MERIP
Media Resource List, October 14, 2005
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
on the following topic:
- Iraqis vote on the constitution, October 15
SINAN ANTOON
Sinan Antoon is an Iraqi-born
poet, novelist and filmmaker who left Iraq in 1991 and currently
teaches at New York University. He is a member of Middle
East Report 's editorial committee. His poems and essays
have been widely published in both Arabic and English. He
co-directed and co-produced the film "About Baghdad,"
documenting the lives of Iraqis after the 2003 invasion. He
commented today: "The constitution as a document, as
well as the rhetoric surrounding it, crystallize once again
the abyss into which Iraq and Iraqis are about to sink. Aside
from the problematic atmosphere in which it was composed and
the illegitimacy, in the eyes of most Iraqis, of those drafting
it, this constitution is a minefield for Iraq's future and
perhaps a recipe for its disintegration."
DINA
KHOURY
Dina Rizk Khoury is associate
professor of history and international affairs at George Washington
University and author of State and Provincial Society
in the Ottoman Empire (1997). Her research interests
include the political culture of urban populations in the
early modern Middle East and urban rebellions. She commented
today: "The new agreement on amending the constitution
that is designed to bring in the Sunni opposition and ease
pressure on the US administration at home will not lead to
the desired political stability. The level of support this
latest agreement has among the different Sunni groups is not
yet clear. And the fact that it was accepted by the assembly
without a vote does not bode well for the functioning of a
democratic system."
ISAM
AL-KHAFAJI
Isam al-Khafaji,
a contributing editor of Middle East Report , teaches
at the University of Amsterdam and is the author of Tormented
Births: Passages to Modernity in Europe and the Middle East
(I.B. Tauris, 2004). He is also director of Iraq Revenue
Watch. In 2002, al-Khafaji participated in the State Department
"Future of Iraq" workshops -- 18 in total -- including
the "the mother of all workshops," entitled "Transition
to Democracy." He commented today: "While it is
too early to say how much
things have changed following the new alterations to the constitution,
one thing is sure: Sunni Arabs are split -- but to what extent?
Will the Iraqi Islamic Party, which announced its support,
lose or gain due to its new position? My guess is that urban
Sunni Arabs in Baghdad and Mosul might heed the party's advice,
but not Sunnis in the provincial towns."
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information, contact Michelle Woodward, MERIP Media Coordinator,
at (202) 223-3677, or merip.media@merip.org.
Media Resource Lists are an initiative of the MERIP Media
Outreach Program.
The Middle
East Research and Information Project (MERIP), 1500 Massachusetts
Ave, NW, Suite 119, Washington, DC 20005, Tel: (202) 223 3677,
Fax: (202) 223 3604, www.merip.org
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