Conference Schedule

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2

4:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M.
The Annual Fouad Ajami Memorial Roundtable
Michelle Ajami; Mehdi Khalaji; Prof. Franck Salameh; Mr. David Schenker

5:30 P.M. – 6:30 P.M.
Student Poster Competition

6:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Welcome & Networking Cocktail Reception
Opening Remarks: H.E. Amb. Mathilde Mukantabana, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the United States

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3

7:30 A.M. – 8:15 A.M.
Breakfast

8:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.

Panel 1: Saudi Arabia: Then and Now
Discussant: Dr. Joshua Krasna

Toward “Moderation” in Islam: Reassessing the Sahwa and Wahhabism in MBS’s Saudi Arabia
(Dr. Cole Bunzel, Stanford University)

Saudi Arabia: Becoming a Nation?
(Dr. Brandon Friedman, Tel Aviv University)

Saudi Arabia’s “Homegrown” Slavery and the Saudi Novel
(Dr. Elad Giladi, The University of Haifa)

Panel 2: African Transformations
Discussant: Dr. Robert Lloyd

"I Knew What Life and Death Were Like": The Challenges Faced by Soviet Military Translators in Angola, 1975-1992
(Dr. Jochen S. Arndt, Virginia Military Institute)

Personal Accounts of Non-Machiavellian Exits in Africa
(Dr. Nathaniel Terence Cogley, Tarleton State University)

Who are Putin's Supporters in Africa?
(Dr. Paul Kubicek, Oakland University)

The Nexus of Inequality and Structural Transformation in Africa
(Prof. Steve Z. Onyeiwu, Allegheny College)

Panel 3: Iraqi Studies
Discussant: Prof. Mark T. Clark

In Memory of the Ba'th's Prophet: Commemorating Michel 'Aflaq in Baghdad
(Mr. Michael Brill, Princeton University)

Disbandment and Recreation of the Iraqi Army
(COL Norvell B. DeAtkine, Joint Special Operations University)

From Enchantment to Disillusionment: Iraqi Revolutions Through the Literary Lens of Exiled Writers
(Dr. Hilla Peled-Shapira, Ariel University and Bar-Ilan University)

Panel 4: Antisemitism: Society, Culture and Politics
Bernard Lewis Prize Finalists, Session 1
Discussant: Dr. Alex Joffe

Antisemitism as a Civilizational Phenomenon: An Analytical Essay
(Prof. Liah Greenfeld, Boston University)

Alexandria: The City that Changed the World
(Prof. Islam Issa, Birmingham City University, UK)

Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles
(Prof. Cary Nelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Antisemitism is About Semites Like Dolichocephaly is About Language
(Prof. Franck Salameh, Boston College)

10:30 A.M - 12:00 P.M.

Book Discussion 1: Israel/Palestine in World Religions: Whose Promised Land?
Bernard Lewis Prize Finalist, Session 2
Prof. Yael Aronoff; Prof. Jack Lassner; Prof. Franck Salameh; Prof. Norman Stillman: Prof. Ilan Troen

Panel 5: Afghanistan: Women, Jihad, and Politics
Discussant: Prof. Joseph M. Skelly

Jihad Education and the Rise of Global Jihad in Afghanistan, 1980-2024
(Dr. Yahia Baiza, The Institute of Ismaili Studies)

Analyzing Afghan Women-Led Social Movements’ Resistance Against Taliban Control: Women and Collective Action in Post-2021 Afghanistan
(Ms. Hasina Jalal, University of Pittsburgh)

Transitional Justice and Human Rights in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
(Dr. Ahmad Murid Partaw, University of South Florida)

Roundtable Discussion 1: The October 7 Attack: Four Different Points of View
Prof. Ronen Cohen; Dr. Gadi Hitman; Dr. Dan Naor; Dr. Bosmat Yefet

Panel 6: Radicalism and Religion in Africa

Actors and Processes of Radicalization in the Lake Chad Basin
(Dr. Abdel Salam Pekekue Aretouyap, University of Buea)

"Wilderness on the Streets": Girl Child at the Crossroads of Boko Haram's View of Wilderness in the Context of Religion and National Identity
(Mr. Ali Mati, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and ECWA Theological Seminary, Jos)

The Utilization of Youth Bulges in Great Power Conflict in the Middle East and Africa
(Dr. Michael O. Slobodchikoff, Troy University)

Roundtable Discussion 2: Iran and the World: New Perspectives
Sponsored by: The Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, Tel Aviv University.
Discussant: Prof. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman
Mr. Omer Carmi; Prof. Meir Litvak; Prof. David Menashri

12:30 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Banquet & Awards Luncheon
Holocausts: Israel, Gaza and the War Against the West
Keynote Presentation: Prof. Gilles Kepel, Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris

2:30 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.

Roundtable Discussion 3: October 7th and its Aftermath: Implications for the Region
This session is in honor of Prof. Bernard Lewis.
Sponsored by: The Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Harel Chorev; Dr. Yogev Elbaz; Dr. Brandon Friedman; Mr. Michael Lewis; Prof. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman; Dr. Amos Nadan

Panel 7: Women in Africa
Discussant: Dr. Irit Back

Literature of Protest and Revolt Against Patriarchy in Balaraba Ramat’s Alhaki Kwikwiyo (Sin is a Puppy That Follows You Home), and Rahama A. Majid’s Mace Mutum (A Woman is Human)
(Mr. Nura Abubakar, Ohio University)

Iconography of the Migrant Woman’s Hoarding Memories in Fadela’s Hebbadj’s Arbre d’Ebene
(Mrs. Diweng Mercy Dafong, University of Alabama)

No Fault: Women Recall Section 4 Of the Colonial Divorce Act 1904; Consequences Of “Victory”
(Ms. Jackline Kirungi, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)

My Pleasure Matters Too": Understanding Sexual Scripting Among Ghanaian Women
(Ms. Rebecca Larko Obu, University of Iowa)

Panel 8: China in the Middle East
Dr. Bruce Bechtol

Allies in Need? Defining the Nature of Iran–China Relations
(Dr. Tamas Dudlak, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest)

Strategic Chessboard in the MENA: Analyzing Sino-Saudi and Sino-Egyptian Relations in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative
(Prof. Diogo Cardoso and Prof. Teresa de Almeida e Silva, University of Lisbon)

Strategic Alignment and Power Transition: Iran’s Motives in Proxy Warfare and China’s Geopolitical Test in the Middle East
(Ms. Riya Sultana, Ariel University)

Panel 9: Turkish Studies
Discussant: Dr. Paul Kubicek

Cinematic Militarization and Turkey's Hard Power Projection
(Dr. Senem B Cevik, Woodbury University)

Elections, Patronage, And Coercion in Populist Governance Case Study: Turkiye
(Ms. Büsra Özyüksel, University of Szeged)

“Neither be Oppressed nor be Oppressors”: CHP’s Leftward Turn with the Idea of Left of Center/Democratic Left in the 1960s and the 1970s
(Prof. Umut Uzer, Istanbul Technical University)

Panel 10: Antisemitism's Theological and Religious Roots
Bernard Lewis Prize Finalists, Session 3
Discussant: Prof. Joseph Spoerl

The Catholic Church, Jews, the Shoah and the State of Israel: Interpretations and Responses
(Prof. Boris Havel, University of Zagreb)

Igbophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Islamism as Roots of the Igbo Genocide in Nigeria and Biafra
(Mr. Remy Ilona, University of California)

Israel and the Question of Racism and Related Intolerance: The Road to the World Conference at Durban
(Ms. Batsheva Neuer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

4:00 pm
Coffee Break

4:30 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

Panel 11: Vignettes on Modern Shi’a Communities in the Arab World
Discussant: Prof. Meir Litvak

The Syrian Civil War and the Shia Villages of al-Fua and Kafariya
(Dr. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Middle East Forum)

Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and the Struggle for Martyr's Day in post-2003 Iraq
(Dr. Rachel Kantz Feder, Tel Aviv University)

Religious and National Identity for Saudi Shia: Democracy and Secessionism
(Mr. Alexander Morse Shepard, Indiana University)

"Karbala of the Gulf": The Revolutionary Thought of Hadi al-Mudarrisi and the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, 1980–1988
(Mr. Ilan Zalayat, Tel Aviv University)

Roundtable Discussion 4: Collaborating for Policy Impact in the Middle East
Mr. Diliman Abdulkader; Mr. Gabriel Noronha; Ms. Zineb Riboua; Ms. Nicole Robinson; Ms. Molly Tobin
Organized by: The Alexander Hamilton Society.

Panel 12: African Ecologies
Discussant: Dr. Paul Banda

Cocoa Insect Pests and Diseases in Colonial Ghana (Gold Coast), 1900 – 1957: A Historical Exploration
(Mr. Maxwell Kwesi Asabere, West Virginia University)

From Diverting Rivers to Flooding Deserts: French Colonial Hydrology Schemes in North Africa, 1830-1960
(Dr. Tyson A Luneau, SUNY Cortland)

Mass Tree Planting and Search for Fuelwood Alternatives: How the 1970s Fears of Fuelwood Shortage Shaped Forestry in The Gambia
(Dr. Sana Saidykhan, Boston College)

Panel 13: Egyptian Minorities
Discussant: Ms. Dalia Ziada

The Coptic Diaspora in the Digital Age: Exploring the Crossroads of Freedom and Surveillance
(Dr. Lilian EK Estafanous, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies)

Before and After Exile: The Trailblazing Lives of Five Jewish Egyptian Women
(Dr. Aimee Israel-Pelletier, University of Texas at Arlington)

Media Representation of Egyptian Members of Parliament: Realities of Gender Disparity
(Dr. Bosmat Yefet, Ariel University)

Panel 14: Israeli Security before and after October 7th
Discussant: Dr. Neal Coates

Hamas and the First Israel-Iran War
(Dr. Shaul Bartal, Bar-Ilan University and University of Lisbon)

Can Israel Still Rely on Its Intelligence after the October 7th Hamas Attack?
(Dr. Or Honig, University of Florida)

Patterns of Violence among Arabs in Lod During May 2021: Examining Civil, National and Religious Factors
(Mrs. Alona Izkovich, Ariel University)

Israel and the Arab world - After the October 7th
(Prof. Eyal Zisser Tel Aviv University)

5:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Editorial Board Meeting – Journal of the Middle East and Africa (Invite only)

6:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Bernard Lewis Prize Ceremony and Reception

8:00 P.M.
Film Screening and Discussion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4

7:30 A.M. – 8:15 A.M.
Breakfast

8:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.

Roundtable 5: Niger Update: From Coup to Putin to ?
Dr. Matt Kirwin; Prof. Paul Kubicek; Prof. William Miles

Panel 15: Israeli and Palestinian Societies
Dr. Or. Honig

On the Process of Easternization of Israeli Society and Politics (with a note on October 7th)
(Dr. Avi Shilon, Tel Hai Academic College)

Hamas and Palestinian Political Culture
(Prof. Joseph S Spoerl, Saint Anselm College)

Mass Media as a Weapon for Disseminating Terrorist Ideology: The Case Study of Hamas
(Dr. Ido Zelkovitz, Yezreel Valley College)

The War in Gaza and the Revival of the Two State Solution
(Dr. Ahmed Zohny, Coppin State University)

Panel 16: Religion, Poetry, and Society

A Journey to the Roots of Judicial Etiquette: Exploring Geniza Fragments and Legal Traditions in the Ancient Near East and North Africa
(Dr. Neri Y. Ariel, CNRS-IRHT and Bar-Ilan University)

The West African Muslim Community from the Late Ottoman Period to Mandatory Jerusalem - The Role of Sufism
(Dr. Irit Back, Tel Aviv University)

Symbolism and Allegory in Nasir Khusraw's Safarnameh: A Comparative Analysis with his Confession-Ode
(Mr. Dawood Hussain Mirza, Aljamea tus Saifiyah)

Panel 17: Who Speaks for Women?
Discussant: Dr. Lilian Estafanous

Why Women Vote: Wasta and Political Participation under Authoritarianism
(Dr. Lindsay J. Benstead, Portland State University)

The Narrative of the Oppressor and the Oppressed: Recasting Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero from Gender Perspective
(Dr. Amrita Basu Roy Chowdhury, Lady Brabourne College)

#MahsaAmini and #ZanZendegiAzadi Forming a New Discourse of Feminism and Women's Rights
(Atousa Kaviani, State University of New York at Binghamton)

Panel 18: Iran and its Adversaries
Discussant: Dr. Tamas Dudlak

The Involvement of The Islamic Republic of Iran in the Bahrain at the Arab Spring events
(Mrs. Shahaf Hitman Apini, Tel Aviv University)

Proxy Wars and Strategic Alignments: The Influence of U.S. Military Support to Israel on its Relationship with Iran in the Middle East
(Ms. Richa Bhattarai, Kennesaw State University)

American Decline: The Role of Perception and Force Projection in the Iran Hostage Crisis
(Dr. Cindy L May, Lancaster University)

10:00 A.M.

Coffee Break

10:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.

Roundtable Discussion 6: Israel’s Second War of Independence: Reclaiming the Language of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Prof. Donna Divine; Dr. Alex Joffe; Dr. Asaf Romirowsky; Prof. Franck Salameh

Panel 19: Sub-Saharan Africa: Politics and Conflict
Discussant: Prof. Steve Onyeiwu

The State of Malawi’s Second Wave of Democracy: An Institutional Analysis
(Dr. Paul Chiudza Banda, Tarleton State University)

Cabo Delgado Conflict – More than Global Jihad, an Ethnic and Secessionist Insurgency?
(Dr. Felipe Pathé Duarte, Nova School of Law)

Eastern Part of Democratic Republic of Congo and Great Lakes Region: Focusing on the Historical Contextualization of the Banyamulenge Ethnic Identity
(Prof. Kwang-Su Kim, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)

Politics, Power, and the Collapse of the Juba Peace Process: A Case Study of Uganda Government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
(Dr. Curthberth A. Onek, Millersville University)

Panel 20: Turkish Identities and Relationships

Water Thicker than Gas: Turkey, UNCLOS, and the Eastern Mediterranean in the Gas Decade, 2010-2020
(Dr. Omri Eilat, University of Haifa)

Pro-Kurdish Masjids in Istanbul: Exploring Minority Religious Spaces as a Form of Political Resistance
(Dr. Aslı Elitsoy, University of Copenhagen)

Turkey’s Fluctuating Relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood: Religious Ideology and its Limits
(Prof. Ioannis N. Grigoriadis, Bilkent University)

Navigating Change in Alevi-Bektashi Tradition: Gender, Identity, and Veneration in Eastern Thrace
(Dr. Hakki Gurkas, Kennesaw State University)

Panel 21: Early 20th Century War Tactics
Discussant: Dr. Doug Streusand

Hybrid Warfare in the Desert: British Strategies and Tactics Employed Against the Ottoman Empire During the Great War (1914-1918)
(Mr. Ali Mahmada, University of Debrecen)

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Beginnings of French Chemical Warfare in Morocco’s Rif War (April-July 1925)
(Dr. Francisco Javier Martinez, University of Zaragoza)

Managing the Persian Question after the WWI – The Geopolitical Strategy and Reasoning of British India
(Mr. István Dávid Vácz, Eötvös Loránd University)

Panel 22: Gulf Politics and Culture

Media and the Discursive Crafting of Smart Futures in the Middle East: Insights from NEOM
(Dr. Mehdi Ghassemi, Lille Catholic University)

The Role of Ibadi Islam in the Foreign Policy of the Sultanate of Oman (1970-2024)
(Prof. Felipe Medina Gutierrez, Pontifical Javierian University and University of the Rosary)

Jewish and Muslim Emigration from Yemen: A correlation between Two Demographic Movements
(Prof. Bat-Zion Eraqi Klorman, The Open University of Israel)

12:15 P.M.
Grab n’ Go Boxed Lunch

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Roundtable Discussion 7: David Landes: Historical Analyst and the Current State of the Profession
Sir Niall Ferguson; Prof. Liah Greenfeld; Prof. Jeffrey C Herf; Prof. Richard Landes

Panel 23: Vortex of Pressures: Foreign Powers and the Lebanese Civil War
Discussant: Prof. Eyal Zisser

Rashid Karami and the Palestinians: Lebanon’s Foreign Policy from 1958 until 1976
(Mr. Zach Battat, Ariel University)

Shattered Dreams: Israel's Intervention in Lebanon, 1976-1982
(Dr. Yogev Elbaz, Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies)

Lebanon Between East and West on the Eve of the Civil War
(Dr. Dan Naor, Ariel University)

Laying the Groundwork-How Syria Thwarted American Policy in Lebanon-1982-1983
(Mr. Jesse R Weinberg, Tel Aviv University)

Panel 24: Aspects of Zion and Zionism before the State of Israel
Discussant: Dr. Donna Divine

Women, the Jewish Palestine Pavilion, and the New York World’s Fair of 1939-1940
(Dr. Semih Gökatalay, University of California, San Diego)

Competing Narratives and British Conflict Management in Mandate Palestine: How Competing Narratives Influenced the 1939 St James Peace Conference
(Mr. Ewan Keddie Hearns, University of Strathclyde)

Shibli Shumayyil, Social Darwinism and Zionism
(Prof. Eliezer Tauber, Bar-Ilan University)

Panel 25: Transnational Politics and Cultures
Discussant: Dr. Wyndham Whynot

Arabs, Turks, and Iranians: Prospects for Cooperation and Prevention of Conflict
(Dr. Nader Habibi, Brandeis University)

A Comparative Analysis of US Newspaper Coverage of the Sharpeville Massacre 1960
(Ms. Sikose Sibabalwe Mjali, University of Washington)

From Istanbul to Morris, Minnesota: A Comparative History of Boarding Schools
(Mr. Mahmut Polat, University of Minnesota)

The Effect of Time and Safety on the Retention of Peace Education Concepts
(Ms. Julie R Schupp, Virginia Tech)

Panel 26: Religion and African Empires
Discussant: Dr. Kwang-Su Kim

Sacred Soil: Exploring the Complex Intersection of Human Bodies, Land, and Identity in Middle Belt Nigeria Cosmologies
(Mr. Fwangmun Oscar Danladi, University of Iowa)

Khedive Ismaʿil’s Imperialist Project in the Horn of Africa and Patronage for Christian Missionaries: The Case of Lazarist Catholics in the 1870s
(Mr. Seong Hyun Kim, University of Oxford)

Missionary Women in the Linguistic Field. Research on the Gaboon and Corisco Presbyterian Missions in the Nineteenth Century
(Dr. Susana Castillo Rodriguez, SUNY College at Geneseo)

“A City with Walls”: A Religious-Created Space and the Making of Onitsha City, 1857 - 1922
(Mr. Mathias Chukwudi Isiani, University of Pennsylvania)

2:30 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Panel 27: Genocide: Imagined and Real
Discussant: Ms. Yehudit Barsky

The Genocide Libel
(Prof. Norman JW Goda, University of Florida)

The Effects of Genocide on the Women of Biafra
(Dr. Remy Ilona, University of California, Riverside)

Islamic Antisemitism: A Critical Examination of Theological Foundations and Historical Manifestations
(Dr. Tim Orr, Indiana University, Indianapolis)

Panel 28: Outside Totalitarian Powers in the Middle East
Discussant: Dr. Douglas Streusand

Pyongyang’s Military Proliferation to Iran: Russia and China are Now Key Enablers
(Dr. Bruce Emerson Bechtol, Angelo State University)

Russia on the Roll: New Geopolitics in the Middle East and Asia Pacific
(Dr. Robert Nalbandov, Angelo State University)

China and the Middle East: How the History of Chinese Communist Party Thought on Diplomacy Shapes Modern China-Middle East Relations
(Mr. Daniel C. Rice, Marine Corps University)

Book Discussion 2: Islam, Constitutional Law and Human Rights: Sexual Minorities And Freethinkers In Egypt And Tunisia
Ms. Alissa Pavia; Dr. Tommaso Virgili

Panel 29: West African Politics and Culture
Discussant: Dr. Nicholas Githuku

Freedom from Independence: A Fanonian Appraisal of Postcolonial Discontent and the Recent West African Coups
(Enoch Joseph Aboi, Cornell University)

A French Jew in Côte d'Ivoire: The Life and Involvement of Robert Léon in Local Politics and in the Formation of the Ivorian Elite Between the 1940s and the 1960s
(Mr. Ayode Daniel Dossou, The Geneva Graduate Institute)

Democratic Backsliding, Borderlands Governance and Regional Security in West Africa and the Maghreb
(Dr. Olukayode Abiodun Faleye, Edo State University)

Political and Geopolitical Determinants of Guinea-Bissau Power Struggles
(Prof. Alvaro Correia Nobrega, University of Lisbon)

Panel 30: Contentious Issues Dominating in the Post-7 October Middle East: Alliances, Penetration and Identity
Discussant: Prof. Nursin Guney

Question of Alliances in the Middle East: Is There Still a Chance for an Order Based on Regional Balancing Alliances?
(Prof. Nursin Guney, Trocadero Forum and Prof. Visne Korkmaz, Nişantaşı University)

Construction and Re-construction of Cultural Codes Through Political Violence: The Case of Kurdish Nationalism
(Dr. Merve Önenli Güven, Research Center for Countering Terrorism and Radicalization [Türkiye])

* The schedule is subject to change.