Volume 8 - Number 2 December 2011 - January 2012 £4 | €5 | US$6.5 THIS ISSUE » IRAQ » IRAQ AFTER THE US WITHDRAWAL » IRAQI CINEMA » THE SEARCH FOR THE STOLEN COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM » SUMERIAN CUISINE » THE HYBRIDITY OF IRAQI CULTURE » MAPPING IRAQI ART » PLUS » REVIEWS AND EVENTS IN LONDON Volume 8 - Number 2 December 2011 - January 2012 £4 | €5 | US$6.5 THIS ISSUE » IRAQ » IRAQ AFTER THE US WITHDRAWAL » IRAQI CINEMA » THE SEARCH FOR THE STOLEN COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM » SUMERIAN CUISINE » THE HYBRIDITY OF IRAQI CULTURE » MAPPING IRAQI ART » PLUS » REVIEWS AND EVENTS IN LONDON Maysaloun Faraj, Khalida: Kites and Shattered Dreams, 2008, Aya Gallery Volume 8 - Number 2 About the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) December 2011- Th e London Middle East Institute (LMEI) draws upon the resources of London and SOAS to provide January 2012 teaching, training, research, publication, consultancy, outreach and other services related to the Middle Editorial Board East. 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Contents LMEI Board of Trustees 4 16 26 Professor Paul Webley (Chairman) EDITORIAL Female academics in Iraq BOOKS IN BRIEF Director, SOAS Huda al-Dujaili, Inass al-Enezy, Dr John Curtis Irada al-Jeboury & Nadje Al-Ali British Museum H E Sir Vincent Fean KCVO Consul General to Jerusalem 5 27 Professor Ben Fortna, SOAS IRAQ LISTINGS: INSIGHT 18 DECEMBER – JANUARY Professor Graham Furniss, SOAS Iraq aft er the US withdrawal Th e Humanitarian Dialogue EVENTS Mr. Alan Jenkins Charles Tripp Foundation Dr Karima Laachir, SOAS Ali Saff ar and Ahmed Naji Professor Annabelle Sreberny, SOAS LMEI Advisory Council 7 Lady Barbara Judge (Chair) Space to think 20 Professor Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem Th e Council for Assisting Refugee Mapping Iraqi art Near and Middle East Department, SOAS Academics Janet Rady H E Khalid Al-Duwaisan GVCO Ambassador, Embassy of the State of Kuwait Kate Robertson Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani Arab International Women’s Forum Dr Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa 22 President, University College of Bahrain 9 POETRY Professor Tony Allan King’s College and SOAS Iraqi cinema: Under the shadow Sargon Boulus and ‘Abd al-Wahab Dr Alanoud Alsharekh of occupation al-Bayati LMEI and Fellow, St Antony’s College Hassan Abdulrazzak Narguess Farzad Mr Farad Azima Iran Heritage Foundation Professor Doris Behrens-Abouseif Art and Archaeology Department, SOAS Dr Noel Brehony 11 23 MENAS Associates Ltd. Looting ‘the memory of mankind’ REVIEWS Mr Charles L. O. Buderi Th e search for the stolen Th e BFI London Film Festival Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP collection of the National Mohammad Mirbashiri Dr Elham Danish Museum Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Ionis Th ompson Mr Kasim Kutay Moelis & Company Mr Rod Sampson 24 Barclays Wealth, Dubai RESTAURANT Dr Mai Yamani Masgouf- Le Chef Carnegie Middle East Centre 13 Th e oldest cookbook in the world Nadje Al Ali and Mark Douglas Sumerian cuisine Founding Sponsor and Lamees Ibrahim Member of the Advisory Council Sheikh Mohamed bin Issa al Jaber 25 MBI Al Jaber Foundation BOOKS 14 Iraqi Marshlands Ed. Sam Kubba Th e hybridity of Iraqi culture Peter Clark Sami Zubaida December 2011-January 2012 » The Middle East in London » 3 EEDITORIALDITORIAL DDearear RReadereader The National Museum in Baghdad Nadje Al-Ali, MEL Editorial Board uring a recent trip to the US, Iraq (CARA) has been working relentlessly provides us with a very interesting account made headlines for several days for several years with Iraqi academics - a of the hybridity of Iraqi culture, not only in Daft er a long period of virtual news particularly vulnerable group in terms of the terms of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious blackout. Ironically, I was talking to a group lawlessness, lack of security and violence. mosaic, but he demonstrates that language, of retired military and business people at Her contribution introduces CARA’s Iraq music and food – the cornerstones of any the World Aff airs Council in Colorado City programme, which has been trying to culture – have been mixed and hybrid due (my most challenging audience ever) aft er address the crisis of Iraqi higher education to cultural encounters and entanglements. President Obama had just announced the both in terms of other great exoduses of Th e newly established Humanitarian withdrawal of all US troops by the end of academics but also within Iraq. SOAS Dialogue Foundation off Edgware Road, 2011. Aft er days of talking to impressive has supported CARA’s important work introduced by Ali Saff ar and Dr Ahmed students and staff at a progressive liberal during the past four years and is part of its Naji attempts to revive this very history arts college, this felt rather diff erent. Th e nationwide network of partner universities. and tradition of cosmopolitan and mixed overall story presented on the mainstream Th e article written by the team of Iraqi spaces for Iraqis within London. Hassan American TV channels was also prevalent academics – Irada Al-Jabbouri, Inass Al- Abdulrazzak – who has become known to amongst my audience: we have done our job Enezy, Huda al-Dujaili and myself - zooms many people through his wonderful play and it is high time to bring Americans back in to the specifi c problems and challenges Baghdad Wedding – discusses new talents home to safety. Very few voices in the media faced by female academics in contemporary linked to emerging Iraqi cinema, but also addressed the actual situation in Iraq which, Iraq. criticizes the fact that much of what we as Professor Charles Tripp so eloquently Yet, as we are showing in in this issue, have seen on screens about Iraq has been discusses in this issue’s Insight piece, does Iraq’s long history of cultural and artistic produced in the west through a western not look promising in terms of democracy productions and creations continues despite gaze. and human rights. His refl ections are the extremely diffi cult political, economic An issue about Iraq would not be illuminating but make also for a depressing and social conditions. Ionis Th ompson complete without reference to food. We read. We seem to have come full circle. interviews Lamia al-Gailani, one of Iraq’s have a special gem with Lamees Ibrahim’s Th e human costs of the war and the foremost archaeologists who has been article on Sumerian cuisine. Th e restaurant occupation in Iraq are written out of many instrumental in trying to reconstitute the review was another family production and current accounts. Kate Robertson from the stolen collection of the National Museum triggered a nostalgic journey into the past… Council of Assisting Refugee Academics in Baghdad.