A Special Sadat Forum: Times of Revolution - Egypt Then and Now

Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, will moderate a special Sadat forum with Dr. Jehan Sadat, former first lady of Egypt and Ms. Barbara Walters, ABC News correspondent, creator and co-executive producer and co-host of The View. The event will be will be held on Tuesday, May 3, from 4:15-5:30 p.m. in the Ina and Jack Kay Theatre of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.

Hosted by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences in partnership with the Anwar Sadat Chair, this event will bring together two legendary women who will share experiences and compare Egypt then and Egypt now, the challenges and the dreams, and how American perceptions of Egypt and the Egyptian people have evolved over the decades.

Dr. Jehan Sadat was there when her late husband, President Anwar Sadat, joined the Free Officers to overthrow the monarchy in Egypt in 1952. She was there through the tragic assassination of Anwar Sadat and the ascendance to power of Hosni Mubarak.  And she experienced the extraordinary popular revolution which overthrew President Mubarak in 2011.

Ms. Barbara Walters was one of the first American journalists to meet President Sadat in the 1970s as Egypt was opening up to the West and American perceptions of Egypt were changing. She accompanied President Sadat on his airplane when he embarked on his historic journey to Jerusalem. And, she was in Egypt to cover Sadat’s funeral.

Professor Telhami will moderate the conversation, share insights from his latest travels to the Middle East, and provide information and highlights on his most recent poll as presented in a newly released report entitled, The American Public and the Arab Awakening. The report was developed in conjunction with Dr. Steven Kull of the University of Maryland, in conjunction with the US-Islamic World Forum, and the Brookings Institute.

Those interested in attending the forum can RSVP via email at sadatforum@gmail.com or by calling 301-405-6734.