The Middle East Journal articles from September 2005

The Middle East Journal archives from September 2005

Editor's note.
September 22, 2005... Every issue of The Middle East Journal seeks to balance lasting contributions to scholarship with timely analysis, long-term research with articles which can inform current policy. In some ways this issue is a prime example of that; it contains...

The democratic imperative vs. the authoritarian impulse: the Maghrib state between transition and terrorism.(Northern Africa)
September 22, 2005... Despite public promises to the contrary, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia continue to be ruled autocratically even as their civil societies aspire to greater public space. Rather than promoting concrete steps towards democratization including...

The continuing evolution of Iran's military doctrine.
September 22, 2005... Iran's military has tried to develop concepts for warfighting suitable for deterring the United States while dealing with a complex security environment and numerous constraints on its military power. The military's key. task has been to align...

Negotiating rights in Iraq: women and the personal status law.
September 22, 2005... Recent attempts to abolish the Personal Status Law, in force since 1959, with the intent of placing family matters in the hands of religious authorities, caused an uproar among Iraqi women's rights activists. This article seeks to place the...

Free trade as a strategic instrument in the war on terror?: The 2004 US-Moroccan Free Trade Agreement.
September 22, 2005... In June 2004, the United States signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Morocco. FTAs are typically thought of as economic agreements, but the agreement with Morocco has an explicit security component. Indeed, US officials have cast the...

Myths and historiography of the 1948 Palestine War revisited: the case of Lydda.
September 22, 2005... Arab and Israeli revisionist historiography has taken the events in the town of Lydda (Lod, al-Lud) during the 1948 Palestine War (Israeli War of Independence) as an example of Israel's premeditated expulsion of the Palestinian Arabs in 1948,...

Chronology: April 16, 2005-July 15, 2005.(Chronology)
September 22, 2005... Arab-Israeli Conflict See also Palestinian Affairs, Israel Apr. 21: Israeli authorities released nine Jordanian prisoners accused of crimes related to the Palestinian uprising, as part of a pledge to improve ties between the two...

The politics of suicide terrorism.(Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terrorism)(Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, by Robert Pape. New York: Random House, 2005. 250 pages. Acknowledgments to p. 252. Appends. to p. 277. Notes to p. 316. Index to p. 335. $25.95. Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide...

Revolution Unending: Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Revolution Unending, Afghanistan: 1979 to the Present, by Gilles Dorronsoro. Translated from French by John King. New York, NY: Columbia University Press in association with the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Nationales, Paris, 2005. xxiii +...

Shared Histories: A Palestinian-Israeli Dialogue.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Shared Histories: A Palestinian-Israeli Dialogue, ed. by Paul Scham, Walid Salem, and Benjamin Pogrund. Jerusalem: Modern Arab Press, 2005. vi + 276 pages. Gloss. to p. 281. $17.50 paper. In 2002, the editors convened seminars in Cyprus and...

Dramas of Nationhood: The Politics of Television in Egypt.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Dramas of Nationhood: The Politics of Television in Egypt, by Lila Abu-Lughod. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2005. xvii + 245 pages. Appendix to p. 249. Notes to p. 285. Refs. to p. 302. Index to p. 319. $22. How do...

The Iranian Labyrinth: Journeys Through Theocratic Iran and Its Furies.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The Iranian Labyrinth: Journeys Through Theocratic Iran and Its Furies, by Dilip Hiro. New York: Nation Books, 2005. xxxiv + 372 pages. Notes to p. 392. Gloss to p. 404. Sel. bibl. to p. 406. $16.95. Dilip Hiro is a prolific writer. In...

Words and Stones: The Politics of Language and Identity in Israel.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Words and Stones: The Politics of Language and Identity in Israel, by Daniel Lefkowitz. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004. xiv + 272 pages. Figures and tables. Notes to p. 297. Refs. to p. 308. Index to p. 316. $49.95. Daniel...

Institutions and the Politics of Survival in Jordan: Domestic Responses to External Challenges, 1988-2001.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Institutions and the Politics of Survival in Jordan: Domestic Responses to External Challenges, 1988-2001, by Russell E. Lucas. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2005. xv + 185 pages. Tables to p. 156. Notes to p. 171. Bibl. to p....

Nationalist Voices in Jordan, The Street and the State.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Nationalist Voices in Jordan, The Street and the State, by Betty S. Anderson. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2005. x + 205 pages. Notes to p. 243. Bibl. to p. 269. Index to p. 288. $25 paper. "Can Jordan exist without the...

Suicide in Palestine: Narratives of Despair.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Suicide in Palestine: Narratives of Despair, by Nadia Taysir Dabbagh. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2005. xi + 245 pages. Appendix to p. 248. Gloss. to p. 251. Abbrevs. to p. 252. Sel. bibl. to p. 262. Index to p. 265. $17.95 paper. ...

Palestinian NGOs in Israel: The Politics of Civil Society.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Palestinian NGOs in Israel: The Politics of Civil Society, by Shany Payes. London, UK and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2005. xi + 237 pages. Map. Notes to p. 276. Bibl. to p. 315. Appends. to p. 322. Index to p. 331. $75. Palestinian NGOs in...

Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-U.S. Connection.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-U.S. Connection, by Gerald Posner. New York: Random House, 2005. 196 pages. Notes to p. 228. Bibl. to p. 239. Index to p. 254. $24.95. According to Gerald Posner, author of the New York...

Syria and the Doctrine of Arab Neutralism: from Independence to Dependence.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Syria and the Doctrine of Arab Neutralism: From Independence to Dependence, by Rami Ginat. Brighton, UK and Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. xix + 233 pages. Appends. to p. 237. Notes to p. 279. Bibl. to p. 288. Index to p. 310....

Rethinking Islam and Liberal Democracy: Islamist Women in Turkish Politics.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Rethinking Islam and Liberal Democracy: Islamist Women in Turkish Politics, by Yesim Arat: New York: SUNY Press, 2005. x + 116 pages. Appendix to p. 120. Notes to p. 134. Bibl. top. 144. Index to p. 150. $55. That democracy is neither...

The Making of Arab News.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The Making of Arab News, by Noha Mellor. Oxford, UK and New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005. xii + 146 pages. Tables. Figures. Refs. to p. 158. Index to p. 161. $69 cloth; $23.95 paper. The Making of Arab News is a good...

Destined to Die: A Novel about Palestinian Youth as Fighters and Suicide Bombers.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Destined to Die: A Novel about Palestinian Youth as Fighters and Suicide Bombers, by Victor Sasson. New York: iUniverse, Inc. 2004. 252 pages. $16.95. Long, long before George Bernard Shaw made a name for himself as one of the 20th...

The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain since 1800.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... "The Infidel Within." Muslims in Britain since 1800, by Humayun Ansari. London, UK: C. Hurst & Co., 2004. xiv + 438 pages. Bibl. to p. 424. BP 14.95. Among the first Muslims in the British islands were travellers, sailors, and settlers....

Guns for the Sultan, Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Guns for the Sultan, Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire, by Gabor Agoston. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. xvii + 205 pages. Maps. Figures. Tables. Appendix to p. 241. Notes to p. 247....

Public Health in Qajar Iran.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Public Health in Qajar Iran, by Willem Floor. Washington, DC: Mage, 2004. 270 pages. $50 paper. The history of medicine in Iran has usually focused on the medieval period and its renowned physicians such as Razi and Avicenna....

Slaves of the Shah: New Elites of Safavid Iran.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Slaves of the Shah: New Elites of Safavid Iran, by Sussan Babaie, Kathryn Babayan, Ina Baghdiantz-McCabe, and Massumeh Farhad. London, UK and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2004. xiii + 138 pages. Illustrations. Appendix to p. 147. Notes to p. 191....

Afghanistan: A Traveler's Companion and Guide.(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Afghanistan: A Traveler's Companion and Guide, by Bijan Omrani and Matthew Leeming. Introduction by President Hamid Karzai. Hong Kong: Odyssey Books & Guides, 2005. $29.95. 768 pages. Illustrations. $29.95. Afghanistan: A Companion and...

Palestine and Palestinians: Guidebook.(Palestine: A Guide)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Palestine and Palestinians: Guidebook, by Sabri Giroud et al. Tr. by Carol Scheller-Doyle and Walid Shomali. Beit Sahour: Alternative Tourism Group, 2005. 435 pages. $32. Palestine: A Guide, by Mariam Shahin. Photography by George Azar....

Exile and Return: Predicaments of Palestinians and Jews.(ARAB-ISRAEL CONFLICT)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Exile and Return: Predicaments of Palestinians and Jews, ed. by Ann M. Leisch and Ian S. Lustick. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 368 pages. $45. This collection is a bold attempt to understand constructively and build...

The Englishwoman in Egypt.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The Englishwoman in Egypt, by Sophia Poole. Cairo & New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 2003. Pages xix +254 pages. Index to p.257. First published in 1844, The Englishwoman in Egypt are the memoirs of Sophia Poole's experiences...

Managing Egypt's Poor and the Politics of Benevolence, 1800-1952.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Managing Egypt's Poor and the Politics of Benevolence, 1800-1952, by Mine Ener. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. Pages xxx + 144 pages. Notes to p. 173. Bibl. to p. 189. Index to p. 195. n.p. This book, written by the late Mine...

Nationalism and Post-Colonial Identity: Culture and Ideology in India and Egypt.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Nationalism and Post-Colonial Identity: Culture And Ideology In India And Egypt, by Anshuman A. Mondal. New York and London UK: Taylor & Francis/Routledge, 2003. xii + 244 pages. Index to p.288. $90. Anshuman Mondal, lecturer in modern...

Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism, by Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2005. xii+177 pages. Appendix to p. 277. Notes to p. 302. Refs. to p. 319. Index to...

A Reed Shaken by the Wind: Travels among the Marsh Arabs of Iraq.(IRAQ)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... A Reed Shaken by the Wind: Travels among the Marsh Arabs of Iraq, by Gavin Maxwell. London, UK and Chester Springsm PA: Sickle Moon Books/ Eland & Dufours Editions, Inc., 2004. x + 223 pages. About the author. $ 22.95 paper. Maxwell spent part...

Israeli Democracy at the Crossroads.(IRAQ)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Israeli Democracy at the Crossroads, ed. by Raphael Cohen-Almagor. New York: Routledge, 2005. vi + 275 pages. Contribs. to p. 279. Index to p. 288. n.p. This comprehensive selection of writings on Israeli democracy, originally published as a...

Palestine, Israel, and the Politics of Popular Culture.(PALESTINE AND PALESTINIANS)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Palestine, Israel, and the Politics of Popular Culture, ed. by Rebecca L. Stein and Ted Swedenburg. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005. 364 pages. Bibl. to p. 396. Contribs. to p. 399. Index to p. 413. $24.95. This book rethinks the...

Money Makes Us Relatives: Women's Labor in Turkey.(TURKEY)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Money Makes Us Relatives: Women's Labor in Turkey [second edition], by Jenny B. White. New York: Routledge, 2005. xviii + 157 pages. Notes to p. 167. Refs. to p. 172. Index to p. 176. $33.95. Jenny White investigates why Turkey devalues women's...

Behind Embassy Walls: The Life and Times of an American Diplomat.(BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIRS)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Behind Embassy Walls: The Life and Times of an American Diplomat, by Brandon Grove. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2005. xv + 322 pages. Index to p. 333. $34.95. In his autobiography, American diplomat, Brandon Grove,...

Lawrence of Arabia: An Encyclopedia.(BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIRS)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Lawrence of Arabia: An Encyclopedia, by Stephen E. Tabachnick. Westport, CT and London, UK: Greenwood Press, 2004. xx + 218 pages. Maps. List of entries by subject. Bibl.to p. 234 Index to p. 248. $59.95. An encyclopedia exclusively dedicated...

Kanizu: Stories.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Kanizu: Stories, by Moniru Ravanipur, ed. by M.R. Ghanoonparvar. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc., 2004. x + 123 pages. $10 paper. Kanizu, a collection of short stories, examines the psyche of Iranian artists and writers. Published less...

Persian Literary Influence on Early English Literature with Special Reference to the Nineteenth Century.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Persian Literary Influence on Early English Literature with Special Reference to the Nineteenth Century, by Hasan Javadi. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc., 2005. xiii + 212 pages. Illust. to p. 228. Bibl. to p. 245. Index to p. 254. $35...

Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers, ed. by Shyram Selvadurai. New York and Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. ix + 428 pages. $14. An anthology of short stories by authors of South Asian descent, this collection includes the...

Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English, by Amin Malik. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2004. ix + 155 pages. Notes to p. 161. Works cited to p. 174. Index to p. 181. $78.50 cloth; $24.95 paper. In Muslim Narratives and...

Law and Power in the Islamic World.(LAW)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Law and Power in the Islamic World, by Sami Zubaida. London, UK and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2005. n.p. In this study, Professor Sami Zubaida examines the historical origins and evolution of Islamic Law (Shari'a). Shari'a claims its ultimate...

Islam and Democracy in the Middle East.(MODERN HISTORY AND POLITICS)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, ed. by Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. xxvi + 298 pages. Index to p. 322. $25 paper. This is a comprehensive assessment of the...

Tormented Births: Passages to Modernity in Europe and the Middle East.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Tormented Births: Passages to Modernity in Europe and the Middle East, by Isam Al-Khafaji. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2004. x + 325 pages. List of tables and figures. About the author. n.p. In this polemic work, Khafaji tracks the...

Islam in World Politics.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Islam in World Politics, ed. by Nelly Lahoud and Anthony H. Johns. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor, and Francis Group, 2005. 192 pages. Index to p. 198. $22.99. Islam in World Politics is a collection of essays that addresses the emergence of...

Views From the Edge: Essays in Honor of Richard W. Bulliet.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Views From the Edge: Essays in Honor of Richard W. Bulliet, ed. by Neguin Yavari, Lawrence G. Potter, and Jean-Marc Ran Oppenheim. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. xxxviii + 346 pages. Contribs. Photos. $39.50. Colleagues and former...

Analyzing Middle Eastern Foreign Policies, and the Relationship with Europe.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Analyzing Middle Eastern Foreign Policies, and the Relationship with Europe, ed. by Gerd Nonneman. New York: Routledge, 2005. vi + 262 pages. Index to p. 269. $19.95. This book provides a conceptual framework for the analysis of Middle Eastern...

Authoritarianism in the Middle East.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Authoritarianism in the Middle East, ed. by Marsha Pripstein Posusney and Michele Penner Angrist. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005. 232 pages. $23.50. Authoritarianism in the Middle East addresses the following question: Why do...

Understanding Jihad.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Understanding Jihad, by David Cook. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2005. x + 168 pages. Appendix to p. 208. Timeline to p. 210. Gloss. to p. 212. Notes to p. 235. Bibl. to p. 251. Index to p. 259. $50 cloth; $19.5...

War Without End.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... War Without End, by Bruno Tertrais. Tr. by Franklin Philip. New York and London, UK: The New Press, 2005. xi + 113 pages. Notes to p. 139. Index to p. 149. $21.95. Bruno Tertis, one of France's leading military analysts and an international...

The Battle of Ideas in the War on Terror.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The Battle of Ideas in the War on Terror, by Robert Satloff. Washington, DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2004. 106 pages. $19.95 paper. In The Battle of Ideas in the War on Terror, scholar and Executive Director for The...

The War On Truth: 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism.(LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The War On Truth: 9/11 Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism, by Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed. Northampton, MA: Interlink Publishing, Inc., 2005. 474. 20. In The War on Truth, Nafeez Ahmed provides the most comprehensive and controversial...

A History of Islamic Philosophy.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... A History of Islamic Philosophy, by Majid Fakhry. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. xxvi + 398 pages. Bibl. to p. 409. Index to p. 430. $69.50 cloth; $29.50 paper. Majid Fakhy, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the American...

The Culture of Islam: Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The Culture of Islam: Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life, by Lawrence Rosen. Chicago, IL and London, UK: The University of Chicago Press, 2003. 230 pages. Anthropologist Lawrence Rosen provides ten insightful essays, based on several...

The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims, ed. by Robert Spencer. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2005. 589 pages. Contribs. to p. 593. $26. The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims is a collection of...

Historical Dictionary of Sufism.(PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Historical Dictionary of Sufism, by John Renard. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group Inc, 2005. xiii + 260 pages. Gloss. to p. 278. Bibl. to p. 349. $70. This work, compiled by John Renard, professor in the Department of...

The Secret Order of Assassins.(PRE-20TH CENTURY HISTORY)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The Secret Order of Assassins, by Marshall G.S Hodgson. Philadephia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 278 pages. Appends to p. 334. Index to p. 352. $24.95. This work examines the secret order of Ismailis, whose members led suicidal...

Seheherazade's Legacy: Arab and Arab-American Women on Writing.(WOMEN)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Seheherazade's Legacy: Arab and Arab-American Women on Writing, ed. by Susan Muaddi Darraj. Foreword by Barbara Minri Aziz. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2004. xvii + 153 pages. Index to p. 156. Contribs. to p. 159. $39.95. In a time when...