1. Conferences and debates

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Syria: The impossible revolution (ARABIC)

Published at 58 24,,, 18 2018

04.17.2018. Syrian political opposition leader Yassin Al-Haj Saleh presented his work at the Casa Árabe headquarters in Madrid. This is a compilation of texts which the author has been publishing since the beginning of the insurrection in his country. Along with the author, the event included speeches by Santiago Alba Rico, a Spanish writer, essayist and philosopher, and Naomí Ramírez Díaz, the book’s translator and publisher. The event was presented by Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s International Politics Coordinator. The work which we are presenting, published by Ediciones del Oriente y del Mediterráneo, is a compilation of texts which Yassin Al-Haj has written since the insurrection in Syria, when that process began on March 15, 2011. Though not well-known in Spain, Yassin Al-Haj is one of the most important intellectuals among Syrian dissidents. “Someone might think that this book talks about Syria and its defeated revolution, about the Assad dictatorship and the Near East, about imperialism and the Kurdish question (Chapters 10, 11 and 13 are quite interesting and controversial), on Jihadism and violence. But it is more than that. This book speaks about us all. One of the theories that Al-Haj Saleh has upheld in recent years is that Syria reveals and represents a universal destiny, and therefore it is impossible to think about Syria, and even less so about the globalized world, without thinking about our common fate. This is why every time we produce a discourse to forget, negate or avoid Syria, we are really just doing damage to ourselves.” Santiago Alba Rico Yassin Al-Haj Saleh spent sixteen years in jail for his Communist militancy. Since the year 2000, after finishing his studies in Medicine, which he was forced to give up because he was imprisoned, he has been writing a book of stories about his experience in jail, as well as The Syrian Question, published in France by Sindbad-Actes Sud. He regularly contributes articles to the newspapers Al-Hayat, Al-Quds al-Arabi and Al-Jumhuriya. In 2012, he was granted the Prince Claus Award of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the social impact of his writings, though he was unable to collect the award since he was living underground in Damascus. He is currently an associate researcher at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin. His wife, Samira Khalil, the author of Diary of the Siege on Douma in 2013, has been missing since she was kidnapped in December of 2013, along with Razan Zaituneh, Wael Hammada and Nazem Hamadi. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/syria-the-impossible-revolution

ALL VIDEOS IN THIS CATEGORY

IV Arab-Christian Day: Christian archeology on the Arabian Peninsula

Conference given on April, 13th at Casa Árabe in Madrid, by Julie Bonnéric, a researcher at the French Near East Institute (IFPO)

Published at 53 19,,, 16 2016
IV Arab-Christian Day: Christian tradition in the Gulf countries. Conference on "Christianity today"

Conference given on April, 13th at Casa Árabe in Madrid, by Michael O’Sullivan, Financial Administrator at the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia on "Christianity today"

Published at 48 18,,, 16 2016
Islam and Politics: Mythological constructs, past customs and current practices (French)

Casa Árabe and Casa de Velázquez have organized this conference with a view to analyzing the political changes in the Middle East since the Arab Springs. Both directors, Pedro Villena, the General Director of Casa Árabe and Michel Bertrand, the director of the Casa de Velázquez participated in this round table along with Makram Abbes, a professor of political philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon; Nabil Mouline, a professor and researcher at the Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris; Karima Dirèche, director of the Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC) in Tunisia, and Éric Gobe, a researcher with the Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC). More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/islam-and-politics-mythological-constructs-past-customs-and-current-practices

Published at 47 14,,, 16 2016
Arts and Culture: shelter or reflection? (SP/ENG/FR)

Casa Árabe hosted a round table on the role of artists and cultural producers from the Arab world with regards to the current affairs affecting the region. With the participation of Zineb Sedira, artist and founder of ARIA (Artist Residency in Algiers); Ammer Abo Bakr, street artist; Rachida Triki, art critic, curator and Professor specialized in Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art; and Nuria Medina, coordinator of Culture at Casa Árabe. This round table frocused on the role of artists and cultural producers from the Arab world with regards to the current affairs and uncertainties that are affecting the region. We tryed to seek answers to questions such as: where do we stand today, after five years of Arab uprising?; what are the most important issues affecting cultural institutions and artists across the region?; which are the perspectives for the youth, and among them, many artists? Although obstacles, extremism and censorship are increasing and affecting many critical intellectuals and artists in some countries, are there signals of a cultural revolution happening behind the headlines? In this regard, how determinant is being the technological change and global connection? In this context of change and instability, how artists and cultural producers deal with the tradition and memory of their cultures? More information: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arts-and-culture-shelter-or-reflection

Published at 40 25,,, 16 2016
Arab Dawn: Arab youth and the demographic dividend they will bring

Conference given by Bessma Momani, associate professor of the Political Science Department at the University of Waterloo. During the event, Momani was accompanied by Haizam Amirah Fernández, main researcher for the Mediterranean and Arab World at the Real Instituto Elcano, and Leila Nachawati, a professor of Communication at the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid and co-founder of the portal Syria Untold. The event was presented by Karim Hauser, who is responsible for the Governance Area at Casa Árabe. Though it may seem implausible to some readers, despite the wave of negative news reaching us from the Middle East and North Africa, many youths who went out in the streets to demonstrate in 2011 continue to campaign for change. Their efforts seldom make it into the Western news, but there are stories which demonstrate the will of these generations to continue transforming the societies in which they live, from Saudi women publishing YouTube videos of themselves driving in Riyadh to an Egyptian television star exposing cultural hypocrisy by using hidden cameras. They are much less dramatic stories than the downfall of a dictator at the hands of the raging masses, but they may end up having a greater social impact. Though the wars in Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq lead some to see nothing but a lost generation, the Arab world today is an undeniable source of creativity. In her book Arab Dawn, Momani challenges negative stereotypes of the region and proposes a series of positive changes, as well as discussing the hidden potential of Arab youths. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arab-dawn-arab-youth-and-the-demographic-dividend-they-will-bring

Published at 26 28,,, 16 2016