of students who were arrested in demonstrations following these events were condemned to unjustly heavy sentences. Ahmad Batebi, a student whose only crime was to have had his picture published on the cover of the ‘Economist’ magazine, received a ten-year jail sentence. Students such as Mehrdad Lohrasbi, Akbar Mohammadi, Abbas Fakhravar, among others are still languishing in prison.

Although the police have shown greater restraint during recent events, the vigilantes and the judiciary seem to have acted with even greater impunity and disregard for laws and the civil and legal rights of the students. In reaction to these treatments, student protests, sit-ins, and food strikes spread to other cities and campuses in the cities of Karaj, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Zahedan, Hamedan, Kermanshah, Rasht, Sabzevar, Tabriz, Urumieh, Kerman, Sanadaj, and Yazd. In response to these protests 4000 people were arrested, 2000 of whom are still in prison. In Tehran at least 400 people are still under arrest, among which there are at least 66 students. These numbers do not include those students arrested under ‘political charges’, whose exact numbers and whereabouts are not known.

We are deeply disturbed that your Excellency seems to have contributed to this state of affairs. In July of 1999, you made a public announcement demanding your followers to treat students ‘with respect and kindness’, even if they insulted you in person. This commendable call to restraint was not heeded by your followers who went on a rampage without any of them being punished. During the recent confrontations you did not exercise even this minimal rhetorical tolerance and ordered your followers to treat the students and protesters “with decisiveness and without pity”. Regrettably, your disturbing statement has been widely echoed throughout the country by other officials appointed by and only accountable to yourself. These include local Friday prayer leaders, military commanders, the judiciary, the National Iranian Radio and Television, and some major newspapers, like the Kayhan Daily, all of whom have publicly called for the ‘ruthless and harsh’ treatment of student protesters.

We have received information that several prominent student activists have been violently arrested by unknown security forces operating outside the government’s jurisdiction. It is highly suspected that these rogue forces operate under the jurisdiction of the Counter-Intelligence Department of the Revolutionary Guards Corp as well as the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Judiciary Branch. Both these institutions are under your direct supervision. The government institutions legally in charge of security, which include the Intelligence and Interior Ministries, as well as the Police and the Prison Administration have declared that they have no knowledge of these arrests, or the whereabouts of the detainees. These arrests have been without the defendants being legally notified of the formal charges against them. Ali Akrami of Amir Kabir University disappeared on June 14. Mojtaba Najafi and Morteza Safaee, student activists at Allameh Tabatabaee University, were attacked with mace spray and driven away in unmarked cars in front of their colleagues on June 16. Abdollah Momeni and Mehdi Pour-Rahim of Elm-o Sanaat University have disappeared on June 29. Mehdi Aminzadeh was seen being forcefully pushed into an unmarked car on June 29. Qolamreza Zarifian, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, announced on June 26 that at least 36 students in Tehran and 50 in the provinces had either disappeared or had been arrested by unknown agents. On 27 June 24 students disappeared in Tabriz.

Several other elected leaders of the main Islamic Student Association (Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat) have been arrested at gunpoint by unidentified security agents. Saeed Razavi-Faqih of Tarbiat Modaress University was arrested when leaving a meeting of the Association of Journalists on July 10. His whereabouts are unknown to this day. His lawyer has not been able to determine why he was arrested and under what conditions he is being kept. Other student leaders have been violently arrested under similar circumstances. These include Saeed Habibi, Reza Amerinasab, and Arash Hashemi (on July 10); and Ali Sadeghi, Saeed Babaei, and Amir Motamedi (on July 17) in Tehran; as well as Saeed Ardeshiri and 9 other leading activists in Kerman (July 17).

According to several reports by members of the Iranian Majlis, the detained students are being subjected to lengthy interrogations and serious physical and psychological abuse and torture. Many are being kept in solitary confinement for extended periods of time, and are deprived of sleep, decent food, and proper medical care. The families of many detainees are being subjected to pressure and threats. These illegal abuses are aimed at forcing the arrested students to make false confessions about themselves and against fellow students and other political activists. The ‘Revolution Court’ seems to have emphasized this attitude when it announced on July 18 that it was releasing 14 students on parole after having posted heavy bails, because they had “honestly admitted their culpability and shown remorse by confessing they had committed these crimes under the poisonous influence of certain individuals. The students are being released after they have implicated the real culprits and the main sources of the recent conspiracies”.

Your Excellency, we would like to remind you that according to Article 22 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the life, property, and rights of individuals are inviolable. Article 23 forbids the persecution of individuals for their beliefs. Article 27 permits the free holding of public gatherings and marches provided arms are not carried. Article 38 bans all forms of torture for the purpose of extracting confessions or acquiring information. It prohibits the compulsion of individuals to testify, confess, or take an oath, states that any testimony or confession obtained under duress is devoid of value, and states that the violation of this article is a crime punishable by law. Article 39 prohibits any and all abuse of the dignity and repute of persons detained and imprisoned, and makes the violation of this article a crime punishable by law.

Furthermore, these articles correspond to legal protections enshrined in the United Nation’s Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As a signatory to this International Covenant, Iran is obligated to respect and protect the exercise of these rights. Article 7 of the Covenant prohibits torture and inhuman treatment of the individual. Article 9 prohibits arbitrary arrest and deprivation of liberty, except under legally established procedures. Article 10 cites that anyone arrested should be treated with respect and dignity. Article 14 cites that anyone charged must be informed of the nature of the charges against him/her. Articles 18, 19, and 21, state that everyone should enjoy the freedom of thought, expression, opinion, and assembly.

We therefore urge you in the strongest terms to speak out publicly and to take all the necessary steps to ensure that these clear infringements of the legal rights of the imprisoned students are stopped, that the imprisoned students and political activists are freed immediately, and that all those guilty of violent attacks on student dormitories and gatherings, or of illegal arrest, maltreatment, and intimidation of students and the university community be identified and punished according to law.

Your Excellency, we can only persist in reminding you that these steps are critical to help prevent further deterioration of Iran’s international standing. Iran’s reputation as a country with a great tradition of learning and scholarly inquiry has suffered as a result of these most recent violations of the sanctity of the university community. We urge you to treat this situation with the urgency and the gravity that it requires.

We thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and look forward to your reply.

cc.
HE Kamal Kharrazi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, IRI
HE Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Head of the Judiciary, IRI
HE Mohammad Khatami, President of the IRI
HE Mehdi Karoubi, Speaker of the Majlis, IRI
HE Kofi Anan, United Nations

His Excellency Samir Jisr
Minister of Justice
Palace of Justice
Sami Solh St
Beirut
Republic of Lebanon

I am writing to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom. We wish to convey to you our great concern regarding your ministry’s investigation and interrogation of Dr. Adonis Akra, a professor of philosophy at the Lebanese University in Tripoli and author of a recent book describing his fifteen-day detention by the authorities in August 2001.

According to information we have received, on February 11, 2003, Professor Akra was detained by the Investigations Department in the Ministry of Justice for about seven hours and compelled to cancel a February 15 event promoting his book. The authorities also reportedly interrogated his publisher, Bashir Daouq, and closed down his publishing company, Dar al-Tali’a.

Professor Akra is reportedly a member of the Free Patriotic Movement, which advocates an end to Syria’s military presence and political hegemony in Lebanon. He was among some two hundred journalists, engineers, lawyers, and others arrested and jailed in early August 2001 in a crackdown by Lebanese security forces against persons the authorities said were insulting Syria and destabilizing Lebanon.

Professor Akra’s book, When My Name Became “16”, reportedly is a day-by-day account of his fifteen-day detention, first in a cell at the Defense Ministry, and subsequently in a hospital where he was treated for cardiac problems. He told the Lebanese press that his interrogators accused him of “tarnishing the army, the authorities, the judiciary, and relations with Syria,” charges that he denies.

It appears that Professor Akra is being harassed and punished solely for attempting to exercise his right to freedom of expression. We urge you to halt all such actions against Professor Akra, rescind the closure order against Dar al-Tali’a, and cease efforts to interfere with the distribution of his book.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your positive response.

I write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, and its Committee on Academic Freedom, in order to express our grave concern over your government’s closure of two Palestinian universities in the West Bank. The closure of these institutions is transparently punitive, and thus clearly constitutes collective punishment as well as a drastic and unwarranted denial of academic freedom. We ask that your government rescind this decision immediately.

The IDF statement of January 15, 2003 announcing the closure of Hebron Polytechnic University and the Islamic College of Hebron the previous day alleged that several students who had attended these institutions had been involved in armed attacks against Israeli targets. Some of these attacks targeted Israeli civilians while others were directed against military occupation forces.

While we appreciate that the State of Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens, closing Palestinian universities is not a proper recourse. If Israel has evidence of wrongdoing on the part of individual students or other persons, the government should arrest those persons and prosecute them in a manner that meets international fair trial standards.

We further note that most of the attacks cited occurred in early 2002, while one dated from 1996. Thus it appears that these closures were instituted not for concrete and legitimate security purposes but as a form of punishment of the Palestinian community in the Hebron area.

As you know, collective punishment is forbidden under humanitarian international law. By closing the universities, your government is denying the right to education to over 6,000 current students because of the alleged deeds of a few. In addition to the collective punishment of thousands of students who have not been charged with any offense, your government’s action also adversely impacts the faculty and staff of these universities.

Press reports indicate that these may not be the only universities to be closed by Israel. Birzeit University and Al-Najah National University in Nablus have also been mentioned as candidates for closure. We urge that your government not make a bad situation worse by further closures of institutions of higher education.

There is no evidence that university closures such as these will lead to a decrease in Palestinian violence against Israel. Indeed, Israel closed all Palestinian universities for years in the late 1980s and early 1990s during the first Intifada with no discernable drop in violence. We are thus skeptical that enhanced security is a plausible justification for the action.

On behalf of MESA, I ask that your government rescind immediately the decision to close Hebron Polytechnic University and the Islamic College of Hebron, and that no other closures be contemplated.

H.H. Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Chancellor of the UAE University
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
P.O. Box 45253
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

I am writing to you on behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA). We are contacting you to express our concern regarding the case of Dr. Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, who was until June 2000 a professor of political science at the UAE University in Al Ain.

According to our information, Professor Al Alkim was forced to take early retirement from the university in June 2000 as a result of a plagiarism charge raised against him by a student. Professor Al Alkim has contended that his forced retirement was a consequence of positions he has taken in the past that were critical of the University administration.

On November 26, 2001 the civil section of the Abu Dhabi court in the Federal system of courts of first instance found in favor of Professor Al Alkim in his suit against the student who raised the plagiarism charge. This finding was upheld on March 19, 2002 by the civil section of the Abu Dhabi court of appeals in the Federal system of courts. It is our understanding that the student has appealed this decision to the Federal Supreme Court, but no date has been set for a hearing.

Given the fact that two levels of the UAE federal court system have found in favor of Professor Al Alkim, rejecting the charge of plagiarism against him, we urge the university administration to consider favorably Professor Al Alkim’s request for reinstatement to the faculty.

Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Javad Zarif
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34^th floor
New York, NY 10017

I am writing to you on behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA). We are contacting you to express our very grave concern and strong condemnation regarding the death sentence and other harsh penalties issued against Professor Hashem Aghajari, chair of the history department at Tehran’s Tarbiat Modaress University and a visiting professor at the University of Tehran and Beheshti University.

According to information we have received, in August Professor Aghajari was arrested and charged with apostasy following a lecture he delivered in the city of Hamedan entitled “Islamic Protestantism.” In those remarks he reportedly criticized the political role of Iran’s clerical establishment and called for an end to “blind obedience” to decrees by clerical leaders . On November 7, following an unfair trial in the Hamedan District Court that was closed to the public, Judge Ramazani condemned Professor Aghajari to death. The judge also sentenced him to seventy-four lashes and eight years in prison and proclaimed a ten-year ban against his engagement in teaching activities.

We understand that once this ruling is formally conveyed to Professor Aghajari’s legal counsel, he will have twenty days in which to appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court.

It is our view that Professor Aghajari is being prosecuted and harshly punished solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Iran, as a state party to this treaty, is obligated to respect and protect the exercise of this right.

In the context of current political developments in Iran, it is apparent that the intent of those who brought these charges and arrived at this judgement is not only to punish Dr. Aghajari, an academic respected in Iran for his courage and integrity, but also to intimidate other academics and public thinkers from speaking out.

We therefore urge you in the strongest terms to speak out publicly and to take all necessary steps to ensure that neither the death penalty nor any of the other punishments decreed against Professor Aghajari are carried out. We ask that you request the head of the Judiciary and other relevant officials to release Professor Aghajari from prison immediately and unconditionally, and lift the ban against his teaching activities.

We also understand that Dr. Aghjajari is in urgent need of medical attention regarding an infection that has developed in his right leg which had been amputated at the knee following injuries received in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war. We ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that Dr. Aghajari receives forthwith all necessary medical attention and has access to medical professionals of his own choosing.

Your Excellency, these steps are critical in order to help restore Iran’s international standing as a country with a great tradition of learning and scholarly inquiry, and to ensure that Iranian society benefits from the free exchange of ideas. We thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and look forward to your reply.

The Committee on Academic Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (CAFMENA) of the Middle East Studies Association of North America is writing to express its deep concern over the July 29 re-conviction of Professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim and his associates at the research institute he directs, the Ibn Khaldun Center. Dr. Ibrahim, Nadia Abdel Nur, Magda Ali and Mohamed Hassanein have received prison sentences ranging from two to seven years and are currently incarcerated. We urge you to take all necessary steps to secure their immediate release from prison pending further appeals of the July 29 decision of the Supreme State Security Court. We further call on your government to rescind the orders closing the Ibn Khaldun Center, a respected and renowned independent research and public policy institute.

In November 2001, MESA’s Board of Directors awarded Dr. Ibrahim the inaugural MESA Academic Freedom Award in recognition of his “dedication to the promotion of democratic rights and civil liberties through his teaching and scholarship, and his commitment as a public intellectual to the principles of free expression and free exchange of information and ideas” as well as his “tireless advocacy of fundamental rights for all Egyptians.”

This letter follows two earlier letters from CAFMENA, on July 11, 2000 and May 31, 2001, protesting this case. We again must voice our deep 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. The conduct of the Court and its verdicts confirm the essentially political nature of this case. As a committed public intellectual, Professor Ibrahim has appeared at countless conferences discussing Egypt’s development, and its political and social dilemmas, yet he and his associates are now in prison for “tarnishing Egypt’s image abroad.” Egypt has a long and distinguished tradition of producing intellectuals and writers who produce articles and books brimming with articulate ideas and thought-provoking debate. It is distressing that the government of Egypt is now imprisoning one of these same distinguished citizens and his colleagues.

The results of this trial undermine Egypt’s standing in the international community and its reputation as a state committed to the rule of law. The Court’s summary and immediate proclamation of a verdict and sentence in a case begun four months earlier after only 15 minutes of review is particularly appalling and raises question about the integrity and intentions of the Supreme State Security Court. This judicial conduct impugns the reputation of Egypt’s typical sound standards of judicial review and due process.

We consider it a matter of greatest urgency that your government permit the immediate release of Dr. Ibrahim and his colleagues from prison, pending any appeals process. In particular, we are concerned about the deteriorating medical conditions of Dr. Ibrahim and appeal to the government for a medical release on humanitarian grounds. We further call on your government to foster conditions in which such voices and research can thrive in order for the process of democratic reform in Egypt to move forward, in accordance with its commitments under international law. This must include respect for the rights of academic researchers to undertake activities in support of peaceful political reform.

In these disturbing times of international violence and terrorism, public intellectuals and researchers like Dr. Ibrahim and his associates who are committed to the rule of law, democracy, and freedom of expression must be allowed to flourish rather than to be condemned to prison.

cc:
His Excellency Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, Washington, DC
U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, David C. Welch
Maj-Gen Habib Ibrahim el-Adly, Minister of the Interior
His Excellency Farouq Mahmoud Seif el-Nasr, Minister of Justice

The Committee on Academic Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (CAFMENA) of the Middle East Studies Association of North America is writing to condemn in the strongest terms the bomb attack of July 31 in Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, claimed by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which killed seven students and injured more than seventy. This attack, by targeting civilians, violated the most elemental principle of international humanitarian law. Furthermore, by targeting a university, the Islamic Resistance Movement grievously assaulted the academic freedom of Hebrew University students and their ability to exercise their right to exchange and receive information without putting themselves at risk of death or serious injury.

CAFMENA has frequently criticized Israeli violations of the academic freedom of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip during and prior to the current uprising against the military occupation, most recently in a letter of July 22, 2002, to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Hamas spokespersons have attempted to justify this and other recent suicide bombings as retaliation and reprisal for Israeli attacks that have killed Palestinian civilians. However, under international humanitarian law, the absolute prohibition against targeting civilians includes acts of reprisal. This prohibition is categorical, and applies to attacks committed by armed opposition groups as well as government security forces.

We urge you to call publicly and unequivocally on the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, the military wing of your organization, to desist immediately and unconditionally from any attacks or acts of reprisal that deliberately target civilians.

The Committee on Academic Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (CAFMENA), of the Middle East Studies Association, is writing to express its grave concern over Israel’s recent and ongoing actions that threaten academic freedom and the right to education more broadly in the West Bank.

Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield, launched in March 2002, and Israel’s subsequent actions in the West Bank, have caused great and unwarranted harm to Palestinian educational institutions and educational opportunities. The harm falls under three categories: the physical destruction of educational property by soldiers in the Israel Defense Force (IDF), including vandalism; the theft of educational property, particularly hard drives from many computers and the loss of data bases; and the extension and intensification of checkpoints, roadblocks, and other physical impediments which prevent students and faculty from reaching their schools.

We join with all who condemn the savage attacks that have killed and maimed hundreds of civilians inside Israel. These outrages, however, cannot justify the violations of basic rights that your government has imposed on virtually the entire Palestinian Arab population of the occupied territories. These policies have had grave humanitarian consequences, including dire consequences for the right to education.

The destruction and theft of Palestinian educational property and material by IDF personnel during Operation Defensive Shield occurred at numerous Palestinian educational institutions, including at the Ministry of Education, the Palestinian Academy for Science and Technology, various educational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and numerous Palestinian universities, colleges, and K-12 schools. Property damage can be replaced over time, but valuable information on computer hard disks and paper files cannot be replaced. These must be returned to their rightful owners without delay.

Israel has instituted a multitude of physical impediments to limit and restrict internal travel within the West Bank, thereby making transportation to and from universities and schools frequently difficult and sometimes impossible; Operation Defensive Shield effectively closed most Palestinian educational institutions for its duration. Since this Operation ceased, reports that we have received from numerous sources indicate that internal travel is considerably more difficult today than it was prior to March 2002. Israel’s policies are effectively preventing many students from attending university and many faculty from reaching their university classrooms and laboratories.

We therefore respectfully request that all computer hard drives and other material confiscated from Palestinian educational facilities be returned promptly, and that property damage done by IDF personnel to Palestinian educational facilities be repaired or compensated for in a timely manner. We also urge that any Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement be strictly limited to imperative and specific reasons of security, and that the government ensure that these restrictions are not excessive in impact or duration. This is essential in order to facilitate the access to educational institutions that is vital to thousands of students, faculty and administrators on the West Bank today.

Cc: Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, Washington, DC
Maj-Gen Habib Ibrahim El-Adly, Minister of the Interior
His Excellency Farouq Mahmoud Seif el-Nasr, Minister of Justice

This letter was sent jointly by Human Rights Watch, American Association for the Advancement of Science, CAFMENA, Scholars at Risk and the New York Academy of Sciences.