Originally Posted by mharlan100

All indications point that this is true. You cannot travel through the Middle East from Africa to North America on one award. There is one exception if you fly Qatar Airways and connect via Doha. Of course being on this forum, you obviously want to fly Etihad.

I read that there actually is no official routing chart with these restrictions. They have just been gleaned through trial and error. If it were me, I would try to call and book it. See if they will let you. If not, and you don't have enough points for two awards, you can always try Qatar.