If you’re based in London, there are plenty of Middle East-focused events going on throughout November to keep you busy!
Top picks:
- Levison Wood’s speaking tour on 11th – I caught his talk in Manchester and it was fascinating. Don’t miss his brand new book, Arabia!
- Jon Snow’s talk at UCL on 14th comes at a really fascinating time, as journalists and activists covering the region are increasingly coming under fire for speaking truth to power.
- Yemeni food vlogger Fatma al-Baiti has your brunch plans covered on Saturday 24th with her popup Yemeni brunch experience.
26th October – 3rd November
9th London Iranian Film Festival – multiple screenings and locations
Sunday 4th November
Women and the Future of the Middle East – Talk by Ahlam Akram, Palestinian champion of women’s rights, 37a Broadhurst Gardens, 7-9:30pm
Tuesday 6th November
Iran’s New Foreign Policy Challenges – Members event, Chatham House, 8:30-9:30am
How Violence Shapes Religion, Belief and Conflict in Africa and Middle East – Department of War Studies lecture and Q&A, Kings College, 6:30-8pm
Wednesday 7th November
Leighton House Museum – Private evening viewing, 6:30-8:30
Tales of the Silk Road: Chapter 1 – Turkey – Film screening, Brick Lane, 7-11pm
Thursday 8th November
The House is Black: A tribute to Forough Farrokhzad – Film screening and poetry reading, The Mosaic Rooms, 7pm
Sunday 11th November
Through the Badlands and Beyond – Levison Wood discusses his recent journey across the Middle East, O2 Shepherds Bush, 7pm
Tuesday 13th November
Gendering ‘Everyday Islam’ – Panel discussion, SOAS, 5:30-7pm
A Conversation with Professor Yuval Noah Harari – Members event, RUSI Whitehall, 6pm
Mission Impossible: The Case for a Syrian-Led Political Process – LSE Middle East Centre, 6-7:30pm
Cheater’s Dilemma: Disarming Iraq after the Gulf War – Talk by Dr Malfrid Braut-Hegghammer, UCL, 6:15-7:30pm
A conversation on Egypt’s political roadmap: Egyptian PM Panel – KCL Egyptian Society, 6:30-8pm
Lebanese cookery class with Ahmad – Mercato Metropolitano, 6:30-9pm
Wednesday 14th November
Jon Snow: The Middle East – Dare We Speak Truth to Power? – UCL, 1:05-2:30pm
The Ark Re-imagined: Navigating Iraqi Cultural Heritage on the Edge of Extinction – Talk by Rashad Salim, The British Institute for the Study of Iraq, 6-8pm
Britain and the Middle East after Brexit – A conversation with Chris Doyle, Director of the Centre for Arab British Understanding, Fabian Society, 6:30-8pm
Modern Art in Iran and its Search for Cultural Authenticity – Asia House, 6:45pm
Thursday 15th November
2018/19 Annual Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture: Liberalism and Zionism – Lecture by Doug Rossinow, UCL, 5:30-6:30
Dragons Blood Island: Socotra and Our Search for Dragons – Lecture by National Geographic Explorer Ella Al-Shamahi, SOAS, 5:45-7pm
Palestine Book Awards 2018 – Pre-launch evening, P21 Gallery, 6:30-9pm
The Imaginary Visions of Iran in 1930s and 1970s – Talk by NYU’s Ali Mirsepassi, SOAS, 7-9
An Iranian Art Plot: ‘Westoxication’ – Talk on Iranian modernism, The Mosaic Rooms, 7pm
Friday 16th November
Brigadier-General Sir Wyndham Deedes and the London Halkevi (1942-1950) – Turkish Studies seminar, SOAS, 12-2pm
16th-28th November
London Palestine Film Festival – Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS
Sunday 18th November
Tea and Tour of an East London Mosque – Darul Arqan Islamic Community Centre, 2-3pm
Monday 19th November
Leaving No One Behind: A Look at the Global Compact on Refugees – Refugee Law Initiative event, Senate House, 6-7:30pm
Anglo-American rivalry in the Middle East – Council for Arab-British Understanding talk, Palace of Westminster, 6:30-8pm
The Rule of Violence: Subjectivity, Memory and Government in Syria – Panel discussion and book launch, SOAS, 7-9pm
Tuesday 20th November
Shari’a, dissection and justice in modern Egypt – British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMEN) Annual Lecture, SOAS, 5:30-7pm
Flavours of the Middle East: Wines from Israel and Palestine – Abbotshill Wine Bar & Deli, 7:30-10:30pm
Wednesday 21st November
Talk by Ambassador Michael Aron on Yemen – SOAS, 6:30-8:30
Thursday 22nd November
Stories On Our Plate: Recipes and Conversations – Panel discussion and nibbles, London Cooking Project, 6-8pm
Saudi Post-Khashoggi: What next for the Kingdom? – LSE Middle East Centre, 6:30-8pm
Interactions – Tour of radical Iranian artist Bahjat Sadr’s exhibition, The Mosaic Rooms, 7pm
Friday 23rd November
Walking to Jerusalem – Book launch in aid of the Amos Trust’s work in Palestine, The Royal Geographical Society, 6:30-9pm
Saturday 24th November
London’s first Yemeni popup brunch – hosted by Fatma al-Baiti, Lost Boys Pizza, 10am-2:30pm
Iranian filmmaker Raskhan Bani-Etemad and her Karestan Documentary Film Project: Screening and Q&A – SOAS, 3-7pm
Instruments of the State: Tse Tse Fly Middle East film night – The CentrE17, 6:30-9:30
Tuesday 27th November
Ethics as a Weapon of War: Militarism and Morality in Israel – Lecture by James Eastwood, SOAS, 5:45-7pm
Syria: Beyond the Endgame – Panel discussion, LSE Middle East Centre, 6:30-8pm
Thursday 29th November
Israel, Palestine, and the United States: New Histories – Panel discussion, IAS Forum, 5-7pm
War Songs – Event to mark the English translation of ‘Antarah ibn Shaddad’s War Songs, SOAS, 5:30-7pm
Taqasim Music School: Maqam Moods – Performance by oud master Ahmed Mukhtar, The Mosaic Rooms, 7pm
Friday 30th November
Palestine in Song: An evening with Reem Kelani – St John’s Church, Waterloo, 7:30-10pm