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Anisa
Mehdi, an Emmy-award winning journalist and filmmaker specializing
in Islam, and Michael Lame, a management consultant
and organizational trainer conducting leadership and communications
programs in the US and the Middle East. Anisa and Michael have been
friends and collaborators for more than 20 years. Anisa, an American
Arab and Michael, an American Jew, served together on the board
of directors of The Foundation for Mideast Communication. They have
also co-led the Re-Thinking the Middle East Workshop for Christian,
Jewish, and Muslim audiences around the United States. They lead
daylong seminars called “Seeing Both Sides” for American
corporations. They are collaborating on a book about this work.
A
fresh approach to academic lectures on conflict in the Middle East.
Anisa and Michael present, explore and discuss with the audience
various perspectives that keep peace between Israelis and Palestinians
at bay. Sharing the floor Anisa and Michael demonstrate the art
of respectful dispute, while simultaneously they “argue”
points of history, religion, aggression, victimization, justice,
and conflict resolution.
Too often students are pinioned between irreconcilable points of
views on Mideast conflict. You are either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian;
you are pro-Arab and anti-Semitic or pro-Israeli and anti-human
rights; you are pro-war or pro-peace. In today’s multi-dimensional
and nuanced reality, either/or’s are ineffective and shallow.
The stand-offs that result from polarization limit valuable opportunities
for education and understanding. “Disagreeing on Everything”
gives students new insight into effective communication on a very
sensitive topic. It will increase knowledge of and appreciation
for both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and will stimulate
an on-going interest in the subject.
Content
includes analysis of stereotypes, exploring the religious dimension
of the problem, historical perspectives, stumbling blocks to peace,
and the impact this conflict has on the US and the world.
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Anisa
Mehdi is an Emmy Award-winning journalist
and filmmaker who specializes in reporting on religion and
the arts.
Anisa
produced and directed the one-hour National Geographic Special,
Inside Mecca, which premiered on PBS in 2003. To make the
film, she led teams of photojournalists covering the hajj
pilgrimage, focusing on the journeys of three individuals:
from the U.S., Malaysia, and South Africa.
She
was executive producer of the two-hour PBS Frontline documentary
special, Muslims, which premiered in 2002. The film explores
the cultural and political diversity of Muslims worldwide,
through the lives of individuals in Iran, Egypt, Turkey,
Malaysia, Nigeria, and the United States. Muslims won a
CINE Golden Eagle Award and the "Gold Camera Award"
at the US International Film and Video Festival.
For
the ABC News program Nightline, Anisa produced and wrote
the four-part series, Muslim Voices, on Muslim views about
faith and non-Muslim cultures, plus a program on stereotyping
in popular media.
Anisa
also produced award-winning coverage of the hajj for PBS's
"Religion and Ethnics News Weekly". She is the
first American woman to report on the hajj from Mecca for
U.S. television. Anisa was one of the first reporters to
cover the blossoming American Muslim political movement
and to focus on Muslim women's issues in this country. She
is a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered, writes
perspective pieces for newspapers, magazines and Internet
sites, and is Adjunct Professor of Communications at Seton
Hall University. |
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Earlier
this year, Anisa and her production team were in France to
begin filming a new documentary, Monks and Muslims: Finding
Faith in Algeria. This project is funded in part by a grant
from the United States Institute of Peace.
Anisa
is a guest lecturer at universities nationwide and is a speaker/specialist
for the U.S. State Department. As a Trustee of the Esalen
Institute in Big Sur, California, she is building Citizen
Diplomacy programs and interfaith workshops.
Anisa
earned her Masters Degree in Journalism at Columbia University
and a Bachelors Degree in Spanish language and literature
from Wellesley College. She began her career as a news writer
for WBZ-TV in Boston and later worked as an associate producer
for CBS News in New York. She lives in New Jersey with her
husband and two daughters. |
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Michael
Lame, the co-founder and president of PROSPERO,
LLC, is a management consultant and organizational trainer
who has conducted leadership and communications programs
for dozens of companies in the United States, Canada, Europe,
and the Middle East.
Prior
to consulting, Michael was the founder and president of
The Foundation for Mideast Communication, which promoted
face-to-face communication between Israelis and Palestinians
in the Middle East as well as among Christians, Jews, and
Muslims throughout the United States and Canada. He developed,
led, and trained others to lead the two-day Re-Thinking
the Middle East Workshop, which was conducted numerous times
in Jerusalem and in cities across North America.
Michael
has spent considerable time in Israel, Gaza and the West
Bank, in addition to making several trips to Tunisia, Egypt,
and Jordan. He has held meetings with Yasser Arafat, Sheikh
Ahmad Yassin (the founder of Hamas), Ehud Olmert (the Prime
Minister of Israel), Boutros Ghali (former U.N. Secretary
General and Egypt’s Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs), and many other government officials, scholars,
journalists, and political activists from various countries
in the region.
Michael's
corporate clients for training and consulting have included
American Express, American Standard, AT&T, Boston Scientific,
Campbell's Soup, Caterpillar, Cisco Systems, Ernst &
Young, General Dynamics, Halliburton, H&R Block, Lockheed
Martin, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Northrop Grumman, Perkins Engines,
Procter & Gamble, Raytheon, Rover, Sony, Tyco.
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As
an Adjunct Professor in the Executive MBA Program at Columbia
University’s Business School, Michael has taught courses
on business leadership. He has also taught at UCLA’s
Anderson School of Management and has lectured on management
topics to corporate executives at retreats and conferences
worldwide.
A member
of the California Bar Association, Michael holds a law degree
from the University of California Hastings College of the
Law, in San Francisco, and a BA with honors in history from
the University of California at Santa Cruz. He currently lives
in New Haven, CT.
Anisa
and Michael have been friends and collaborators for more than
20 years. They served together on the board of directors of
The Foundation for Mideast Communication. They have also co-led
the Re-Thinking the Middle East Workshop, for Christian, Jewish,
and Muslim audiences around the United States.
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