Ameen Rihani

Representatives Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia) and Charles Boustany (R-Louisiana) introduced a bipartisan resolution honoring the life of Arab American writer Ameen Rihani (1876–1940) and celebrating 100 years of the Arab American novel.

The resolution elaborates Rihani’s role in educating the American public about the Arab world at the turn of the century and describes his vision of a cooperative relationship between Arabs and Americans that emerged after his travels through the Arabian Peninsula in the 1920s. Rihani’s 1911 novel, The Book of Khalid, tells an extraordinary story of migration from Baalbek, Lebanon to Washington Street in Lower Manhattan. Washington Street was the home away from home for many Arab Americans.

We need you to help this resolution pass. Please urge your Member of Congress to co-sponsor House Resolution 608 honoring Rihani.


While you’re at it, please take a look at Save Washington Street, the effort to save what is left of Little Syria. So many of our ancestors walked along Washington Street. We need to preserve what remains for the next generations.

Free Oud Concert

Our concert by The Oud Hobbyists Association

Wednesday, April 25, 6:00 pm

Free, no tickets needed

Millennium Stage
Kennedy Center
Washington

Religion and Conflict in the Middle East - Capitol Hill Briefing

Religion and Conflict in the Middle East

The Arab American Institute is hosting a Capitol Hill briefing on the current situation of religious minorities in the Middle East.
11:30am – 1:00pm (lunch will be served), Wednesday, April 11.

1539 Longworth House Office Building, Washington

If you cannot make it to Washington, you can watch the event on the web by tuning in to AAI's livestream channel

After more than a thousand years of relatively peaceful co-existence, religious communities in the Middle East are increasingly threatened as a result of recent conflicts and political developments. The on-going violence in Iraq, Syria, and Palestine has created significant refugee outflows, particularly from targeted religious and ethnic communities including Christians, Sufis, and others. Can the trend be reversed?

Join the discussion this Wednesday.

Father Simon Faddoul – President, Caritas Foundation
Qamar-ul Huda – Senior Program Officer, US Institute of Peace
Dr. James Zogby – President, Arab American Institute

Fr. Simon Faddoul is the President of Caritas Lebanon, a Catholic Relief charity assisting Iraqi and Syrian refugees seeking refuge in Lebanon. Fr. Faddoul has had a distinguished career in the Maronite Church of Lebanon and he holds a Doctorate in Educational Administration and Leadership from the University of Cincinnati. He is also Pastor of the parish of Jal Eldib-Bkennaya, Lebanon.
Qamar-ul Huda is a Senior Program Officer in the Religion and Peacemaking Center and a scholar of Islam at US Institute of Peace. His edited USIP book, The Crescent and Dove: Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam, provides a critical analysis of models of nonviolent strategies, peace building efforts, conflict resolution methods in Muslim communities. His research is on comparative Sunni-Shi’ite interpretations of social justice, ethics, dialogue, and the ways in which the notion of justice is used and appropriated.
Dr. James Zogby is the founder and president of the Arab American Institute, a Washington-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. Since 1985, Dr. Zogby and AAI have led Arab American efforts to secure political empowerment in the US. He is the author of Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Why it Matters.

Please rsvp to Samer Araabi, Government Relations Manager – Foreign Policy at saraabi@aaiusa.org or 202.652.4984