By Tamim Ansary

Review by Tara Marie Good

A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes: your purchase benefits in part Levantine Cultural CenterIn 1940 Walter Benjamin wrote, "To articulate what is past does not mean to recognize ‘how it really was.' It means to take control of a memory, as it flashes in a moment of danger." For the German-Jewish Marxist philosopher that moment of danger was the Nazi march on Europe. The moment of danger that inspired Afghani born Tamim Ansary to articulate Islamic history in Destiny Disrupted was September 11th.

Destiny Disrupted is a historical narrative of the Islamic world addressing the chasm seen to separate Western and Middle Eastern histories. The main thesis presented by Ansary is that the history of Islam and the West are two parallel histories, which overlap at points, but are fundamentally separate. Claiming to represent a general Muslim perception, Ansary charts Middle Eastern history from the ancient world to the western colonial and economic expansion in the modern era.

ALOUD and the Vesper Society present Irene Khan, on "The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights." She will in conversation with David Kaye. Executive Director, UCLA School of Law International Human Rights Program

Severe Clear doc

The International Documenary Association presents the Docuweeks festival during August 2009.

SEVERE CLEAR

Director/Writer: Kristian Fraga
Producer: Kristian Fraga, Marc Perez
Executive Producers: Benjamin Charbit, John L. Sikes

U.S.A | 93 min.

Armed with the world's most lethal ordnance and his home video camera, First Lieutenant Michael T. Scotti takes us on an epic first-person journey with the Marine Corps as they fight their way 300 miles from Kuwait to Baghdad. No Reporters...No Politics...No Censors...This is what he saw.

Click here for showtimes/tix.

 

Shirin NeshatLACMA and the Farhang Foundation present internationally renowned artist Shirin Neshat at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Bing Theater at 8:00 pm.  The program includes a screening of work-in-progress segments of her film “Women without Men,” followed by a discussion between Shirin Neshat and Nasrin Rahimieh, Professor of Comparative Literature and Film, University of California, Irvine.

Iranian elections will contrast Islam and democracy June 12, 2009With elections in Iran on June 12, all eyes are on the results. Will a shift open further dialogue with the Obama Admistration, or will the Islamic leadership prevail in positioning the West as largely undesirable interlocutors?

Two Iranian intellectuals at UCLA will try to make sense of the arguments.

Elana GoldenLevantine Cultural Center in association with The Writing Studio invites you to a FREE writing workshop with Elana Golden entitled "From Trauma to New Beginnings."

When:
Saturday, May 16, 2009, 1 to 6 pm

Where:
Levantine Cultural Center
5998 W Pico Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90035

What:
This writing workshop is suitable for both new and experienced writers. It is limited to 10 participants.

In the safety of the writing group, we take one moment from our lives and enter it fully. We slow down and look at it through the lens of the writer, allowing the story to emerge from the silence within. We learn to follow rather than lead the story, and our writing is fresh, free, original, unexpected.

Closing night at the Noor Film FestivalBy Susanna Whitmore

I’m a bit of a glutton for Middle Eastern culture, especially when it comes to the visual and performing arts.  It was therefore a no brainer to spend the entire weekend at the 3rd annual Noor Film Festival (May 1-3, 2009), a showcase for Iranian filmmakers.  Out of the 15 films I saw (a total of 18 entries were selected out of 172 submissions), there were at least 4-5 truly outstanding feature/ documentary films, a handful that I felt tanked, and the rest falling somewhere in between.    

One Hundred One Levantine Delights

[Los Angeles, April 29, 2009] Since 2001, Levantine Cultural Center (LCC) has been the place in Los Angeles to find public programs on Israelis and Palestinians, Iraq, Iran and North Africa; it has been a rallying point for the Arab/Muslim world to see itself reflected accurately and for the most part, positively, through world-class literary, visual and performing arts programs. Using cultural diplomacy that emphasizes the importance of interfaith relationships, the center presents programs and education to a broad range of constituents in Southern California—to Americans of all cultural backgrounds.