Discussing endangered Minorities in the Arab Spring at the University of Pittsburgh on October 29.
How has the Arab Spring effected minorities throughout the Middle East? A research fellow at the New America Foundation came to the University of Pittsburgh to discuss how minorities living throughout the Middle East have been effected by the Arab Spring. Over seventy-five students attended the lecture.
Lauren Barney, our CAMERA fellow at University of Pittsburgh, explains that the focus of the event was to “to shed some light on the Christian plight in the Arab Spring that is normally ignored or lightly brushed upon inaccurately by the media.” The event effectively engaged students in discussion on the Arab spring and how minorities, in particular Christian Arabs, where effected by the political upheaval. Unfortunately, as Lauren says, not as many Christian students were in attendance as she had hoped would be, although the event was well marketed. Those who did attend, however, asked excellent questions, and expressed great interest in the topic. In addition, many members of the service sorority attended the event, filling up the room to a great degree.
In the aftermath of the event, Lauren is building connections with individual students as well as with various student groups interested in future events related to the Middle East.