Programs and Presentations 2024
- 1) The Book-Club/Interfaith Study Group announces that the final discussion on THE ROAD TO MECCA by MUHAMMAD ASAD was held on January 17, 2024 (7.00 – 8.30 p. m.). This will be an open session in which all attendees are invited to share their thoughts on the book.
- 2) The next meeting of the Book-Club/Interfaith Study Group was held on February 21, 2024 (7.00 – 8.30 p. m.). We will begin our review of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism Resistance, 1917- 2017,” by Dr. Rashid Khalidi. He is a Palestinian-American who is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, and is regarded as a foremost historian of the modern Middle East. He is the great-great-nephew of Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, former mayor of Jerusalem who had written a letter in 1899 aimed at Theodore Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist regarded as the father of modern political Zionism, ending by saying, “In the name of God, let Palestine be left alone.” Dr. Khalidi’s book is regarded as one of the most original, compelling, and best-researched historical surveys of 20th and early 21st century Palestinian life, as well as a deeply personal account of his family history.
- 3) The next meeting of the Book-Club/Interfaith Study Group was held on March 20, 2024 (7.00 – 8.30 p. m.). In our last meeting on February 21, 2024, we had two introductory presentations on Dr. Rashid Khalidi and significant features of his classic work “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism Resistance, 1917- 2017.” These were followed by a first-person testimony of a recent visit to Palestine by a Bosnian-American activist, and a narrative on “Key Hurdles to Understanding the Propaganda Paradigm in the USA”.In our upcoming meeting, Dr. Riffat Hassan and Dr. Joe Brennan was lead the discussion on the contents of the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book entitled “The First Declaration of War (1917-1939).” Given the fact that the seeds of what would happen in Palestine over the next century were sown during the First Declaration, the speakers was endeavor to present a careful analysis of the historical developments between 1917 -1939.
- 4) On April 17, 2024, the Book-Club/Interfaith Study Group will continue with its study of Dr. Rashid Khalidi’s classic work “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism Resistance, 1917- 2017.” In our last meeting on March 20, 2024, Dr. Riffat Hassan presented her detailed Notes/Summaries on the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book. A brief discussion followed this presentation. In our upcoming meeting, Rev. Kathleen Owens will lead the discussion on Chapter 2. After this presentation and discussion, Dr. Joe Brennan will speak on “The Founders of Zionism: Theodor Herzl and Chaim Weizmann.”
(4 Programs)
