Open Discussions
in association with
Gulf Cultural Club
invites you to a Discussion titled:
Reverberations of war
Iraq; looks to the future, bogged by the past
Speakers
*Dr Kamil Mahdi (Academic)
**Dr Laith Kubba (former government spokesman)
***Karen Dabrowski (author of books on Iraq)
****Dr Zayd Al Isa (Campaign Against Arms Trade, CAAT)
Fifteen years is a reasonable time for a state to start building itself. Iraq was devastated by successive wars, the last of which was carried out by Anglo-American alliance in 2003 on false pretentions. The Iraqi people suffered immensely as their country was ravaged by the aftermath of that destructive military intervention. For one an half decades Iraq became hotbed for terrorism, sectarianism, corruption and lawlessness. It even faced the spectre of fragmentation along ethnic and sectarian fault lines. Can Iraq rise again from the ashes? The forthcoming elections will be a pointer to the extent of Iraq’s revival and the extent of its resilience and desire to live in peace with itself. While the internal cohesion will remain a challenge, the foreign policy and the ethics of modern statehood will continue to cause internal discord and external challenge.
It is time for reflection on Mesopotamia, its cultural riches and intrinsic problems
6.30pm, Tuesday, 17th April 2018
Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, W1H 4LP
*Dr Kamil Mahdi is an experienced analyst of Middle Eastern politics and economics, in particular the political economy of oil-exporting countries. Mahdi is secretary of the International Association of Contemporary Iraqi Studies, researching Iraq’s economy, politics and modern history including the politics and economics of sanctions, conflict and occupation. His other interests include economic policy in Arab countries; Middle East agriculture and the socio-economics of agrarian change. Mahdi is currently an Honorary Visiting Senior Fellow at the Middle East Centre of the London School of Economics. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Birmingham, 1982.
**Laith Kubba is senior program Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy. He formerly was director of International Relations at the Al Khoei Foundation in London and he was the founder of the International Forum for Islamic Dialogue, a London-based network of liberal Islamists. He was former spokesman of the Iraqi Government. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wales. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq.
*** Karen Dabrowska is a freelance journalist focusing on the Middle East and Islamic Affairs. She is the author of three tourist guides to Iraq published by Bradt Travel Publishers the most recent being Iraq: the ancient sites and Iraqi Kurdistan. Before the 2003 war she published many articles about the activities of the Iraqi opposition and is now completing a biography of Mohammed Makiya an Iraqi architect who combined classic Islamic architecture and modern building techniques.
**** Zayd Alisa is a political analyst and a writer on Middle East affairs with numerous appearances on various TV channels, including BBC and France 24. Zayd Alisa has published several articles and press releases relating to the Middle East, and has been a human rights activist for twenty five years and have actively promoted democracy and freedom of expression in the Arab world.
Admission is Free. Please register for catering purposes – email: d05sa@yahoo.co.uk or text 07795 660 438
