london middle east institute at soas london middle ... annual report 2014-2015 7 economic...

London Middle EastInstitute at SOASAnnual Report 2014/2015and Financial Report 2013/2014

LONDONMIDDLE EASTINSTITUTE

Director: Dr Hassan HakimianExecutive Officer and Company Secretary: Ms Louise HoskingEvents and Magazine Coordinator: Mr Vincenzo PaciAdministrative Assistant: Ms Valentina Zanardi Coordinating Editor (Middle East in London Magazine): Ms Megan WangDesigner (Middle East in London Magazine): Ms Shahla Geramipour

LMEI ORGANISATION AND MEMBERSHIP

Staff of the London Middle East Institute

Lady Barbara Judge (Chair)Professor Muhammad Abdel-Haleem, SOASHE Mr Khaled al-Duwaisan GCVO, Ambassador, Embassy of the State of KuwaitMrs Haifa Al Kaylani, Arab International Women’s ForumDr Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, President, University College of BahrainProfessor Tony Allan, King’s College and SOASDr Alanoud Alsharekh, Senior Fellow for Regional Politics, IISS Mr Farad Azima, NetScientific PlcDr Noel Brehony, MENAS Associates LtdProfessor Magdy Ishak Hanna, British Egyptian SocietyHE Mr Mazen Kemal Homoud, Ambassador, Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

LMEI Advisory Council

LMEI Board of TrusteesProfessor Paul Webley (Chair), Director, SOASProfessor Richard Black, SOASDr John Curtis, Iran Heritage FoundationSir Vincent Fean Professor Ben Fortna, SOASMr Alan JenkinsDr Karima Laachir, SOASDr Dina Matar, SOASDr Barbara Zollner, Birkbeck College

Dr Hamid KeshmirshekanDr George JofféDr Kathryn Spellman PootsProfessor Sami Zubaida

LMEI Research Associates

Donations, Sponsorship and AffiliationsFounding Patron and Donor of the LMEISheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, MBI Al Jaber Foundation

Corporate SponsorMENA Regional Consulting Limited (MENARC)

Institutional AffiliatesAga Khan University (International) Institute for the Study of Muslim CivilisationsThe Arab-British CentreBonyad Jaleh EsfahaniBritish Foundation for the Study of Arabia (BFSA)The British-Yemeni SocietyCentre for Supporters of Human RightsForum IranLSE Middle East CentreNaghmeh EnsemblePetroleum InstitutePoetry and Music Chamber of Iranians in the UK

Corporate Sponsorship is £1,500 per year. Benefits include those enjoyed by Institutional Affiliates, please see below, together with up to two tailored private briefings per year, free copies of LMEI occasional papers, and special advertising rates with the LMEI.

Institutional Affiliation is £250 per year. Institutional Affiliates are entitled to the same benefits as Individual Affiliates, please see below, along with the free use of a room at SOAS for an event lasting up to two hours, and up to four copies of each edition of the magazine. They will also be acknowledged in LMEI publicity material, including the website: www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/.

Individual Affiliates pay £30 per year with reduced rates for concessions (£20) and students (£10), for which they receive an annual subscription to ‘The Middle East in London’ magazine, inclusion on e-mail and mailing lists for notification of upcoming events, and special rates for LMEI conferences and publications.

The aim of the LMEI, through education and research, is to promote knowledge of all aspects of the Middle East including its complexities, problems, achievements and assets, both among the general public and with those who have special interest in the region.

In this task it builds on two essential assets. First, it is based in London, a city which has unrivalled contemporary and historical connections and communications with the Middle East: political, social, cultural, commercial, scientific and educational. Secondly, the LMEI is at SOAS, the only tertiary educational institution in the world whose explicit purpose is to provide training and scholarship on the whole Middle East from prehistory until today.

Director’s Letter------------------------------------------------------Event Highlights------------------------------------------------------Calendar of Events------------------------------------------------------Centre for Iranian Studies------------------------------------------------------Centre for Palestine Studies------------------------------------------------------Publications------------------------------------------------------Visiting Scholars------------------------------------------------------Summer School------------------------------------------------------PhD Theses on the Middle East------------------------------------------------------Acknowledgements------------------------------------------------------Financial Statement------------------------------------------------------Directory of Academic Members------------------------------------------------------

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Contents

LMEI ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 4

Director’s Letter


The 2014/15 academic year was a particularly fruitful time in the life of the London Middle East Institute. Our first full year at LMEI’s new premises at 21 Russell Square (the MBI Al Jaber Building) saw several new initiatives as we were able to accommodate more researchers and visiting fellows. The initiatives in this report – a mixture of old and new – are a testament to the range and diversity of LMEI’s interests as well as to the high quality of regional expertise, from inside and outside SOAS, on which we draw. Our two sub-centres – The Centre for Iranian Studies and The Centre for Palestine Studies – continue to play active roles. They have maintained their provision of needed academic expertise in their fields and galvanised much energy and interest, as evidenced by the various academic and cultural events reported in this volume. Likewise, our flagship magazine The Middle East in London continues as a cornerstone of our outreach activities. Exciting and new programmes have not prevented us from attending to our longer-term and continuing interests and commitments. You will get a sense of our other busy schedules throughout the year by glancing through this report: from our regular lecture series on the contemporary Middle East to various occasional lectures, debating panels, cultural events, book launches and, of course, publications. Given the continued and intense interest in the developments of our region, I remain convinced of the pertinence of our mission and remit for both the academic milieu and the wider communities.



Event Highlights


Economic Diversification in the GCC: Past, Present and Future

The LMEI was pleased to welcome back Timothy Callen, Assistant Director in the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, in February 2015 to give a talk on Economic Diversification in the GCC: Past, Present, and Future. This was Callen’s second public event at the LMEI; his first a talk in 2014 on the Economic Prospects and Policy Challenges in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries. Basing his lecture on a paper published by the IMF in December 2014 Callen argued that successful economic diversification in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries would require realigning incentives for firms and workers in the economies and that fixing these incentives is the missing link in the GCC countries’ diversification strategies. Callen went on to lay out a number of measures that could begin to address these incentive issues such as limiting and reorienting government spending, strengthening private-sector competition, providing guarantees and financial support for those firms engaged in export activity, and implementing labour market reforms to make nationals more competitive for private-sector employment.

A Focus on Yemen

The LMEI also hosted a number of high-profile events on the Yemen including the second British-Yemeni Society (BYS) Annual Lecture on 4 February and a one-day conference on the Hadhramaut on 7 March. This year’s speaker at the former, organised with the British-Yemeni Society and sponsored by the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, was the Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan MP who gave a lecture on Yemen: The Fight for Stability and Hope, Sir Alan Duncan has played a key role in Britain’s relations with Yemen in his period as Minister of State in the Department of International Aid from 2010 to 2014. During his tenure as Minister he visited Yemen several times and was closely involved in the UK’s co-chairmanship of the Friends of Yemen process and in shaping the UK’s assistance programme to Yemen. In 2014 he was appointed the British government’s Special Envoy to Yemen in which role he worked to help deliver the government’s

Yemen Strategy, which includes security, stability and development objectives. The LMEI’s March conference on the Hadhramaut entitled Rediscovering Hadhramaut: Paradigms of Research, was organised in conjunction with the newly founded Hadhramaut Research Centre (HRC) and sponsored by MENARC and the BYS. It featured distinguished academics from across the world who participated in panels on Hadhrami emigration to different regions and issues of integration pertaining to the Hadhrami diaspora, the present level of development of the Hadhramaut and strategies for future development.

The Kurds in the Middle East: New Developments and Prospects

On 24 April the LMEI organised another timely conference since Kurdish autonomy has been a fact in Northern Iraq for more than two decades and is now unfolding in Eastern Syria too since the beginning of the uprising in that country in 2011. The conference addressed a number of important issues including the future of the Kurds and the states of Iraq, Syria and Turkey, how to assess the ‘democratic autonomy’ project of the Kurdish movement in Syria and Turkey, the prospects of the peace talks in Turkey and whether or not the Kurdish movement in Iran is immune to the developments in Syria and Turkey.


Participants at an LMEI seminar


Calendar of Events


The following is a list of the broad range of events organised by the LMEI, in the 2014/15 academic year, either solely or in partnership with other institutions.

Tuesday Evening Lecture Programme on the Contemporary Middle East

07 Oct Simin Behbahani: A Career in Poetry Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, University of Maryland and SOASChair: Hassan Hakimian, LMEIOrganised jointly with the Centre for Iranian Studies.

14 Oct The Arab Uprisings - Driven by Youth or Adults?Zafiris Tzannatos, formerly American University of Beirut and World BankChair: Hassan Hakimian, LMEI

21 Oct The European Union and OccupiedPalestinian Territories: State-buildingwithout a StateDimitris Bouris, College of EuropeChair: Atef Alshaer, University of WestminsterOrganised jointly with the Centre for Palestine Studies.

28 Oct British Policy and Arab Displacementin Palestine, 1915-23: Contingency,Imperialism and Double-dealingWilliam Mathew, University of East AngliaChair: Dina Matar, SOASOrganised jointly with the Centre for Palestine Studies.

11 Nov The Hizbullah Phenomenon: Politics andCommunication. A Panel DiscussionAtef Alshaer, University of Westminster; Lina Khatib, Carnegie Middle East Center, Beirut and Dina Matar, Centre for Media Studies, SOAS

18 Nov The Persian–Portuguese Encounter inHormuzGhoncheh Tazmini, former Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) Visiting Fellow, Centre for Iranian StudiesChair: Seyed Ali Alavi, SOASOrganised jointly with the Centre for Iranian Studies.

25 Nov Panel on the Iranian EconomyHassan Hakimian, LMEI; Parvin Alizadeh, Boston University Study Abroad; Kamiar Mohaddes, University of Cambridge and Sima Motamen-Samadian, Centre for the Study of Advanced and Emerging MarketsChair: Massoud Karshenas, SOASOrganised jointly with the Centre for Iranian Studies.

02 Dec Why Yemen Matters: Development, Security and the Rhetoric of Unity Helen Lackner, The British-Yemeni SocietyChair: Gilbert Achcar, SOAS

09 Dec Palestine: The Invisible Damage of Lifeunder Occupation Samah Jabr, PsychiatristChair: Dina Matar, SOASOrganised jointly with the Centre for Palestine Studies and the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network.

20 Jan Israel/Palestine: Does Recognising Both States Make a Difference? Sir Vincent Fean KCVO, former UK Consul General to JerusalemChair: Dina Matar, SOASOrganised jointly with the Centre for Palestine Studies.

27 Jan The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent andSectarianism Toby Matthiesen, University of CambridgeChair: Nelida Fuccaro, SOAS

17 Feb Contemporary Art from the Middle East:Regional Interactions with Global Art Discourses Hamid Keshmirshekan, LMEI & Venetia Porter, British MuseumChair: Anna Contadini, SOAS

24 Feb 3rd Leverhulme LectureManichean Aesthetics: Observations on the Poetry of the Iranian Revolution Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, SOAS & University of MarylandChair: Wen-chin Ouyang, SOASOrganised jointly with the Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS).

03 Mar The Caliphate: Back to the Future? S Sayyid, University of Leeds; Madawi Al-Rasheed, Middle East Centre at LSE and the Open Society Foundation; Reza Pankhurst, academic and authorChair: AbdoolKarim A. Vakil, King’s College London

10 Mar The Emergence of Islam in Late Antiquity: Allah and His People Aziz Al-Azmeh, Central European University, BudapestDiscussant: Gerald Hawting, SOASChair: Gilbert Achcar, SOAS

17 Mar Traditional Building Practices Influencingthe Shaping of Iranian Architectural Language from the 10th Century Onwards Stefania Petralla, Centre for Iranian Studies, SOASChair: Pamela Karimi, Centre for Iranian Studies, SOAS & University of Massachusetts DartmouthOrganised jointly with the Centre for Iranian Studies.


25 Sep Mad Mitch’s Tribal Law: Aden and the Endof Empire (Lecture) Aaron EdwardsOrganised by The British-Yemeni Society in association with the London Middle East Institute.

26 Sep Beyond Religion: ISIS and the Crisis in the Middle East(Lecture) Ghias Aljundi, writer and human rights activist; Charles Tripp, SOAS and Nadje Al-Ali, SOASChair: Hassan Hakimian, LMEIOrganised by the SOAS Students’ Union in association with the London Middle East Institute and the Centre for Gender Studies, SOAS.

29 Sep Caliphate: an Idea in history from Abu Bakral-Siddiq to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi(Lecture) Hugh Kennedy, SOASChair: Hassan Hakimian, LMEIOrganised by the London Middle East Institute.

14 Oct How I Stopped Being a Jew(Lecture/Discussion) Shlomo Sand, University of Tel AvivDiscussant: David Feldman, Director of the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism at Birkbeck, University of LondonChair: Gilbert Achcar, SOASOrganised by the London Middle East Institute and the Centre for Jewish Studies.

23 Oct Youth Activism in Eastern Yemen: Mahra in Transition(Lecture) Elisabeth Kendall

Organised by The British-Yemeni Society in association with the London Middle East Institute.

12 Nov Experiences from Iraq: What Really Went Wrong

(Lecture) Henry Hogger CMG, former British diplomat; Andrew Alderson, Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA); Paul Attenborough, former member of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA); Husain al Chalabi, Iraq Energy Institute and Mehair Kathem, SOASOrganised by SOAS Students’ Union in association with the London Middle East Institute.

29 Nov Jaleh Esfahani Poetry Prize 2014(Performance) Organised by the Bonyad Jaleh Esfahani in association with the London Middle East Institute.

Other Events

Queuing for the ‘Beyond Religion’ Lecture at the Beginning of the Academic Year (September 2014)

Seminars on Turkey

Seminar series organised by the LMEI Modern Turkish Studies Programme. Sponsored by Nurol Bank. Convened by Benjamin Fortna, SOAS.

31 Oct Virtue in the Marketplace: Veiled Designer-Entrepreneurs in Istanbul Magda Craciun, UCL

28 Nov The ‘New Turkey’: Davutoğlu’s Justice andDevelopment Party Sinan Ciddi, ITS/Georgetown University

19 Dec Turkey’s Transitions: Integration, Inclusion, Institutions – A New World Bank Study on Turkey’s Rise, its Lessons and LimitationsMartin Raiser, World Bank, Ankara

30 Jan Crossing the Boundaries in Turkey and

Germany: Islam, Christianity, Secularism and NationalismEsra Özyürek, LSE

06 Feb Wars and the Fate of Empires: The Ottomansand their Rivals before 1800Gabor Agoston, Georgetown University

20 Mar The Eastern Question Seen from the EastSinan Kuneralp, ISIS Press, Istanbul

Four lectures by David Roxburgh, Harvard University organised by the Islamic Art Circle and the London Middle East Institute. Chair: Scott Redford, SOAS

‘In the Rays of Light of Imperial Favour’: the Visual Arts of Early Fifteenth-Century Timurid Herat

15 Jan Timurid Herat: The City as a Setting for Art and Literature

16 Jan The Timurid-Ming Embassy of 1419-22: Artafter China

19 Jan Modelling Artistic Process: The Kitābkhāna and ʿArzadāsht

Yarshater Lecture Series

20 Jan Baysunghur’s Books: Codifying Form and Aesthetic Value


07 Nov Mitsubishi Corporation International (Europe) Plc Briefing on Iraq

20-24 Apr UNICEF Middle East Briefing

14-16 Jul UNICEF Iraq Briefing

03 Dec The Hadassah and Daniel Khalili Memorial Lecture in Islamic Art and Culture: A Horse by a Pond and Other Congruities in Medieval Iranian Ceramic DecorationOya Pancaroglu, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul

Chair: Scott Redford, SOAS Organised by the Islamic Art Circle and the

London Middle East Institute.

13 Dec A Night of Persian Traditional MusicalInstruments and Concert, Vocal: Jamshid Rezaei(Concert) Organised by the Naghmeh Ensemble in association with the London Middle East Institute.

04 Feb The Second British-Yemeni Society (BYS) Annual Lecture: Yemen: The Fight for Stability and HopeSir Alan DuncanOrganised by The British-Yemeni Society and the London Middle East Institute. Sponsored by the MBI Al Jaber Foundation.

05 Feb Economic Diversification in the GCC: Past, Present and Future(Seminar) Timothy Callen, International Monetary Fund (IMF)Chair: Hassan Hakimian, LMEIOrganised by the London Middle East Institute.

27 Feb A Lecture on Ahmad ShamluAhmad Karimi-Hakkak, University of Maryland and SOASOrganised by Forum Iran and Bonyad Jaleh Esfahani in association with the London Middle East Institute.

07 Mar Rediscovering Hadhramaut: Paradigms ofResearch(Conference) Organised by Hadhramaut Research Centre and the London Middle East Institute. Sponsored by MENARC and the British-Yemeni Society (BYS).

24 Apr The Kurds in the Middle East: NewDevelopments and ProspectsA one-day conference.

24 Apr A Lecture on Forugh FarokhzadAhmad Karimi-Hakkak, University of Maryland and SOASOrganised by Forum Iran and Bonyad Jaleh Esfahani in association with the London Middle East Institute.

30 Apr Update on the Yemen Crisis(Meeting) Organised by The British-Yemeni Society in association with the London Middle East Institute.

05 May A Jewish Pan-Islamistʼs Satirical Propaganda for the Egyptian Nation: Yaqub Sanuaʼs becoming Sheikh Abou Naddara

Consultancies

From Left, Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, Dr Michael Barry and Dr Hassan Hakimian

(Lecture) Eliane Ettmueller, HeidelbergOrganised by the London Middle East Institute and the Centre for Jewish Studies.

15 May A Lecture on Mehdi Akhavan SaalessAhmad Karimi-Hakkak, University of Maryland and SOASOrganised by Forum Iran and Bonyad Jaleh Esfahani in association with the London Middle East Institute.

19 May Islam and Politics in France(Lecture) Moustafa TraoreOrganised by the Department of Politics and Interrnational Studies and the London Middle East Institute.

06 Jun Iranian Poetry and Classical Music Night(Concert) Organised by the Poetry and Music Chamber of Iranians in the UK in association with the London Middle East Institute.

12-13 Jun Minorities and Popular Culture in the Modern Middle East: Representation and

Participation(Workshop) Organised by The Woolf Institute, Cambridge & The Centre for Cultural Literary and Postcolonial Studies, SOAS. Sponsored by the London Middle East Institute.


Centre for Iranian Studies


Entering its fifth year, the Centre for Iranian Studies has become a principal focal point for the dissemination of Iranian culture in London. On 22 November it held the eleventh in The Idea of Iran series of annual symposia entitled The Idea of Iran: Post-Mongol Polities and the Reinvention of Iranian Identities. The symposium, organised in conjunction with The Courtauld Institute of Art and sponsored by the Soudavar Memorial Foundation, explored the cultural complexities of reinventing the idea of Iran, focusing on aspects of cultural longevity and transformations in light of the post-Mongol pan-Asian configurations. Papers were presented by leading academics in the field on the Ilkhanate, concepts of government and state formation in Mongol Iran, the Maragha School and its impact on post-Mongol science in the Islamic world, Rashid al-Din’s late writings and Iranian sovereignty and Ilkhanid architecture.

With the support of the Persian Language Foundation and the Centre for Iranian Studies the Brunei Gallery at SOAS hosted an exhibition entitled Maps of Persia 1477–1925: A Graphical Journey through the History of Iran from January through to March. The maps on display comprised important printed general maps of Persia and more specialist items from the early editions of Ptolemy and date from the end of the fifteenth century up until the end of the Qajar dynasty in 1925. They are part of the collection that was donated to the Centre in 2013 by the noted scholar Dr Cyrus Ala’i that features over 250 maps displaying urban plans, topographic maps and sea charts. The full collection of maps is referred to as the Dr Cyrus Ala’i Map Collection of Persia and is managed by the Archives & Special Collections section of SOAS Library.

On 2 and 3 February the Centre held its third Kamran Djam Annual Lecture at SOAS with Michael Barry of Princeton University delivering this year’s lecture – divided into two parts – on the great Persian narrative poet Nizâmî. In his first illustrated lecture on Nizâmî: Mirror of the Unseen World Barry looked at how kings in Iran and Central Asia, Turkey and India vied between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries to sponsor production of the most magnificent manuscripts of the poet’s five romances, with illuminations by the civilisation’s most talented painters. He noted how the poet was indeed once regarded from Istanbul to Delhi as the mystical ‘Mirror of the Unseen World’. In his second lecture on Nizâmî’s Brides of the Seven Climes (Haft Paykar), Professor Barry focussed A map from the Maps of Iran exhibition

Professor Richard Black, Dr Ali Sattaripour, Dr Cyrus Ala’i and Dr Hassan Hakimian at the Launch of the Maps of Iran Exhibition

on what is arguably the Persian poet’s masterpiece: the tales told by King Bahrām’s seven brides, enchanting adventures which draw upon Zoroastrian, Manichaean, Indian and even Classical Greek lore. In March the Centre also hosted the third and final session of the British Institute of Persian Studies’ one-week, residential intensive Persian Immersion Course. Postdoctoral researchers and early career academics, as well as professionals from the media, civil service and the arts who wished to consolidate their knowledge of written and spoken Persian were among the applicants. A total number of 34 students were eventually drawn from across the UK, EU, US and the Middle East to take part in the programme. In addition to simulating the environment of studying in Iran (Persian was the only permissible language of instruction and communication from 9am to 9pm throughout the week), the course consisted of language acquisition and use sessions in the morning, followed by afternoon lectures and Q&A sessions. Lectures were given on a variety of topics and students were also invited to Iranian film screenings in the evening and went on a guided tour of the British Museum.

The Centre was also pleased to announce a new Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) Visiting Fellowship in Iran’s Environmental Sustainability at SOAS. The first six-month fellowship was awarded to Dr Hamid Pouran (see page 24) who joined LMEI in October 2014. The fellowship is devoted to promoting research and scholarship on Iran’s environmental challenges with the aim of building on the successful international conference convened by IHF in January 2014 to foster awareness about, and promote research on, Iran’s environmental problems across a wide range of areas relating to:

• Water and agricultural resources• Air and pollution• Forests and woodlands• Wildlife and habitat• Community development

To coincide with the Fellowship the Centre also announced a new seminar series entitled International Seminar Series on Iran’s Environmental Sustainability at SOAS, made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Soudavar Memorial Foundation.


23-28 Mar Persian Immersion Course Organised by the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) and hosted by the Centre for Iranian Studies.

23 Apr Land of the Turquoise Mountains: Journeys Across Iran (Talk) Cyrus Massoudi, authorOrganised by the British Council, I.B. Tauris, the Centre for Iranian Studies and the SOAS Iranian Society.

01 Jun Out of Focus (Film Screening) Dir. Shahriar Siami, 51 min. Documentary about the Iranian-born British artist based in London, Afshin Naghouni (Ash).

Centre for Iranian Studies Events

22 Nov The Idea of Iran: Post-Mongol Polities and the Reinvention of Iranian Identities (Conference) Marco Brambilla, Architect and Architectural Historian; Olga Davidson, ILEX Foundation; Tofigh Heidarzadeh, University of California, Riverside; Stefan Kamola, Princeton University; George Lane, SOAS; Tomoko Masuya, The University of Tokyo and Charles Melville, CambridgeOrganised by the Centre for Iranian Studies and The Courtauld Institute of Art. Sponsored by the Soudavar Memorial Foundation.

26 Nov Culture Wars in Iran: Repressive Tolerance or Irresistible Change(Lecture) Abbas Milani, Stanford UniversityChair: Wen-chin Ouyang, SOAS

08 Dec Iran’s Senate under Mohammad Reza Shah(Lecture) Bianca Devos, University of MarburgChair: Nima Mina, SOAS

23 Jan- Maps of Persia 1477–1925: A Graphical21 Mar Journey through the History of Iran

Exhibition organised by the Centre for Iranian Studies and the Brunei Gallery, SOAS.

02 Feb Kamran Djam Annual Lecture at SOAS:Nizâmî: Mirror of the Unseen WorldMichael Barry, Princeton University

03 Feb Kamran Djam Annual Lecture at SOAS:Nizâmî’s Brides of the Seven ClimesMichael Barry, Princeton University

16 Mar Secular Domesticities, Shi’ite Modernities: Reflections on Iranians’ Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times(Lecture) Pamela Karimi, Centre for Iranian Studies, SOAS & University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Organised by Centre for Iranian Studies. Sponsored by the Soudavar Memorial Foundation.

13 Nov Iran’s Looming Water Crisis: Symptoms, Roots and Exit StrategiesKaveh Madani, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College LondonChair: Tony Allan, King’s College London

27 Jan Water Culture Revival in IranSara Kamalvand, HydroCity

18 Feb Soil Quality in Iran: Pollution, Erosion and Salinity Hamid Pouran, Centre for Iranian Studies

International Seminar Series on Iran’s Environmental Sustainability at SOAS

Students on March’s Persian Immersion Course


Centre for Palestine Studies


In March 2015 the Centre held its second annual lecture which was delivered by Sahar Khalifeh, the prominent Palestinian novelist, widely acclaimed for being the first feminist Palestinian writer and, after Mahmoud Darwish, the most translated Palestinian author. Khalifeh’s lecture entitled Caught Between Western Oppression and Islamic Fundamentalist Suppression addressed the dilemma that today’s Palestinian women – and indeed Arab women in general – find themselves in: faced on the one hand with the free, liberal, secular, scientific, but also colonial West, and on the other with the inflexibility of an Islam that calls for resistance to the West and its concerns, but is blind to the sciences, to modernity, and to feminist and social emancipation.

Sir Vincent Fean KCVO, former UK Consul General to Jerusalem, delivered a lecture in January 2015 on Israel/Palestine – Does Recognising Both States Make a Difference? as part of the LMEI’s Tuesday Evening Lecture Programme on the Contemporary Middle East. The lecture was organised jointly with the Centre for Palestine Studies. A keen exponent of the two-state solution, Sir Vincent outlined the positive difference that recognition of Palestine by the UK, France and other European states, following in the footsteps of Sweden, would make. Sir Vincent went on to provide a framework for genuine negotiations between Palestine and Israel under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council and endorsed by the US and he also addressed the growing challenge posed by illegal settlement activity which he stressed is a clear source of concern for the International Criminal Court. He concluded with setting forth the varying approaches of the UK’s own political parties and explained how the UK could potentially take a lead in the three areas he highlighted for a just peace: recognition of Palestine, re-setting the goals for a genuine negotiation under UN auspices and ensuring there were serious consequences for the illegal settler enterprise.

In February the Centre co-sponsored a one-day conference with the University of East London’s Centre for research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging, the Runnymede Trust and the LSE Centre for the Study of Human Rights on Anti-Jewish and Anti-Muslim Racisms and the Question of Palestine/Israel. Drawing on the expertise of scholars and activists from a variety of backgrounds the conference sought to explore the multiple, complex and inter-related ways that anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim racisms are being constructed in relation to the question

30 Sep Stateless Citizenship: Palestinian-ArabCitizens in the Context of Liberal-Zionism(Lecture) Shourideh C Molavi, York University, Toronto. Chair: Adam Hanieh, SOAS

28 Oct The Role of National Courts in Applying International Humanitarian Law(Lecture) Sharon Weill, Sciences Po, Paris; CERAH, Geneva University and The Graduate Institute (IHEID)Chair: Nimer Sultany, SOAS

09 Feb Anti-Jewish and Anti-Muslim Racisms and the Question of Palestine/Israel (Conference) Sponsored by University of East London’s Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging, Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS, the Runnymede Trust and the LSE Centre for the Study of Human Rights in association with the Centre for Palestine Studies.

18 Feb ‘Life in Occupied Palestine’: Accounts of Existence and Other Acts of Resistance (Lecture) Cynthia Franklin, University of Hawai‘iChair: Dina Matar, SOAS

05 Mar Centre for Palestine Studies SecondAnnual Lecture: Caught Between WesternOppression and Islamic FundamentalistSuppression Sahar KhalifehOrganised by the Centre for Palestine Studies with the support of the A.M. Qattan Foundation.

01 May Palestine Speaks, Narratives of Life underOccupation (Book Launch) Cate Malek, Co-Editor and Abeer Ayoub, Gaza-based media fixer

10 Jun Managing Palestinian Cultural Heritage:Between Threats and Opportunities (Lecture) Osama Hamdan, al-Quds UniversityChair: Scott Redford, SOASOrganised by the Centre for Palestine Studies and the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology, SOAS.

17 Jun ‘Night in Gaza’: A Talk by Dr Mads Gilbert Mads GilbertOrganised by the SOAS Palestine Society in association with the Centre for Palestine Studies.

Centre for Palestine Studies Events

Sahar Khalifeh Gives the Second Annual Lecture of the Centre for Palestine Studies

of Palestine/Israel. Particular emphasis was placed on how the histories of Zionist settlement, anti-colonial and nation-building struggles and 20th century warfare in the Middle East region are being transformed in the current historical conjuncture and the ideological and political alliances that have emerged locally, regionally and globally around notions such as the ‘New Antisemitism’ and ‘Islamophobia’ and how these relate to racialised discourses against Jews and Muslims.


Publications


This year, LMEI’s bimonthly magazine –The Middle East in London – expanded its scope by covering a variety of new themes. The first issue of 2014/15 focused on youth in the Middle East: students, employees, Muslims, creative artists and victims of war. The second issue in December/January examined contemporary art and included information and reviews about relevant exhibitions on display in London, as well as interviews and profiles of Middle Eastern artists. The February/March issue of the magazine focused on environmental concerns in the MENA region: water scarcity, depleted uranium, nanotechnology and the relationship between the environment and the preservation of cultural heritage represent a sampling of topics covered in the issue. The environment theme was so salient and well received that there was discussion among the editorial board of dedicating future issues to environment-related issues. In the spring the focus shifted to North Africa – with articles looking at the political, social and economic situations in Morocco, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia – and North African communities in the diaspora. The summer issue spotlighted Iraq, highlighting in particular the peoples and heritage under threat from ISIS. This issue was aptly timed and received praise for containing what was, when the magazine was published, up-to-date information about the situation on the ground. The magazine is set to continue its innovative policies in the future with an issue on endangered languages planned for the autumn.

In keeping with past precedent The Middle East in London has forged new connections with art galleries in London and abroad. This year, Noon Arts and Ayyam Gallery have both had their artists’ works featured in the magazine. Additionally, the magazine’s annual photography competition will run for a third year; entries have already started coming in and we hope to announce the winners in the December 2015–January 2016 issue.

This year the editorial board bid a warm welcome to Ms Janet Rady of Janet Rady Fine Art. Ms Rady has long been an invaluable resource for the magazine, patiently dedicating her time and expertise to enhance its visual content even before she became an official member of the board. Now she continues to help, using her vast knowledge to forge links with relevant art galleries and artists.

For more information on The Middle East in London visit www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/

The Middle East in London (MEL)

Volume 11 - Number 1December 2014 – January 2015

£4

THIS ISSUETHIS ISSUE:: CONTEMPORARY ARTCONTEMPORARY ART The visual language of dissent The visual language of dissent Un-representable narratives and contemporary amnesia Un-representable narratives and contemporary amnesia Ways of seeing Ways of seeing Arab animated Arab animated

cartoons, then and now cartoons, then and now Photo competition results Photo competition results PLUSPLUS Reviews and events in LondonReviews and events in London

Volume 10 - Number 5October – November 2014

£4

THIS ISSUE: Youth The Arab uprisings, the economy and the labour market The GCC employment policy dilemmas Beyond the saga of the ‘Trojan horse’ Salafism and young women in London Bombed into (temporary) silence Singing playgrounds of the Middle East PLUS Reviews and events in London

Volume 11 - Number 2February – March 2015

£4

THIS ISSUETHIS ISSUE:: ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENT Water resources in the Middle East Water resources in the Middle East Wars, depleted uranium and soil pollution Wars, depleted uranium and soil pollution Iran’s looming water crisis Iran’s looming water crisis Cultural heritage Cultural heritage and the environment and the environment Can desalination provide a sustainable source of water? Can desalination provide a sustainable source of water? The Nile The Nile Basin and hydrosolidarity Basin and hydrosolidarity Nanotechnology Nanotechnology PLUSPLUS Reviews and events in LondonReviews and events in London


The Age of the Seljuqs

Edited by Professor Edmund Herzig and Dr Sarah StewartPublished by I.B. Tauris

In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the new Turkic-Persian symbiosis that had emerged earlier under the Samanids, Ghaznavids and Qarakhanids came to fruition in a period that, under the enlightened rule of the Seljuq dynasty, combined imperial grandeur with remarkable artistic achievement. This latest volume in The Idea of Iran series focuses on a system of government based on Turkic ‘men of the sword’ and Persian ‘men of the pen’ that the Seljuqs (famous foes of the Crusader Frankish knights) consolidated in a form that endured for centuries. The book further explores key topics relating to the innovative Seljuq era, including: conflicted Sunni Shi’a relations between the Sunni Seljuq empire and Ismaili Fatimid caliphate; architecture, art and culture; and politics and poetry.

Editorial Board of The Middle East in London

Professor Nadje Al-Ali, SOASDr Hadi Enayat, Aga Khan University (International) Institute for the Study of Muslim CivilisationsMs Narguess Farzad, SOASMs Nevsal Hughes, Association of European JournalistsDr George Joffé, Cambridge UniversityMs Janet Rady, Janet Rady Fine ArtMr Barnaby Rogerson

Ms Sarah Searight, British Foundation for the Study of Arabia (BFSA)Dr Kathryn Spellman Poots, Aga Khan University (International) Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations and LMEIDr Sarah Stewart, SOASMs Ionis Thompson, British Foundation for the Study of Arabia (BFSA) and Saudi-British SocietyDr Shelagh WeirProfessor Sami Zubaida, Birkbeck College

Volume 11 - Number 3April – May 2015

£4

THIS ISSUETHIS ISSUE:: NORTH AFRICANORTH AFRICA Four tumultuous years Four tumultuous years Activism and Activism and ‘liberal’ authoritarianism ‘liberal’ authoritarianism The media post-Arab uprisings The media post-Arab uprisings Imazighen away from home Imazighen away from home An An Algerian ag in Exmouth Market Algerian ag in Exmouth Market Su s, Sala s and militiamen in post-Qadda Libya Su s, Sala s and militiamen in post-Qadda Libya North North Africa’s failing energy promise Africa’s failing energy promise Oil squeeze on Algeria Oil squeeze on Algeria The Libyan economy The Libyan economy PLUSPLUS Reviews and events in LondonReviews and events in London

Volume 11 - Number 4June – July 2015

£4

THIS ISSUETHIS ISSUE:: IRAQ – People and HeritageIRAQ – People and Heritage The rise and fall of The rise and fall of the nation the nation The Kurds and ISIS The Kurds and ISIS The Yezidis of Sinjar The Yezidis of Sinjar The artifice of the destruction of The artifice of the destruction of art in Iraq art in Iraq Obliterating Iraq’s Christian heritage Obliterating Iraq’s Christian heritage Nimrud reduced to rubble Nimrud reduced to rubble Interview with Interview with Saad al-Jadir Saad al-Jadir Supporting humanities and culture for a sustainable Iraq Supporting humanities and culture for a sustainable Iraq PLUSPLUS Reviews Reviews and events in Londonand events in London


The Routledge Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa Series

Series Editor: Hassan Hakimian, LMEIPublished by Routledge

Launched in 2003, the Routledge Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa Series is devoted to widening in-depth analysis and understanding of the economic and political dynamics of the region. It has since established itself as a respected source of academic research and publication for MENA students and scholars who are keen to disseminate their latest research on this area.

The aim of the series is to publish both specialist and more general titles pertaining to the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa region – broadly defined as including countries from Morocco to Iran. It is overseen by an international Editorial Board whose members possess a broad range of expertise and areas of specialism.

Submissions from prospective authors are welcomed, and should be sent in the first instance to the series editor ([email protected]). The series is open to single-authored books as well as edited volumes and textbooks. All manuscripts are subject to international standards of peer review.

Editorial Board of The Routledge Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa

Professor David Cobham, Heriot Watt UniversityProfessor Nu’man Kanafani, University of CopenhagenProfessor Massoud Karshenas, SOAS Professor Jeffrey B. Nugent, University of Southern CaliforniaProfessor Jennifer Olmsted, Drew University, New Jersey Professor Karen Pfeifer, Smith College, Northampton, MassachusettsProfessor Wassim Shahin, Lebanese American University (LAU)Professor Sübidey Togan, Centre for International Economics at Bilkent UniversityProfessor Jackline Wahba, University of Southampton

Işık Özel

This book argues that a key dynamic behind economic development in the emerging markets is the coordination between the state and businesses. It draws on the meandering developmental trajectories of Turkey and Mexico from the 1970s to the present and goes on to draw some lessons for institution-building and market reforms in selected countries in North Africa. Based on extensive original research in Turkey and Mexico that is embedded

State–Business Alliances and Economic Development: Turkey, Mexico and North Africa

Recent Titles:

For the full list of titles in the series please visit www.routledge.com/books/series/routledge_political_economy_of_the_middle_east_and_north_africa_SE0387/

For a full list of LMEI publications contact the Executive Officer at [email protected]

in a comparative historical analysis, the book shows how state-business alliances have been formed, collapsed and re-formed between the respective states and shifting business actors since the launching of market transitions. It demonstrates how both the state and business actors, and their cohesiveness versus their fragmentation, play crucial roles in the making and sustainability of the institutions which are central to state-business alliances.

Visiting Scholars


Amel Chetibi, Visiting Researcher

Hungtae Yoo, Visiting Scholar

London Middle East Institute

Before joining the LMEI as a Visiting Researcher for her PhD thesis in December 2014, Amel Chetibi was Assistant Professor at University Constantine 2 in Algeria. Her research focused on international economics and in particular the economies of the MENA region with an emphasis on North Africa. Since completing a comparative study of the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Depression of 1929 for her Magister dissertation at University Constantine 2, she has been working on the political economy of privatisation in Algeria as part of her MSc at SOAS. Chetibi’s current research looks at the problems associated with industrialisation and specialisation in Algeria’s rentier economy.

Hungtae Yoo joined the LMEI as a Visiting Scholar in February 2015, prior to which he was a member of the planning committee and facilitator of the Provincial Government of Gyeongsangbuk-Do’s Korea Silk Road Project. His work on the project led him to develop a keen interest in the Silk Road and his current research explores the historical relations between Iran and South Korea dating back to the time of the ancient Silk Road. Dr Yoo’s interests also include the religions and history of ancient Persia and contemporary Iranian politics. For his Masters he conducted A Study on Relations between Zoroastrianism and Iranian Islamic Revolution: focusing on Zoroastrian Dualistic Conflict at HUFS (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) in South Korea and he carried out A Comparative Study on the Role of Government and Civil Society in the Socio-economic Development of South Korea and Iran (1961-1979) for his Doctoral dissertation at the University of Isfahan in Iran.

Zhiqiang Zou, Visiting Scholar

Zhiqiang Zou is currently an assistant professor of the Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), China. His research interests cover global economic governance and the Middle East economy and he was awarded his PhD in International Relations in 2013. Dr Zou is the author of A Research on Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Global Economic Governance (World Affairs Press, Beijing, 2015) and his articles have been published in a number of academic journals. Dr Zou is currently working on a research project funded by China’s Ministry of Education entitled A Study on the Role of Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Global Economic Governance. The project focuses on the roles played by Saudi Arabia and Turkey as G20 members in Global Economic Governance. Zhiqiang Zou joined the LMEI in May 2015.


Pamela Karimi, Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) Visiting Fellow

Stefania Petralla, Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) Visiting Fellow

Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, Leverhulme Visiting Professor

Hamid Pouran, Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) Visiting Fellow in Iran’s Environmental Sustainability

Centre for Iranian Studies

The Centre for Iranian Studies was delighted to join the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at SOAS in co-hosting Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak as Leverhulme Visiting Professor for the 2014/15 academic year. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak is Professor of Persian Language, Literature, and Cultures at the University of Maryland and Founding Director of the University’s Roshan Center for Persian Studies. He has studied in Iran and the United States, receiving his PhD in comparative literature from Rutgers University in 1979. Karimi-Hakkak is the author, editor or translator of over 20 books and around 150 research articles. Apart from delivering several lectures in which he explored the evolution of Persian poetry from the classical to modernist tradition and more recent works, Karmi-Hakkak spent his time in London working on completing his research project on the exilic mode in Persian literature, and on providing consultation in the process of the expansion and updating of the Department’s course offerings and areas of research development.

Hamid Pouran was the first IHF Visiting Fellow in Iran’s Environmental Sustainability from October 2014 to April 2015. Dr Pouran’s research background is in environmental pollution, in particular biogeochemistry. Prior to joining SOAS as a visiting fellow, he was Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University and was also part of Transatlantic Initiative for Nanotechnology and the Environment (TINE), an international consortium of UK and US universities. During his fellowship Pouran concentrated on disseminating information about the current environmental challenges facing Iran. In addition, he was the guest editor of The Middle East in London magazine’s special issue (Vol. 11, No. 2, February/March 2015) which focused on environmental sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa and he also organised the first series of the Centre’s new International Seminar Series on Iran’s Environmental Sustainability at SOAS.

Stefania Petralla was the IHF Visiting Fellow from July to December 2014. Petralla’s research looked at the role of traditional practices and structures for the definition of Persian building identity. She undertook historical investigation on the management of local resources for the maturation of a proper architectural language and more specifically, and the subject of her PhD thesis, on the widespread but not so well-known Persian ribbed vaults which have fascinated scholars worldwide. Unlike previous research carried out on the subject, Dr Petralla’s research addressed the origins of this style of architecture from a technical rather than spiritual perspective. She has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Philadelphia and has spent research periods in Iran. Her work has been published in various articles and her final PhD thesis is under revision for publication.

Pamela Karimi was the IHF Visiting Fellow from January to June 2015. Dr Karimi is Assistant Professor of Art History at the College of Visual and Performing Arts, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and is the author of Domesticity and Consumer Culture in Iran: Interior Revolutions of the Modern Era (Routledge, 2013). Evaluating a wide range of objects and archival documents, the book highlights the significance of private life in the social, economic and political contexts of modern Iran. The methodological inquiries that informed the arguments of this monograph are now evolving into a critical analysis of architecture within the larger context of (material) culture in Tehran. Taking up diverse topics Karimi calls attention to the agency of ordinary citizens as they transform their built environments via commonplace mediators, simultaneously exploring potential acts of that agency as performed by architectural elements themselves. The aim for her IHF research term was to extend her intellectual interests along these lines.


Summer SchoolThe LMEI held its third Middle East Summer School in 2015 with a course on ‘Culture and Society in the Middle East’ alongside Beginners Arabic language courses (at introductory or intermediate levels) and a course on ‘Government and Politics of the Middle East’.

This year’s Summer School consolidated the success of its first two years with 15 students from both within the UK and overseas taking part in the programme.

Comments from students included:

‘I enjoyed the very high-quality intellectual input and the warm, friendly atmosphere.’

‘It has been a wonderful, very rich time of learning.’

‘I was able to feel at home here in this part of LMEI... We were all like a BIG family.’

‘I most enjoyed the teachers and the amount of work and care they put into the classes.’


PHD Theses on the Middle East


PHD Theses on the Middle East Completed at SOAS in 2014-2015

NAME THESIS RESEARCH AREA

Gender StudiesGender and Guardianship in Jordan: Femininity, Compliance, and Resistance

Afaf Almala

Near and Middle East

Ibn `Arabi’s Conception of Ijtihad: Its Origins and Later Reception

Samer Mazen Kamel Dajani

Hoa Thanh Duong Asset Pricing Models in Financial Crises, Family Ownership and Privatisation: Evidence from Turkey

Financial and Management

Studies

Karim-Philipp Eid-Sabbagh A Political Economy of Water in Lebanon: Water Resource Management,

Infrastructure Production, and the International Development Complex

Development Studies

Oroub Anwar Bader El-Abed In the Cracks of the Big City: What Economic Opportunities for Palestinian-Origin Jordanians of East Amman since 1989?

Development Studies

Cultural Literary and Postcolonial

Studies

From a ‘Philosophy of the Limit’ to a ‘Poetics of the Horizon’: A Comparative Critical Approach to

Language, Subjectivity and Alterity in Postculturalist Thought and Arabic Critical Discourse

Sarah Doebbert Epstein

Leyli Irani Behbahani Gender StudiesIranian Feminisms: Transnational Connectivities between Homes and Diasporas

Majid Kazemi Najaf Abadi Oil, Manufacturing Efficiency and Economic Growth in Iran: a Microeconometric Approach

Economics


Women in the Writings of Muhammad ‘AbduhYusra Khreegi


The Journey of an Ottoman Warrior Dervish: The Hizirname (Book of Khidr) Sources and Reception

Sibel Kocaer

Sulaiman Al-Turki Codification of Islamic Law in Saudi Arabia Law

Toufic Haddad Political Economy of Neoliberal Approaches to Conflict Resolution and Statebuilding

in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 1993-2013

Development Studies

Halil Ibrahim Iskender The Phonology of Arabic Loanwords in Turkish: The Case of T-Palatalisation

Linguistics

MPhil/PhD Near and Middle East

‘Contemporary Iranian Theatre in Translation - An Analysis of the Issues at Stake in the Translation of Foreign Plays from

Conception to Performance

Bita Mafizadeh


Cultural Literary and Postcolonial Studies

Critical Reflections on Rap Music in Contemporary Morocco: Urban Youth Culture Between and Beyond

State’s Co-optation and Dissent

Cristina Moreno Almeida

Jamil Mouawad The Negotiated State: State-Society Relations in Lebanon

Politics

Sharri Plonski Ordinary & Extraordinary Resistances: The Struggle for Land and Space by

the Palestinian Citizens of Israel

Development Studies


Modern Conceptualisations of Bid’a: Wahhabis, Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood

Ehud Rosen

Karin Seyfert Between Donor Preferences and Country Context - An Analysis

of the Lebanese NGO Sector

Politics

Yiming Shen Chinese Islamic Text Studies in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Case Study of

Chinese Translations of Jami’s Persian Sufi Prose

China and Inner Asia Language

Marina Marks The Ottoman Greek Press (1830-1862) PhD Direct History

Khaled Mohamed Safeieldin Shaalan

The Political Agency of Egypt’s Upper Middle Class: Neoliberalism, Social Status Reproduction and the State

Politics

NAME THESIS RESEARCH AREA

James Harris Sunday In the Shadow of the Pyramids - Power, Politics and Participation in Contemporary Egypt

Politics

Nargess Tavassolian The Quest for Freedom of Thought and Expression in Post-1979 Iran: A Comparative Study of Iranian,

Islamic and International Human Rights Law

Law

Art and ArchaeologyIslamic Enamelled Glass and its Connections with Byzantium

Tanja Tolar

Pheroze Unwalla Re-Imagining Gallipoli: Imperial Pasts and Foreign Presence in a History of Turkish

National Remembrance, 1923-2013

History

Veli Yadirgi The Political Economy of the Kurdish Question in Turkey: De-Development in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia

Development Studies

Nikolaos Vryzidis A Study on Ottoman Christian Aesthetic: Greek-Orthodox Vestments & Ecclesiastical

Fabrics, 16th to 18th Centuries

Art and Archaeology


Acknowledgements

In 2014/15, as in previous years, LMEI entertained ambitious plans for a wide variety of events, academic and cultural. It would have been impossible for the Institute’s small staff to have succeeded in staging all of these without the assistance of many helpers. Thanks must go to all the SOAS staff who have supported the LMEI over the year: the Conference Office, the Caterers, the AV and IT departments, SOAS photographer Glenn Ratcliffe, the Print Room, Post Room and Estates Department. Particular thanks are due to Jane Wood for her assistance with the Institute’s finances.

Çağrı Koşak

Maria Peiro Mir

Amie Simi Lu

Internships


Financial Statement


Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 July 2014

Incoming Resources

Incoming Resources from Generated Funds Donations, sponsorship and similar income Interest receivable Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities Training programmes and professional services Conferences, events and publications Affi liations Other Incoming Resources Advertising Total Incoming Resources Resources Expended Costs of Charitable Activities Training programmes and professional services Conferences, events and publications Research Affi liations Governance Costs Total Resources Expended Net incoming / (outgoing) resources Total Funds Brought Forward Total Funds Carried Forward at 31 July The Statement of Financial Activity includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.

TotalFunds2013

£

236,27035

71,103109,72323,620

1,403

442,154

68,507238,84215,16311,854

31,037

365,403

76,751

62,639

139,390

TotalFunds2014

£

236,31332

34,83251,7748,025

2,250

333,226

48,793198,19518,78214,008

30,659

310,437

22,789

139,390

162,179

RestrictedFunds

£

30,000-

---

30,000

3,17014,82116,6341,585

794

37,004

(7,004)

39,434

32,430

UnrestrictedFunds

£

206,31332

34,83251,7748,025

2,250

303,226

45,623183,374

2,14812,423

29,865

273,433

29,793

99,956

129,749

Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2014

Current AssetsDebtorsShort term depositsCash at bank and in hand

Creditors: Amounts Falling Due within One Year

Net Current Assets

Unrestricted FundsRestricted Funds

Total Funds

TotalFunds2013

£

19,64310,834

183,408

213,885

74,495

139,390

99,95639,434

139,390

TotalFunds2014

£

17,45110,847

168,076

196,374

34,195

162,179

129,74932,430

162,179

RestrictedFunds

£

--

32,430

32,430

-

32,430

-32,430

32,430

UnrestrictedFunds

£

17,45110,847

135,646

163,944

34,195

129,749

129,749-

129,749

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions available to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008).

Approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on its behalf by:

Professor Paul Webley 25 February 2015 Chairman


Directory of Academic Members


Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Dr Lori Allen, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology

Professor Trevor Marchand, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology

Dr Caroline Osella, Reader in Anthropology with reference to South Asia

Professor Richard Tapper, Emeritus Professor Dr Gabriele vom Bruck, Senior Lecturer in the Social Anthropology of the Middle East

Brunei GalleryMr John Hollingworth, MBE, Exhibitions/Galleries Manager

Department of Development StudiesProfessor Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies and International Relations

Dr Adam Hanieh, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies

Professor Deniz Kandiyoti, Emerita Professor in Development Studies

Dr Thomas Marois, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies

Department of Economics

Dr Randa Alami, Senior Teaching Fellow

Dr Hannah Bargawi, Lecturer in Economics

Dr Hassan Hakimian, MBI Al Jaber Reader in Economics with reference to the Middle East

Professor Jane Harrigan, Professor of Economics

Professor Masood Karshenas, Professor of Economics

Dr Graham Smith, Reader in Economics

Department of Financial and Management Studies (DeFiMS)

Dr Ibrahim Abosag, Senior Lecturer in Marketing

Professor Tony Allan, Professorial Research Associate

Dr Senija Causevic, Lecturer in Marketing

Centre for Gender Studies

Professor Nadje Al-Ali, Professor of Gender Studies

Dr Ruba Salih, Reader in Gender Studies

Department of History

Dr Teresa Bernheimer, Senior Lecturer in the History of the Near and Middle East

Dr Michael Brett, Emeritus Reader

Professor William Gervase Clarence-Smith, Professor of the Economic History of Asia and Africa

Professor Ben Fortna, Professor in the History of the Middle East

Dr Nelida Fuccaro, Reader in the Modern History of the Middle East

Professor G R Hawting, Emeritus Professor

Professor Konrad Hirschler, Professor of Middle Eastern History

Dr George Lane, Senior Teaching Fellow in the History of the Middle East and Central Asia

Dr Derek Mancini-Lander, Lecturer in the History of Iran

Dr Amrita Shodhan, Senior Teaching Fellow

Dr Stefano Taglia, Research Associate

Professor Bassam Fattouh, Professor in Finance and Management for the Middle East

Mr Adel Hamaizia, Senior Teaching Fellow

Dr Mark Neal, Senior Lecturer in International Business & Management (MENA)

Department of the History of Art and Archaeology

Professor Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Emerita Professor

Professor Anna Contadini, Professor of the History of Islamic Art

Dr Heather Elgood, MBE, Course Director of the Diploma in Asian Art

Dr Simon O’Meara, Lecturer in the History of Architecture & Archaeology of the Islamic Middle East

Professor Scott Redford, Nasser D Khalili Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology


Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD)

Dr Dan Plesch, Director of CISD and Reader

SOAS Language Centre

Saliha Fellache (Arabic Language)

Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East

Professor Muhammad A S Abdel Haleem, OBE, King Fahd Professor of Islamic Studies

Ms Ayse Berna Akca, Teaching Fellow in Turkish

Mr Ahmad Alkhashem, Senior Lector in Arabic

Dr Keya Anjaria, Senior Teaching Fellow in Turkish

Dr Helen Blatherwick, Teaching Fellow in Arabic

Ms Maha Collinson, Senior Lector in Arabic

Dr Yorgos Dedes, Senior Lecturer in Turkish

Dr Tamar Drukker, Senior Lector in Hebrew

Ms Sorour Dundon, Teaching Fellow in Persian

Dr Ayman El-Desouky, Senior Lecturer in Arabic and Comparative Literature

Dr Nada Elzeer, Senior Lector in Arabic

Ms Narguess Farzad, Senior Fellow in Persian

Professor Andrew R George, Professor of Babylonian

Ms Mona Hammad, Senior Lector in Arabic

Dr Marlé Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Arabic Popular Literature and Culture

Professor B George Hewitt, Professor of Caucasian Languages

Nisrine Jaafar, Senior Lector in Arabic

Professor Hugh N Kennedy, Professor of Arabic

Dr Karima Laachir, Senior Lecturer in Literary & Cultural Studies

Mr Gamon McLellan, Teaching Fellow in Turkish

Dr Nima Mina, Senior Lecturer in Persian and Iranian Studies

Ms Shabnam Mirafzali, Teaching Fellow in Persian

Professor Wen-chin Ouyang, Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature

Mr Mohamed I Said, Principal Lector in Arabic

Mr Muaadh Salih, Principal Teaching Fellow and Arabic Project Co-ordinator

Dr Mustafa Shah, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies

Dr Ayman Shihadeh, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies

Professor Colin Shindler, Pears Senior Research Fellow in Israel Studies

Ms Savitri Sperl, Teaching Fellow in Arabic

Professor Stefan Sperl, Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies

Mr Frans van Koppen, Teaching Fellow in Ancient Near Eastern Studies

Dr Yair Wallach, Pears Lecturer in Israeli Studies

Dr Mark Weeden, Lecturer in Ancient Near Eastern Studies

Dr Katherine Zebiri, Senior Lecturer in Arabic

School of Law

Professor Mashood Baderin, Professor of Law

Mr Ian D Edge, Lecturer in Law

Dr Jonathan Ercanbrack, Lecturer in the Law of Islamic Finance

Mr Nicholas H D Foster, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law

Dr Vanja Hamzic, Lecturer in Law

Dr Doreen Hinchcliffe, Senior Teaching Fellow

Dr Scott Newton, Lecturer in Laws of Central Asia

Professor Martin W Lau, Professor of South Asian Law

Dr Makeen F Makeen, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law

Professor Lynn Welchman, Professor of Law with particular reference to the Middle East and North Africa


Library and Information Services (LIS)

Ms Dominique Akhoun-Schwarb, Subject Librarian (Middle East & Central Asia)

Mr Burzine K Waghmar, Senior Library Assistant (Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services)

Department of Linguistics

Professor Peter Austin, Marit Rausing Chair in Field Linguistics

Professor Bruce Ingham, Emeritus Professor of Arabic Dialect Studies

Dr Christopher Lucas, Lecturer in Arabic Linguistics

Centre for Media Studies

Dr Massimiliano Fusari, Senior Teaching Fellow

Dr Dina Matar, Senior Lecturer in Arab Media and Political Communication

Dr Nick Denes, Senior Teaching Fellow

Professor Annabelle Sreberny, Emerita Professor of Global Media and Communications

Dr Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad, Senior Teaching Fellow

Department of Music

Dr Ilana Webster-Kogen, Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music

Professor Owen Wright, Emeritus Professor of Musicology of the Middle East

Department of Politics and International Studies

Dr Reem Abou-El-Fadl, Lecturer in Comparative Politics of the Middle East

Dr Fiona Adamson, Senior Lecturer in International Relations

Professor Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Professor of Global Thought and Comparative Philosophies

Department of the Study of Religions

Dr Jan-Peter Hartung, Reader in the Study of Islam

Professor Catherine Hezser, Professor of Jewish Studies

Professor Almut Hintze, Zartoshty Brothers Professor of Zoroastrianism

Dr Erica Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Eastern Christianity

Professor Nicholas Sims-Williams, Research Professor of Iranian and Central Asian Studies

Dr Sarah Stewart, Lecturer in Zoroastrianism

Dr Cosimo Zene, Reader in the Study of Religions

Dr Bhavna Davé, Senior Lecturer in Politics of Central Asia

Dr Michael Farquhar, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Professor Stephen Hopgood, Professor of International Relations

Professor Salwa Ismail, Professor of Politics with reference to the Middle East

Dr Mark Laffey, Senior Lecturer in International Politics

Dr Matthew J Nelson, Reader in Politics

Professor Charles Tripp, Professor of Politics with reference to the Middle East

Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, Senior Lecturer in International Relations

Dr Hedi Viterbo, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Dr Rafeef Ziadah, Postdoctoral Research Fellow

CENTRE FOR IRANIAN STUDIES – SCHOLARSHIPSSOAS, University of London, is pleased to announce the availability of several scholarships in its Centre for Iranian Studies (CIS).

The Centre, established in 2010, draws upon the range of academic research and teaching across the disciplines of SOAS, including Languages and Literature, the Study of Religions, History, Economics, Politics, International Relations, Music, Art and Media and Film Studies. It aims to build close relations with likeminded institutions and to showcase and foster the best of contemporary Iranian talent in art and culture.

MA in Iranian Studies

CISlaunc interdisciplinary MA in Iranian Studies, which will be off ered

Thanks to the generosity of the Fereydoun Djam Charitable Trust, a number of Kamran Djam scholarships are available for BA, MA and MPhil/PhD studies.

For further details, please contact:

Scholarships Offi cer E: [email protected]: +44 (0)20 7074 5091/ 5094W: www.soas.ac.uk/scholarships

Centre for Iranian StudiesDr Arshin Adib-Moghaddam (Chair) E: [email protected] T: +44 (0)20 7898 4747 W: www.soas.ac.uk/lmei-cis

MA in Iranian StudiesDr Nima Mina (Department of the Languages and Culture of the Middle East) E: [email protected] T: +44 (0)20 7898 4315 W: www.soas.ac.uk/nme/programmes/ma-in-iranian-studies

Student RecruitmentT: +44(0)20 7898 4034E: [email protected]

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For details of the Institute’s activities, including lecture programmes, conferences andpublications, and information on how to become an affiliate of the LMEI please contact:

London Middle East Institute, SOAS, University of London,MBI Al Jaber Building, 21 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EA

Tel: 020 7898 4330 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/

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