Pitt to Host Feb. 1 Lecture on the Turmoil in Egypt

PITTSBURGH—In defiance of a military curfew, more than 150,000 protesters packed into Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday to call for President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. University of Pittsburgh visiting professor Moataz F. Herzawi will discuss the implications for Egypt, a longstanding U.S. ally, in a free public lecture at 4 p.m.   Feb. 1 in 4130 Posvar Hall, 230 South Bouquet St., Oakland. Herzawi also will discuss how the current events in Egypt could affect relations with Israel, Hammas’ leadership in Gaza, and other countries in the Middle East. The lecture is hosted by Pitt’s Global Studies Center within the University Center for International Studies (UCIS).

Herzawi is the 2010-11 UCIS Visiting Professor in Contemporary International Issues at Pitt. Herzawi’s work focuses on the intersection of Islam and democracy and the political culture of Muslim countries. His most recent work, titled Democratic Values in the Muslim World (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006), is an investigation of Muslim beliefs about democracy across 34 diverse Islamic societies.

Herzawi received his PhD in political science from Western Michigan University and currently holds appointments with Cairo University and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. His current work focuses on the Obama administration’s policy toward the Middle East, as well as the United States’ image in Arab states.

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