The Middle East Journal articles from September 2006

The Middle East Journal archives from September 2006

Editor's note.
September 22, 2006... This issue marks the last in Volume 60 of The Middle East Journal. The first issue appeared in January 1947, and our next issue (Volume 61, Number 1), to appear in January of 2007, will begin our anniversary year. The Middle East Institute, and...

National security decision-making in Israel: processes, pathologies, and strengths.
September 22, 2006... This article presents a first of its kind typology of Israeli national security decision-making processes, focusing on five primary pathologies and a number of strengths. It will demonstrate that these pathologies are the product of an...

Democracy, "Arab exceptionalism," and social science.
September 22, 2006... This article deals with a cross-national measurement methodology of democracy as it is applied to Muslim and Arab nations by Freedom House, a major research organization. The results of Freedom House's studies show that Muslim and Arab states...

Between Palestine and Lebanon: seven Shi'i villages as a case study of boundaries, identities, and conflict.
September 22, 2006... This article follows the fate of the only seven Shi'i villages in Mandatory Palestine, beginning in the time of the border demarcation between Palestine and Lebanon (1919-1924) and concluding with Hizbullah's demand to retrieve their...

What do Egypt's Islamists want? Moderate Islam and the rise of Islamic constitutionalism.
September 22, 2006... What type of political order do Egypt's Islamists seek to create? This question is examined by studying two types of sources: the theoretical works of Egypt's most prominent contemporary Islamic thinkers and the documents issued by the Muslim...

Qatar and the world: branding for a micro-state.
September 22, 2006... There are two factors that have shaped Qatar's integration and place in the international system. The first revolves around the constraints and problems of small states while the second is Qatar's response--a strategy of branding the state for...

Chronology: April 16, 2006-July 15, 2006.(Hezbollah-Israeli War, 2006)(Chronology)
September 22, 2006... ABBREVIATIONS Al-Bawaba Al-Jazeera, Aljazeera.net AN, ArabicNews.com BBC, www.bbc.co.uk CNN, www.cnn.com The Daily Star Daily Times Fox News The Guardian GN, Gulf News Haaretz Independent...

Deciphering Islamism and terrorism.(From Secularism to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism, Landscapes of the Jihad: Militancy, Morality, Modernity, Coalitions between Terrorist Organizations: Revolutionaries, Nationalists and Islamists, Terror on the Internet: The New Arena, the New Challenges, Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... From Secularism to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism, by Adnan A. Musallam. Westport, CT, and London, UK: Westview Press, 2005. xiii + 204 pages. Notes to p. 234. Bibl. to p. 250. Index to p. 261. $44.95. ...

The West Bank and the Gaza Strip: A Geography of Occupation and Disengagement.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... The West Bank and the Gaza Strip: A Geography of Occupation and Disengagement, by Elisha Efrat. London, UK and New York: Routledge, 2006. 206 pages. Plates. Figures. Tables. Gloss to p. 208. Bibl. to p. 212. Index to p. 216. $125 cloth; $34.95...

Israel/Palestine.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Israel/Palestine, by Alan Dowty. Cambridge, UK and Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2005. x + 216 pages. Chron. to p. 226. Further reading to p. 240. Index to p. 246. $59.95 cloth; $29.95 paper. Everyone who deals professionally with the Middle...

Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated America.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated America, by Ahron Bregman. London, UK and New York: Penguin Books, 2005. xxvii + 290 pages. Maps. Illust. Notes on sources to p. 320. Index to p. 337. BP8.99. In Elusive Peace, upon which the...

Islamist Economics in Egypt: The Pious Road to Development.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Islamist Economics in Egypt: The Pious Road to Development, by Bjorn Olav Utvik. Boulder, CO and London, UK: Lynne Rienner, 2006. 255 pages. BiN. to p. 282. Index to p. 287. $55. The subtitle of Islamist Economics in Egypt emphasizes piety...

Markets of Dispossession: NGOs, Economic Development, and the State in Cairo.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Markets of Dispossession: NGOs, Economic Development, and the State in Cairo, by Julia Elyachar. Durham, NC and London, UK: Duke University Press, 2005. xiii + 279 pages. Notes to p. 243. Bibl. to p. 267. Index to p. 279. $79.95 cloth; $22.95...

Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope, by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni. New York: Random House, 2006. xvi + 216 pages. Index to p. 272. $24.95. The unstated purpose of Shirin Ebadi's recently released memoir, Iran Awakening:...

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. 298 pages. Acknowledgements. Notes to p. 306. Index. $25.95. We do not lack for books on the Iraq War. Like the elephant...

Basra, the Failed Gulf State: Separatism and Nationalism in Southern Iraq.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Basra, the Failed Gulf State: Separatism and Nationalism in Southern Iraq, by Reidar Visser. Munster: LIT Verlag, 2005. x + 238 pages. Gloss. to 209. Notes to p. 207. Bibl. to p. 231. Index to p. 238. $39.95. Reidar Visser is a Norwegian...

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War without End.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War without End, by Peter W. Galbraith. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. 224 pages. Appends. to p. 233. Cast of Characters to p. 239. A note on sources to p. 244. Acknowledgments to p. 247....

Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq, by Ahmed S. Hashim. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006. xxvii + 389 pages. Notes to p. 450. Bibl. to p. 471. Index to p. 482. $29.95. The conflict in Iraq has spawned a large and growing...

Understanding Iraq.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Understanding Iraq, by William R. Polk. New York: Harper Perennial, 2005. xviii + 213 pages. Index to p. 221. $13.95 paper. Subtitled The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate...

Defending the Holy Land: A Critical Analysis of Israel's Security and Foreign Policy.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Defending the Holy Land: A Critical Analysis of Israel's Security and Foreign Policy, by Zeev Maoz. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press, 2006. xii + 620 pages. Notes to p. 651. Gloss to p. 656. Refs. to p. 680. $45. In recent...

Modern Clan Politics: The Power of "Blood" in Kazakhstan and Beyond.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Modern Clan Politics: The Power of "Blood" in Kazakhstan and Beyond, by Edward Schatz. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2004. xxvi + 182 pages. Appendix to p. 183. Notes to p. 222. Bibl. to p. 243. Index to p. 250. $22.50. On...

Architecture and Tourism in Italian Colonial Libya: An Ambivalent Modernism.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Architecture and Tourism in Italian Colonial Libya: An Ambivalent Modernism, by Brian L. McLaren. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2006. xi + 227 pages. Figures. Notes to p. 259. Bibl. to p. 271. Figure credits to p. 277. Index to...

Thicker Than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership With Saudi Arabia.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Thicker Than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership With Saudi Arabia, Rachel Bronson. Oxford and London, UK and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. xi + 262 pages. Map. Notes to p. 310. Sel. bibl. to p. 331. Index to p. 353. $30. One may...

Syria: Revolution from Above.(The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Syria: Revolution from Above, by Raymond Hinnebusch. London, UK and New York: Routledge, 2001, xiii + 186 pages. $41.95. The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria, by David W. Lesch. New Haven, CT and London, UK: Yale...

Syria, the United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Syria, the United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East, by Robert G. Rabil. Foreword by Walid Phares. Westport, CT and London, UK: Praeger Security International, 2006. xxvi + 208 pages. Notes to p. 256. Sel. bibl. to p. 266. Index...

Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk?(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk? by Soner Cagaptay. London, UK and New York, 2006. xx + 162 pages. Figures and maps. Notes to p. 222. Bibl. to p. 244. Index to p. 262. $65. Samuel Huntington, a scholar...

Oil Titans: National Oil Companies in the Middle East.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Oil Titans: National Oil Companies in the Middle East, by Valerie Marcel. London, UK: Chatham House, 2006. 265 pages. Appends, to p. 294. Bibl. to p. 304. Index to p. 322. $49.91 cloth; $19.95 paper. The field of economics is littered with...

American Encounters with Arabs: The "Soft Power" of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East.(Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, Al-Jazeera and Middle East Politics Today)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... American Encounters with Arabs: The "Soft Power" of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East, by William A. Rugh. Westport, CT and London, UK: Praeger Security International, 2005. xvii + 198 pages. Tables. Notes to p. 211. Sel. Bibl. to p....

Dispensing Justice in Islam: Qadis and their Judgments.(Intent in Islamic Law: Motive and Meaning in Medieval Sunni Fiqh)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Dispensing Justice in Islam: Qadis and their Judgments, ed. by Muhammad Khalid Masud, Rudolph Peters, and David Powers. Leiden and Boston, MA: Brill, 2006. xiv + 541 pages. Bibl. to p. 569. Index to p. 591. $195. Intent in Islamic Law:...

Understanding Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemporary.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Understanding Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemporary, ed. by Hisham M. Ramadan. Lanham, MD and New York: AltaMira Press, 2006. xi + 184 pages. Appends, to p. 203. Commentary to p. 209. Index to p. 217. About the contribs. $69 cloth; $24.95...

A Hundred Horizons: The Indian Ocean in the Age of Global Empire.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... A Hundred Horizons: The Indian Ocean in the Age of Global Empire, by Sugata Bose. Cambridge, MA and London, UK: Harvard University Press, 2006. xiv + 282 pages. Notes to p. 313. Index to p. 333. $27.95. Sugata Bose is the Gardiner Professor...

The Decline of the Anglo-American Middle East 1961-1969.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... The Decline of the Anglo-American Middle East 1961-1969, by Tore T. Petersen. Brighton, UK and Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2006. xi + 134 pages. Notes to p. 164. Bibl. to p. 176. Index to p. 181. $67.50. This book is a detailed...

Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom, ed. by Ami Pedahzur. New York and London, UK: Routledge, 2006. xix + 197 pages. Index to p. 202. $125 cloth; $35.95 paper. This volume is the product of a conference at the...

The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805, by Richard Zacks. New York: Hyperion, 2005. 380 pages. Acknowledgements to p. 385. Notes to p. 415. Bibl. to p. 421. $25.95. This book is devoted to...

The Arab American Experience in the United States and Canada: A Classified, Annotated Bibliography.(Book review)
September 22, 2006... The Arab American Experience in the United States and Canada: A Classified, Annotated Bibliography, by Michael W. Suleiman. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press, 2006. xix + 575 pages. Author index to p. 594. Periodicals index to p.601. Country index...

Fighting for Fallujah: A New Dawn for Iraq.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Fighting for Fallujah: A New Dawn for Iraq, by John R. Ballard. Westport, CT and London, UK: Praeger Security International, 2006. xii + 116 pages. Maps. Notes to p. 138. Gloss. to p. 144. Sel. bibl. to p. 148. Index to p. 152. n.p. The...

Morocco Bound: Disorienting America's Maghreb, from Casablanca to the Marrakech Express.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Morocco Bound: Disorienting America's Maghreb, from Casablanca to the Marrakeeh Express, by Brian T. Edwards. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005. xv + 301 pages. Notes to p. 334. Works cited to p. 349. Index to p. 366. $23.95. In Morocco...

A History of Modern Palestine.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... A History of Modern Palestine [Second Edition], by Ilan Pappe. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. xxi + 293 pages. Notes to p. 303. Bibl. to p. 315. Gloss. to p. 343. Index to p. 361. $75 cloth; $24.99 paper. Ilan...

Mughal Miniatures.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Mughal Miniatures, by J.M. Rogers. Northampton, MA: Interlink Publishing Group, Inc, 2006.128 pages. Illust. and photos. $19.95 paper. J.M. Rogers' Mughal Miniatures surveys the development of Mughal painting, "a variety of Islamic painting...

I, Nadia, Wife of a Terrorist.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... I, Nadia, Wife of a Terrorist, by Baya Gacemi. Tr. by Paul Cote and Constantina Mitchell. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2006. xvii + 151 pages. Notes to p. 157. $24.95 paper. Originally published in French, this is the...

Lonely Soldier: The Memoir of an American in the Israeli Army.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Lonely Soldier: The Memoir of an American in the Israeli Army, by Adam Harmon. New York: Ballantine Books, 2006. xxiii + 256 pages. About the author. $25.95. In this book, Adam Harmon provides an autobiographical account of his service as an...

The Attack.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... The Attack, by Yasmina Khadra. New York, NY: Doubleday, 2006. 257 pages. $18.95. This novel focuses on Amin Jaafari and his wife Sihem, Arab citizens of Israel who live in one of the most exclusive suburbs of Tel Aviv. Highly educated and...

The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... The Origins and Evolutions of Islamic Law, by Wael B. Hallaq. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 206 pages. Gloss. to p. 210. Bios. to p. 216. Bibl. to p. 224. Further reading to p. 228. Index to p. 234. $24.99. The Origins and...

Mamluks and Ottomans: Studies in Honour of Michael Winter.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2006... Mamluks and Ottomans: Studies in Honour of Michael Winter, ed. by David J. Wasserstein and Ami Ayalon. London, UK and New York: Routledge, 2006. 254 pages. Index to p. 258. $92. Mamluks and Ottomans is a collection of 17 articles on subjects...