LCC JOINS L.A. DEPT. OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, PARTNERS WITH CAL.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM, JAPANESE-AMERICAN CULTURAL & COMMUNITY CENTER
ON NEA'S "THE BIG READ"

The Levantine Cultural Center has long been keen to promote cultural literacy. Beginning in 2002 with the LCC's literary series, Maktub: Writing To/From the Middle East, and our BookGroup, the LCC cares about books, ideas and getting us all to read more. We want to discuss literature and encourage emerging writers, especially when it comes to the subject of the Middle East, North Africa and our communities in diaspora.

We are seeking teenagers who want to read as part of The Big Read project! Deadline to participate is May 15, 2012.

The Hammer Museum and UCLA Live present a free lecture featuring Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf with Reza Aslan at UCLA's Royce Hall. In his role as chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, Imam Feisal directs projects that aim to heal conflict between Islamic and Western communities. As Imam of Masjid al-Farah for 27 years, a mosque located twelve blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, he has preached a message of understanding among people of all faiths. One of his projects is the Cordoba House project in Lower Manhattan, which became a cause célèbre in 2010 and he became known as the ‘Ground Zero Mosque Imam.'

[Los Angeles—November 19, 2010] On December 1st, 2010 the Levantine Cultural Center will host the East-West Awards gala to mark its 9th anniversary in Southern California. In celebration of the LCC's mission to bridge political and religious divides and champion a greater understanding of the Muslim world, the LCC will recognize the excellence of three individuals who have contributed to a positive dialogue between the Middle East and the US, including Iranian-American activist Roxana Saberi.