Iraq, History Behind Middle East Turmoil Focus of Lecture, April 5

French-Lebanese journalist Antoine Sfeir will present a free, public lecture in English, “The Middle East in Turmoil,” at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 5, in the UAB Humanities Building, Room 105, 900 13th St. S. The event is sponsored by the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the Alliance Française of Birmingham. For more information, contact UAB Associate Professor Serge Bokobza, Ph.D., at 205-934-8902.

March 20, 2008

• Lecturer on war in Iraq and history of conflict in the Gulf region

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - French-Lebanese journalist Antoine Sfeir will present a free, public lecture in English, "The Middle East in Turmoil," at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 5, in the UAB Humanities Building, Room 105, 900 13th St. S. The event is sponsored by the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the Alliance Française of Birmingham. For more information, contact UAB Associate Professor Serge Bokobza, Ph.D., at 205-934-8902.

Sfeir is the author of a series of studies on the Arab world for the French government. He has written works on religion, Islam and Islamism and more. In 2006, in collaboration with Nicole Bacharan, he published a book on the Middle East, "Américains, Arabes: la confrontation" (Seuil, 2006) as well as "Vers l'Orient compliqué." (Grasset, 2006). 

Why did the United States invade Iraq? Sfeir will respond to the question by recalling the history of the region, from the Sykes-Picot Accords to today; retelling the stories of regional power struggles and the Gulf War of 1991.