North Africa and Middle East
Significant political changes in the Middle East and North Africa are likely to influence and be influenced by a broad range of issues including socio-political-economic issues, religion, human rights, gender, youth, and foreign policies from and toward the region.
For your ongoing coverage the events in the region and related issues, we suggest the following experts:
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ISSUES: Civil society, peace-building, social welfare, youth, women (Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Israel Ìýand the region)
PROF. JIM TORCZYNER (MCGILL SCHOOL OF SOCIAL
WORK)

FOUNDER, MCGILL MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM (MMEP)
Professor Torczyner founded MMEP in 1994 with a belief that the reduction of inequality and the promotion of civil society are intricately related to peace building. He is the recipient of numerous awards and medals: most recently, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Jordan Red Crescent and the Canadian Bureau of International Education Award for extraordinary contributions to the field of international education. Professor Torczyner is the founder of the Montreal Consortium for Human Rights Advocacy Training (MCHRAT) which extends multi-disciplinary expertise to groups that have traditionally lacked access and power such as the disabled, members of minority groups, and homeless youth. He travels to the region frequently.
Tel: 514-398-6717 (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 398-6754)
Email:
Languages: English
/socialwork/faculty/torczyner/
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DAVID LEDUC, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, MCGILL MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM
Leduc joined MMEP in 2004 as program manager overseeing the ever-growing network of MMEP centres in the Middle East, including Palestine, Jordan and Israel. He spent four years living and working across the Middle East and travels to the region frequently. He served as Oxfam-Quebec’s Representative in Lebanon between 1999 and 2002. His fully sustainable development model was later adopted by programs in Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
Tel: 514-398-8006 (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 398-6754)
Email: david.leduc [at] mcgill.ca
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ISSUES: The U.S. angle: historically and today; what democracy means in the region beyond voting and popular opinion
PROF. GIL TROY (DEPT. OF HISTORY)
Professor Troy is the author of Why I Am a Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today. Troy is a native of Queens, New York. He received his Bachelor, Master and doctoral degrees from Harvard University, where he also taught for two years. Troy joined the Â鶹AV Faculty of History in 1990 and has served as chairman of the department. Maclean's magazine has repeatedly labeled him one of Â鶹AV's "Popular Profs" and the History News Network designated him one of its first 12 "Top Young Historians". He has appeared on most major Canadian and American television networks and has been widely published and quoted in the media.
Tel: 514-398-3898 (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 398-6754)
Email: gil.troy [at] mcgill.ca
Languages: English
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ISSUES: Israeli and U.S. politics and foreign policy
PROF. HAROLD WALLER (DEPT. OF POLITICAL SCIENCE)
Tel.: 514-398-4806
Email: harold.waller [at] mcgill.ca (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 514-398-6754)
Languages: English
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ISSUES: Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon; Arab-Israeli peace process (with special emphasis on development assistance and refugees); regional conflict, security and development in the Middle East; authoritarianism and democratization in the Arab world.
PROF. REX BRYNEN (DEPT. OF POLITICAL SCIENCE)
Professor Brynen is the author, contributor and/or editor of numerous article and books about the region including Persistent Permeability? Regionalism, Localism, and Globalization in the Middle East.
Tel: 514-398-5075 (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 398-6754)
Email:
Languages: English
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ISSUES: Socio-political-economic situation in Egypt and in the broader region
IMAM SALAM ELMENYAWI (MUSLIM CHAPLAIN, MCGILL UNIVERSITY)
Originally from Egypt, Imam Elmenyawi is in regular contact with citizens there and in the region and can speak to the general dynamics of the region and Muslim countries around the world.
Email: salam.elmenyawi [at] mcgill.ca
Tel: 514-748-8427 (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 398-6754)
Languages: English
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ISSUES: Middle East politics, African politics, and political Islamic movements in the region
PROF. KHALID MUSTAFA MEDANI (DEPT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND THE INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES)
Professor Medani is the author of numerous articles including State Building in Reverse: The Neo-Liberal "Reconstruction" of Iraq and Financing Terrorism or Survival? Informal Finance, State Collapse and the US War on Terrorism. He is currently working on a book entitled: Globalization, Informal Markets and Collective Action: The Development Islamic and Ethnic Politics in Egypt, Sudan and Somalia.
Email khalid.medani [at] mcgill.ca
Tel: 514-398-3586 (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 398-6754)
Languages: English
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ISSUES: Middle Eastern culture, politics, tribes; the Iranian and Arab worlds; the impact of Bedouin culture on Arab and Islamic cultures.
PROF. PHILIP CARL SALZMAN (DEPT. OF ANTHROPOLOGY)
Prof. Salzman's publications include Black Tents of Baluchistan (2000), Pastoralists: Equality, Hierarchy, and the State (2004), Culture and Conflict in the Middle East (2008), Postcolonial Theory and the Arab-Israel Conflict, co-edited with Donna Robinson Divine.
Tel.: 613-832-7710 (home)
Email: philip.carl.salzman [at] mcgill.ca
Languages: English
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ISSUES: foreign policy analysis, regional orders, protracted conflicts, comparative political economy, and Middle East politics
PROF. IMAD MANSOUR (DEPT. OF POLITICAL SCIENCE)
Dr. Mansour is a Faculty Lecturer and is affiliated with Â鶹AV’s Centre for International Peace and Security Studies. He is an expert on Egypt, Iran, Syria and other countries in the region. He is the author of the recent Montreal Gazette op-ed piece: The Arab world at the tipping point.
Tel: 514-398-2620
Email:
Languages: English
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ISSUES: Mental health, trauma, torture, refugees and community interventions
ABDEL HAMID AFANA, PhD
Abdel Hamid Afana is a research associate with the Â鶹AV Trauma and Global Health Program. He has published on issues related to mental health, human rights, trauma and is currently investigating the long-term psycho-social consequences of political violence, cultural and social representation of traumatic experiences, survival strategies and dynamics of social support.
Tel: 514 340 8210 ext 2193 (or through Â鶹AV Media Relations at 398-6754)
Email: abdelhamid.afana [at] mail.mcgill.ca
Languages: English