In the nearly fifteen years since the first edition of Kurdish Ethnonationalism was published, major developments in the Middle East have transformed the nature of Kurdish politics. Nader Entessar now provides a thorough, up-to-date exploration of Kurdish nationalism in the region—including the emergence of parties as major political actors, the responses of state governments    More >

Spanning more than a century, this systematic study brings to the forefront a dazzling array of novels by Arab women writers.

Bouthaina Shaaban’s analysis ranges from the work of Zaynab Fawwaz, published at the end of the nineteenth century, to that of Sahar Khalifah and Najwa Barakat, published at the cusp of the twenty-first. The novels discussed reflect not only    More >

This volume explores the development of Syria's political economy under the Ba'th, particularly the role of the state in facilitating or obstructing economic development. Raymond Hinnebusch provides a brief overview of the literature and debates on the issue. His examination of Syria's political economy under populism (1963-2000) is followed by Soren Schmidt's analysis of the post-populist period    More >

Exploring the recent trajectory of Syria’s economy, the authors consider the utility of the transition paradigm—developed to study change in the former communist states—as an explanatory approach.

In the first part of the book, Samer Abboud examines Syria’s shift to a “social market economy,” focusing on similarities in and differences between the    More >

In the decade-and-a-half since the first edition of this book was written, there have been dramatic changes both in the town of Aswan and among the devoutly Muslim Nubians of the of West Aswan. Anne Jennings’s revised and updated ethnography reflects those changes and also incorporates new material from archaeological/historical research and new literature on the impact of tourism, the work    More >

Islam and Peacemaking in the Middle East begins with a set of provocative questions: How, for example, do Muslims conceive of peace? To what degree do differences in the interpretation of Islam affect the ways in which peace is sought in the contemporary Middle East? Through analysis of regional trends and case studies, the authors explore various Islamic ideas of peace and their    More >

What are the likely consequences for Syria of its new European Partnership Agreement?  Addressing this question, the authors examine the origins of the agreement, its aims, and the (political) reasons that it was accepted by Syria despite the potential problems it poses for the national economy.

   More >

Moving from the revolutionary rhetoric prominent in the early days of President Hafez al-Assad’s regime to the present stance of the country’s economic reformers and rising business class, this new study traces the evolution of Ba’thist ideological discourse in Syria.

The first part of the book focuses on the trend, over the course of the first Assad presidency,    More >

Libya's enigmatic Muammar Qaddafi has demonstrated a perhaps unprecedented capacity for reinvention and survival, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. Yehudit Ronen traces Libya's sometimes tortuous trajectory in international affairs across the four decades of Qaddafi's leadership.

Ronen addresses a range of critical issues: oil politics, foreign military adventurism, WMDs,    More >

Political participation in authoritarian regimes is usually considered insignificant, or important only insofar as it promotes democracy. Turning this common wisdom on its head, Political Participation in the Middle East demonstrates the vitality, variety, and significance of political activism across the MENA region. Through an in-depth exploration of seven countries, the authors address    More >

In this important new book, Yasmin Husein Al-Jawaheri argues that the explosion of violence against Iraqi women since the removal of Saddam Hussein should not have taken people by surprise. The deterioration of gender relations was in fact, as she vividly demonstrates, a direct result of a decade of international economic sanctions.

Al-Jawaheri explores the gender-related impact of    More >

Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies provides an essential compendium of information regarding the politically charged issue of succession in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Based on scarce source material and a wide range of inside information, this exhaustive reference:

• traces the rise of each    More >

The stories in Oranges in the Sun capture a distinctly unique vision of the world, embodying the range of emotional and material concerns of the peoples of the Arab Gulf region. Drawn from the increasingly rich literatures of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait, the stories also reflect the development of the short-story genre in the    More >

From the dilapidated camps of Lebanon to the eye of the storm in Gaza, Palestinian refugees continue to be a focus of world attention. The Future for Palestinian Refugees addresses in depth this most difficult of the outstanding problems impeding peace in the Middle East.

Michael Dumper maps the contours of the issue, with special reference to wider international    More >

Is an end to the violence in Iraq, and the establishment of an enduring peace within a unified state, a realistic goal? Addressing this question, the authors of Iraq Preventing a New Generation of Conflict consider the sources of conflict in the country and outline the requirements for a successful peacebuilding enterprise.

Peace in Tatters was born in a set of questions with which the author, an Israeli scholar, has struggled for some years: What went wrong in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process before the July 2000 Camp David summit and during the crucial negotiations? How have the dominant narratives about the collapse of the peace process been crafted? Does the ongoing crisis mark the end of the road    More >

In the midst of the continuing violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are many who remain committed to moving forward on the road to peace. The Palestinian and Israeli contributors to this book, recognizing the great potential of civil society and NGOs for the peacebuilding process, focus on realistic opportunities for conflict transformation.The book includes a directory of    More >

While the war in Afghanistan saw most industrial countries back the US-led campaign, the subsequent war in Iraq has profoundly divided international opinion—and likely represents a watershed in the post-Cold War international order. The Iraq War examines the full range of explanations of the conflict, as well as its significance for the Middle East, for key international    More >

Islamism is often portrayed as a reaction against, or at best a belated accommodation to, modernization. Refuting this dismissive opinion, Bjørn Utvik explores the movement through the lens of its engagement with social and economic change in Egypt.

Utvik provides a comprehensive picture of debates within mainstream Islamist groups that are grappling with concrete    More >

In the wake of September 11, the European Union proclaimed a new commitment to encouraging processes of political liberalization in the Middle East, and a plethora of initiatives were introduced to that end. Richard Youngs offers a thorough analysis of the policies actually followed by the EU—by national governments, as well as collectively—in the intervening several    More >

What explains the enduring rule of authoritarian regimes in the Arab world? Nicola Pratt offers an innovative approach to this recurring question, shedding light on the failure of democratization by examining both the broad dynamics of authoritarianism in the region and the particular role of civil society.

Pratt appraises the part that civil society actors played in the    More >

Much has been made of the role that Saudi Arabia's education system played in fostering the hatred that fueled the September 11 terror attacks. But do Saudi textbooks deserve to be faulted for fostering violence? And have Wahhabi ideas infiltrated the Islamic textbooks used in public schools throughout the Middle East? Confronting these questions, Teaching Islam explores the political and    More >

What is the significance of Islam's growing strength in Ethiopia? And what is the impetus for the Saudi financing of hundreds of new mosques and schools in the country, the establishment of welfare organizations, and the spread of the Arabic language? Haggai Erlich explores the interplay of religion and international politics as it has shaped the development of modern Ethiopia and Saudi    More >

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A Choice Outstanding Academic Book!

Fattah's survey analysis of more    More >

Why do authoritarian regimes prevail in the Middle East, while successful democratic transitions are occurring elsewhere in the developing world? Authoritarianism in the Middle East addresses this question, focusing on the role of political institutions and the strategic choices made by both rulers and opposition challengers. The authors eschew cultural explanations, highlighting instead the    More >

The United Arab Emirates has remained a mainstay of stability in an increasingly volatile Middle East, managing to maintain a traditional polity despite the impact of rapid modernization and globalization. This in-depth study explores the many contradictions that characterize the UAE and its position within the international system.

Davidson first provides a detailed historical    More >

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Rejecting theories of economic deprivation and psychological alienation, Mohammed Hafez offers a provocative analysis of the factors that contribute to protracted violence in the Muslim world today.

Hafez combines a sophisticated theoretical approach and detailed case studies to show that the primary source of Islamist insurgencies lies in    More >

Though the regimes of Egyptian presidents Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak have been decidedly different, the nature of personal authoritarian rule in Egypt has remained virtually unchanged across more than five decades. Maye Kassem traces the shaping of contemporary Egyptian politics, considering why authoritarian rule has been so resilient and assessing the mechanisms that have allowed for its    More >

The recent deaths of four long-term heads of state in the Arab world heralded important changes, as political power passed from one generation to the next. Shedding light on these changes, Arab Elites explores the attitudes and political agendas of the new leadership emerging throughout the region.

A strong analytical framework informs the authors' discussion of elites    More >

This original work assesses the impact of globalization on women in Middle Eastern societies. To explore the gendered effects of social change, the authors examine trends within, as well as among, states in the region.

Detailed case studies reveal the mixed results of global pressures. For some women, for example, globalization has meant increased access to education and    More >

Encompassing history, politics, and political culture, Robert Bowker explores the impact of Palestinian refugee mythologies on the potential settlement of the conflict with Israel.

Bowker examines the nature of Palestinian refugee mythologies and their social and political underpinnings. He also discusses how these mythologies—and the manipulation of them—are key    More >

More than ten years after the Oslo Accords were heralded as the first step toward the resolution of a century of conflict, the Palestinians seem further from realizing their aspirations for self-determination than at any time since 1967. What explains the dismal failure of the post-Oslo peace process? What propels the prolonged and devastating upheaval known as the al-Aqsa intifada? Addressing    More >

Moghadam's influential study of gender dynamics and social processes in the Middle East has been fully updated to reflect a decade of major changes—including shifts in development strategy and population policy, the rise of a reform movement in Iran incorporating both Islamic and secular feminists, and the rise and fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan. New data and analysis of emerging trends    More >

Jordan in Transition offers a cogent and compelling analysis of the country's domestic and international politics.

Ryan argues that there have been four dramatic transitions in Jordan's recent past: ambitious economic restructuring, efforts toward political liberalization, realignments in foreign relations (culminating in the 1994 peace agreement with Israel), and the    More >

This important new textbook offers a theoretically grounded, systematic examination of the foreign policies of ten Middle East states.

The authors first establish a common analytical framework for studying the individual cases; they also delineate the broader regional and global arenas within which Middle Eastern governments operate. Subsequent chapters assess the foreign policies of the    More >

Sacred to three traditions, the Old City of Jerusalem is the Gordian knot at the center of the Middle East conflict. This book explores how religious and political interests compete for control of this sacred space, and how that competition affects the Middle East peace process.

Dumper analyzes the religious dynamics in the Old City in political terms, investigating rivalries and tensions at    More >

Simon Murden investigates how Muslim societies in the Middle East are being affected by globalized politics and economics, and how they are adapting to it.

Murden describes how a Western-designed set of economic and political norms, institutions, and regimes has come to be a hegemonic system. His focus is on the encounter between the Islamic vision of society, with its emphasis    More >

Israel's ongoing dispute with Syria and Lebanon gravely undermines the potential for peace in the Middle East. Charting the course of this triangular relationship since 1948, Robert Rabil successfully integrates the domestic and international dynamics of the key players to reveal the complexities of this seemingly intractable conflict.

The Turkish party system has undergone significant changes since the 1940s, moving from a two-party system to one encompassing nineteen parties— and resulting in a highly fragmented parliament. The contributors to this volume assess the intertwined effects of party fragmentation and voter volatility in Turkey. Presenting a wealth of data, they illuminate the trajectory of democratic    More >

Reflecting cutting-edge scholarship and covering more than two centuries of change, this seminal collection represents key trends in the historiography of the modern Middle East.

The authors each combine a methodological theme with concrete, original research, relating theoretical issues to the actual writing of history. Their topics range from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict    More >

What drives economic policymaking and performance in the Arab states? Paul Rivlin finds that domestic and international pressures have combined in the past decade to simultaneously foster change and limit available policy options.

Rivlin examines the socioeconomic issues that are major concerns for policymakers, the role of rental incomes and interest groups, and the particular problems facing    More >

Cheryl Rubenberg's richly textured analysis provides a case study of the multifaceted and deleterious effects of patriarchy among Palestinians living in the rural villages and refugee camps of theWest Bank: its negative consequences for men as well as women, for democratization, and for progress toward the creation of a more just, equitable, and prosperous society.

Privileging the voices of    More >

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At the turn of the century, modern Turkey remains torn between the secular heritage of its founder, Kemal Ataturk, and the political and social trends that challenge that legacy. Alon Liel traces the development of Turkey's current political environment, investigating the collapse of the country's economy in the 1970s, its recovery in the 1980s, its relationship with its Middle Eastern neighbors,    More >

Once characterized by an avoidance of foreign entanglements, Turkey's diplomacy has changed dramatically in the present era of regional agreements and organizations. Tracing the evolution of that change, this comprehensive study explores the country's new international posture.

The authors assess Turkey's policy toward Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the U.S., as well as its growing role    More >

The ongoing Egyptian-Ethiopian dispute over the Nile waters is potentially one of the most difficult issues on the current international agenda, central to the very life of the two countries. Analyzing the context of the dispute across a span of more than a thousand years, The Cross and the River delves into the heart of both countries' identities and cultures.

Erlich deftly    More >

Scholars and writers often encounter problems when conducting research on Asian and African countries because of the scarcity or inaccessibility of information about the lives of significant historical figures. Responding to that lacunae in the coverage of Egypt, this desk reference provides biodata, biographical sketches, and source material for approximately five hundred men and women who have    More >

In the present golden era of Iranian fiction, women writers—contrary to what many in the West perceive—are making a powerful contribution to the literary scene. Reflecting this, A Feast in the Mirror captures the diverse voices of contemporary Iranian women, offering glimpses into their lives and into the labyrinths of Iranian society today.

Moving from the framework of    More >

"Politics and the novel," Ghassan Kanafani once said, "are an indivisible case." Fadl al-Naqib has reflected that Kanafani "wrote the Palestinian story, then he was written by it." His narratives offer entry into the Palestinian experience of the conflict that has anguished the people of the Middle East for more than a century.

In Palestine's Children,    More >

The vitality and significance of parliaments in the Arab world is one of the essential—but overlooked—stories of political life in the 1990s. Baaklini, Denoeux, and Springborg present the first comprehensive, comparative analysis of modern Arab legislatures.

Drawing on their extensive experience as both scholars and project consultants, the authors Yemen). Their work is of    More >

Questions of identity and ethnicity have always been part of the intricate web of politics in the Arab World, but the recent expansion of political participation has made these issues more political, more visible, and more acute. This book offers a comprehensive discussion of minorities and ethnic politics in eight Arab countries. Focusing on the strategic political choices made by minorities,    More >

Intercultural relations have revolved around the River Nile throughout recorded history: sharing the river's waters, Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sudanese have developed rich dialogues of mutual cultural enrichment, as well as misconceptions and conflicts. This volume represents a rigorous scholarly attempt to trace these complex relations, exploring the multifaceted representations of the Nile,    More >

This unusually accessible book provides a comprehensive picture of Islam in contemporary Egyptian politics and society, emphasizing its diversity and heterogeneity.

Tracing the development of Islam as a social, political, and economic force in Egypt, Sullivan and Abed-Kotob analyze the role it plays in governance and opposition to political authority, in social relations, and in the    More >

Nizar Kabbani’s poetry has been described as "more powerful than all the Arab regimes put together" (Lebanese Daily Star). Reflecting on his death in 1998, Sulhi Al-Wadi wrote (in Tishreen), "Qabbani is like water, bread, and the sun in every Arab heart and house. In his poetry the harmony of the heart, and in his blood the melody of love". Arabian    More >

This collection of important stories by novelist, journalist, teacher, and Palestinian activist Ghassan Kanafani includes the stunning novella Men in the Sun (1962), the basis of the film The Deceived. Also in the volume are “The Land of Sad Oranges” (1958), “‘If You Were a Horse . . .’” (1961), “A Hand in the Grave” (1962),    More >

This first collection of al-Hakim’s stories to be published in English includes 24 of the author’s best works written from 1927 to 1966. Some inspired by literature and others by Egyptian social conditions, the stories range from mock-autobiographical to science fiction and folk fantasy to allegory and philosophy.

Bored housewives, kept in seclusion, smuggling in Harlequin romances. Modish young men transformed into Islamic militants in beards and white robes. A baker unwittingly caught in a web of intrigue, an imam whose faith is tested by urban corruption, a lonely divorcee accused of prostitution—all take part in Merzak Allouache's compelling novel of a society on the brink of    More >

Poignant and thought-provoking, this anthology offers a representative selection from the past three decades of works by the best-known women writers in Saudi Arabia. The authors’ stories of their patriarchal society afford rare insight into the traditional and changing roles, relationships, and expectations of modern Saudi women.

The editors provide an introductory essay on    More >

A vivid portrait of the lives of the Egyptian poor, particularly in the Nile Delta region, emerges in this collection of 24 short stories. El-Bisatie offers glimpses of the daily struggles and activities of old men, young women, prisoners, war widows, and everyone in between. Masterfully crafted, his stories cultivate in the reader compassion, hatred, understanding, and suspense.    More >

As a young widow with two boys to raise, Horia El-Gharib struggled to reconcile tradition and change. She dared to take on a man's role in commerce and trade to protect the future of her sons—but now, all is at risk in the midst of the turmoil of the newly independent regime.

Lion Mountain is the unforgettable story of a stubborn old woman, a one-legged Nubian war hero, and a    More >

It is the 26th day of Ramadan in the year 610, and a handsome man named Muhammad is meditating in a cave on Mount Hira. Fear grips him as he tries to sort out the visions and voices washing over him; and terrified that he is possessed, he leaves the cave to return to Mecca. The day that will transform Muhammad’s life—and change the world—has begun.

That day becomes a fluid    More >

Study after study of women in the Muslim world has focused primarily on Middle Eastern societies, usually emphasizing the sexual ideology of a reified Islam. This book rounds out that view, exploring the status, roles, and contributions of Muslim women not only in the Middle East, but also in Africa and Asia, including post-Soviet Central Asia.

The authors, many of them from the    More >

Drawing on the theoretical insights offered in its companion volume, this book examines the processes of and prospects for political reform in 10 Arab countries—Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—selected to demonstrate a broad range of contexts, trajectories, and political potentials.

The authors have gone beyond the traditional    More >

For more than a decade, policymakers and observers in the Muslim world and the West have struggled with the specter of political Islam—or "Islamic fundamentalism"—often confounded by myriad and contradictory images. This book offers a thorough, objective examination of the impact of political Islam on domestic and international politics in countries ranging from North Africa    More >

This comprehensive, up-to-date bibliography covers nearly 3,000 English-language books and articles on Muslim women throughout the world. Works are listed alphabetically by author, with an extensive index including both geographical and topical headings.

A special feature of the bibliography is its annotated list of the 50 "most highly recommended" books and articles; the result of a    More >

A candid critique of the institutional systems and practices that define, and in many cases limit, the administrative state in the Arab world, this study centers on the factors contributing to the failure of development efforts.

Almost all Arab leaders, points out Jreisat, have promised bureaucratic reforms. However, their political-administrative structures have not succeeded in building the    More >

An assassination, the election of a new prime minister, and a fresh round of Palestinian unrest have highlighted the ongoing tensions between religious and secular Israeli Jews. Among the latter, the events have introduced fear about the onset of a new religious war and a dramatic shift in public policy. However, Ira Sharkansky notes that, while religious interests in Israel have been powerful    More >

Long dominated by authoritarian regimes, the Arab World is now experiencing a variety of factors—both internal and external—-that pose the challenge of change. Significant degrees of political liberalization have occurred already in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Kuwait, although the extent to which this presages eventual democratization is far from self-evident. Elsewhere—for    More >

Jabra’s highly acclaimed novel is a masterful exploration of the post-1948 Arab world, with its frustrations, yearnings for homeland, and struggle for survival. As his characters interact on a ship sailing from Beirut to Europe, Jabra exposes them to the elements of spiritual and physical displacement. Some survive; others do not.    More >

An innocent yet stinging—and always absorbing—account of the lives of two young expatriate girls in Kuwait in the 1960s. Isabel, the red-headed daughter of an American mother and Arab father, befriends Laila, whose family has left the lush, cool mountains of Lebanon in search of a better life in the heat and desert of Kuwait. Abdul-Baki presents the voices of both girls, telling    More >

A revealing study of a girl growing to maturity in middle-class Syria and of her family’s struggle to survive in the tumultuous years of 1940–1961 in Damascus. Attar’s work shows a keen eye for the daily scene, a keen ear for conversation, and a tragic sense of history. Reflecting the rapid sociopolitical changes in Syria that exalted some, but crushed others, it marks anew    More >

In this turbulent novel of shame, violence, and hypocritical morality, the adolescent son of a repudiated mother grows up in a hostile, erotic, bourgeois world, where he must fight for his own soul. Using violence against violence, the young hero seeks to realize his better nature by overcoming the powers of hedonism, religious conformity, and tribalism. First published in French in    More >

After many years abroad, Brahim, the author of stories about a detective (alter-ego) named Ali, returns to Morocco with his pregnant Scottish wife and two sons. Soon to join them are his in-laws, complete with golf clubs and nervous expectations about a mysterious land. In a warm, satirical novel about the misunderstanding between two worlds, Chraïbi pokes fun at both the native Morocco of    More >

Dealing with sexual mutilation, Accad’s lyrical, tragic novel shows woman as prisoner, victim, and target of man’s age-old preoccupation with domination by and fear of women. Set in exploding, agonized Lebanon, the work is Islamic, Christian, modern, and antique in scope. First published in French in 1982.

This new paperback edition includes a preface by the    More >

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Palestine was neither a single territorial unit nor a discrete political entity. This book surveys political, economic, and social developments among Palestinian Arabs during this time, demonstrating that how they defined their communities reflected the impact of imperial and international forces, as well as those of class, family, religion, and    More >

As in many developing countries, women in Egypt play a key role in the agricultural sector. This has not been adequately reflected, however, in the official statistics on services, employment, and income, nor has there been a fair appreciation of the socioeconomic constraints women encounter in participating in the development process. In response, this fully annotated bibliography represents    More >

Schirazi uses agricultural policy to demonstrate the complications and consequences resulting from the Islamization of development policy in Iran.

Refuting claims by Iran's religious leaders that their interpretation of Islam provides the best possible solution for development problems, not only in Iran, but throughout the world, the author concludes from his research that the conception of    More >

The Arab-Israeli conflict in general and the Palestinian intifada in particular have given rise to a wave of critical reappraisals of the Israeli experience—reappraisals that increasingly have come from those who can only be described as mainstream Israelis. Situated within this emerging tradition of scholarly criticism, this book addresses a variety of problems that arise from the fact that    More >

Traditional, urban Egyptian women—baladi women—extol themselves with the proverb, "A baladi woman can play with an egg and a stone without breaking the egg." Evelyn Early illustrates this and other expressions of baladi women's self-identity by observing and recording their everyday discourse and how these women—who consider themselves destitute yet savvy—handle    More >

Egypt's agricultural development has been constrained by, among other factors, the need to conserve scarce natural resources, the pressures of rapid urbanization, the onslaught of the desert, and, not least important, technological limitations and restrictive economic structures. This book addresses the issues crucial to achieving and maintaining sustainable agriculture in Egypt.    More >

From the beginning of the Ba'th regime in 1968 to the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, Iraq was an important ally of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. Haim Shemesh explores the evolution of this Soviet-Iraqi relationship—one that Moscow often exploited—concentrating on the impact of the 1969-1975 and 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq conflicts on the fluctuations in Soviet-Iraqi ties and also    More >

Though strongly influenced by Western poetry, the work of Muhammad al-Maghut is decidedly Arab in theme. Using a set of metaphors that are new to Arab traditions, the 31 poems in this collection are both personal and political. Common to both his love poems and his works of protest is the sadness that comes from displacement and powerlessness, as well as the will to persevere    More >

Reportage and interviews by the first woman journalist allowed free access to the peoples and places of Yemen. Deonna offers both verbal and photographic images of this largely traditional society. Traveling from capital to village, from coast to desert, Deonna talks, and looks, and takes her pictures. She encounters kindness, courtesy, curiosity, and an ancient civilization, troubled, proud,    More >

Abdul-Baki’s stories, set in Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, and Jerusalem, explore the themes of young women coming of age, the effects of civil war, and differences between East and West.

Al-Hakim’s first novel tells the story of a young patriotic Egyptian artist in 1918-1919 Egypt. For some critics, this remains al-Hakim’s greatest novel, synthesizing Western and Islamic cultural and philosophical systems and treating issues of social justice, changing mores, and religious conflicts. First published in Arabic in 1933.    More >

The final volume in a trilogy that includes The Flutes of Death and Mother Spring, Birth at Dawn extends to the eighth century the story of the arrival of Islam in Morocco and Algeria. First published in French in 1986.

Shedding new light on the sources and character of Iran's 1979 Revolution, Manochehr Dorraj explores the genesis and development of popular movements and dissent in Iranian history.

Dorraj draws on Iran's pre-Islamic religious culture and on its legacy of Islamic folk heroes and the millenarian movements, as well as on more recent history, to illuminate current events. His investigation of the    More >

Seventeen short stories by such well-known writers as Abdullah, Idris, Mahfouz, Taher, Ibrahim, Sharouni, Fahmy, Sibai, and Haqqi.

Prophetically named for a real war yet to come, Six Days depicts the struggle of a fictional city under siege. Barakat tells the story of shy lovers, friends, increasing fear and anger, and finally the terror of war. The people of Dayr Albahr are confronted with an ultimatum: surrender or be destroyed. They choose to resist, knowing that they face inevitable defeat, but sustained by a    More >

Jameel Farran, a Christian Arab, is forced to flee his destroyed Jerusalem in 1948. Teaching at Baghdad University, he falls in love with a beautiful Muslim girl, Sulafa, but their turbulent affair meets almost insurmountable obstacles of tradition and circumstance.

This is a story of multiple conflicts—between Arab and Jew, desert and city, dictatorship and futile liberal    More >

The dehumanization of the Arabs who emigrated to "Mother France" is the subject of Chraïbi’s second novel, echoing Simple Past. This time, however, the focus is more on the values and customs of the West, whose promises to the Islamic world appear as a facade for violence and exploitation.

The story unfolds in the mind of Yalaan Waldik, an "Arabo"    More >

Beginning with an epilogue set in the present, this novel quickly moves back to the time of the generation after Muhammad—a time when North Africa, the home of the Berber peoples, was overrun by Arab armies. With strong characters and a compelling sense of place, Chraïbi demonstrates how the Berbers tried to maintain their cultural identity in the face of the overwhelmingly rapid and    More >

A detailed study of the literary debate among medieval Arab critics and philosophers about the use of truthfulness and untruthfulness in the poetry of the period. Emphasis on the critical schemes proposed by al-Jurjani and al-Qarta-janni. The book includes extensive notes, a bibliography, an index of personal names, and a useful glossary/index of literary and philosophical terms.    More >

Haim Gerber addresses the phenomenon of radical revolution within Islam, seeking both to understand a certain type of revolution and to discover whether there is a typical Muslim response to Communism.

Gerber first investigates the 1944 Marxist revolution in Albania and the 1967-1969 Marxist revolution in South Yemen. He finds, in conformity with the sociological theory of revolution, that    More >

"I enjoy playing in the small square between the archway and the takiya [monastery] where the Sufis live. Like all the other children, I admire the mulberry trees in the takiya garden, the only bit of green in the whole neighborhood. Our tender hearts yearn for their dark berries. But it stands like a fortress, this takiya, circled by its garden wall. Its stern gate is broken and always, like    More >

Behrangi offers five children’s stories that are notable for their realism and social significance. In keeping with his desire to combat ignorance and bridge the cultural gap between the rural poor and wealthy city dwellers and land owners, his stories do not shield children from knowledge about the pain and cruelty of life. Rather, they pay homage to the lives of the poor, who despite    More >

Elaborating on Barrington Moore's theory of the agrarian origins of civilization, Gerber traces the effects of the Ottoman socioagrarian structure on political formation and revolution in the modern Middle East (ca. 1500 to the present).    More >

The first book in a trilogy that continues with Mother Spring and Birth at Dawn, this naturalistic allegory is about two Arabic-speaking police officers who set out in the Atlas Mountains in search of a revolutionary. Once in this mysterious region, the officers, with their postcolonial, Westernized manners, are challenged by the ferociously suspicious and independent-minded    More >

Acclaimed in both its English translation and its original Arabic version, the title work in this collection has been made into a film, while a second piece, “A Handful of Dates,” is among the most anthologized of modern short stories.    More >

Includes Between War and Peace, Tender Hands, Food for the Millions, Poet on the Moon, and Voyage to Tomorrow.

Set against the background of post-1967 Lebanon, this novel caused a sensation in the Arab world because of its frank and realistic descriptions of Lebanon’s—and particularly Lebanese women’s—problems.

Tragedy awaits Tamina, who is drawn by the lure of the city to leave her Shi’a Moslem village for the university in Beirut. Injured in a student    More >

Setting his novel during World War II, Chraïbi opens the door on the protected and well-to- do world of an Arab woman whose role in society is restricted to that of wife and mother. At the urging of her two sons, she seeks knowledge of the larger world with all its political, economic, and social realities. Soon, she begins to develop and express her own opinions about the ongoing World    More >

Focusing on the interaction of finely portrayed characters from all elements of society, Days of Dust depicts the existential drama of the Six Days War as it was experienced on a personal level. The novel provides a remarkable perspective for comprehending Palestinian uprootedness and a people’s unceasing struggle for a homeland. First published in Arabic in 1969. This edition    More >

This book challenges the widely held contention that the indebtedness of English literature to other cultures is limited to Greek and Roman influences. Ali demonstrates how deeply the Arabian Nights has penetrated English literature and culture since its publication in English in 1704–1712. His work, including a comprehensive bibliography, is central to any study of the image of the Arab    More >

Includes The Wisdom of Solomon, King Oedipus, Shahrazad, Princess Sunshine, and Angels’ Prayer.

Includes The Song of Death, The Sultan's Dilemma, and Not a Thing Out of Place, as well as the title play, an absurdist comedy.

Salih's shocking and beautiful novel reveals much about the people on each side of a cultural divide. A brilliant Sudanese student takes his mix of anger and obsession with the West to London, where he has affairs with women who are similarly obsessed with the mysterious East. Life, ecstasy, and death share the same moment in time. First published in Arabic in 1969.    More >

The life of a young, ambitious Cairo journalist as seen through the eyes of the two women who love him and the two colleagues who befriend him, only to be betrayed. First published in Arabic. 

Poems of home and exile by Fouzi El-Asmar, a Palestinian poet and journalist. Most selections are presented in dual English/Arabic text.