BLA Program 2010

Al-Amir Charles Yatahaddath Sahib al Samou al Malaki From the original English version edited by David Cadman & Suheil Bushrui HRH The Prince of Wales has always been a voice for plurality, tolerance and peace both within the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. His speeches over the years have brought hope, comfort and unity to different peoples and religions everywhere. It is appropriate that Suheil Bushrui, a man whose life has been devoted to the cause of harmony and peace should bring his considerable intellect and talent to the translation of the Prince’s words.

O

n behalf of The British Lebanese Association’s 25th Anniversary Events Committee I would like to thank our kind and generous friends and our wonderful sponsors and supporters for all their hard work and humanitarian spirit. Without them and their belief in our aims and vision we could not be where we are today, celebrating a success story and with so much hope in our hearts for the future.

Today is a special day. Special because nothing quite inspires, honours or validates us as much as the presence of His Royal Highness. His previous kindnesses to the British Lebanese Association and his undisguised love for Lebanon are the pillar of the friendship between our two nations that upon which so much has been built. It gives me immense pleasure to welcome his Royal Highness here today.

Today is also a wonderful moment for Lebanon’s intellectual treasure Professor Suheil Bushrui and all of us connected with the Chair for Khalil Gibran at Maryland University. You will have noticed that Khalil Gibran is the uniting theme of today’s events. How appropriate that is. His work, inspired by the Lebanon he knew as a child, is steeped in a spirituality and humanity that is a template for how the whole world can live in harmony. Gibran’s al Mahaba, the vibrant spirituality revealed in His Royal Highness’s book and the creativity that inspires our two artists here today are one and the same.

Today then is a special day for many reasons: our guest of honour, our own treasure Professor Bushrui, our generous and talented artists and of course because we are surrounded by so many friends. Ours though is a particularly special Anniversary because our 25 year journey has paralleled the difficult and often dark days of Lebanon’s history. For much of this time when the world looked at us it could not see through the dark those things we and our British friends have held a light to: our culture, our education, our talents and above all our humanity. Our Scholarship Fund is not just an ordinary thing to help students on their way in life. It is that but it is also a conscious device to help re-build the academic standard and skills that were once the envy of the Middle East. Our humanitarian support both for the emergency of 2006 and for the chronic issues of damaged children not only represents our deep instinct to protect children but also represents our commitment to help young people enter Lebanese society as useful and well educated citizens. Much of the detail of our projects can be read elsewhere in this programme but our support for SOS Villages and Oum el Nour have been great successes

as well as emotional and hear rendering. I look forward to our work with the Lebanese Autistic Society and with Arc en Ciel to whom we have promised to help raise funds for their school building (Ecole après Ecole) a haven for children for whom schooling and basic care are not priorities in their own homes.

We have come a long way in 25 years, many of them difficult years but we have been sustained by all of you, valued British and Lebanese friends. I hope the next 25 years will be better years for my country and I hope that I and our Association will have some part in that.

I welcome you all today in the spirit of al Mahaba and would like to express the hope that it triumphs in our world, not least in the country where this particular version was born.

Lisa Zakhem Chairman, The BLA’s 25th Anniversary Events Committee

25th Anniversary and al-mahaba Committee Sir David Miers – Chairman Lisa Zakhem – Hon Secretary Gabriella Bassatny, Omaya El Lozi, Amal Halak, Joumana Karouni, Latifa Kosta, Rania Nassar, Dalia Salam Rishani, Bushra Salha, Hayat Sanbar, Maria Shammas, Georges Shweiry, Leila Tannous, Gilda Walker-Navidi, Nadia Khlat

O

n behalf of the British Lebanese Association I should like to welcome everyone coming to this very special event, held in the magnificent surroundings of the Banqueting House, as the climax of the BLA’s 25th Anniversary celebrations. There could be no better place than here to celebrate our silver jubilee.

We are deeply honoured that the University of Maryland has chosen the BLA’s jubilee celebration as the occasion for launching in Britain, in the presence of a highly distinguished audience, the Arabic translation of the first volume of HRH Prince Charles’s selected speeches.

The BLA is also very pleased that it has been possible to stage, as a backdrop to our celebrations, this remarkable Exhibition of Paintings. These have been inspired by the work of Kahlil Gibran, Lebanon’s inspirational poet, and jointly produced by Lebanon’s internationally acclaimed artist Emmanuel Guiragossian and the renowned Lebanese calligrapher Mourad Boutros. This exhibition represents all that is admirable and artistic about modern Lebanon and constitutes a worthy complement to the architecture of Inigo Jones and the painted ceiling by Peter Paul Rubens under which it is displayed.

Proceeds from the event will go to the BLA’s established charitable and humanitarian causes, not least those relating to education, orphans and drug addiction which the BLA has helped in the past, and above all to the BLA’s scholarship fund which assists deserving Lebanese students to follow post-graduate courses in the UK which are not available in Lebanon.

Everyone visiting the Banqueting House on this day will enjoy a unique opportunity not just to celebrate 25 years of the British Lebanese Association, but also to marvel at Lebanon’s deep reservoir of talented artists and inspirational writers, as exemplified by her great poet Kahlil Gibran, to reaffirm the importance of abiding cultural values in times of violence and political uncertainty and to salute Lebanon’s exceptional contribution to literature, art and civilisation.

The BLA would like to thank all those many individuals whose efforts and support have contributed to the success of our activities during the last twenty-five years and we look forward with confidence to carrying on the good work in the future.

Sir David Miers Chairman BLA

Musician Ad

Suheil Bushrui, BA, PhD, Hon LHD Research Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland Pcurrently rofessor Bushrui is an internationally recognised author, poet, critic, and translator and is Professor Emeritus and holder of the George and Lisa Zakhem Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Professor Bushrui’s most recent publications in English include an up-to-date biography of Gibran entitled “Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet” (co-author Joe Jenkins) and, most pertinently, “The Spiritual Heritage of the Human Race: An Introduction to the world’s religions (co-author Mehr Dad Massoudi) – an expansive work that presents, on their own terms, 16 of the major faith traditions.

He is a member of several international interfaith organizations; he acted as a Senior Cultural Advisor to the President of Lebanon between 1982 and 1988 and has much experience in Muslim-Christian dialogue and reconciliation.

He is Senior Scholar (Peace Studies) at the Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) and is on the Advisory Board of the Temple of Understanding in New York and the Dayton Peace Museum in Ohio. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Temenos Academy in London.

Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) Born in Bisharri in the Lebanese mountains, Kahlil Gibran came from humble beginnings.

Gibran proved to be a solitary and pensive child who relished the natural surroundings of the Bisharri region, the beauty of which emerged as a dramatic and symbolic influence upon his drawings and writings.

In 1895, Gibran’s mother emigrated to the United States with her four children. His father stayed in Lebanon. The Gibrans settled in the culturally diverse South End neighbourhood of Boston. Gibran entered school almost immediately. Having no formal education, he was placed in a class reserved for immigrant children. It was here that his name was anglicised to Kahlil Gibran. The boy’s artistic talents soon caught the eye of his teachers. They put him in touch with Fred Holland Day, an artist and photographer who exposed Gibran to the rich world of theatre, opera and art and set him on the road to artistic fame.

In 1898, Gibran returned to Lebanon to study Arabic and French in Beirut. In 1908, he moved to Paris to further his artistic training and he studied art with August Rodin. From 1912 he became a permanent resident of New York City where he devoted himself to writing and painting. Gibran’s early works were written in Arabic but from 1918 he published mostly in English. He discovered an early spiritual affinity with William Blake, especially as expressed in his drawings and later with the work of Nietzsche. In New York, Gibran began to work on The Broken Wings, a work he had started in 1906 and which was published in January 1912. Of all his literary works, however, he is best known for his masterpiece The Prophet (1923) which was written in English.

Gibran died in 1931 at the age of 48 in a hospital in New York. His body was transferred to Lebanon. It lies today in his native town Bisharri in the monastery of Mar Sarkis. His books have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and his poetry has been translated into more than 20 languages.

Gibran’s works were especially influential in the American popular culture of the 1960s. His stature and importance increase as time passes, for although his finest work was published more than eighty years ago, his message remains as potent and as meaningful today as when he was writing. With its emphasis on the healing process, the universal, the natural, the eternal and the timeless, his work represents a powerful affirmation of faith in the human spirit.

As Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins have observed: “In his work, as in his thought, Gibran achieved lasting eminence and fame as a writer in two completely disparate cultures and represents the meeting of two worlds. A liberating force in Arabic literature, he became one of the most widely read authors in his adopted tongue – his work possessing a rare and distinctive flavor of ancient wisdom and mysticism, often leaving readers amazed to discover that its creator lived in New York from 1912 to 1931.”

(Source: Bushrui SB, Jenkins J. Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet. A New Biography, 1998).

The Prophet (1923) The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran is a wonderful collection of 26 inspiring and uplifting poetic essays, written in English. It has been cited as one of the most widely read books of the Twentieth century. The Prophet is a work of universal appeal and has been translated into more than twenty languages.

The Prophet, who has lived in a foreign city for twelve years, is about to board a ship that will take him home. He encounters a group of people, to whom he imparts the mysteries of life.

The Prophet departs for the land of his birth with a heavy heart, grateful to the people who have given him his deeper thirsting after life. The Prophet speaks of the yearning for unity within us all. It is only through love that we can truly achieve that unity. Gibran’s belief in the unity of being, which led him to call for universal fellowship and the unification of the human race, is a message which retains its potency today. Inspired by his experiences in a country far from the land of his origins, he strove to resolve cultural and human conflict, developing, in the process, a unique genre of writing. He succeeded in transcending the barriers of East and West which few have done before or since.

References Bushrui SB, Jenkins J. Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet.

A New Biography, Oxford: Oneworld, 1998.

Bushrui SB. Kahlil Gibran of Lebanon. Colin Smythe, 1987.

Dahdah J-P. Kahlil Gibran: une biographie. Paris: Albin Michel, 1994.

Gibran K. The Prophet. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923.

Hawi KS. Kahlil Gibran: his background, character and works. Beirut: Arab Institute for Research and Publishing, 1972.

Naimy M. Kahlil Gibran: a biography. New York, Philosophical Library, 1950.

Waterfield R. Prophet – The Life and Times of Kahlil Gibran. Penguin, 1998.

The Artists Emanuel Guiragossian is one of the Middle East’s pre-eminent artists. He comes from a family of well known artists and has exhibited all over the world. The author of various books and the winner of a number of prestigious prizes, he is the founder and curator of the Guiragossian Museum in Beirut.

Mourad Boutros has 40 years of expertise in Arabic typography. He is a classically trained Arabic calligrapher specialising in projects that combine traditional calligraphic techniques with new technologies and is the author of the acclaimed books Arabic for Designers and Talking about Arabic. His work can be found in major institutions throughout the Arabic speaking world.

Do we do more than you thought?

British Lebanese Association Scholarship Fund since 1985 50 Students have received approx. £750,000 30 Civil Servants have received approx. £450,000 2006 Lebanese Red Cross - £45,000 2007 SOS Villages – £45,000 2007 Help Lebanon Appeal - £40,000 2008 Oum el Nour - £50,000 2010 Lebanese Autism Society - TBA 2010 Arc en Ciel - TBA In the more spectacular things that the British Lebanese Association often does to bring together the Lebanese and the British it can be easily forgotten how much ‘good’ work the Association does. The Scholarship Fund that has been going since 1985 is our highest profile charitable project and the list that follows of courses taken and institutions attended is not only impressive in length and scope but tells a story of a generation of Lebanese BLA scholars acquiring skills and vocations and taking them back to Lebanon to help rebuild the country to its former position as one of the most highly skilled and technical work forces in the Middle East.

The British Lebanese Association also donates to and directly supports disadvantaged children and people in need. In this less well publicised area the Association is very proud of its record and the difference it has made to people’s lives in Lebanon. Our projects have included our support for SOS villages, Lebanon. SOS villages are a place of safety and hope for orphans.

They offer the possibility that children without biological parents will grow up safe, loved and with every chance of becoming useful members of their community.

We are also proud to be associated with Oum El Nour a rehabilitation and drug prevention charity. It too does Lebanon great service. Drug addiction is pernicious and wasteful of people and their lives. Oum El Nour through its belief in the capacity of individuals to change combined with its commitment to best scientific practices does not only save lives but restores the

possibility of a useful and happy life. These are great gifts to return to young people. That such a organisation staffed by tireless and dedicated people exits in Lebanon is a mark of the humanity that permeates its society.

In 2006 the world witnessed the terrible destruction that the Israeli incursion into Southern Lebanon caused. The British Lebanese Association like the rest of the world was deeply distressed by what it saw and responded with a fund raising programme that raised in total over £90,000 which was disbursed via the Lebanese Red Cross emergency fund and the Help Lebanon Appeal for the relief of suffering caused by the fighting.

We are, as our mission statement has it, an Association that encourages friendship and understanding between the people of Great Britain and Lebanon and that indeed is reflected in the many cultural events that we have organised in our 25 years of existence. However, true friendship demands something additional. It demands a care for others, the ability to help when needed, kindness and above all a sense of humanity. The Association’s support for its charities is a fundamental part of what it does. Nor will it stop! Whatever profits are made on 19th November at Banqueting House will go to the Lebanese Autism Society, an extraordinary group of individuals who refused to be labelled as handicapped and be discarded by society.

They have built a centre where they can find support, skills, care and a belief in their usefulness.

It is an overwhelming experience to visit The Society, to see people with what would seem to be insurmountable problems, laughing, welcoming you and coping. The British Lebanese Association looks forward to supporting the Society’s latest project: “The Specialised Community Living and Learning Centre for Autism”, aimed mainly at facilitating the transition of youth with autism into adulthood.

Finally our support for Arc en Ciel centre for disabled children and young people in Lebanon continues. Originally just a workshop for disabled people now so much more: an holistic centre for disabled people young and old. Arc en Ciel is driven by a firm belief that we are all useful members of society and the practical manifestation of this is teaching young disabled people to find work. With work comes a wage, with a wage, dignity and a place in Lebanese society.

Without our support these charities run the risk of not surviving. We must do our part and help.

I know we will.

Achievements of the British Lebanese Association Scholarship Fund since 1995 UK Universities Over fifty post graduate scholars obtained their Masters Degrees from the following universities in the UK: Bath, Bedford, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Reading, Canterbury, Nottingham, Birmingham, York, Sheffield, Warwick, Brunel, Reading, Liverpool, Salford, Bolton, Durham, Sussex, Oxford and from the University of London: Imperial College, the London School of Economics (LSE), the School for Oriental and African studies (SOAS), University College (UCL), King’s College, Goldsmiths, London Metropolitan University, Chelsea College.

Also The City Law School, Kingston University, Westminster University, City University London and St Martins College of Art and Design.

Courses Covered Cultural Setting in City Planning, Clean Technology, Counselling Psychology, Dairy Animal Science, Environmental Management, Law, Education for Children with Special Needs, Growth and Development in Special Needs Education, Hospital and Waste Management, Economics, Psychology.

Civil Servant Awards Over seventy civil servants have attended refresher courses and further training courses at the following universities and training centres: Bath University, Bradford University, Cranfield Business School, Glasgow University, Imperial College, the University of London, Loughborough University, Reading University, Salford University, Southampton University, Exeter University.

Courses covered have included: Airport Management, Commercial Public Enterprise Management, Environmental Assessment and Monitoring, Environmental Impact Assessment, Hydraulics and Electrical Resources, Managing Public Risk, Management of Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Protection, Planning, Financing and Management of Infrastructure Projects, Post War Recovery, Urban Planning, Agricultural Technology.

And just some of the events, to date, that have helped support our work in Lebanon: 1986

1989

1992

1993

1995

1996

1998

1999

2000

2001

2001

2001

2002

2003

2003

2003

2004

2005

2006

2006

2010

2010

2010

The “Romantic Lebanon Exhibition, the European View 1700 to 1900”.

Leighton House.

“Beirut Through the Ages.”

“From the Holy Mountain, A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium” Speaker: William Dalrymple.

“Magnificent Remains” & “Enormous Old Trees: Perceptions of Lebanon by British artists/travellers.”

“Caracalla Dance” English National Opera - August 2010.

“Lebanon, the Artists View: 200 years of Lebanese Paintings” exhibition at the Barbican.

“Let’s Contribute To A Brighter Tomorrow.”

“Jesus, Islam & the World Dialogue” A lecture by Professor Tarif Khalidi.

Lebanon, The Artist’s View II’. Lebanese art and culture. Royal Gala Dinner in the presence of HRH the Prince of Wales.

Silver Jubilee - House of Lords Reception in the Cholmondely Room.

Dinner with Terry Waite at the Langham Hilton.

Chronic Care Centre Fund Raising dinner in the presence of Mme Mouna Haraoui.

The Majida Al Roumi concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Royal Gala Performance of “Kahlil Gibran - The Poet of “The Moon and Stars of Mozart’s Il Re Pastore/The the Culture of Peace” Suheil the Lebanon” A celebration Bushrui. of the haute couture of Shepherd King.

Elie Saab.

“The Perennial Philosophy: The Wisdom of the Arabs.”

“Medical Excellence” A seminar with Lebanon’s most distinguished doctors.

Fisk Lecture “Lebanon, State of Denial” given by Robert Fisk, The Independent.

“Lingering in the Levant: 300 years of British Involvement and Impressions.”

“Vision & Achievement” Lebanon comes to London, An exhibition of Lebanese heritage, art and culture.

Caracalla Dance Theatres - “Two Thousand and One Nights.”

“Out of Beirut” Symposium and Dinner Modern Art Oxford June 06.

Event Schedule Doors open at 12:45 13:00 Reception (NB doors may be closed for security) 13:30 VVIP arrives.

13:33 Welcome by Sir David 13:35 Introduction by Souheil Bushrui 13:40 VVIP to speak 13:50 Introduction of sponsors and BLA VIPs to VVIP 14:00 VVIP departs (unless he can be persuaded to stay for lunch) 14:10

Lisa welcomes guests and introduces al-mahaba exhibition

14:15

Lunch - Starter

14:40 Main course 15:10 Auction 15:40 Dessert and coffee 15:50 Readings from Gibran by Professor Bushrui 16:30 Carriages

Raidy Ad

al-mahaba 1 “Love possesses not nor would it be possessed.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width

2010

al-mahaba 2 “When love beckons to you, follow him.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width.

2010

al-mahaba 3 “When he speaks to you, believe in him.” Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width.

2010

al-mahaba 4 “Love gives naught but itself.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width.

2010

al-mahaba 9 “Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width

2010

al-mahaba 10 “Love assigns you to his sacred fire.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width

2010

al-mahaba 11 “Love kneads you till you are pliant.” Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width

2010

al-mahaba 12 “Together you shall be forevermore.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width

2010

al-mahaba 14 “Love grinds you to whiteness.” Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width

2010

al-mahaba 15 “Give thanks for another day of loving.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 80cm width

2010

al-mahaba 17 “Love is sufficient unto love.” Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 90cm width

2010

al-mahaba 18 “Sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart.� Oil on canvas, 100cm height x 90cm width

2010