The ACCC in collaboration with Yerba Buena Gardens Festival presents:
AJYAL
Date: August 12, 2010
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Location: Esplanade at Yerba Buena Gardens
760 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA. 94103
Ajyal is a newly formed group of prominent Bay Area Arab and American musicians who share a passion for Arabic music. The Arabic word ajyal means "generations." The group takes this name to represent its mission of preserving and performing different genres and eras of Arabic listening and dancing music. Ajyal's repertoire includes popular songs, as well as lesser known songs, from different parts of the Arabic world. The group cares about presenting the spirit of the Arabic beat, which shows through their dynamic performances. Also important to the members of Ajyal is to provide education and knowledge about Arabic music and dance to those who seek to know more. Presented with the Arab Cultural Center.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY AT YERBA BUENA GARDENS
For more information: www.ybgf.org
The David Brown Book Company presents
Bedouin Weaving of Saudi Arabia and its Neighbours
By: Joy Totah Hilden
Date: Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Time: 7:00PM
Location: 2 Plaza Street
San Francisco, CA. 94116
Joy Totah Hilden is a teacher, artist, writer, and activist. She was born in Palestine before the creation of the state of Israel to Quaker educators, her father a native of Ramallah, and her mother an American. Joy spent the first nine years of her life in Palestine, emigrating with her family to the U.S. in 1944. One of her concerns since her youth has been Arab cultural preservation. She and her teacher-husband lived in Saudi Arabia for twelve years, during which time she did field research in bedouin weaving, while he taught English. She is celebrating the recent publication of her findings, Bedouin Weaving of Saudi Arabia and its Neighbours. For over ten years, she has been organizing her family's archives and writing a biography of her father, Khalil Totah.
The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
Mornings in Jenin A Palestinian Epic Narration, by Author Susan Abulhawa
Date: Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Time: 7 PM
Location:Arab Cultural & Community Center
2 Plaza Street, San Francisco, CA. 94116
Cost: $5- Suggested Donation
Please join the ACCC to meet Susan Abulhawa, and get your own signed copy of her book "Mornings in Jenin," a multi-generational story about a Palestinian family. It is a deeply human novel - a novel of history, identity, friendship, love, surrender, courage, and hope.
Susan Abulhawa is an American-based author of Palestinian descent. Her parents were displaced by the 1967 Six Day War and she grew up in Kuwait, Jordan, occupied East Jerusalem and the United States. After being educated at the University of South Carolina, she pursued a successful career in medical science. Feeling and believing the plight of Palestinians within the Middle East could not be ignored, she then dedicated her time writing novels and articles concerning the Israel and Palestine conflict, in doing so she became an academic advocate of Palestinian rights and a critic of Israeli policies. She founded "Playgrounds for Palestine" an NGO that builds playgrounds in Palestine and UN refugee camps in Lebanon.
Algeria vs. USA
Join the ACCC for screenings of the upcoming 2010 World Cup series. Put on your favorite soccer jersey and come show off your team spirit! Every game will be hosted at a different location so check ACCC website for updates.
Date: Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Time: 6:30PM
Location: 665 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA. 94110
Cost: $5- Suggested Donation
The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
The 3rd Annual Bay Area Arab Women's Conference
Saturday March 13th 2010, 9:00 am-4:30 pm
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
1300 S. El Camino, San Mateo, 94402
Keynote: "Operation Iraqi Liberation?
Liberate This: Arab Women as the Key to Freedom"
by Dr. Dahlia Wasfi
Panels:
- Arab Women's Health
- Arab Women in Politics
- Arab Identities and Cultural Expression
Register by March 9th, 2010. Form is available here or call 415-664-2200 to register by phone
$25 Registration fee, $15 Students
Space is Limited
Speaker Bios
Amal Kouttab is a registered drama therapist, teacher, mediator, and filmmaker. She has used drama, art and writing to facilitate therapeutic groups in mental health settings, nursing homes, hospitals and drug rehabilitation centers in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. She obtained a bachelor's degree in the performing arts and women's studies from the University of Virginia in 1997, and a master's degree in psychology and drama therapy from New York University in 2001. For the past four years, she has facilitated therapeutic workshops with Palestinians and Israelis and other groups in conflict in the Middle East and the Bay Area. She has taught graduate psychology classes entitled Drama Therapy for Social Change at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she developed part of the curriculum focused on internalized oppression. She co-founded the Araceli Theater Project based at San Francisco General Hospital, which rehearses and performs original educational theater pieces for people with cancer. She is honored and excited to join the dedicated team at SFWAR as the Director of Community Initiatives.
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi is an internationally known speaker and activist. Born in the United States to an American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Muslim father, she lived in Iraq as a child, returning to the U.S. at age 5. After graduating from Swarthmore College with a B..A. in Biology in 1993, she earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Dr. Wasfi has made two trips to Iraq to visit her extended family since the 2003 "Shock and Awe" invasion, including a three month stay in Basrah in the spring of 2006. She has brought her eyewitness account of life under occupation to over 200 audiences in twenty-two United States, Capitol Hill in D.C., Ontario and British Columbia, Madrid, Spain in 2007, and the 3rd International Iraq Conference in Berlin, Germany, in March 2008. Based on her experiences, Dr. Wasfi is speaking out in support of immediate, unconditional withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and Afghanistan and the need to end the occupation "from the Nile to the Euphrates." She is currently working on a book. Her website is www.liberatethis.com.
Jumana Musa is a human rights attorney and activist. She is currently the Policy Director for the Rights Working Group, a national coalition of civil rights, civil liberties, human rights and immigrant rights advocates working to ensure that everyone in the U.S. has certain inalienable rights including the right to a fair trial, freedom from arbitrary detention, and protection from discriminatory application of the law. Formerly, she served as the Advocacy Director for Domestic Human Rights and International Justice at Amnesty International USA, where she addressed the domestic and international impact of U.S. counterterrorism efforts on human rights. She was one of the first human rights attorneys allowed to travel to the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and served as Amnesty International's legal observer at military commission proceedings on the base.
Ms. Musa has also worked as a policy attorney for the National Network to End Domestic Violence and handled international relations and immigration issues as a fellow in the office of Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. She taught the class "Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa" as an adjunct professor at Georgetown's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Ms. Musa holds a BA in International Relations from Brown University and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
Laila Shereen Sakr is a poet, activist, scholar, and digital artist. Her work critically examines the nature of digital information and cyber existence in a post-9/11 world. She is primarily concerned with digital compositions, particularly in Arabic. In her art practice, she aims to bypass the notion of critic as authority who controls narrative. Instead, she aims to create a new authoritative but participatory role that resonates with web culture-that of co-editor, co-curator, and co-producer all at the same time. This is done by building and performing her work in digital and new media: her current projects include R-Shief, an Arabic-English web-based archive for exchange among activists, scholars, and new media artists; and VJ Um Amel, an interactive, live cinema narrative about an animated cyborg who is also an Arabic-speaking mother. Previously, she has co-founded media and art collectives in Washington, DC including the Guerrilla Poetry Insurgency and Word of Mouth. Shereen Sakr was awarded the 2009 Jack Shaheen Media Scholarship by the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC). Her work has been exhibited and performed in international festivals, galleries, and museums--including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Santa Cruz Museum. Presently, she is lecturer and research associate at UC Santa Cruz. See www.lailashereen.com.
Leila Tawil. "Stylish" (SF Chronicle) and "Elegant" (SF Bay Guardian) are the words most used to describe the work of contemporary dance choreographer Leyya Mona Tawil. Artistic Director of Leyya Tawil's Dance Elixir, Tawil has received numerous grants and awards including the prestigious University of Michigan Emerging Artist Award in 2008. Tawil's work has been presented internationally at the Beirut International Platform On Dance 2009, La Sala Rosa (Montreal), Overtoom 301 (Amsterdam), The Place (London), and CESTA/Spektrum Theater (Czech Republic). Within the U.S., Dance Elixir has been presented by San Francisco International Arts Festival (SF), The Flea (NYC), Oakland Art Gallery (Oakland, CA), Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Arab American National Museum's Ford Comerica Performance Series (MI), Bohemian National Home (MI), Arts at Middlebury (VT), Alwan for the Arts (NYC), as well as throughout northern California.
Leyya has taught in professional studios internationally and locally since 1997. She just completed a 2-year appointment at Middlebury College in Vermont as the Artist-In-Residence in Dance. She has also held faculty positions at the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, University of San Francisco and Sonoma State University (CA). Leyya received degrees in dance from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (BDA, 1997) and Mills College-Oakland (MFA, 2003). Tawil's work with Dance Elixir has been featured on Future TV (Lebanon), WDET's "Morning Edition" (MI), NBC11 (CA), KRON4 (CA), KNOE-TV8 (LA), and KALX's "Women in the Arts" (CA).
Tawil's solo show entitled Grace on a Friday Night has been performed in New York City, Beirut, Amsterdam, Tabor (Czech Republic), Middlebury (Vermont) and Oakland (CA). In 2010, Dance Elixir will be performing at the Syrian National Opera House in Damascus and the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival, as well as a European tour for teaching and residency opportunities.
Nadiah Mshasha has over 7 years of experience in the health education field. received her Masters in Public Health from San Jose State University in 2001. She possesses various skills across the spectrum of health education services including health program development, evaluation; grant management, health education materials/curricula development and providing trainings. She has worked within health care organizations such as Kaiser Permanente, Health Plan of San Mateo, Brown & Toland Physician Services Organization, and taught as a part-time lecturer at San Jose State University. Most recently, she has worked on various health education programs for the Arab Cultural and Community Center and currently works as a Perinatal Services Coordinator at the Ravenswood Family Health Center.
Nadiah Mshasha has over 7 years of experience in the health education field. received her Masters in Public Health from San Jose State University in 2001. She possesses various skills across the spectrum of health education services including health program development, evaluation; grant management, health education materials/curricula development and providing trainings. She has worked within health care organizations such as Kaiser Permanente, Health Plan of San Mateo, Brown & Toland Physician Services Organization, and taught as a part-time lecturer at San Jose State University. Most recently, she has worked on various health education programs for the Arab Cultural and Community Center and currently works as a Perinatal Services Coordinator at the Ravenswood Family Health Center.
Reem Salahi is an activist and attorney originally from Syria specializing in national security and civil rights. She is a member of the National Lawyers Guild and the President of the Muslim Bar Association of Southern California (MBASC). Formerly, Reem was a Bridge Fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California and a Fulbright Fellow in Amman, Jordan. More recently, Reem was one of seven attorneys to travel to Gaza on the National Lawyers Guild delegation directly following Israel's 22-day-attack in February of 2009. Reem's legal findings were published in an article, titled "Israel's War Crimes: A First Hand Account of Israel's Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Civilian Infrastructure," available here. Reem hosts a weekly internet radio program titled Objection! which looks at the intersection of civil rights, national security, and foreign policy. It can be heard streaming live on Thursdays www.onelegacyradio.com.
Sally Al-Daher is the Executive Director of the Arab Cultural & Community
Center in San Francisco, the largest cultural, educational and human service organization serving the Arab community in Northern California. Sally holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Baghdad/Iraq, and a Masters degree in Public Health focusing on Community Health Education from San Jose State University. Sally has been directing the center, fundraising and promoting Arab art and culture, increasing awareness and services in health education and domestic violence programs at the ACCC. Sally has worked for Santa Clara County as a Health Education Specialist, she lead the outreach and education program for a multi-agency comprehensive system of care for mothers and their infants impacted by prenatal substance abuse. Sally has worked as an independent contractor for California Family Health Council for two consecutive years. Sally is a member of the American Public Health Association, and Northern California Society of Public Health Education. Prior to moving to the United States 1996 Sally has been practicing medicine and working as a general practitioner in Yemen and Iraq with a special focus on health education and prevention.
Sanaa M Ezzat's love affair with art began by studying magazine illustrations as a young girl in Egypt. From early on, she developed a playful style and willingness to experiment with technique, color, and texture. After earning her degree from the School of Art Education at the University of Cairo, Sanaa moved with her family to the United States, where she continued to exhibit in many group and solo shows. With her training in education, Sanaa has taught courses and workshops in sculpture, design, and painting for both children and adults, and created a series of textbook illustrations for IQRA Books. She has received numerous awards and recognition in the US and Egypt for her work in various mediums, including watercolor, acrylic, oil, gouache, and mixed media. A collection of her work is available online at www.sanaaezzat.com.
The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
An Evening of Art and Networking
Thursday, March 11th, 2010, 7 PM
(ACCC) 2 Plaza Street, SF, 94116
Please join the ACCC for an art exhibit and evening of networking with others. This is a rare opportunity to view and purchase the work of Egyptian-American artist, Sanaa Ezzat. In addition to displaying her art, Sanaa will be giving a brief presentation.
The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
Chronicles of a Refugee
with director Adam Shapiro
Date: Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Time: 6:30PM
Location: (ACCC) 2 Plaza Street, SF, 94116
Screening Episode 4: Identity without a homeland unpacks the meaning and attributes of Palestinian identity in different parts of the world after 60 years of dispossession and refugee status. The episode engages a wide-ranging debate, taking various viewpoints into account, while trying to push towards consideration of these issues from a strategic perspective.
Commemoration of the Gaza Massacre and the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
The young will grow to continue our struggle for liberation.
A night of poetry, reflection and celebration of resistance
Saturday, February 6th, 2010, 6:30pm
Burlingame Recreation Center
850 Burlingame Avenue
Confirmed Keynote Speaker: Professor Haidar Eid
Also speaking:
Huwida Arraf
SF Supervisor John Avalos
Richard Becker - ANSWER Coalition
Tony Gonzales - American Indian Movement
Babara Lubin - Middle East Children's Alliance
This event will be a fundraiser for MECA's MAIA Water Project.
Al-Awda, Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC), Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), Palestinian Youth Network (PYN), Students for Justice in Palestine - UCB (SJP), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), American Indian Movement-WEST, Americans for a Palestinian State, ANSWER Coalition, Al Juthoor Debkah Troupe, Bay Area Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid (BACEIA), Birthright Unplugged, Break the Silence Mural Project, FECOPES & Barrio Unido, FMLN-Northern California, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Justice for Palestinians (San Jose, CA), Peace Action of San Mateo County, Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!), San Francisco Women in Black, South Alameda County Peace & Justice Coalition, US Organization for Medical and Educational Needs (US-OMEN), Veterans for Peace - Chapter87
To endorse this event, send an email to: gazacommemoration@gmail.com
The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
Syria in San Francisco: A Concert featuring Syrian Tareb Music
Friday, February 5, 2010, 7-8:30 PM
Cost: $15
Tickets sold at the door.
ACCC, 2 Plaza Street
San Francisco, CA, 94116
The ACCC invites you to experience the sounds of Syria with a concert featuring traditional Syrian songs performed by Ajyal Ensemble featuring Syrian singer and Oud player, Nazir Latouf.
Ajyal (Generations)
Faisal Zedan (derbakki, riqq, framedrum): Originally from Syria, Faisal showcases impeccable technique with deep knowledge of the complexities of the Arabic musical structures. His repertoire ranges from classical muwashshahat genre to the regional folkloric style.
Nazir Latouf (oud): Nazir has been a cornerstone of Arabic music in San Francisco since his arrival in 1979. He has a rich background in both oud and accordion, and has toured extensively as a musician in Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, and Egypt.
Husain Resan (violin): Husain began studying the oud at Baghdad's Bayt-al-Fann school, and joined its music ensemble at the age of 16. In addition to playing the violin, oud and bass, he is also an accomplished vocalist and performs with San Francisco's ASWAT Ensemble.
Susu Pampanin (derbakki, riqq, framedrum): Susu is well known for her virtuosity in Middle Eastern drumming, and is highly respected by the Arab professional music community. She has also explored and studied a wide range of percussion instruments and various styles of music.
Laurie Eisler (qanun, riqq): Laurie studied the Egyptian instruments at UCLA and in Cairo. Since 1992, she played primarily with the Georges Lammam ensemble, and also with the group "Helm". Laurie has taught at the Middle Eastern Music & Dance camp, and in the U.C. Berkeley Ethnomusicology Dept.
TerriAnne (dance, daf): TerriAnne has many years of musical training in flute and clarinet, with her main instrument being classical guitar. She began her studies in daf and riq with Susu Pampanin in 2004 and performs with her on a regular basis. She has been a Middle Eastern dancer for over 25 years and has worked with many fine and talented musicians.
The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
Lecture and Book Signing with author and activist, Richard Becker
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
6:30 PM
Location: ACCC
2 Plaza St. (at Laguna Honda)
San Francisco, 94116
Richard will be speaking about his new book, Palestine: Israel and the U.S. Empire. The lecture will be followed by a moderated Q & A.
About the Author
Richard Becker is a noted writer and commentator on Middle East affairs. He has been a featured speaker at political forums and conferences in the United States and across the world. He has visited the Middle East on numerous occasions, and led fact-finding delegations to Palestine in 2000 and 2002, delivering medicine to Palestinian hospitals. In December of 2005, Richard participated in an international conference in Syria about Palestinian refugees and the right of return. Richard has contributed to both books and films including: co-authoring the book The Children Are Dying (1996) about the effects of sanctions on the Iraqi people, and contributing to the anthology Challenge to Genocide: Let Iraq Live (1999). He also co-produced the award-winning video Genocide by Sanctions (1998), and helped produce the video Palestine Fights for Freedom based on his experiences (2002).
Currently, Becker is the Western Regional Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). ANSWER has organized mass protests of hundreds of thousands of people against the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine from mid-2002 to the present. He is a regular contributor to Liberation newspaper and PSLweb.org.
 The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
ACCC Winter Wonderland for Children
Featuring: Yummy holiday desserts and beverages, Arts & Crafts Activities for kids, picture booth for families, Story Time, and more...
Saturday, December 12, 2009, 11-3 pm
Arab Cultural & Community Center
2 Plaza Street at Laguna Honda
If you would like to participate by volunteering with children's activities or contributing games or food, please contact Lulu Azzghayer (Cultural Program Manager) at 415-664-2200 or email: lulu@arabculturalcenter.org.
ACCC Arabic Cooking Series
Have you ever craved your mother's falafel or your grandmother's grape leaves? Ever wished you were paying more attention while they were in the kitchen cooking up your favorite dishes? Have you ever wondered how your favorite Arabic restaurant makes their hummus? If this sounds like you, then stop wondering and come join the ACCC for its exciting new Arabic Cooking Series!
The ACCC presents its exciting new Arabic Cooking Series where you will get hands-on experience in the kitchen making your favorite Arabic dishes. The class sizes will be small so you will have one-on-one training, while working in a group. When the cooking ends the eating will begin. You will get to sit and enjoy your fabulous dishes with new friends and get to take home all of the new recipes you learned.
Oct 29, Nov. 5 & 12, 2009 from 6-9 pm
To register- contact Farah El Abed at 415-664-2011 or email felabed@arabculturalcenter.org
Students will take home recipe packets and take home leftovers from class
October 29: Mezze (Appetizers) - Hummus, Tabouli, and Falafel
November 5: Family Style Entrees - Grape Leaves and Mjadra
November 12: Pastries - Kunafa and Basbousa
1 Class - $35,
3 Class Pass - $100
ACCC Member Special Reduced Pricing:
1 Class - $30
3 Class Pass - $90
Fall 2009 Children's Arabic Class
Children's Arabic Classes will be starting again on Saturday, Sept 26 at the ACCC. Register on the first day of class, by phone, or by mail. For age 5 and up. For more information, please call (415) 664-2200 or email info@arabculturalcenter.org
Semester dates: Sept. 26 - Dec 12 2009 (no class on Nov. 28, Thanksgiving weekend)
Saturdays, 11:00am- 2:00pm
Tuition: ACCC members, $140 per child
Non-members, $155 per child
(*additional siblings, $15 discount)
Fall 2009 Children's Arabic Class Registration Form
 The Arab Cultural & Community Center Presents:
A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories
Discussion and Book Signing with Author Alia Malek of New York
Friday, November 13 at 7 pm
Suggested Donation of $5-$10 at the Door
Arab Cultural & Community Center
2 Plaza Street at Laguna Honda
For more information: 415-664-2200 or
lulu@arabculturalcenter.org
What does American history look and feel like in the eyes and skin of Arab Americans? Join author Alia Malek in a discussion of her new book A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories. Syrian-American civil right lawyer Alia Malek weaves the stories of the Arab-American community (3.5 million strong) into the story of America, using lively and moving narratives of real people who have lived history all around the country. Alia Malek's A Country Called Amreeka brings to life captivating true stories of a wide variety of Arab Americans navigating the divide between their original heritage and their new world in the United States.
About the Author: Alia Malek, a Syrian-American born and raised in Baltimore, MD, received a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and a Graduate Diploma from its School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Bologna, Italy. During and after receiving her law degree from Georgetown University, Alia volunteered for both British and American NGO's in the West Bank, witnessing the outbreak of the second intifada. In 2000, Alia was hired as an Honors Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice under the Clinton/Reno administration, though she resigned her post under the Bush/Ashcroft administration on the eve of the U.S. invasion to Iraq. Following the onset of the Iraq War, Alia moved to Beirut, Lebanon working with a Lebanese NGO to provide free legal aid to asylum- seeking refugees coming through Lebanon from Sudan, Iraq, and Somalia. She also designed and taught a course at the Lebanese American University entitled, Introduction to Human Rights. In 2004, Alia moved back to the US, for the U.S. presidential elections, working for Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, where she ran the Election Protection campaigns in Georgia and most of Florida. Alia eventually moved to New York City where she pursued and completed a Masters in Journalism form Columbia University. She is now a freelance writer based in New York. A Country Called Amreeka is her first book.
Celebrating Our Unity Gala
City Hall October 9 from 7-11 pm
In honor and in celebration of Arab Heritage Month, the ACCC will be holding its annual gala at City Hall on Friday, October 9th from 7:00 - 11:00 pm. Mayor Gavin Newsom will be kicking off the inaugural celebration of Arab Heritage Month in the City of San Francisco in October. Our entire community is coming together to plan a month long celebration that will highlight our rich culture and heritage in the arts, business, music and the various traditions of the Arab community.
Our annual gala is an opportunity to highlight some of the remarkable achievements within our community and to honor those who work tirelessly to enhance and elevate the perceptions of Arab-Americans. The proceeds from this benefit gala will help fund our scholarship, after school, arts and cultural programs.
In addition, we will be awarding one deserving high school senior or college student a $3000 scholarship to help pay for their college education. Print out you application here (link to doc) All applications are due by September 30th.
Join us for an unforgettable evening which will include a three course sit down dinner, awards, music, and an opportunity to show our elected officials the power and strength of our community. Don't delay, buy your tickets today, the event will surely sell out! Individual tickets are $150 or $250 for VIP seating -- table pricing is $1500 or $2500 for VIP seating. To by tickets over the phone, please call 415-664-2200.
When: August 4, 2009, 7:00 pm
Where: 2 Plaza St., San Francisco, CA
An evening of readings and discussion with two groundbreaking authors about their work and what it means to be an Arab writer in America
About the Authors:Dave Eggers is the editor of McSweeney's and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center for kids ages 6-18 in San Francisco. His most recent work is Zeitoun, a story about an Arab-American couple from New Orleans and their post-Katrina struggles. It has been hailed by Michael Eric Dyson as an "instant American classic." It's an amazing tale and will go down in history as one of the most important narratives of our time. This is a piece of literary genius and profound humanness that will change the way Arab-Americans are viewed forever. Toufic El Rassi was born in Beirut in 1978 to an Egyptian mother and Lebanese father. He immigrated to Chicago a year later as his family escaped the civil war in Lebanon. He is a college lecturer in history and political science, a writer, and a graphic novelist and commentator on Middle Eastern affairs, based in Chicago. Using the graphic novel as his medium, he chronicles his experience growing up in Arab in America. From childhood through adolescence, and as an adult, El Rassi illustrates the prejudice and discrimination Arabs and Muslims experience in American society. He contends with ignorant teachers, racist neighbors, bullying classmates, and a growing sense of alienation. El Rassi recounts his personal experiences after the 9/11 attacks and during the implementation of new security and immigration laws that followed.Alia Yunis has worked as a journalist, filmmaker and writer in the Arab World and Los Angeles. She is a PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and currently teaches film and television at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. Shifting between the United States and Lebanon in her debut novel The Night Counter, she unravels four generations of Abdullah family secrets with a great sense of comic timing and a deft touch of magical realism. The beautiful and immortal Scheherazade has been roaming the earth for eleven centuries, and she yearns for a story to distract her. When she follows an American soldier home from Iraq out of curiosity, she runs into Fatima Abdullah in Los Angeles, a cantankerous and fiercely loyal matriarch of a sprawling Arab-American clan._________________________
Kinan Azmeh and Dinuk Wijeratne in Concert:
"Complex Stories, Simple Sounds"
"Complex Stories, Simple Sounds" is a musical collaboration between award-winning Syrian clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh and Sri Lankan-born Canadian pianist and composer Dinuk Wijeratne. The project fuses elements of Arabic and Southeast Asian vocabulary with classical and jazz music idioms, to create a new sonic world that the legendary Marcel Khalife called "wings of breath." The artists have just completed a successful tour of the Arab world in May and are now touring "Complex Stories, Simple Sounds" for the first time in the US. Presented in collaboration with the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco's Public Programs.
When: Sunday, July 26 at 4 pm
Where: Florence Gould Theater at the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 34th Ave. & Clement St., San Francisco
Tickets: In Advance: $15 students, $20 general. $25 at the door
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/72867
About the Artists:
Kinan Azmeh
Hailed as a “virtuoso” by the New York Times and “engagingly flamboyant” by the L.A. Times, Kinan Azmeh is one of Syria’s rising stars. Born in Damascus, Kinan was the first Arab to win the premier prize at the 1997 Nicolai Rubinstein International Competition, Moscow. A graduate of New York's Juilliard school, and of both the High institute of Music and Damascus University’s School of Electrical Engineering, Kinan is currently a doctoral music student of Charles Neidich at the City University of New York.
Notable appearances include: Opera Bastille, Paris; Tchaikovsky Grand Hall, Moscow; Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, New York; the Royal Albert hall, London; the Kennedy Center, Washington DC; and the Damascus Opera House. He has played under such reputed conductors as Solhi al-Wadi and Roger Norrington; and has shared the stage with Daniel Barenboim, Marcel Khalife, Francois Rabbath, Elliott Sharp, Katia Tchemberdji, Kevork Mourad, and members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
Compositions include several works for solo, orchestra, and chamber music; film, live illustration, and electronics. His recordings include two albums with his ensemble HEWAR, and several soundtracks for film and dance. Kinan, along with Dinuk Wijeratne, is a founding member of the multimedia group NEOLEXICA. He serves on the advisory board of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, and is artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Music Ensemble, with whom he released an album of new music written especially for the ensemble by various Arab composers.
www.kinanazmeh.com
Dinuk Wijeratne
One of the most eclectic talents of Canada's new generation, Sri Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne was recently praised by the CBC as an artist “internationally respected for his virtuosity and sensitivity as a musician”. In redefining the sound of the piano he has been captivating audiences with his poetry and imagination.
Dinuk is a graduate in composition, piano and conducting from the Royal Northern College of Music (UK), Mannes College (NYC), and the Juilliard School. A former student of John Corigliano, Dinuk has composed specially for almost all of the artists and ensembles with whom he has performed; to name a few: Yo Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble, Tim Garland, John Dankworth, Nikki Iles, Julian Argüelles, Victor Mendoza, Ed Thigpen, Pandit Ramesh Misra, Kevork Mourad, Mayookh Bhaumik, David Jalbert, Adrian Spillett, Buck 65, Christina Courtin, MIR, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, 4-Mality Percussion Quartet, the NY Kathak Ensemble, and Symphony Nova Scotia.
A truly versatile artist, Dinuk has conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra and, appeared many times with Symphony Nova Scotia during his 3-year appointment as Conductor-in-Residence. He is presently Music Director of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. The Canada Council for the Arts recently awarded Dinuk the 2008 Jean-Marie Beaudet award for orchestral conducting. He is also the recipient of Juilliard and Mannes scholarships; two Countess of Munster composition grants; the Sema Jazz Improvisation Prize; the Soroptimist International Award for Composer-Conductors; and the Sir John Manduell Prize. His music and collaborative work embrace the great diversity of his international background and influences.
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Re-Orienting Occidental Art: Eastern Influences on Western Architecture, Renaissance to the Modern Day.
A talk by Reem Al Alusi
Thursday, January 8 at 7 pm
Free Admission
Arab Cultural & Community Center
2 Plaza Street (at Laguna Honda), San Francisco
In this talk Reem Al Alusi will paint a broad overview of the history of Western art and architecture, paying special attention to the global flows and phenomena that shaped the Western aesthetic. Far from being an isolated series of events, the development of European architecture, starting with the Renaissance and continuing through the modern day, was shaped by contact with the East. Political, religious, and cultural boundaries blurred in the Middle Ages, and did not crystallize into the hard borders of the modern nation-state until recently; likewise, the story of Western art is one of fluidity and adaptation. During this period of immense creativity and experimentation, economic cooperation and mimicry, travel and exploration, religious zeal and spiritual renewal found expression in precedents as varied as ancient Mesopotamia and then-modern Turkey. Reem will illustrate the talk with examples from Rome to San Francisco.
Reem Al Alusi took her Masters Degree in the History and Philosophy of Architecture from the University of Cambridge, where I wrote my thesis on the Eastern Influences on the Italian High Baroque. She specializes in the art and architecture of Spain and Italy since these were the points of contact for Islam into Europe in the early and Middle Ages. She has lectured on art and architecture in the UK and in the US.
 An Evening with master Nay player Bassam Saba
Sunday January 25 at 6 pm
Limited Seating, $15
Arab Cultural & Community Center
2 Plaza Street (at Laguna Honda), San Francisco
An intimate evening of performance with one of North America's best Arabic musicians
Bassam Saba is a native of Lebanon, where he studied 'ud, violin, and nay (Arab flute) at the Lebanese National Conservatory. In 1976, he moved to France where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Western Classical music and Flute Performance from the Conservatoire Municipals des Gobelins in Paris. During this time, Mr. Saba was an essential member of Marcel Khalife's ensemble, Al-Mayadeen, playing nay, violin, and flute.
He moved to Moscow in 1985 and received a Master's Degree in Flute Performance and Music. After a period as Musical Director of the Beirut Symphonic Orchestra, he moved to New York, and began performing with Simon Shaheen, becoming one of the key members of Shaheen's Qantara group and the Near Eastern Music Ensemble, among many other musical activities.
Throughout his extensive career, Bassam Saba has performed many styles of music ranging from Western classical music to popular and traditional Arab music, as well as Arab fusion music. Considered one of the most outstanding nay and 'ud players in the United States, he has toured throughout the Middle East, Europe, Canada, South America, Australia, Africa and Japan.
His accomplishments include recording and performing with renowned international artists such as Ziad Rahbani, Yo Yo Ma, Marcel Khalife, Wu Man, Simon Shaheen, Fairuz, Kadim (Kazem) Al Sahir, Majida al-Roumi, Khaled, Santana, Souad Massi, and more. Currently based in New York, Bassam composes and performs with his own musical ensemble Myriad, and is directing the Middle Eastern Ensemble at Harvard University.
www.myspace.com/bassamsaba
3rd Annual Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, December 6, 11am- 2pm
The Arab Cultural & Community Center
2 Plaza St. San Francisco, CA
Join the Arab Cultural & Community Center for its 3rd Annual Holiday Bazaar In celebration of Christmas, Eid & the New Year. The bazaar will feature Arabic textiles, ceramics, Crafts, Jewelry, home goods, Olive Oil, books, calendars and much more for sale. Complimentary delicious holiday desserts and beverages will be served. There will be a children's craft table and free henna tattoos. For information about vending please call 415-664-2200.
Saed Muhssin and the Arab Orchestra of San Francisco in Concert
Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 pm
tickets $15
The Arab Cultural & Community Center
2 Plaza Street at Laguna Honda, San Francisco
The AOSF explores the boundaries between tradition and modernity, and continues to highlight the common elements of various idioms. The group relies the virtuosity of each individual player to create an exquisite listening experience. The repertoire of the AOSF is chosen from among the most demanding Arabic art pieces. The members of the orchestra are musicians with a solid background and the sound of the orchestra relies on the strength of each individual player, not just when they perform composed and improvised solos, but also when the entire orchestra is performing.
Ensemble director Saed Muhssin is a oud performer, teacher and music scholar.
Saed has performed widely both as a soloist, and with other groups inluding as musical director of Al-Marjanah ensemble, the Saed Muhssin trio and Aswat Arabic choir. Most recently he has founded the Arabic Orchestra of San Francisco. As a scholar, Saed has studied Arabic music theory and oud performance for the past twenty years and is completing a book on maqam intonation. Saed gives classes and lecture demos in many universities, colleges and cultural institutions as well as teaching music privately in his San Francisco studio.
www.saedmuhssin.com
 Riad Abdel-Gawad in concert with Faisal Zedan
Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 pm
tickets $20
Born in Cairo, Egypt and now based primarily in the Los Angeles area, violinist and composer Riad Abdel-Gawad is a graduate of the University of Southern California, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Harvard University. Riad Abdel-Gawad composes in several very distinct styles, from traditional to avant-garde, and his work fuses a variety of Western and Eastern genres and canons. His musical lineage is from the school of Abdo Dagher, legendary violinist for Om Kalthoum, whose teaching tradition has roots reaching to the Medieval Arabic writers' and practitioners' sources, and who instilled his unique method and improvisatory practices to his students. His latest CD, El Tarab El Aseel features a traditional takht (ensemble) of some of Cairo's best musicians on qanun, ud, nay and riqq.
After graduating from Harvard with a Ph.D. in music composition, Riad Abdel-Gawad principally resided in Belgium, Egypt and Germany and traveled to France and Italy before settling in the United States. A champion of the idea that trans-national composition and performance is one of the frontiers of music in the twenty-first century, Riad Abdel-Gawad strives toward this in his art.
Riad Abdel-Gawad has performed his own compositions on violin in numerous festivals, workshops, and tours in Belgium, Cameroon, Congo (Democratic Republic), Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Spain, and the United States. Riad Abdel-Gawad's compositions have been broadcast worldwide on radio, and he has received awards, fellowships and grants from ASCAP, the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Germany, BMI, Harvard University, and the MacDowell Colony.
www.riadabdelgawad.com
A master of the derbakki (tabla), riqq (Arabic tambourine) and the frame drum, percussionist Faisal Zedan, born in Syria and now based in the Bay Area, combines impeccable technique with a deep understanding of the complexities of Arabic musical structures. From the classical Mowashshahat style to regional folkloric and even fusion genres, his unique approach mixes tradition and emotion with a contemporary feel. After coming to California in 1992, he met UCLA's noted ethnomusicology professor Dr. Ali Jihad Racy and was asked to join the acclaimed UCLA Near East Music Ensemble. In 1993 Zedan became a founding member of Near East music group Kan Zaman. Since 1996, Zedan has played, studied and taught at Northern California's Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp, with artists and musicians from all over the globe. In addition to his work with numerous local and national Arabic music ensembles he plays percussion with the Bay Area's Arabic choir Aswat.
www.faisalzedan.com
 Reading and Book Signing:
Al' America by Jonathan Curiel
Thursday, November 13 at 7 pm
free admission
Local author and journalist Jonathan Curiel will read from his new book Al' America (New Press, Fall 2008) a look at the influence of Arab and Islamic culture on America.
About the Book: Four out of ten Americans say they dislike Muslims, according to a Gallup poll. "Muslims," a blogger wrote on the Web site Free Republic, "don't belong in America." In a lively, funny, and revealing riposte to these sentiments, journalist Jonathan Curiel offers a fascinating tour through the little-known Islamic past, and present, of American culture.
From highbrow to pop, from lighthearted to profound, Al' America reveals the Islamic and Arab influences before our eyes, under our noses, and ringing in our ears. Curiel demonstrates that many of America's most celebrated places - including the Alamo in San Antonio, the French Quarter of New Orleans, and the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina - retain vestiges of Arab and Islamic culture. Likewise, some of America's most recognizable music - the Delta Blues, the surf sounds of Dick Dale, the rock and psychedelia of Jim Morrison and the Doors - is indebted to Arab music. And some of America's leading historical figures, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Elvis Presley, relied on Arab or Muslim culture for intellectual sustenance.
Part travelogue, part cultural history, Al' America confirms a continuous pattern of give-and-take between America and the Arab-Muslim world. Al' America, which begins its narrative with Christopher Columbus sailing to America, ends its narrative in Dearborn, Michigan, where Curiel meets an Arab American football coach and includes a surprising historical text that features Edward Said.
About the Author: Jonathan Curiel, longtime staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, has reported on Arab and Muslim issues here and abroad. His journalism on Arabs and Muslims has been honored by Columbia University and he has taught as a Fulbright scholar at Pakistan's Punjab University. He lives in San Francisco.
 Riffat Sultana in concert
with Georges Lammam and Shiraz Ali Khan
October 23 at 7:30 pm
tickets $20.00
Riffat Sultana performs a wide variety of traditional and modern materials from Pakistan and India, including Sufi, Geet, Ghazal, Filmi, Qawwali, and Light Classical song styles. Highlighting Riffat's performances are her devotional, ecstatic Pakistani Sufi songs and her dazzling vocal improvisations. The daughter of the late Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, universally recognized as the finest Pakistani Classical singer of his time, Riffat is the first woman from her family's musical lineage to publicly perform in the west. Her stunning vocals have been recorded for numerous record labels including Ark 21/Universal, Triloka/Mercury, Hearts of Space, City of Tribes, 6 Degrees and XDot25. Her husband Shiraz Ali Khan accompanies her on 12-string guitar she features tabla, dhole, and other traditional or modern instrumentalists in her performances. 
Of Palestinian descent, born in Beirut, Lebanon and living for 14 years in the United Arab Emirates, violinist Geroge Lammam is well-known as a violinist exemplifying the Arab style of instrumental improvisation and lyricism. Currently living in San Francisco, he and his ensemble have performed at the San Francisco World Music Festival, The Legion of Honor Museum, the De Young Museum in San Francisco, The Fine Arts Cinema in Berkeley, and many more local and national venues. Mr. Lammam is instructor of violin and Arabic singing at the annual Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp in Mendocino, California and has taught Arabic music ensemble and vocal classes at the UC-Berkeley, Humboldt State University, Santa Fe College and Middlebury College in Vermont.
For more information about the artists:
www.myspace.com/riffatsultana
www.riffatsultana.com
www.amorfiaproductions.com
 Arab Film Festival Screening:
Evening of Short Films from Palestine and Jordan
October 27 at 7 pm
This year the Arab Film Festival comes to the ACCC for a night of 9 short films from Palestine's 2008 Audio-Visual Project and Jordan's Amman Filmmaker's Cooperative.
For complete details and ticket prices, please visit
www.aff.org
Political Engagement in the Arab American Community:
A Panel Discussion
Wednesday October 15, 2008 at 7:30 pm
The Arab Cultural and Community Center will host a panel and community discussion about the role of Arab-American and Arab Immigrant communities in civic processes, particularly in the upcoming elections. What are the issues facing the Arab community? Is the community being represented and listened to? How do we make our concerns and voices heard in the political process? Join the ACCC to discuss these questions and more.
Panelists:
Ross Mirkarimi, Board of Supervisor of the City of San Francisco
Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas initiative at San Francisco State University
Jamal Dajani, Link TV and the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Coalition
Jamal Shamieh of the Arab-American Grocers Association
 The Arab Cultural and Community Center presents
14th Annual Arab Cultural Festival
Ya Hala
August 24, 2008
County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park
Ya Hala: 14th Annual Arab Cultural Festival
On August 24, San Francisco's Arab Cultural and Community Center will present our 14th Annual Arab Cultural Festival, the largest celebration of Arab heritage in Northern California. This day-long event will showcase the arts, entertainment, food, traditions, and most importantly the spirit of the Arab and Arab-American people, and their contributions to the Bay Area's cultural landscape. This year's theme, Ya Hala (Welcome) expresses the tradition of hospitality and generosity that is a hallmark of Arab culture throughout the world.
Click here for more information
 Arab Woman Talking
A one-person performance, written and performed by Lana Nasser
Thursday, July 31 at 7 pm
ACCC, 2 Plaza Street (off Laguna Honda)
San Francisco
A window into the inner world of woman, wearing different names. She examines her reflection and searches for meaning, in the dictionary, in ancient poetry, and in myth; she imagines the untold stories; talks, dances and sings. In English, Arabic, and without words, the play is about love and language, identity and reconciliation; a bridge between the inner and the outer, the Middle East and the West.
Lana Nasser is a performing artist, writer, and translator. Her work is based on research in mythology, dreams, and languae; much of her inspiration comes from the dictionary. She lives in California's Bay, leads trips to Jordan- where she was born and raised, and offers workshops. She first presented Arab woman Talking at La Pena in March of 2008, and did a one month run of the play at the Dream Institute in June of the same year. The play will be followed by a Q & A.
www.ArabWomanTalking.com
www.lananasser.com
Ticket price: $10 students, $12 ACC members, $15 general
April 20: ACCC's Spring Awards Luncheon
As a valued part of our community, the ACCC would like to invite you to our Spring Awards Luncheon, which will honor Alice Nashashibi's 80th birthday and her many contributions over the years as an Arab-American. In addition, we will present our annual scholarships and community awards. Renowned local musician Georges Lammam and Ensemble will perform.
Sunday, April 20th from 12-3 pm
Medjool Restaurant: 2522 Mission St.
(bet. 20th and 21st)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tickets: $60 general, $35 student
Order your tickets by April 12!
To pay by check: mail to the ACCC, 2 Plaza Street, SF, 94116
To pay by credit card: call 415-664-2200 and pay over the phone
 March 6-27: Egyptian Cultural Days
Egyptian Cultural Days at the ACCC in March
In March, the Egyptian Consulate General Press and Information Bureau in conjunction with the ACCC, will present two nights celebrating Egyptian culture. On Thursday March 6th, there will be a reception to mark the opening of a three-week art exhibit by Tamer Youssef, Rahab Fekry, and Hassan Mahmoud, three Egyptian artists currently residing in the Bay Area. At the end of the month on Thursday, March 27, will be Egyptian Cultural Night, featuring books, music, food and the screening of a new film by director Mohammad Khan, In the Heliopolis Flat (Fi Sha'a Masr Gedida). This acclaimed director delivers a timeless story, infused with the culture, sights and characters of modern-day Egypt - from the urban sophistication of Cairo to the traditional beliefs of rural Upper Egypt. In addition to Khaled Abul-Naga and Ghada Adel delivering distinctive performances in the lead roles, veterans Youssef Dawood, Ahmed Rateb and Aida Riad cast in secondary roles are remarkable.
Event Details:
March 6, 7pm: Artists Opening and Reception
March 27, 7 pm: Egyptian Cultural Night and film screening
Location: Arab Cultural and Community Center, 2 Plaza Street (off Laguna Honda)
San Francisco, CA 94116
For more information: call 415-664-2200, email info@arabculturalcenter.org
Admission to both events is free
About the Artists:
Tamer Youssef is currently the vice president of the Federation of Cartoonists Organizations (FECO) He is a creative cartoonist, illustrator and graphic designer. His work has appeared in many newspapers and publications around the world, including Le Progrés Egyptien, The Egyptian Gazette, Live Colors, and Al-Ahram Weekly, in Egypt, as well as in publications in France, Romania, and the United States. His work has been shown in Egypt, Korea, France, Cyprus, and Taiwan. He is a member of the Egyptian Association for Caricature and theCartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI).
Rahab Fekry, working in many different media, believes that abstraction should come from deep and diverse studies by the artist, and that the artist should be a researcher that never stops looking for new media, statements, and relationships between art and design elements. Rahab's work evolved over the last 17 years from his experiences in theater, literature, music, academic studies, and his own background. His design includes work in Graphics, Architecture, and Fine Arts, and Interior Design and his work has been shown
around the world.
Dr. Hassan Mahmoud received his Ph.D from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria, Egypt focusing on modern technology in Puppet Design and in making Science Fiction Movies. He also has extensive knowledge in interior design, architect styles as well as fashion, fabrics and stage and set design. He is currently a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts and has taught courses in drawing, architecture design and theater design, as well as publishing research and presenting at conferences.
March 14: Bay Area Arab Women's Conference
April 10: A Night of Khaleejy Music
Thursday, April 10, 7:30 pm
At the ACCC, 2 Plaza St.
Limited Seating, $12 admission
On Thursday, April 10 special guest artists Naser Musa and Faisal Zedan will bring their musical talents to the ACCC for one night only in a special night of Khaleejy music from the countries of the Arabian gulf, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
A Jordanian of Palestinian descent, Naser Musa began playing oud and studying Arabic music while living in Amman, Jordan. He moved to the United States in 1982 and continued his studies of music at California Polytechnic University. In addition to his knowledge of the classical repertory of Arabic music, his versatility and sense of musical adventure have enabled him to experiment with the blending of different musical elements and artistic styles. He has composed, arranged, and recorded numerous projects in the Middle East and in the United States, and is in great demand as a performer and instructor, giving lectures at colleges and universities and organizing workshops. He has been on the faculty at the Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp in Mendocino, California since 1999 and at the Heartland Seminar of Arabic Music in Racine, Milwaukee since 2004. Naser Musa has shared the stage with musical legends Sabah, Ragheb Alame, Hani Shaker and Hakim as well as pop stars Shakira, Beyonce and Michael Sembello. He was featured as a soloist with the Cairo Orchestra during its 2005 U.S. tour with Grammy award winners Youssou N'Dour, of Senegal and Egyptian producer and arranger Fathy Salama. Naser is known nationwide for his beautiful renditions of Khaleejy songs from the Arabian gulf region.
Percussionist Faisal Zedan, born in Syria and now based in the Bay Area, combines impeccable technique with a deep understanding of the complexities of Arabic musical structures. From the classical Mowashshahat style to regional folkloric and even fusion genres, his unique approach mixes tradition and emotion with a contemporary feel. Faisal Zedan grew up obsessed with the derbakki (also referred to as tabla or dumbek). At the age of fifteen he learned what he could from the only local drummer in the village. He then began to teach himself to play by listening to and reproducing the rhythms he heard on everything from classical Arabic recordings to the lighter Arabic pop fare played on the radio, his tireless practicing soon made him proficient on the instrument and he began experimenting with playing both the riqq (a skin-covered, tambourine like instrument) and the frame drum, both of which he mastered quickly. After coming to California in 1992, he met UCLA's noted ethnomusicology professor Dr. Ali Jihad Racy and was asked to join the acclaimed UCLA Near East Music Ensemble. In 1993 Zedan became a founding member of Near East music group Kan Zaman. Specializing in the Andalucian style of Mowashahat. Since 1996, Zedan has played, studied and taught at Northern California's Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp, with artists and musicians from all over the globe.
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