By Laurie Frost
Hussein Hassouna, ambassador of the League of Arab States, will speak on ?Current Challenges Facing the Arab World? Thursday at 11 a.m. in HRCB 283.
Ambassador Hassouna?s lecture is part of the monthly Area Focus Lecture, sponsored by BYU and Utah?s Governor?s office. The lectures were started in 1996 with the Utah Statehood Centennial Year Celebration, intended to showcase Utah.
Erlend Peterson, associate international vice president, was in charge of issuing invitations to international dignitaries to come visit Utah.
?That year I sent out 52 invitations, and 42 ambassadors came,? Peterson said.
Now Peterson extends the invitations for ambassadors to come visit BYU.
?We?re scheduled to bring one a month, ideally,? Peterson said. ?We extend the invitations, and rely on what best fits the ambassador?s schedule.?
Peterson met Ambassador Hassouna at a luncheon for the BYU Islamic Translation series over a year ago and invited him to come to BYU.
?[Hassouna] being the representative of the Arab league of states, it seems very fitting for him to come and speak at BYU with our interest in the Arab states.?
Part of Ambassador Hassouna?s two-day tour will include a meeting with Governor Huntsman and with the First Presidency. He will also tour BYU campus.
