Belly Dance is a beautiful dance form which draws on dances from around the Middle East. In the Middle East, the term for this dance form is "raqs sharqi" in Arabic and "Oryantal Dans" in Turkish. The correct translation into English for both of these terms is "dance of the East", or "Oriental dance". Come join us for a Belly Dance workshop that we are offering as part of our multicultural fitness initiative. Our instructor Pauline Costianes/Ghalia is an experienced artist, choreographer and instructor. The program will be in our Community Room on Saturday, February 18th at 2:00 PM. No registration required.

Children of Dust a memoir written by Ali Eteraz reveals Islamic fundamentalism and madrassa life in rural Pakistan, the culture shock of moving to the U.S., and a journey of reconciliation to the modern Middle East. Author Ali Eteraz will speak on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 12:00pm in the University of Michigan's Hatcher Graduate Library, Gallery - Room 100 (use Diag entrance).

• The Covenant by Naomi Ragen
• White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
• On Beauty by Zadie Smith
• Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure and the Man Who Dared To See by Robert Kurson
• Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Mind of an Extraordinary Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet

In his first formal television interview, President Obama chose an Arab network to broadcast his willingness to show respect and listen carefully in all conversations engaged with or pertaining to Middle Eastern countries. Read this interview.