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Contemporary Arab liberalism has distinct features and history. One of its inaugural moments can be traced to Anwar Sadat's policies in the seventies that culminated with his visit to Israel. Sadat's policies opened the region up to a Pax-Americana wherein client regimes, under the aegis of Gulf finances, worked to defeat progressive forces in the Arab world and among Arabs abroad. In the decades since, Gulf-owned and financed media outlets and think-tanks have successfully altered the cultural, aesthetic and intellectual landscape of the Arab world in a manner consistent with liberal values and tastes that act in the service of Western hegemony. This talk will identify the factors behind the rise of Arab liberalism and analyze the environment that made such a regime of truth possible.

As'ad Abu Khalil was born in Tyre, Lebanon, and grew up in Beirut. He received his B.A. and M.A. in political science from the American University of Beirut, and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University. He is a professor at California State University, Stanislaus and a visiting professor at UC Berkeley. Abu Khalil is the author of Historical Dictionary of Lebanon (1998), Bin Laden, Islam & America's New "War on Terrorism" (2002), and The Battle for Saudi Arabia (2004). He maintains the blog, The Angry Arab News Service. He is a commentator on Middle East issues for television in the United States and a frequent commentator for Al-Jazeera.

Last updated: 2009-04-18 01:16:04