Fatema Shokr's guest appearances

Fatema Shokr

World Views

Kelly McEvers

Mimi Chakarova

James Franco

Stephen Kinzer

James Foley

Amanda Knox

Seth Rogen

John F. Kennedy

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Saddam Hussein

Michael Oren

Rosemary Nyirumbe

Herman Cain

Fidel Castro

Alfredo Corchado

OwlTail

On Thursday, the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to recognize a Palestinian state.The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by a more than two-thirds majority of the 193-member world body. The vote was 138-9, with 41 abstaining. Both the United States and Israel voted against the recognition.Comparative politics expert Rebecca Cruise said previous attempts by the Palestinians to receive official statehood status a member of the U.N. were blocked by the Security Council, specifically the United States."The state word is incredibly important here," Cruise said. "So, having the word 'state' in that definition of an ‘observer state’ is symbolic. No, they're not a member of the U.N. No, they're not a state, per se, but it is significant."Suzette Grillot, the interim dean of the University of Oklahoma's College of International Studies, says some analysts believe this move by the Palestinians to come into statehood through a so-called "back door" method."Israel's argument has been there's no such thing as a Palestinian nation, or a Palestinian," said Joshua Landis, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. "That's the argument the Palestinians are trying to overturn. And that's where getting this written into international law gives them purchase then, to engage [in] what Israelis have called 'lawfare' - a legal form of warfare to try to get a hunk of Palestine for their national home."Anger against Egypt's Islamist president was once again on display in the streets of Cairo this week, where huge crowds have been denouncing a draft constitution approved overnight by allies of President Mohammed Morsi.Fatema Shokr is a visiting lecture in OU’s Arabic Flagship Program, and participated in Egypt’s Arab Spring revolution in 2011 from her home in Alexandria.“I believe we can reach democracy,” Shokr said. “But if we feel disappointed and start to decide no, it's not going to work. We're not going to see democracy there; I think we will lose our revolution.”In addition to protesting on the streets, Shokr’s role in the revolution involved sharing information through various social media sites.“Facebook in Egypt, I believe, is very different than Facebook here, or any other place,” Shokr said. “Facebook has been, and still is, a main way of communication, and describing or giving your opinion about politics, and religion, and what's happening. “Although she spent this semester in Norman, Shokr remains engaged and informed about events taking place in her home country.

On Thursday, the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to recognize a Palestinian state. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by a more than two-thirds majority of the 193-member world body. The vote was 138-9, with 41 abstaining. Both the United States and Israel voted against the recognition. Comparative politics expert Rebecca Cruise said previous attempts by the Palestinians to receive official statehood status a member of the U.N. were blocked by the Security Council, specifically the United States. "The state word is incredibly important here," Cruise said. "So, having the word 'state' in that definition of an ‘observer state’ is symbolic. No, they're not a member of the U.N. No, they're not a state, per se, but it is significant." Suzette Grillot, the interim dean of the University of Oklahoma's College of International Studies, says some analysts believe this move by the Palestinians to come into statehood through a so-called "back door" method. "Israel's argument has been there's no such thing as a Palestinian nation, or a Palestinian," said Joshua Landis, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. "That's the argument the Palestinians are trying to overturn. And that's where getting this written into international law gives them purchase then, to engage [in] what Israelis have called 'lawfare' - a legal form of warfare to try to get a hunk of Palestine for their national home." Anger against Egypt's Islamist president was once again on display in the streets of Cairo this week, where huge crowds have been denouncing a draft constitution approved overnight by allies of President Mohammed Morsi. Fatema Shokr is a visiting lecture in OU’s Arabic Flagship Program, and participated in Egypt’s Arab Spring revolution in 2011 from her home in Alexandria. “I believe we can reach democracy,” Shokr said. “But if we feel disappointed and start to decide no, it's not going to work. We're not going to see democracy there; I think we will lose our revolution.” In addition to protesting on the streets, Shokr’s role in the revolution involved sharing information through various social media sites. “Facebook in Egypt, I believe, is very different than Facebook here, or any other place,” Shokr said. “Facebook has been, and still is, a main way of communication, and describing or giving your opinion about politics, and religion, and what's happening. “ Although she spent this semester in Norman, Shokr remains engaged and informed about events taking place in her home country.

UN Recognition of Palestine, Fatema Shokr on the Arab Spring