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News: Globalisation & social justice Tariq Ali on fundamentalisms28 April 2002
The Sydney Writers' Festival presents Tariq Ali, talking on "The clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity".
Date of event: 31 May 2002
Tariq Ali on the clash of fundamentalismsTariq Ali was born in Lahore, now in Pakistan, then part of British-ruled India, in 1944. After graduating from Punjab University, he went to Britain and studied politics, philosophy and economics at Exeter College, Oxford, becoming President of the Oxford Union in 1965. With the Vietnam war at its height, Tariq Ali earned a national reputation through debates with figures like Henry Kissinger and the then British Foreign Secretary, Michael Stewart. "It was the Vietcong guerrilla fighters who really set the example," he wrote later. "When they showed they could inflict major defeats on the Americans, people all over the world said, 'if they can do it to the Americans, we can too'". In recent years, he has devoted himself to writing books, newspaper articles and polemical commentary on social and political matters. He is also a noted broadcaster. In his late 50s, TA has written over a dozen books on world history and politics, five novels and scripts for stage and screen. His most recent book is an edited collection on the Balkan war: Masters of the Universe? Nato's Balkan Crusade (Verso). In a special presentation for the Sydney Writers' Festival at Seymour Theatre Centre, Tariq will offer his explanation for the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and challenge assumptions about both the East and West. He will argue that Eastern civilisation has an important role to play in Western modernity. Tariq Ali will be introduced by Simon Gammell, Director of the British Council. Tariq is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review, where his most recent articles are: "Afghanistan: Between Hammer and Anvil", New Left Review, 2, March-April 2000; and "Throttling Iraq", New Left Review, 5, September-October 2000. Read more at Tariq Ali's ZNet HomePage. Biographical details and image courtesy of BBC4.The assumptions of the West on the EastNawal El Saadawi, Tariq Ali, Sherif Hetata and Ghassan Hage will discuss "The Assumptions of the West on the East" at 10.30 am, Saturday, 1 June, as part of the free general Festival program at Wharf 4/5, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay. Violence, race and gender: an international perspectiveAn Egyptian doctor, novelist and militant writer on Arab women's struggle for liberation, Nawaal El Saadawi has spent her life in resistance. Her autobiography, Walking through Fire, will be published to coincide with this Australian visit. El Saadawi will participate in a ground-breaking Sydney Writers' Festival forum at Parramatta Town Hall - Violence, Race and Gender: an international perspective. Other panelists include Afghani women's activist and broadcaster Zaheda Ghani, the Arabic Communities Councils' Omeima Sukkarieh, refugee and activist for Palestine, Rawan Abdul, and Indigenous Australian women. Thursday 30 May, 12.30 - 3 pm, Free. Nawal El Saadawi will give a talk in Arabic, with an English interpreter, on Friday 31 May, 6 pm - 8 pm at Parramatta Town Hall. Cost is $10, bookings through Seymour Theatre Centre: 9351 7940. Woman at point zeroNawal El Saadawi's novel, Woman at Point Zero, was described by The New York Times as "Direct and passionate ... a powerful allegory". A psychiatrist studying female prisoners in Cairo is intrigued by Firdaus, a woman who refuses to appeal her death sentence. It was said Firdaus had the power to start a war or bring down a government. Her explosive story has been adapted for stage and is presented by Sidetrack Performance Group. Woman at Point Zero, Bangarra Theatre, 30 May - 2 June, cost $25/$18, bookings: 9351 7940. Sovereignty and national identityGhassan Hage's new book, Arab-Australians Today, offers non-Arab-Australians a way to understand better the Arab presence in Australia and Arab-Australians an opportunity to reflect on the history of their settlement in Australia. Hage has published widely in the areas of racism, multiculturalism and diasporic studies. He is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sydney. He will also participate in a panel on "Sovereignty and National Identity", with Richard Flanagan and Raimond Gaita, 11 am - 12.30pm, Friday 31 May, Bangarra Performance Theatre, Wharf 4/5, Free. Read Ghassan's essay on the Evatt website: "The shrinking society: Ethics and hope in the era of global capitalism".
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