town New York without per-mission from the U.S. govern-
ment. Khaza’i rarely ap-pears at public events and,
until this session, has pre-
ferred private meetings with small groups of Americans
interested in Iranian affairs.
Because there are no diplo-matic relations between
Washington and Tehran,
Khaza’i is the highest-ranking Iranian official resi-
dent on U.S. soil.
The students immediately understood the symbolism of
the occasion. Why, they
asked, is an official from one side talking to a retired
official (and private citizen) (Continued on page 9)
On February 20, 2013 thirty
-five midshipmen from clas-
ses in political science (FP 462, The U.S. and Iran) and
history (HH367B, the History
and Culture of Iran) had a rare first-hand look into the
complex world of American-
Iranian relations. They trav-
eled to the Asia Society in New York to hear a public
exchange between Ambas-sador Thomas Pickering, for-
mer U.S. Undersecretary of
State for Political Affairs, and Ambassador Moham-
mad Khaza’i, current perma-
nent representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to
the United Nations. David
Ignatius, author and senior reporter for the Washington
Post, moderated the discus-
sion. The very setting of the ex-
change was unusual. Am-
bassador Khaza’i, like all members of the Iranian UN
Mission, cannot travel outside
a 25-mile radius from down-
“Witnessing Diplomacy.” by Ambassador John Limbert
Midshipmen Participate in “Roads of Arabia” Tour
ogy and History of the King-
dom of Saudi Arabia” exhib-
it. Considered by many crit-
ics as the most comprehen-
sive collection of Saudi Ara-
bian artifacts to be dis-
played at an international
venue, the exhibit features
320 artifacts that trace the
Arabian Peninsula’s rich her-
itage from the Paleolithic
period to the formation of
the Kingdom of Saudi Ara-
bia in 1932.
Most interesting to the mid-
shipmen was the rich, multi-
(Continued on page 6)
Kylan Jones-Huffman Memorial Lectures
DR. FRED DONNER—
“HOW ISLAM BEGAN.”
H.E. AMBASSADOR HOU-
DA NONOO—“BAHRAINI-US RELATIONS.”
SAID SAYRAFIEZADEH—
“REFLECTIONS ON IRANIAN
-AMERICAN LITERATURE.”
“WITNESSING DIPLOMACY” 1
ROADS OF ARABIA 1
PROF. WHEELER SABBATICAL 2
PROF. BURT SABBATICAL 3
INTERFAITH DIALOGUE 4
WHEELER FULBRIGHT 5
DR. DANIEL ZISENWIINE 6
DR. FRED DONNER 7
H.E. AMB HOUDA NONOO 7
SAID SAYRAFIEZADEH 8
MEIR LITVAK 8
UPCOMING EVENTS 10
AFFILIATED FACULTY 11
JOIN US ON TWITTER! 12
Inside this issue:
Spring 2013 Volume 3, Issue 2
U . S . N A V A L A C A D E M Y
Newsletter of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
Through the gracious invita-
tion of Saudi-Aramco and
the Sackler Gallery, midship-
men and faculty were able
to participate in a docent-
led tour of the joint-
sponsored Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia and SAUDI-ARAMCO
“Roads of Arabia: Archaeol-
Sacrifice in Islam, pilgrimage and state power in Middle East and South Asia.
Page 2
Newsletter of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
During January Brannon
Wheeler as part of his re-search sabbatical in the Mid-
dle East and South Asia
made a brief trip to the Hijaz region of Saudi Arabia. The
trip allowed him to visit a
number of sites closely linked to current research on places
of pilgrimage in Arabia be-
fore Islam.
One of the most significant
sites is called today Mada’in Salih. In the Islamic period the
site was called al-Hijr and was reportedly visited by the
prophet Muhammad on his
way to the northern city of Tabuk. The classical name
was Hegre. Mada’in Salih is
a Nabataean necropolis simi-lar to the well-known site of
Petra in Jordan. While Petra
served as the Nabataean capital, Mada’in Salih is
equally impressive with more
than 100 monumental tombs cut out of the surrounding
mountains.
In the center of Mada’in Salih
is Jabal Ithlib, the ceremonial
sanctuary where visitors to the city of the dead would
perform sacrifices. Jabal Ith-
lib contains a number of shrines and overlooks the
entire site. The deserts sur-
rounding Mada’in Salih are a beautiful example of the sort
of environment common to this
particular region of the Arabi-
an Peninsula.
In addition to his primary work
in the Middle East, during the first week of April, Prof. Bran-
non Wheeler made a research
trip to the South Asian Island of Sri Lanka supported by the
Center's funds for professional
development. The research focused on the role of pil-
grimage and state support
for pilgrimage in the devel-opment of social and politi-
cal structures.
Among the sites visited by
Prof. Wheeler were the Temple of the Sacred Tooth
in Kandy and Adam's Peak
(otherwise known as Sri Pa-da). The Temple of the Sa-
cred Tooth is a Buddhist shrine
housing a tooth of the Buddha. This relic was used, and contin-
ues to be used, as a means for
the state to assert its authority vis-a-vis the religious elite and
the rest of society. The temple
and its relic have been the subject of a number of studies
but only a few in Western lan-
guages.
Adam's Peak is one of the
highest mountains in Sri Lanka. To reach the summit requires
an arduous climb of more than
8000 steps. The climb takes an average of 4 hours and the
descent about 3 hours. Most of
the climbers are Buddhist, Hin-
du, and Muslim pilgrims. At the
top of the mountain is a shrine housing a footprint. Buddhists
claim the footprint is from the
Buddha. Hindus claim it is from an Indian deity. Muslims claim
it is the footprint left by Adam
after he was cast out of the Garden of Eden before he
traveled to Mecca to establish
the Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj).
While in Sri Lanka, Prof.
Wheeler was able to visit a
number of mosques in Columbo
and in Kandy. There is a size-
able Muslim community in Sri
Lanka. Muslims in Sri Lanka
belong to the minority Tamil
group which also includes Hin-
dus. Sri Lanka also has a
Christian minority dating pri-
marily from the time of the
Portuguese and British periods.
Of interest to midshipmen who take Prof. Burt’s Arabic Language and Literature courses is her inci-sive observation: “This [the devel-opment of national literatures] is especially interesting as Oman and the Gulf countries begin to assert themselves literarily, pro-ducing new literature far from the traditional centers of literary pro-duction, and articulating ideas, feelings, and aspirations which are distinct from those which have come out of the cultural capitals that have been historically central to Arabic literary institutions.“ With her background in compara-tive Semitic studies, Prof. Burt was also able to study ancient inscrip-tional material related to South Arabian languages. These include languages threatened with extinc-tion and only available for study in the mountainous Omani region of Salalah such as Mehri, Shahri, Jibbali, Harsusi, Hobyot, and Bathari form micro communities that are intent on preserving their language and way of life.
Prof. Burt was able to collect sam-ples and materials written in these languages some of which are compromised of only 200 hun-dred speakers. This novel and
Prof. Burt of Languages and Cultures: Paths on Mountains and the Shore- Omani Poetry and South Arabian Folklore
Page 3
Volume 3, Issue 2
In September 2011, while in Oman to set up an Arabic language program for her students, Prof. Clarissa Burt of the United States Naval Acad-emy’s Department of Lan-guages and Cultures was able to make contacts and lay the groundwork for research pro-jects related to Oman. She contacted several well-known Omani writers and established the basis for sabbatical work in this strategically important and culturally diverse Gulf state. Her subsequent research took place over a several month period from 2012 to 2013 with extensive field work in Oman. She was able to collect published works of contemporary Omani writers, and discover literary salons which demanded further in-vestigation. Among the nota-ble contacts made by Prof. Burt was Mr. Sayf al-Rahbi, a well-known poet and writer, and the editor-in-chief of Nizwa , an internationally known journal of literature and culture in the Arab World. Through Mr. Rahbi’s deep cultural insight and guidance Prof. Burt was introduced to several poets and authors in the Omani literary field who hail from all strata of society. Prof. Burt, during her time in Oman, was able to “read a broad selection of Omani po-etic texts, select from them, translate some, and analyze the Arabic texts in the context of the broader sweep of con-temporary Arabic poetry and literature today.”
nuanced approach to the study of micro-linguistic communities promises to be a major boon to midshipmen who study standard-ized Arabic with little under-standing of the complex mélange of linguistic influences that help create regional dialects.
In March, Sean Baggott and
Nancy Walbridge Collins of
Joint Special Operations Uni-
versity [JSOU] visited the
Academy to receive a brief
on the Center’s activities.
JSOU, located in Tampa,
Florida, will undergo a series
of renovations and curriculum
development activities to
bring a fresh perspective and
institutional knowledge to our
SOF war-fighter. The Center
offers a world-class array of
affiliated faculty members
and lectures series that would
be of great strategic re-
source for the new JSOU
initiative.
Through a creation of a sym-
biotic relationship between
the service academies and
JSOU, midshipmen will be
able to gain insight into the
demands of future SOF ca-
reer paths and better devel-
op themselves for those op-
portunities.
Joint Special Operations University visits the Center
TOLERANCE AND INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IN THE U.S. Delegation Visits the United States Naval Academy
Page 4
Newsletter of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
The Center briefed nine Afri-
can delegates from countries
ranging from Burkino Faso to
Niger on CMEIS activities and
mission on January 31. The
guests were religious leaders,
NGO directors, and heads of
educational departments invit-
ed to the United States under
the auspices of the Depart-
ment of State's International
Visitor Leadership Program.
The project provides an over-
view of religious freedom and
tolerance amid diverse popu-
lations in the U.S., as well as
the role of religious and faith-
based organizations in various
arenas including community
service, education, and
electoral politics. The partic-
ipants also have the oppor-
tunity to learn about the
role of faith in American
secular society and inter-
faith programs that contrib-
ute to social cohesion. The
project is designed for cler-
gy, educators, and lay
leaders of national or local
religious groups of all
faiths.
The delegates were inter-
ested in how the United
States Naval Academy in-
corporates Islamic studies
into its course material as
well as how we instill toler-
ance and understanding of
other cultures into future na-
val officers.
Page 5
Volume 3, Issue 2
Deborah Wheeler on Sabbatical Research
Professor Deborah L. Wheeler received a Fulbright Multi Country Middle East and North Africa research grant to study “Food Security Strategies in the Arabian Gulf: A View from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.” She is the only Senior Fulbright schol-ar in the United States to re-ceive a grant to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates for the 2012-2013 year. She left Annapolis in December, and will return to USNA in August. Her research will contribute to our understanding of interna-tional politics and the Middle East on a number of levels.
First of all, food security is a growing topic of concern glob-ally due to climate change, population growth, a rising middle class demanding more meat and dairy, more energy to run electronics and cars, shrinking fresh water supplies, rising sea levels, reduced yield from field crops due to atypi-cal weather patterns, volatile prices and supplies of food, bio-fuels diverting crops to energy rather than human nourishment, and the need to produce 70% more food by 2050 just to meet growing global demand. All of these variables—climate, population, food, energy, water, environ-ment—are linked, and disen-tangling how states should re-spond to secure their food and water supplies within this con-text of complexity (especially for water poor countries like those in the Arabian Gulf) is one of the most significant 21st
century challenges exam-ined by Prof. Wheeler’s research.
In the Middle East more than anywhere else, food security is national security at its most fundamental level. The Middle East is one of the most food import dependent regions in the world. The region’s population growth is among the highest in the world, resulting in an ever-widening food gap, estimat-ed to cost $89 billion by 2020. A recent study by NASA shows that water re-sources in the region are shrinking faster than ever due to unsustainable agricul-tural practices. More than 70% of the region’s water is used on agriculture. The region, while the most water poor globally, ironically has the highest water use rate per capita, mostly due to an overexploitation of water resources to grow food.
Taken together the lack of sustainable water access and arable land, harsh weather conditions, poor soil, intense strain on existing resources because of popu-lation growth and rising in-comes, the partial break down of government subsidy regimes for providing low cost food to foster citizen loyalty and poverty allevia-tion, matched with global food inflation and supply shocks, make the issue of food security a matter of much greater concern in the
Middle East than ever be-fore.
Prof. Wheeler is finding that even in oil exporting coun-tries—despite being rated as relatively food secure today based upon the low ratio of food import costs to GDP—food security is a regular topic in the press, in policy circles, and on the street. Billions of dollars are being invested in strategies to grow, import, secure, and store food to feed growing populations at stable prices. Strikes, riots across the region(even in the Gulf) linked with food inflation suggest that no country in the region is im-mune. While oil wealth ena-bles some countries in the Middle East to buy them-selves short-term solutions to food security challenges, long term sustainability questions loom and form the core of Prof. Wheeler’s research agenda.
Professor Wheeler has used the data and insights she has gained during her sabbatical to develop a new senior Po-litical Science Capstone course called “Natural Secu-rity” which will be offered for the first time in the Fall 2013-2014 academic year. In this seminar, students will exam-ine the ways in which abun-dance and scarcity of natural resources like food, water, arable land, precious metals, and energy will increasingly shape the future of power and purpose in the global commons.
layered cultural milieu of the
Arabian Peninsula demon-
strated through the items on
display—a fact formerly
incongruent with their under-
standing of the region. Mov-
ing past traditional compart-
mentalization of epochs, the
tour revealed to guests how
pre-Islamic cultures, such as
the Greek and the Roman,
intermingled with indigenous
societies thus informing one
another through trade, edu-
cation, and statecraft. The
visit coincided with Dr. Fred
Donner’s visit to the USNA on
January 24. His lecture, “How
“Roads”, from Page One
Daniel Zisenwine, Tel Aviv University Visiting Scholar
Page 6
Newsletter of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
During the 2012-2013 Aca-
demic Year the Center for
Middle East and Islamic Stud-
ies is hosting a visiting Israeli
scholar, Professor Daniel Zis-
enwine.
His regular position is at the
University of Tel Aviv. Prof.
Zisenwine is a specialist in
North African history and
politics whose most recent
publications focus on contem-
porary Morocco. While at the
Center, Prof. Zisenwine is
teaching two courses in Mid-
dle East politics for the Politi-
cal Science department and
two courses in the history of
the Arab-Israeli Conflict for
the History department. This
appointment is made possible
by a grant from the American-
Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
(AICE) and a generous gift
from the Naval Academy’s
Friends of the Jewish Chapel.
AICE implements the Schuster-
man Visiting Israel Professors
program that places approxi-
mately 20 scholars annually at
various U.S. universities with
the goal of presenting Ameri-
can students with a broad un-
derstanding of Israel’s history,
society, politics, cultures, and
relations with its neighbors and
the broader international com-
munity.
Prof. Zisenwine’s most recent
publication Contemporary
Morocco: State, Politics, and
Society under Mohammed VI is
available through Routledge
Press.
Islam Began” was also pre-
sented at the Sackler Gallery
on January 26.
If interested in further infor-
mation on the exhibit please
follow the below link:
http://
www.saudiaramcoworld.com/
issue/201102/
roads.of.arabia.htm
Dr. Fred M. Donner visited
the United States Naval
Academy as the first install-
ment of the spring semester’s
Kylan Jones Huffman Memo-
rial Lecture series. Consid-
ered one of the world's fore-
most experts on Islam, Dr.
Donner recently published
Muhammad and the Believers
(Belknap, 2012), a book that
has helped redefine our un-
derstanding of the early
Muslim community during the
time of the prophet Muham-
mad. During his lecture “How
Islam Began” Dr. Donner un-
derscored for midshipmen
that little evidence exists to
support the widely accepted
claims represented in an ar-
ray of seemingly omnipresent
and hackneyed opinions
about the history of early
Islam. Dr. Donner proposed
that the community that arose
around the prophet Muham-
mad was ecumenical in na-
ture and primarily concerned
with accepting monotheists
who were prepared to live
piously. The image we have
of an Islamic past was not
widely promulgated until a
hundred years after the
death of the Prophet.
In Memoriam: LT Kylan Jones-Huffman, USNR, died 21 Aug., 2003, in Al Hillah, Iraq while o voluntary TAD from US Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain to brief the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He was 31 years old.
LT Jones-Huffman was born 20 April, 1972 in Santa Cruz, CA, the son of James and Dagmar Huffman. In 1990 he graduated from the York School in Monterey, CA, and entered the Naval Academy. He was 26th Co. and graduated in 1994, having already begun work on his MA in History at the University of Maryland. He was an honors graduate in History from USNA, and one of his undergrad-uate papers won the Phi Alpha Theta prize for the regional and an Honorable Mention in national competition.
After LT Jones-Huffman’s graduation from USNA he returned to California to marry his high school sweetheart, Heidi Jones. After com-pleting his MA at Maryland, he reported to the USS Ingham out of Everett, WA. In 1997, he joined the pre-commissioning crew of the USS Raven inspired some his best Haiku. He returned to USNA in 1999 for two years as an instructor in the History Dept. He taught a course on the Persian Wars, and worked on preparing his prize winning Phi Alpha Theta paper and his Haiku for publication. His po-etry reached print in two prominent Haiku journals and a number of on-line collections. It has since inspired a suite by a Romanian composer.
LT Jones-Huffman was broadly interested in cultures around the world and had a spectacular ability to learn languages. He spoke fluent German, Persian, and Arabic, along with some Turkish and Japanese. He had been admitted to George Washington Universi-ty’s Ph.D. program in Near Eastern Studies, where he planned to study Turkish history, shortly before his death.
KJH Lecture: Dr. Fred Donner
KJH Lecture: H.E. AMB Houda Nonoo
Page 7
Volume 3, Issue 2
On March 21 the Center host-
ed H.E. Ambassador Houda
Nonoo, the Kingdom of Bah-
rain’s Ambassador to the Unit-
ed States. During her visit she
toured the Levy Center, ate
dinner with the Commandant’s
staff and midshipmen, and
delivered an excellent lecture
on the security concerns that
Bahrain holds—primarily from
Iran. The lecture was attend-
ed by members of the An-
napolis Jewish community as
well as Retired Rear Admiral
Katz and USNA Superinten-
dent Vice Admiral Miller.
Her Excellency was appoint-
ed Ambassador of the King-
dom of Bahrain to the United
States by His Majesty the
King of Bahrain, Shaikh
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in
July 2008. H.E. is also Ambas-
sador of the Kingdom of Bah-
rain to Canada (non-resident).
She holds the distinction as the first person of Jewish origin
and the third woman to be appointed Ambassador of
Bahrain. Prior to her appoint-
ment she was president of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch
Society and she held a posi- Continued on page 10
KJH Lecture: Said Sayrafiezadeh
Dr. Meir Litvak
Page 8
Newsletter of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
were able to see that we
make many assumptions re-garding Iran and Iranians
which often do not hold up to
the reality of life. Through Mr. Sayrafiezadeh’s literature,
readers can see how he has
confronted his past and the individual characters that rep-
resent the different influences
in his life. Mr. Sayrafiezadeh is an
award-winning fiction writer,
memoirist, and playwright. He is the recipient of a 2012-
2013 fiction fellowship from the Cullman Center for Schol-
ars and Writers, and the au-
thor of the critically acclaimed
memoir When Skate Boards Will Be Free (Dial Press,
2010) for which he re-
ceived a Whiting Writer’s Award. It was selected as one
of the ten best books of the
year by Dwight Garner of the New York Times.
Brief Encounters with the Enemy
will be published by The Dial Press in August 2013. Mr.
Sayrafiezadeh lives on New
York City’s Lower East Side with his wife, the artist and
designer Karen Mainenti, and teaches creative writing at
New York University.
Dr. Meir Litvak of Tel Aviv
University visited USNA to
lecture on Iran and the Arab
Spring on February 11. Dr.
Litvak currently serves as an
associate professor in the De-
partment of Middle Eastern
History and as the director of
the Alliance Center for Iranian
Studies. Dr. Litvak has written
numerous articles and books
on modern Shi‘i and Iranian
history, as well as on modern
Islamic movements. He is the
author of Shi'a Scholars of
Nineteenth Century Iraq: The
‘Ulama’ of Najaf and Karba-
la’ (Cambridge University
Press, 1998); co-author
of From Empathy to Denial:
Arab Responses to the Holo-
caust (Columbia University
Press, 2009) and of the forth-
coming book Iran: from a Per-
sian Empire to an Islamic Repub-
lic (Open University of Israel
Press). In addition, he is the co-
editor of Religious Fanati-
cism (Zalman Shazar Center,
2007); Palestinian Collective
Memory and National Identi-
ty (Palgrave-McMillan);
and The Sunna and Shi‘a in
History Division and Ecumenism
in Islam (Palgrave-McMillan,
2011). Dr. Litvak received his
doctorate from Harvard
University in 1991.
Said Sayrafiezadeh visited
the Academy on April 18 de-livering a lecture on the multi-
ple layers of identity that are
often at odds with common stereotypes we hold regard-
ing those of Iranian origin.
Born in Brooklyn in 1968 to an Iranian father and a Jewish
American mother he grew up
most of his life in Pittsburgh and in New York City. Both of
parents were active members
of the Socialist Workers Party and his father holds the dis-
tinction of having run for Presi-dent of Iran not long after the
Iranian Revolution. Midshipmen
AMB Limbert from Page One
Page 9
Volume 3, Issue 2
mention of the U.S. Embassy
takeover and detention of American diplomatic personnel
several months before that had
led to those events.
Although Pickering did not chal-
lenge Khaza’i directly on his omission, he gently reminded the
Iranian representative that recit-
ing lists of historical grievances was not necessarily the most
productive way to deal with the
present impasse. In these ex-changes, the students saw for
themselves just how difficult the relationship has become and
how each side appears to in-
habit a separate universe in which the concerns of the other
are of no importance.
Here are some selected student comments:
“It seemed that according to Khaza’I, while Iran keeps saying
it wants to negotiate, Iran at the
same time is refusing to negoti-ate under the pretense that the
U.S. is pressuring them.”
“..the ambiguousness of
Khaza’i’s answers and his inabil-
ity to answer some questions directly allowed me to truly
understand the predicament that
Iran is currently in. While this talk did not make me more
hopeful of future U.S.-Iran rela-
tions, it allowed me an oppor-tunity to see bilateral relations
in Iran’s perspective.”
“This discussion was an eye-
opening experience in for-eign relations for me. It was
quite interesting to see how
Iran thinks of the U.S. and how they believe that things
should be in the world. It
seemed as though the two countries are a long way
from solving any issues.”
“The Asia Society forum was
my first taste of live diplo-
macy. I expected it to be congenial meeting between
two diplomats who spoke with political correctness and
tried their best to avoid any
controversy. This, however, was not the case. The
discussion was at times
intense and demonstrat-ed to the audience the
hostility and lack of
understanding that ex-ists between the United
States and Iran.”
“I thought that
[Khaza’I’s] ‘gun to the head’
analogy was very interest-ing…I can understand how
any nation would view one
or more U.S. aircraft carriers sitting near their coast at all
times as a ‘gun to the head.’
I don’t think we need to stop, but it would help if we didn’t
get offended when another
nation calls it what it is.”
“Thus we are at a stalemate. Should the U.S. remove its
from the other? Why are
officials from the two coun-tries not speaking to each
other? And why have Irani-
an and American officials been unable to converse—
except on the rarest of occa-
sions—for over thirty years?
Both the tone and content of
the presentations gave the students insight into the com-
plex world of Iranian-
American relations. Picker-ing— the United States’ most
experienced and respected professional diplomat—
made some brief suggestions
for a path forward on U.S.-Iranian relations in general
and on the difficult issue of
Iran’s nuclear program. He spoke without blaming any-
one and with obvious respect
for his Iranian counterpart. Khaza’I —while returning
Pickering’s respect and cour-
tesy—recited a list of Iran’s grievances against the Unit-
ed States going back to the
CIA-sponsored coup against Prime Minister Mohammad
Mosaddegh in 1953.
Khaza’i’s list was a long one, and in addition to the usual
complaints included some
oddities, such as the state-ment that “the United States
unilaterally broke diplomatic
relations in April 1980 and a few days later violated Ira-
nian sovereignty with its mili-tary forces.” There was no
H.E. Houda Nonoo KJH Lecture Continued from Page 7
Academic Year, 2013-2014: Fall Events
Page 10
Newsletter of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
lated into practice at various times and places. The book is intended as an introduction to the subject both for peo-ple interested in Middle Eastern and Islamic history, and for those interested in the study of charity and phi-lanthropy who wish to broaden their understanding of their different expressions in human societies. Dr. Amir Hussain: Prof. Amir Hussain’s areas of scholarly interest include the study of Islam and compara-tive religions. He is the au-thor of Oil and Water: Two Faiths, One God (Wood Lake Books). He is editor of the third edition of the textbook World Religions: Western Traditions (Oxford University Press), and coeditor-in-chief (along with Rick Talbott) of Cascade's History of Reli-gions Series (Wipf and Stock). He also serves on the editorial boards of the Springer book series Global Networks: Contemporary
Studies in Muslim Communities and of three journals: Com-parative Islamic Studies, the Journal of Religion, Conflict, and Peace, and Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life. Professor Hussain has been an active member of the AAR, having served on the Research Grants Jury and the Centennial Advisory Com-mittee.
was officially welcomed as an honorary member of the Board of Directors of the U.S.-Bahrain Business Council.
Throughout her career she has worked to improve work-ing conditions in factories, raise awareness of the rights of women and children, cam-paigned for family and do-mestic law, and raised awareness of the plight of domestic workers.
During Fall semester Academ-ic Year 2013, the Center for Middle East and Islamic Stud-ies will continue its Kylan Jones Huffman Memorial Lec-ture Series. While still under development we hope to have the following world-renowned academics visit during the months of August and September: Dr. Amy Singer: Prof. Singer hails from the Department of Middle Eastern and African History, Tel Aviv University and is a well-regarded specialist on Otto-man Studies. Currently she is writing a book on charity in Islamic societies, which is in-tended as an introduction to the subject. It includes discus-sions of the religious basis and textual discussions of charity, particularly as they appear in the Qur’an and the hadith, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, together with historical examples of how these ideas were trans-
tion within the Kingdom’s
Shura council appointed by His Majesty the King, Shaikh
Hamad Bin Salman Al Khalifa
in 2006.
Ambassador Nonoo is one of the founding members of Bah-rain Human Rights Watch So-ciety (BHRWS) established in November, 2004, elected General Secretary in Septem-ber 2005. On October 10, 2008 Ambassador Nonoo
Affiliated Faculty
۞Dr. Hayden Bellenoit, History South Asia
۞Dr. Hezi Brosh, Language Studies Arabic and Hebrew Language
۞Dr. Thomas Burgess, History Africa
۞Dr. Clarissa Burt, Language Studies Arabic Language and Literature
۞Dr. Salwa Elgebaly, Language Studies Arabic Language
۞CAPT Mark Hagerott, History South Asia
۞Dr. Wayne Hsieh, History Military History
۞Dr. Gabriel N. Karpouzian, Aerospace Eng Contemporary Middle East
۞Dr. Elizabeth Knutson, Language Studies Franco-Arab Studies
۞AMB John Limbert, Class of 1955 Chair Iran and Middle East
۞CAPT Jeff Macris, History Gulf and Middle East
۞LTJG Ayman, Mottaleb, Language Studies Arabic Language
۞Ms. Jocelyn Owens, Language Studies Arabic Language
۞Dr. Helen Purkitt, Political Science Africa Studies
۞Mr. Mark Reese, DepDir, CMEIS Central Asia
۞CDR Thomas Robertson, History COIN, Irregular Warfare
۞Dr. Sanaa Sadek, Language Studies Arabic Language
۞Dr. Thomas Sanders, History Russia and Central Asia
۞Dr. Ermin Sinanovic, Political Science Southeast Asia and Islam
۞Dr. Joseph Thomas, Leadership Military Ethics
۞Dr. Ernest Tucker, History Islamic Civilization and History
۞Dr. Brian VanDeMark US Diplomatic and Political History
۞Mr. Steve Ward, Leadership Contemporary Middle East
۞Dr. Brannon Wheeler, Director, CMEIS Islam and History of Religions
۞Dr. Deborah Wheeler, Political Science Contemporary Middle East
Faculty Affiliated with CMEIS
Page 11
Volume 3, Issue 2
۞Mark Reese– Currently developing course material on the Caucuses and Central Asia
۞Ernie Tucker– Middle East History textbook
۞Brian VanDeMark– Recent publication of American Sheikhs
۞Deborah Wheeler– Continues research on Food Security issues through a Fulbright in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE
۞Ermin Sinanovic– Turkish and Israeli investment in Bosnia, and Islamist politics in Malaysia
۞Clarissa Burt– Research on pre-Islamic Arabic in Oman
۞Brannon Wheeler– Buddhism in Russia and History of Judaism course in Korea, Cambodia and China
Recent Faculty Curriculum Development
106 Maryland Avenue Annapolis, MD 21402
Phone 410-293-2993 Fax 410-293-2994 Email: [email protected]
In its seventh year the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies con nues to enhance the educa-onal opportuni es of midshipmen through suppor ng interna onal and regional study, curricular
innova on, fleet ac vi es, and as a center for resources on all aspects of the Middle East and the cultures historically related to the region. Since its incep on, the Center has hosted close to 150 lec-tures reaching an es mated 25,000 midshipmen. Faculty affilia on with the Center has grown to more than 24, from six academic departments, who have developed more than 50 new courses and traveled to dozens of countries in the region and around the world in support of their teaching.
Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
U . S . N A V A L A C A D E M Y
boot from the snake’s neck and risk it turning around and biting us? Should Iran trust that if it gives way
in even the slightest, the U.S. simply won’t use its boot to squash it completely?”
What the students heard from the Iranian side they did not always like or accept. But they received a
new appreciation that international relations often involves contradictory views of the world – views that we need to understand even if we do not agree with them.
AMB Limbert, from Page 9
CENTER FOR MIDDLE
EAST AND ISLAMIC
STUDIES
Director Brannon Wheeler 410-293-6307
Deputy Director
Mark Reese 410-293-2990 [email protected]
Administrative Manager
Christopher Simpson 410-293-2993
www.usna.edu/MiddleEast