The Middle East Journal articles from January 2005

The Middle East Journal archives from January 2005

Editor's note.(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... The new year begins with at least some real prospect for change in the Middle East: elections in the Palestinian Authority, following the death of Yasir 'Arafat; elections under extremely trying conditions scheduled in Iraq; a new coalition is...

Democratic attitudes and practices in Iraq, 1921-1958.
January 1, 2005... The prevalent perception is that democracy is untenable in Iraq because, it is argued, the country has an authoritarian political culture and no history of democratic institutions. This article presents a counter-narrative that shows that Iraq...

Ethnicity and civil society in contemporary Afghanistan.
January 1, 2005... This article focuses on the critical question of ethnicity and politics in Afghanistan. It examines current conceptual models of ethnicity and their application to present-day political affairs in the country. Research shows that it is not the...

Syrian motives for its WMD programs and what to do about them.(weapons of mass destruction )
January 1, 2005... Syria's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), or more specifically chemical weapons, developed as a direct response to its military rivalry with Israel, which possesses nuclear arms. Syria's weapons programs were not developed in order...

Mubarak and the Islamists: why did the "honeymoon" end?(Hosni Mubarak)
January 1, 2005... This article argues that the reasons behind Egyptian President Husni Mubarak's policy changes towards moderate Islamists was based on their ability to provide social services via an organized network of contacts. The outcome of this was that...

The famous forty and their companions: north Yemen's first-generation modernists and educational emigrants.
January 1, 2005... This article is a study of the several hundred North Yemenis who went out from isolated Yemen for education between 1947 and 1959. It focuses on their backgrounds, what and where they studied, the impact on them of this experience, what they...

An unexpected mandate? The April 8, 2004 Algerian presidential elections.
January 1, 2005... As part of the Middle East Institute's commitment to promoting and advancing Middle East studies for the next generation, the Institute in late 2003 announced the Mrs. Harley Stevens Award for the best essay on a selected theme by a graduate...

Chronology: July 16, 2004-October 15, 2004.
January 1, 2005... ABBREVIATIONS ABC, ABC News AFP, Agence France Presse Al-Jazeera, Aljazeera.net AllAfrica.com AN, ArabicNews.com AP, Associated Press BBC, www.bbc.co.uk CNN The Daily Star The Guardian GN,...

The US and the Armenian Genocide.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response, by Peter Balakian. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2003. xx + 391 pages. Notes to p. 433. List of photograph and map acknowledgments to p. 436. Gloss. to p. 439. Bibl....

The Striking Cabbies of Cairo and Other Stories: Crafts and Guilds in Egypt, 1863-1914.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Striking Cabbies of Cairo and Other Stories: Crafts and Guilds in Egypt, 1863-1914, by John T. Chalcraft. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2004. xvi + 201 pages. Append. to p. 204. Notes to p. 255. Bibl. to p. 273. Index to...

Reconstructing Rural Egypt: Ahmed Hussein and the History of Egyptian Development.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Reconstructing Egypt: Ahmed Hussein and the History of Egyptian Development, by Amy J. Johnson. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2004. xxiii + 235 pages. Notes to 279. Gloss. to 281. Bibl. to 295. Index to 304. $22.50 paper. For...

Historical Dictionary of Iraq.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Historical Dictionary of Iraq, by Edmund A. Ghareeb with the assistance of Beth K. Dougherty. Lanham, MD and Oxford, UK: The Scarecrow Press, 2004. lxxvi + 335 pages. Appends. to p. 407. Bibl. to p. 435. Epilogue to p. 457. $85. The...

The Last Jews in Baghdad: Remembering a Lost Homeland.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Last Jews in Baghdad: Remembering a Lost Homeland, by Nissim Rejwan. Foreword by Joel Beinin. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2004. xxiii + 208 pages. Appends. to p. 237. Index to p. 242. $24.95. This is an absorbing first...

A Thousand Sighs, a Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... A Thousand Sighs, A Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan, by Christiane Bird. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 2004. xxii + 375 pages. Notes to p. 384. Bibl. to p. 388. Index to p. 405. $25.95. One of the consequences of the...

The Idea of Pakistan.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Idea of Pakistan, by Stephen Philip Cohen. ix + 328 pages. Notes to p. 367. Index to p. 382. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004. $32.95. Whether it was an ally, partner, or an errant friend, Pakistan has always been an...

The Palestinian Diaspora: Formation of Identities and Politics of Homeland.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Palestinian Diaspora: Formation of Identifies and Politics of Homeland, by Helena Lindholm Schulz with Julianne Hammer. London, UK and New York: Routledge, 2003. v + 230 pages. Notes to p. 242. Bibl. to p. 266. Index to p. 276. $27.95...

The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power, by As'ad AbuKhalil. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2004. 213 pages. Notes to p. 232. Index to p. 248. $9.95 paper. Neglected and reviled before September 11, 2001,...

The Politics of Islamic Finance.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Politics of Islamic Finance, ed. by Clement M. Henry and Rodney Wilson. New York and Edinburgh: Columbia University Press and Edinburgh University, 2004. 295 pages. Contribs. Index to p. 307. $30. This collection of articles addresses a...

Crude Awakenings: Global Oil Security and American Foreign Policy.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Crude Awakenings: Global Oil Security and American Foreign Policy, by Steve A. Yetiv. Ithaca, NY and London, UK: Cornell University Press, 2004. iii + 227 pages. Appends, to p. 235. Index to p. 239. $35. Since the late 1990s oil prices have...

Mullahs, Merchants and Militants: the Economic Collapse of the Arab World.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Mullahs, Merchants and Militants: The Economic Collapse of the Arab World, by Stephen Glain. New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2004. x + 305 pages. Photos. Maps. Chron. to p. 314. Sources to p. 321. Bibl. to 328 Gloss. to p. 331....

A War of Words: Language and Conflict in the Middle East.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... A War of Words: Language and Conflict in the Middle East, by Yasir Suleiman, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. xiii+ 230 pages. Appends. to p. 234. Bibl. to p. 254. Index to p. 270. $70 cloth; $27 paper. Political conflicts...

Western Muslims and the Future of Islam.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, by Tariq Ramadan. Oxford, UK and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. x + 227 pages. Notes to p. 252. Gloss. to p. 259. Index to p. 272. $29.95. Freedom and Orthodoxy: Islam and Difference in the...

Globalized Islam: the Search for a New Ummah.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah, by Olivier Roy. New York: Columbia University Press, in association with the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2004. xi + 340 pages. Index to p. 349. $29.50. Olivier Roy...

God's Rule: Government and Islam.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... God's Rule: Government and Islam, by Patricia Crone. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. x + 400 pages. Charts to p. 413. Bibl. to p. 446. Index and gloss, to p. 462. $39.50. For many Muslim believers, it is an article of faith that...

A Tale of Two Factions: Myths, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... A Tale of Two Factions: Myths, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen, by Jane Hathaway. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2003. xvi + 191 pages. Notes to p. 251. Bibl. to p. 275. Index to p. 295. $68.50 cloth; $22.95...

A Culture of Desert Survival: Bedouin Proverbs from Sinai and the Negev.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... A Culture of Desert Survival: Bedouin Proverbs from Sinai and the Negev, by Clinton Bailey. Foreword by William W. Hallo. New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2004. xxi + 432 pages. Gloss. to p. 464. Notes to p. 469. Bibl. to p. 472. Index to...

Peace Under Fire: Israel/Palestine and the International Solidarity Movement.(Arab-Israeli Conflict)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Peace Under Fire: Israel/Palestine and the International Solidarity Movement, ed. by Josie Sandercock, Radhika Sainath, Marissa McLaughlin, et al. New York: Verso, 2004. xxii + 297 pages. $22. With essays, transcripts, newspaper articles, and...

Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: a History with Documents.(Arab-Israeli Conflict)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History with Documents [5th edition], by Charles D. Smith. Boston, MA and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 2004. xvii + 538 pages. Maps. Photos. Chron. Sel. bibl. to p. 544. Acknowledgments to p....

Modern Egypt: the Formation of a Nation State.(Egypt)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation State [2nd edition] ed., by Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004. xii + 200 pages. Maps. Gloss. to p. 210. Biographical register to p. 215. Bibl. essay to p. 228. About the author....

Women in Iran: From 1800 to the Islamic Republic.(Iran)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Women in Iran: From 1800 to the Islamic Republic, ed. by Lois Beck and Guity Nashat. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2004. xiii + 278 pages. Contribs. to p. 281. Index to p. 288. $45 cloth; $20 paper. Women in Iran gives new...

Culture and Customs in Israel.(Israel)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Culture and Customs in Israel, by Rebecca L. Torstrick. Westport, CT and London, UK: Greenwood Press, 2004. xvii + 173 pages. Maps. Photos. Chron. Gloss. to p. 177. Bibl. to p. 182. Index to p. 188. $45. Part of Greenwood Press's Culture and...

Stolen Youth: the Politics of Israel's Detention of Palestinian Children.(Palestine And Palestinians)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Stolen Youth: The Politics of Israel's Detention of Palestinian Children, by Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh, and Adah Kay. London, UK and Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 2004. 170 pages. Notes to p. 190. Index to p. 197. $65. This book offers a careful...

Historical Dictionary of Syria.(Syria)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Historical Dictionary of Syria [Second Edition], by David Commins. Lanham, MD and London, UK: The Scarecrow Press, 2004. xxxiii + 285 pages. Bibl. to p. 340. About the author. $70. Beginning with the Abassid Dynasty and ending with Mahmud...

Planning Middle Eastern Cities: an Urban Kaleidoscope in a Globalizing World.(Art And Architecture)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope in a Globalizing World, ed. by Yasser Elsheshtawy. London, UK and New York: Routledge, 2004. xii + 199 pages. Figures. Index to p. 210. $104.95. Editor Yasser Elsheshtawy compiles a unique...

The Alhambra.(Art And Architecture)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Alhambra, by Robert Irwin. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004. vii + 189 pages. Chron. Illustrations. Further reading to p. 204. Index to p. 213. $19.95. After a detailed introductory tour that walks the reader through the...

Soldier to Ambassador: from D-Day Normandy Landing to the Persian Gulf War.(Biography And Memoirs)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Soldier to Ambassador: From D-Day Normandy Landing to the Persian Gulf War, by Charles W. Hostler. San Diego, CA: San Diego University Press and the Institute on World Affairs, 2003. vii + 340 pages. $25 paper. In a wonderfully varied memoir of...

The Undergraduate's Companion to Arab Writers and Their Web Sites.(Education And Media)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Undergraduate's Guide to Arab Writers and Their Web Sites, by Dona S. Straley. Westport, CT and London, UK: Praeger Publishers, 2004. xv + 178 pages. Index to p. 185. $29.95. This book, covering 15 centuries of Arabic literature, provides a...

Women and Media in the Middle East: Power Through Self-Expression.(Education And Media)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Women and Media in the Middle East: Power Through Self-Expression, ed. by Naomi Sakr. London, UK and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2004. vii + 201 pages. Notes to p. 227. Bibl. to p. 240. Index to p. 248. $15.95 paper. In this series of essays, editor...

Zaat: the Tale of One Woman's Life in Egypt During the Last Fifty Years.(Language And Literature)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Zaat: The Tale of One Woman's Life in Egypt During the Last Fifty Years, by Sonallah Ibrahim. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2004. vii + 328 pages. $16.95. The paperback release of Ibrahim's 1992 novel tells the tale of an...

Whatever Happened to Antara? and Other Stories.(Language And Literature)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Whatever Happened to Antara? and Other Stories, by Walid Ikhlassi. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2004. vii + 136 pages. $13.95. Walid Ikhlassi, a member of Syria's parliament as well as a writer, presents a series of short stories...

From Arab Poet to Muslim Saint: Ibn al-Farid, his Verse, and His Shrine.(Language And Literature)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... From Arab Poet to Muslim Saint: Ibn al-Farid, his Verse, and His Shrine, by Th. Emil Homerin. New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 2001.97 pages. Notes to p. 133. Gloss. to p. 141. Sel. bibl. to p. 155. Index to p. 162. $22.95....

The Saint of Incipient Insanities.(Language And Literature)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Saint of Incipient Insanities, by Elif Shafak. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. 351 pages. Acknowledgments. About the author. $25. The Saint of Incipient Insanities tells the story of three roommates--Omer from Turkey, Abed from...

Dinarzad's Children: an Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Fiction.(Language And Literature)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Dinarzad's Children: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Fiction, ed. by Pauline Kaldas and Khaled Maatawa. Fayetteville, AR: The University of Arkansas Press, 2004. xiv + 312 pages. Contribs. to p. 318. Sel. bibl. to 320. $24.95 paper....

Al-Kitaab fii Ta 'allum Al-'Arabiyya with DVDs: a Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One.(Language And Literature)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Al-Kitaab fii Ta 'allum Al-'Arabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One [second edition], by Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, and Abbas Al-Tonsi. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004. xxii + 394 pages. Gloss. to...

The Place Will Comfort You.(Language And Literature)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Place Will Comfort You, by Naama Goldstein. New York: Scribner, 2004. ix + 211 pages. $23. For those interested in Jewish and Israeli culture, Naama Goldstein's collection of short stories provides new insight into the lives of Americans...

A History of the Modern Middle East.(Modern History And Politics)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... A History of the Modern Middle East [third edition], by William L. Cleveland. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004. xix + 548 pages. Gloss. to p. 554. Sel. bibl. to p. 578. Index to p. 588. $42 paper. A History of the Modern Middle East will look...

Islamist Networks: the Afghan-Pakistan Connection.(Modern History And Politics)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection, by Mariam Abou Zahab and Olivier Roy. Trans. by John King. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. xi + 82 pages. Gloss. Map. Sel. bibl. Index to p. 88. $49.50. This slim treatise examines...

Discovering the Qur'an: a Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text.(Philosophy, Religion, And Science)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Discovering the Qur'an: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text, by Neal Robinson. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003. xvi + 286 pages. Appends. to p. 291. Bibl. to p. 301. Notes to p. 324. Index to p. 332. $26.95. An updated...

Islamic Societies in Practice.(Philosophy, Religion, And Science)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Islamic Societies in Practice [2nd edition], by Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2004. $29.95 paper, x + 232 pages. Maps. Figures. Gloss. to p. 240. Bibl. to p. 246. Further reading to p. 248. Index to p....

Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology.(Philosophy, Religion, And Science)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology, tr. and introduced by John Renard. Mahwah, N J: Paulist Press, 2004. xiii + 374 pages. Abbrevs. Notes to p. 404. Bibl. to p. 412. Index to p. 434. $28.95 paper....

Burned Alive: a Victim of the Law of Men.(Women)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Burned Alive: A Victim of the Law of Men, by Souad, with Marie-Therese Cuny. Trans. by Judith Armbruster. New York and Boston, MA: Warner Books, 2004-. 225 pages. $24. This first-person account of an "honor crime" victim offers the gripping...

Communications.(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... The JOURNAL welcomes comments from its readers. All communications should be addressed to the Editor and bear the full name and address of the writer. A selection of those received will be published periodically in these columns. When a comment...