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A New York attorney originally based in Detroit. Abdeen Jabara is concerned with issues of the civil rights of Arab Americans, the effects of the September 11th terrorist attack - nationally and globally - and the contentious relationship between Arab and Israeli organizations. The Jabara papers pertain to various litigation procedures and case files, including those in Michigan, with the federal government, and those involving various humanitarian projects. In particular, Jabara challenged the practice of law enforcement agencies to collect information and maintain surveillance of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities and Arab Americans. He was involved in a number of high-profile cases, for example, the murder trial of Sirhan Sirhan and the extradition case of Ziyād Abū ʻAyn (sometimes spelled Ziad Abu Ein or Ziad Abu Ain). Materials are organized into litigation and case files, as well as topical files pertaining to Arab American activism, organizational involvement, participation in the Middle East delegation of the National Lawyers Guild, and other pertinent global and national events highlighting Arabic issues.

The collection has been divided into four series: Litigation/Court Cases, Political and Cultural Activities, Publications, and Topical Files. The materials primarily document the types of legal and political battles and causes that Jabara has tackled throughout his career. A limited amount of material in the collection is in Arabic and French, mostly correspondence, press clippings, and newsletters, and is noted where possible in the contents list.

Researchers should note that, because of the interconnected nature of Jabara's legal, political, and cultural work, topics and materials might be found in multiple series.

Zoologist, college professor, president of University of Michigan, 1929-1951. Professional files relating to his career with the University Museum and as a professor of zoology, and presidential files containing correspondence, reports, speeches, and other University materials, including budget and legislative files, material relating to changes in University administration, his relationship with faculty, students and alumni, and photographs.

The Alexander Ruthven papers consists of two series of records. The first is the papers of Ruthven as president of the University of Michigan, 1929 to 1951. The second, and smaller, series is the files maintained by Ruthven as a zoologist with the University Museum and as professor of zoology. This latter series dates largely from 1908 to 1929 but also includes collected earlier files from the 1870s.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photographs Collection. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama, and additional photographs of Islamic architecture.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph. The Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu collection documents the Islamic and pre-Islamic art and architecture of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Spain. Arthur Upham Pope focused primarily on Persian architecture and monuments, but his collection also includes photographs of Persian ceramics, textiles, and illustrated manuscripts. Wilber, Pope's colleague, also primarily studied Iranian monuments but he focused on those built during the Achaemenid and Sasanian empires. Oleg Grabar's work focused on the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty, the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornaments, and contemporary Islamic architecture. On the other hand, the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection depicts Afghanistan sculptures, statues, figural reliefs, pottery, and other archaeological remains, the majority of which are from the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan. Finally, Dr. Simpson's collection documents her work and her notes from her study of Islamic manuscripts around the world. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama.

Bible scholar and translator, professor of Semitics at the University of Michigan; papers include correspondence, diaries, lectures and essays, archaeological expedition field notes and reports, and professional organization files.

The papers of Leroy Waterman (1875-1972) consist of five linear feet of correspondence, diaries, lecture notes, research notes, speeches, essays, photographs, news clippings, and other materials. The collection has been arranged into seven series: Biographical/personal; Correspondence; Diaries; Lectures, Essays, Speeches, Publications; Archaeological Expeditions; Organizational Affiliations; and Miscellaneous.

The Oleg Grabar collection is comprised of approximately 580 photographs, slides, and negatives compiled during Dr. Grabar's research and expeditions to Syria, Israel, and Jordan. Grabar specialized in the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty. Later his interests broadened to include the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornament, and contemporary Islamic architecture.

The Oleg Grabar collection is comprised of approximately 580 photographs, slides, and negatives compiled during Dr. Grabar's research and expeditions to Syria, Israel, and Jordan. Grabar specialized in the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty but later his interests broadened to include the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornament, and contemporary Islamic architecture. The collection is divided into three main series, the Photograph series, the Negatives series, and the Slides series. The Photograph and Negatives series contains photographs and negatives produced during the excavations of Qasr al-Hayr al-sharqi in Syria between 1964 and 1971. The Slides series is comprised of the slides created from Dr. Grabar's research and travel throughout Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Iran. The slides have been digitized and are available online.

Additional materials regarding Dr. Oleg Grabar and the excavation of Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi can be found at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. The Kelsey holds the excavation records from the site and correspondence regarding the dig (October 1962-September 1998), publications, maps, drawings, and more.

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Executive with the American Red Cross. Correspondence, diaries, reports, memoranda, and other materials relating to relief and refugee work during World War II in Italy, France, and Germany (Buchenwald), his work in re-establishing Red Cross societies in Austria, Hungary, and the Middle East after the war, and his survey of humanitarian problems resulting from the Palestinian conflict, 1948.

The Wilfrid de St. Aubin collection consists of seven feet of correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other official papers covering his Red Cross work during World War II and the immediate postwar period. Of special interest is a letter and report written by St. Aubin containing his impression and observations of the Buchenwald concentration camp. St. Aubin was one of the first to come to the camp after its liberation. There are also diaries which provide added background and detail of St. Aubin's varied career.