The Middle East Journal articles from March 2007

The Middle East Journal archives from March 2007

China, global energy, and the Middle East.
March 22, 2007... China has significantly enhanced its position and interest in the Persian Gulf region over the past 25 years, making it an important newcomer in regional dynamics. Evidence clearly shows that it has expanded, in some cases dramatically, its...

The notion of a "pre-emptive war:" the Six Day War revisited.
March 22, 2007... The article presents a critical assessment of the widespread conceptualization of the June 1967 War between Israel and its neighboring Arab states as a pre-emptive war both in academic and non-academic writing. Tracing the origins of the notion...

The high water mark of Islamist politics? The case of Yemen.
March 22, 2007... In Yemen, Islamists seem to have lost their edge in an area formerly considered their strength: grassroots politics. In the 2006 local council elections the Islamist party Islah suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of the ruling General...

The Salih regime and the need for a credible opposition.
March 22, 2007... Analyses indicate that the Republic of Yemen (ROY) needs to effect major reforms in the next several years if Yemeni society is to again become viable; and that, given the re-election of President Salih in 2006, the best hope for this coming...

Can conservative Arab Gulf monarchies endure a fourth war in the Persian Gulf?
March 22, 2007... The existing regional balance of power in the Persian Gulf is likely to shift after Iran becomes a nuclear state. Conservative Arab Gulf monarchies, which emerged relatively unscathed from previous tectonic changes, are poised to mimic the...

Chronology: Oct 16, 2006-January 15, 2007.(Chronology)
March 22, 2007... Arab-Israeli Conflict See also Egypt, Israel, Palestinian Affairs, Qatar, Regional Affairs Oct. 22: Israel disclosed that it had used white phosphorous shells during the July-August war with Hizbullah in Lebanon. The Red Cross...

Change amid constants and constants amid change.(books on Middle East countries)
March 22, 2007... Arabs, by Mark Allen. London, UK and New York: Continuum Books, 2006. 142 pages. Bibl. to p. 145. $21.95. The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences, ed. by Rick Fawn and Raymond Hinnebusch. Boulder, CO and London, UK: Lynne Rienner Publishers,...

The Arab world's uncomfortable experience with globalization.(books on Arab and globalization )
March 22, 2007... Globalization and the Gulf, by John Fox, Nada Mourtada-Sabbah, and Mohammed al-Mutawa. London, UK: Routledge, 2006. 287 pages. Index to p. 298. $35.95. Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism, by Charles Tripp. Cambridge,...

Peace Not Apartheid.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Peace Not Apartheid, by Jimmy Carter. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006. 250 pages. Index to p. 264. $27. Reviewed by Richard B. Parker This book is both a memoir of President Carter's involvement with the Palestine problem and a...

Co-opting the PLO: A Critical Reconstruction of the Oslo Accords, 1993-1995.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Co-opting the PLO: A Critical Reconstruction of the Oslo Accords, 1993-1995, by Peter Ezra Weinberger. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2006. xv + 157 pages. Bibl to p. 165. Index to p. 170. About the author. Reviewed by Gerald Steinberg ...

The Armenian Rebellion at Van.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Armenian Rebellion at Van, by Justin McCarthy, Esat Arslan, Cemalettin Takiran, and Omer Turan. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 2006. vii + 266 pages. 11 Maps. Notes. Appends. to p. 285. Bibl. to p. 291. Index to p. 296. $25....

Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa Entering the 21st Century.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa Entering the 21st Century, ed. by Dawn Chatty. Leiden and Boston, MA: Brill, 2006. xlii + 1060 pages. Photos. Gloss. to p. xlii. Index to p. 1060. $399. Reviewed by Sebastian Maisel ...

For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia, by Robert D. Crews. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006. viii + 370 pages. $29.95. Reviewed by Edward Schatz In the current global climate, one might be...

At the Dawn of the Cold War: The Soviet-American Crisis over Iranian Azerbaijan, 1941-1946.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... At the Dawn of the Cold War: The Soviet-American Crisis over Iranian Azerbaijan, 1941-1946, by Jamil Hasanli. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006. xiii + 395 pages. Index to p. 408. $75. Reviewed by Mark N. Katz In At...

Culture and Customs of Iran.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Culture and Customs of Iran, by Elton L. Daniel and Ali Akbar Mahdi. Westport, CT and London, UK: Greenwood Press, 2006. xv + 210 pages. Chron. Map. Gloss. to p. 213. Bibl. to p. 222. Index to p. 231. $49.95. Reviewed by Afshin Marashi ...

Nurturing the Nation: The Family Politics of Modernizing, Colonizing and Liberating Egypt, 1805-1923.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Nurturing the Nation: The Family Politics of Modernizing, Colonizing and Liberating Egypt, 1805-1923, by Lisa Pollard. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2005. xviii + 211 pages. Notes to p. 255. Bibl. to p. 276....

Ethnocracy: Land and Identity Politics in Israel/Palestine.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Ethnocraey: Land and Identity Polities in Israel/Palestine, by Oren Yiftachel. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006, xi + 294 pages. Appendix to p. 300. Notes to p. 309. Refs. to p. 334. Index to p. 350. $69.95. ...

King Hussein and the Evolution of Jordan's Perception of a Political Settlement with Israel, 1967-1988.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... King Hussein and the Evolution of Jordan's Perception of a Political Settlement with Israel, 1967-1988, by Joseph Nevo. Brighton, UK and Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2006. vii + 170. Notes to p. 199. Bibl. to p. 204. Index to p. 209....

The Emergence of States in a Tribal Society: Oman under Sa'id bin Taymur, 1932-1970.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Emergence of States in a Tribal Society: Oman under Sa'id bin Taymur, 1932-1970, by Uzi Rabi. Brighton, UK and Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2006. xviii + 218 pages. Gloss. Abbrevs. to Maps. Notes to p. 269. Bibl. to p. 276. Index to...

The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia, by David Commins. London, UK and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2006. xi + 209 pages. Chron. to p. 212. Gloss. to p. 214. Notes to p. 258. Bibl. to p. 269. Index to p. 276. $74.95. Reviewed by Paul Aarts ...

America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier, by Robert Vitalis. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006. xxvii + 276 pages. Map. Photos. Acknowledgments to p. 278. Notes to p. 328. Bibl. to p. 338. Index to p. 353. $29.95. ...

Nostalgia for the Modern: State Secularism and Everyday Politics in Turkey.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Nostalgia for the Modern: State Secularism and Everyday Politics in Turkey, by Esra Ozyurek. Durham, NC and London, UK: Duke University Press, 2006. xi + 182 pages. Notes to p. 198. Bibl. to p. 216. Index to p. 227. $74.95 cloth; $21.95 paper....

Turkey and the EU: An Awkward Candidate for EU Membership?(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Turkey and the EU: An Awkward Candidate for EU Membership? by Harun Arikan. Aldershot, UK and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2003. xiii + 222 pages. Table. Bibl. to p. 236. Index to p. 256. $99. The EU & Turkey: A Glittering Prize...

"Evil" Arabs in American Popular Film: Orientalist Fear.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... "Evil" Arabs in American Popular Film: Orientalist Fear, by Tim Jon Semmerling. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2006. viii + 255 pages. Bibl. to p. 285. Index to p. 303. $55 cloth; $22.95 paper. Reviewed by Evelyn Alsultany Tim...

Human Rights in the Arab World: Independent Voices.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Human Rights in the Arab World: Independent Voices, ed. by Anthony Chase and Amr Hamzawy. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. 199 pages. Appends. to p. 282. Notes to p. 309. Contribs. to p. 313. Index to p. 322. $65. ...

La politique clans le monde arabe.(La politique dans le monde arabe)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... La politique dans le monde arabe [Politics in the Arab World], ed. by Elizabeth Picard. Paris: Armand Colin, 2006. 284 pages. Bibl. to p. 326. Index to p. 331. 28 euros. Reviewed by Clement M. Henry Elizabeth Picard has directed a...

Road to Suez: The Battle of the Canal Zone.(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Road to Suez: The Battle of the Canal Zone, by Michael T. Thornhill. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2006. xvi + 270 pages. Notes to p. 253. Bibl. p. 261. Index to p. 270. $34.95. Reviewed by Spencer Mawby Those wishing to commemorate last...

The Persians.(IRAN)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Persians, by Gene R. Garthwaite. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. xix + 281 pages. Notes to p. 285. Further reading to p. 295. Index to p. 311. Illust. and photos. $34.95 paper. Gene R. Garthwaite's The Persians is an overview of...

Take Down: The 3rd Infantry Division's Twenty-One Day Assault on Baghdad.(IRAQ)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Take Down: The 3rd Infantry Division's Twenty-One Day Assault on Baghdad, by Jim Lacey. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2007. xii + 262 pages. Index to p. 267. $29.95. Jim Lacey's Take Down details the story of the US Army's 3rd Infantry...

Iraq in World War I: From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest.(IRAQ)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Iraq in World War I: From Ottoman Rule to British Conquest, by Mohammad Gholi Majd. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2006. 408 pages. Index to p. 438. $55 paper. Mohammad Majd's Iraq in World War I is a thorough, chronological study of...

Historical Dictionary of Pakistan.(PAKISTAN)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Historical Dictionary of Pakistan (Third Edition), by Shahid Javed Burki. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2006. lvii + 535 pages. Appendix to p. 539. Bibl. to p. 581. $99. Historical Dictionary of Pakistan, by former World Bank...

Aden and the Indian Ocean Trade: 150 Years in the Life of a Medieval Arabian Port.(YEMEN)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Aden and the Indian Ocean Trade: 150 Years in the Life of a Medieval Arabian Port, by Roxani Eleni Margariti. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2007. xiii + 214 pages. Illust. Notes to p. 307. Bibl. to p. 330. Index to p....

Thieves in Retirement.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Thieves in Retirement, by Hamdi Abu Golayyel. Trans. by Marilyn Booth. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2006. xviii + 126 pages. $19.95 paper. Interweaving narratives engaged in the struggle for meaning and dignity, Golayyel's novel...

The Poems of Hafez.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Poems of Hafez, trans, by Reza Ordoubadian. Bethesda, MD: Ibex Publishers, 2006. 235 pages. Notes to p. 269. Bib. to p. 272. Gloss. to 277. $22. Reza Ordoubadian's English translation of 202 of Hafez Shirazi's poems is a volume that sets...

The Modern Arabic Literary Language: Lexical and Stylistic Developments.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Modern Arabic Literary Language: Lexical and Stylistic Developments, by Jaroslav Stetkevych. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2006. xxiii + 123 pages. Bibl. to p. 130. Index to p. 135. $21.95 paper. Jaroslav Stetkevych's The...

Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures.(MODERN HISTORY AND POLITICS)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures, by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait, and Andrew Thomson. New York City, NY: Miramax Book, 2006. 308 pages. $13.95 paper. This first-person chronicle of three idealistic young individuals serving in UN...

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.(MODERN HISTORY AND POLITICS)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, by Jeremy Scahill. New York: Nation Books, 2007. xxvii + 382 pages. Notes to p. 438. Index to p. 452. $26.95. Jeremy Scahill's Blackwater examines the role that Black water USA,...

A Fevered Crescent: Security and Insecurity in the Greater Near East.(MODERN HISTORY AND POLITICS)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... A Fevered Crescent: Security and Insecurity in the Greater Near East, by James F. Miskel and P.H. Liotta. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2006. xiii + 127 pages. Figures. Tables. Map. Notes to p. 143. Index to p. 149. $34.95. A...

Historical Dictionary of Sufism.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Historical Dictionary of Sufism, by John Renard. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., 2005. xliii + 260 pages. Gloss. to p. 278. Bibl. to p. 349. $70. John Renard's Historical Dictionary of Sufism contains over 3,000...

Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Islamic Philosophy from its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2006. x + 280 pages. Notes to p. 342. Index to p. 380. $25.95. In Islamic Philosophy,...

The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an, ed. by Andrew Rippin. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. xxiii + 495 pages. Bibl to p. 523. Indexes to p. 560. $149.95. The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an is a collection of essays on a variety of...

The New Voices of Islam: Rethinking Politics and Modernity--A Reader.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... The New Voices of Islam: Rethinking Politics and Modernity--A Reader, ed. Mehran Kamrava. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2007. x + 261 pages. Notes to p. 282. Index to p. 291. $24.95 paper. The New Voices of...

Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality, and Sacred Power in Islam.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality, and Sacred Power in Islam, by Scott Kugle. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2007. xii + 294 pages. Notes to p. 315. Bibl. to p. 325. Index to p. 345. $59.95 cloth;...

Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria.(PRE-20TH CENTURY HISTORY)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria, by Peter Willey. London, UK: I.B. Tauris, in association with The Institute of Isma'ili Studies, 2005. xxvii + 307 pages. Maps. Color plates. Figures. Bibl. to p. 311. Index to p. 321. $25. Peter...

Crusader Castles and Modern Histories.(PRE-20TH CENTURY HISTORY)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Crusader Castles and Modern Histories, by Ronnie Ellenblum. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xi + 304 pages. Appendix to p. 317. Bibl. to p. 346. Index to p. 362. Illust. $99. Ronnie Ellenblum's Crusader Castles and Modern...

Selling Jerusalem: Relics, Replicas, Theme Parks.(PRE-20TH CENTURY HISTORY)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Selling Jerusalem: Relics, Replicas, Theme Parks, by Annabel Jane Wharton. Chicago, IL and London, UK: The University of Chicago Press, 2006. xi + 238 pages. Illust. Bibl. to p. 265. Index to p. 272. $32.50 paper. Annabel Wharton's Selling...

Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood.(PRE-20TH CENTURY HISTORY)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood, by Sumaiya A. Hamdani. London and New York: I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Isma'ili Studies, 2007. xxvi + 134 pages. Notes to p. 185. Bibl. to p. 197. Index to p....

Muslim Cultures Today: A Reference Guide.(SOCIAL CONDITIONS)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Muslim Cultures Today: A Reference Guide, ed. by Kathryn M. Coughlin. Westport, CT and London, UK: Greenwood Press, 2006. xvi + 211 pages. Maps. Illust. Gloss. to p. 220. Resource Guide to p. 228. Index to p. 235. $65. Muslim Cultures Today,...

Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East.(SOCIAL CONDITIONS)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East, by Brian Whitaker. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006. 224 pages. Notes to p. 253. Bibl. to p. 258. Index to p. 264. $19.95 paper. Journalist Brian Whitaker provides a...

In the Name of Heaven: 3,000 Years of Religious Persecution.(SOCIAL CONDITIONS)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... In the Name of Heaven: 3,000 Years of Religious Persecution, by Mary Jane Engh. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2007. 235 pages. $25. Encompassing three millennia and an eclectic sample of cultures worldwide, In the Name of Heaven traces the...

Gender, Modernity, and Liberty: Middle Eastern and Western Women's Writings: A Critical Sourcebook.(SOCIAL CONDITIONS)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 22, 2007... Gender, Modernity and Liberty: Middle Eastern and Western Women's Writings: A Critical Sourcebook, ed. By Reina Lewis and Nancy Micklewright. London, UK and New York, NY: I.B. Tauris, 2006. xii + 247 pages. Illust. Index to p. 59. $79.95 cloth;...

Communications.(Letter to the editor)
March 22, 2007... 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...