<HTML><BODY><DIV style='font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 10pt;'><DIV>
<DIV>Some of you might be interested to attend!</DIV>
<DIV><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: West Side Hematology & Oncology, P.C. <westsidehemonc@att.net><BR>To: 'Gabriel Sara' <westsidehemonc@att.net>; Nada Anid <Nadanid@aol.com><BR>Sent: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 18:02:50 -0500<BR>Subject: invitation (New York) to meet Dr. Chibli Mallat Candidate for the Lebanese Presidency, please read this email<BR><BR></DIV>
<STYLE>
.AOLPlainTextBody {
margin: 0px;
font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif;
font-size: 12px;
color: #000;
background-color: #fff;
}
.AOLPlainTextBody pre {
font-size: 9pt;
}
.AOLInlineAttachment {
margin: 10px;
}
.AOLAttachmentHeader {
border-bottom: 2px solid #E9EAEB;
background: #F9F9F9;
}
.AOLAttachmentHeader .Title {
font: 11px Tahoma;
font-weight: bold;
color: #666666;
background: #E9EAEB;
padding: 3px 0px 1px 10px;
}
.AOLAttachmentHeader .FieldLabel {
font: 11px Tahoma;
font-weight: bold;
color: #666666;
padding: 1px 10px 1px 9px;
}
.AOLAttachmentHeader .FieldValue {
font: 11px Tahoma;
color: #333333;
}
</STYLE>
<DIV id=AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:SmartTagType name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =""><o:SmartTagType name="PostalCode" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =""><o:SmartTagType name="State" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =""><o:SmartTagType name="PlaceType" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =""><o:SmartTagType name="PlaceName" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =""><o:SmartTagType name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =""><o:SmartTagType name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" ="">
<STYLE>
#AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} #AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} #AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline;} #AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e span.EmailStyle17 {mso-style-type:personal-compose; font-style:italic;} @#AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;} #AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e div.Section1 {page:Section1;}
</STYLE>
<DIV class=Section1>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">New <st1:City w:st="on">York</st1:City></SPAN></FONT></I></st1:place></st1:State><I><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> November 13, 2005<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Dear Friends,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">We would like to inform you of a unique opportunity to meet <B><U><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Human rights activist and lawyer</SPAN></U></B>, <B><U><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Dr. Chibli Mallat</SPAN></U></B> who is running for the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><U><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">presidential elections in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place></SPAN></U></B>.</st1:place></st1:State>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">We met him and were very impressed by his ideas, his convictions and positions toward the issues of the presidency, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region> and the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">We have arranged for a private meeting with Dr. Mallat at the restaurant Al-Bustan this coming <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Wednesday, November 16<SUP>th</SUP></SPAN></B> where we will have the chance to speak directly with him and ask him all kinds of burning questions possible.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Please join us at the <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Al-Bustan</SPAN></B> from <B><U><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">12.30 PM to 2.30 PM</SPAN></U></B> on 11/16/2005<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Address:</SPAN></FONT></I></B><I><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">: 827 3rd Ave (bet 50 & 51), <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">New York</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">NY</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">10022</st1:PostalCode></st1:place>, Tel: (212) 759-5933<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Price for the lunch</SPAN></FONT></I></B><I><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"> (including tips and taxes): $35.00<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">In the meantime, we have a few links (see below) for you to read to get to know Dr. Mallat better.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">We suggest also that you look him up on Google to see what an impressive background he has.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">We hope you can make it<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-STYLE: italic">Please RSVP by hitting "reply to all" and forward this email to your friends.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=2><SPAN lang=FR style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic">Gabriel A. Sara, M.D. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=1><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Assistant Clinical Professor Of Medicine</SPAN></FONT></I></B><B><I><FONT color=blue size=1><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=1><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">College of Physicians & Surgeons at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Columbia</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=1><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic">Nada Anid, PhD<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic">Chaiperson, Chemical Engineering Department, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Manhattan College</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">NY</st1:State></st1:place><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic">Research Associate, Earth Institute, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Columbia University</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">NY</st1:State></st1:place><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-STYLE: italic">Adjunct Professor, Earth and Environmental Engineering, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Columbia University</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">NY</st1:State></st1:place><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=blue size=1><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: blue; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Read the Daily Star (issue of November 7<SUP>th</SUP>, 2005)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=19838" target=_blank>http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=19838</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Read the Arabian Business (issue of November 13<SUP>th</SUP>, 2005)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A href="http://www.itp.net/business/news/details.php?id=18722&srh=mallat&tbl=itp_news" target=_blank>http://www.itp.net/business/news/details.php?id=18722&srh=mallat&tbl=itp_news</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Read the Financial Times (issue of November 6<SUP>th</SUP>, 2005)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/012847d4-4edb-11da-9947-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=de7348bc-8bf6-11d9-b97f-00000e2511c8.html" target=_blank>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/012847d4-4edb-11da-9947-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=de7348bc-8bf6-11d9-b97f-00000e2511c8.html</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">(we downloaded the article for you, see below)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Financial Times<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Human rights lawyer seeks to bridge <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s sectarian divide<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">By Gareth Smyth<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Financial Times</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">, 6 Nov 2005<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> The idea of a "president for all our citizens" would be obvious in many countries. But in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place> - with 18 recognised religious groups in a population of 4m - the idea remains a dream, rather than a normal part of political life.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Chibli Mallat, 45, lawyer and scholar, announced this week he wants to be such a president, although he is eligible only because he is a Maronite Christian. The presidency is reserved by custom for this particular sect - no Muslim, no orthodox Christian, no Druze need apply.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Speculation about the next president arises because Emile Lahoud, the incumbent, whose term extends until 2010, is weakened by close association with Syrian and Lebanese security services that have been implicated by the UN's Mehlis report into February's assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Other candidates for the post, chosen by the 128-seat parliament rather than by popular election, are Maronites best known for their role in the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war. Michel Aoun is a former army commander who led a disastrous revolt against <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place> in 1989-90 and Samir Geagea is a former militia leader of the Lebanese Forces only recently released from prison for wartime atrocities. Both see the presidency as the Christians' by right.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Chibli Mallat, however, is a different. He is a rare kind of Maronite who is a world authority on Shia Islam and who regularly appears on al-Manar, television station of Hizbollah. He is also a scholar - fluent in five languages including English and Farsi - with close connections in <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State>, <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> and the Muslim world.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> For 20 years Mallat's voice has worked to keep alive in the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place> the twin flames of democracy and the rule of law. Facing pervasive double standards and cynicism, he has argued for political, moral and legal consistency.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Over a decade ago, he initiated Indict, the campaign to try Saddam Hussein for war crimes. He also launched proceedings in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Belgium</st1:country-region> against Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister, for his role in the 1982 massacre by Israeli-allied Lebanese Christian militiamen of at least 2,000 Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> I first met Chibli in Salahaddin, northern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>, during the 1992 Kurdish elections, and over time we became friends. Back then, Mallat ran the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at <st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City> university's <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Oriental</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> and African Studies. He returned to his native <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City></st1:place> in 1996 to practise law in the family firm. A professor at the <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">St Joseph</st1:PlaceName>, he has also taught at the Islamic University in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City></st1:place> and is a visiting fellow at Yale.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Central to his academic and political work is his interest in the Iraqi Shia scholar and activist Mohammad Baqr Sadr, murdered by Saddam Hussein in 1980 as <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> began its eight-year war with mainly Shia <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iran</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Mallat's book on Sadr - 'The Renewal of Islamic Law', published in 1993, and widely translated - won the prestigious Albert Hourani prize. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">"Sayyid Sadr was the century's most original Muslim thinker, a man who used the tradition of Islamic law to analyse the modern world," says Chibli. "At the time of his death, he was working towards a synthesis of Islamic law and democracy".<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Like Sadr, Mallat was rarely interested in scholarship for its own sake. In 1987, four years before the <st1:State w:st="on">Madrid</st1:State> conference set a new direction for Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, he wrote a paper arguing in favour of such an international initiative on the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> After Saddam's defeat in the 1991 Gulf war, Chibli helped persuade the Iraqi Kurdish leadership to accept international monitors at the<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">1992 elections in "free <st1:place w:st="on">Kurdistan</st1:place>".<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> "The Americans were dead-set against the elections," he later recalled. "But it was important to show that if people in the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place> were given the chance to practise the purest form of democracy they would rise to the occasion. Old women who couldn't read or write queued up to vote at 4am."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Mallat's primary loyalty, however, remains to the Lebanese. His grandfather, Chibli Mallat, was a poet whose <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Beirut</st1:City></st1:place> newspaper, Al-Watan, was burned down by agents of the French. His father, Wajdi, chaired <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s constitutional court.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Mallat well knows that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place> - with its kaleidoscope of orthodox and Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Palestinians and Armenians - would be the first victim of any "clash of civilisations" <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">relished by extremists.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Much has changed in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place> with the 'cedar revolution' and the withdrawal of Syrian troops. But sectarianism, though it may be exploited by outsiders, retains roots in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Outside <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place> for most of the past two years, I cannot judge whether Chibli Mallat can win the presidency. He is certainly well regarded across the sectarian divides - close to Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader, respected by Hizbollah, and a passionate advocate of justice in the case of Mr Hariri, a Sunni Muslim.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> His message - of citizenship, law, non-violence and human rights - is one <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region></st1:place>, and the wider region, would neglect at its peril.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <A href="file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Administrator\My%20Documents\Liban\Mallat\www.mallat.com" target=_blank>www.mallat.com</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Gareth Smyth is the FT's <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region> correspondent<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV><!-- end of AOLMsgPart_2_b3fe564e-8228-4344-ae28-765aa155905e --></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>