Al-Ejazeh test sheet: Naskh, Ruqaa, Thuluth, Deewani (Sura 1 & 112), ink on paperIMAN and the Levantine Center present a rare lecture by Dr. Huda Totonji, the master calligrapher, artist, researcher, and educator who explores the use of text and image in a variety of visual methods through the use of Islamic Calligraphy.

She will introduce traditional and non-traditional calligraphy styles, such as Al Naskh, Al Ruqa, Al Deewani, Al Farsi, and Al Thuluth manuscripts.

Veiled women strolling in Barcelona: (AFP)In the West, the veil has now gone beyond a cliché symbol into a catalyst for policymaking. Whereas new dress code laws claim they aren't specifically targeting religion, banning face coverings directly affects the choice to wear certain traditional Muslim attire such as the niqab or burka. Consequently, issues of free speech, freedom of religion, public safety, and current events are all colliding with stereotypes and Islamaphobia in a cocktail for rabble-rousing debate on how religion should be dealt with in the public sphere, and more specifically, how Eastern cultural traditions should be dealt with in Western democratic societies.

a creative writing workshop

Levantine Cultural Center & The Writing Studio present Writing for Peace: War, Peace & the Path to Freedom. This workshop in creative writing with Elana Golden is for new and experienced writers—limited to 10 participants.

Turning wounds into literature is an act of self-preservation, self-discovery—a journey toward personal and global healing and peace. Elana Golden is a Los Angeles writer and teacher who works and corresponds with Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. She has taught creative writing at Levantine Cultural Center for  the past two years. She has worked with new and established writers from many countries, including Iran, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Egypt and the United States.

Whether among nations, classes or families, the workshop provides a peaceful, respectful and inspiring space in which to write stories born of war, conflict or occupation. The skills of creative writing will be taught and explored, as well as effective methods to put aside the critical mind.

Contact: Jordan Elgrably, Nile El Wardani, Elie Karam
Levantine Cultural Center
310.657.5511 or 310.402.8866

[Los Angeles, May 20, 2010] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top aide, Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith, will speak in a public forum on cultural diplomacy organized by the Levantine Cultural Center on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at 7 pm at the Mark Taper Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles.

The "clash of civilization" dialectic and the "war on terror" discourse require Americans to broaden our international outreach, to improve understanding of the Arab/Muslim world. In fact, the alchemy of change requires that we empathize with narratives that may differ from our own; and sometimes these narratives are strikingly similar. Cultural diplomacy efforts use the arts to address communities in conflict-or groups that appear to have opposing interests whether because of different religious traditions, political beliefs or ethnic identification.

Reviewed by Jessica Proett

Reviewed by Afsaneh Ashley Tabaddor

What does it mean to be "White" in America today?

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.

new work by Kinda Hibrawi"Dear Mr. Gibran" features new paintings by Kinda Hibrawi. Khalil Gibran is one of Lebanon's most revered poets and spiritual seekers who spent many years living in New York and hence has become a symbol of east-west understanding, with his major work The Prophet selling millions of copies in translation around the world.

Opening Reception November 14, 7-10 pm. Special guest performance by Omar Offendum.

West Coast Tour for Alia Malek's "A Country Called Amreeka"The documenting of Arab American history is still in its infancy stage, despite the fact that Arabs have been immigrating to the United States for centuries. Just this week, on October 17, the Arab American Historical Society held what was its fourth annual conference on the subject at USC.

Following Gregory Orfalea’s 2006 The Arab Americans (Olive Branch Press), New York-based civil rights attorney Alia Malek has written a new volume that merits wide attention. A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories, presents a range of individuals and families across the country, from the uplifting story of Alabama football hero Ed Salem to the unfortunate saga of Palestinian American Alex Odeh, who was assassinated in Orange County by a bomb blast in his office in 1985. This sad chapter in Arab American history worsened when eight Arab Americans were haunted by the FBI and threatened with deportation (known as the “L.A. 8,” all charges were dropped years later, in the post-9/11 era).