| المستخلص: |
On Saturday March 12, 2011, the Middle East Studies Center celebrated its 20th anniversary. The ceremony was attended by several political, academic and media figures. At the beginning, Mr Jawad Al-Hamad - Director General - welcomed the audience and voiced delight of their continuous contact with the center. He also stressed its role in observing and analyzing regional economic and strategic issues. The MESC aims to come to realistic views and future scenarios for an observer to arrive at excellent accurate understanding. Al-Hamad pointed that intellectuals and scholars should go deep in their comprehension of the essence, not the surface, of current changes. The center’s councils’ speech was delivered by the Board of Trustees’ representative Senator Dr Mohammad Kheir Mamser, former Minister of Social Development. Then, major sponsors’ speech was given by Mr Salem Burqan, CEO of the International Islamic Arab Bank. In addition, the unprecedented events and shifts in the Arab World were discussed in a lecture titled Public and Political Uprisings in the Arab World and Their Future Repercussions. It was presented by Dr Waleed Abdul-Hay, lecturer of International Relations at Yarmouk University. Three main topics helped investigate current Arab uprisings: General Characteristics, US and Israeli Perspectives and Future Scenarios. It was concluded, on the one hand, that the US prefers putting off elections until liberal, secular movements are strong and capable of minimizing the representation of Islamist and pan- Arab activists. On the other hand, Israel will prioritize security over democracy in the Arab World, since the Arab peoples have refuted the Hebrew State’s pretext to be the only democracy in the region. After that, a documentary was shown on the center’s progression over the 20 years. It reviewed its establishment and stages of ascension until it reached this high technical, administrative and scholarly level. Finally, two books for the MESC were launched: Gaza Battle: Strategic Shift in Confrontation with Israel, and Future Scenarios for Arab-Israeli Conflict. A number of colleagues and major sponsors were honoured and everybody was then invited to enjoy dinner.
|
