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This research guide covers the different disciplines that fall under the umbrella of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. Use the tabs above for information about specific types of resources. Please note that while some electronic resources are freely available, others are subscription services provided by the Cornell University Library, so remote access may be necessary when accessing from off-campus.
Disclaimer of Endorsement: The University does not necessarily agree with assertions and opinions expressed in the resources listed in this guide. These are provided for the researcher to discover, contrast and compare.
Background
For the purposes of Cornell Library's Middle East and Islamic Studies, the geographic areas covered include: Mauritania, Morocco and the Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, the Sudan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel & Palestine (modern), Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Historians, political scientists, and others have defined world regions in terms such as race & ethnicity, culture, language & linguistics, religion, historical unity, climatic similarity, and / or geographic compactness. One of the first questions encountered by anyone who wants to study the region is what the "Middle East" is, specifically what countries it involves. There is, however, a lack of consensus on one single definition of a region that after all stretches over three different continents; and people even refer to it variously by such terms as "Near East," "Mideast" or "Middle East." In modern times, the designation "Middle East," was applied by Westerners who viewed the area as midway between Europe and East Asia, which they call the Far East. There is at least agreement over the view that the Middle East is more than a mere geographical concept and that there are compelling historical, cultural, religious, political, social, and economic reasons for considering it as an entity apart.
It is not, for example, the land of the Arabs (millions of Turkic, Indo-European, and other peoples live in the region). It is not even, as many presuppose, the land of Islam (in terms of population and territorial size, the largest Islamic countries are outside of the traditional boundaries of the Middle East. Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan all have larger Muslim populations than any country in what we call the Middle East). Historically, most of Iberia was under Islamic control for the better part of 700 years, and most of the Balkans for almost as long. Hence:
The Core
Bahrein; Egypt; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Turkey ; United Arab Emirates (federation comprised of seven sheikdoms: Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Qawain); Yemen
The Periphery
.The Caucusus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia;
.Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
.Cyprus
.Horn of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania)
.Maghreb: Algeria, Libya, Morocco & the Western Sahara, Tunisia
.Sahel & Sudan: Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan
.South Asia: Afghanistan, Pakistan
*Demographics : Middle East & North Africa / Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, 2018.
*How the Middle East Was Invented /
Teaching & Learning
Graduate Programs in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies | US & Canada
The Maydan team presents this mapping/database resource to help future applicants in the fields of Religious/Islamic Studies and Middle Eastern/Near Eastern Studies in their application process. [The database/map includes application deadlines for graduate programs, links to program pages and information for undergraduate programs as well].
Database of Middle East North Africa Social Policy Expertise
Atlas of the near East : State Formation and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1918-2010 by
The Atlas of the Near East offers an in-depth examination of the economic, social, and demographic dynamics of the Arab Near East, defined here as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine, in the period from 1918 to 2010. It discusses the central problem of aridity, the effects of foreign domination, Arab nationalism, Baʿathism, and communitarianism. It addresses the makeup of the population, the region's development, economic issues, cities, and urban areas. It assesses the partition of Palestine and the geography of the Occupied Territories, and concludes with a chapter on the geopolitics of the Near East. With numerous maps, charts, and data published for the first time, it is key to a comprehensive understanding of the region.
ISBN: 9789004344297Publication Date: 2017-07-14
Field Notes : The Making of Middle East Studies in the United States by Call Number: Olin Library DS61.9.U6 L63 2016ISBN: 9780804798051Publication Date: 2016-03-30
Is There a Middle East? by
Is the idea of the "Middle East" simply a geopolitical construct conceived by the West to serve particular strategic and economic interests--or can we identify geographical, historical, cultural, and political patterns to indicate some sort of internal coherence to this label? While the term has achieved common usage, no one studying the region has yet addressed whether this conceptualization has real meaning--and then articulated what and where the Middle East is, or is not. This volume fills the void, offering a diverse set of voices--from political and cultural historians, to social scientists, geographers, and political economists--to debate the possible manifestations and meanings of the Middle East. At a time when geopolitical forces, social currents, and environmental concerns have brought attention to the region, this volume examines the very definition and geographic and cultural boundaries of the Middle East in an unprecedented way.
Call Number: olin DS44.9 .I8 2012ISBN: 9780804775267Publication Date: 2011-11-16
Rethinking Islam Studies by
Rethinking Islamic Studies upends scholarly roadblocks in post-Orientalist discourse within contemporary Islamic studies and carves fresh inroads toward a robust new understanding of the discipline, one that includes religious studies and other politically infused fields of inquiry. Editors Carl W. Ernst and Richard C. Martin, along with a distinguished group of scholars, map the trajectory of the study of Islam and offer innovative approaches to the theoretical and methodological frameworks that have traditionally dominated the field. In the volume's first section, the contributors reexamine the underlying notions of modernity in the East and West and allow for the possibility of multiple and incongruent modernities. This opens a discussion of fundamentalism as a manifestation of the tensions of modernity on Muslim cultures. The second section addresses the volatile character of Islamic religious identity as expressed in religious and political movements at national and local levels. In the third section, contributors focus on Muslim communities in Asia and examine the formation of religious models and concepts as they appear in this region. This study concludes with an afterword by accomplished Islamic studies scholar Bruce B. Lawrence reflecting on the evolution of this post-Orientalist approach to Islam and placing the volume within existing and emerging scholarship.
ISBN: 9781570038921Publication Date: 2010-05-30
Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East by
This unique primary source reader provides first-hand accounts of the events described in Middle Eastern history survey texts. The text is organized into ten chapters featuring chapter introductions and headnotes. The primary source documents cover the late 18th century through the beginning of the 21st, exploring political, social, economic, and cultural history and infusing the volume with the voices of real people.
Call Number: olin DS62.4K53 2011ISBN: 9780618958535Publication Date: 2010-01-08
Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict : a history with documents by
Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict provides a comprehensive, balanced, and accessible narrative of a complex historical topic. The narrative is supported by more than 40 primary documents that highlight perspectives from all sides of the struggle. Throughout the book, the author examines how underlying issues, group motives, religious and cross-cultural clashes, diplomacy and imperialism, and the arrival of the modern era shaped this volatile region. Maps, photographs, chronologies, public opinion polls, and discussion questions help facilitate student understanding. A fully updated final chapter makes this the most current history of the topic.
Call Number: DS119.7 .S618 2017ISBN: 1319028055Publication Date: 2016-09-09
Sectarianization: mapping the new politics of the Middle East by
As the Middle East descends ever deeper into violence and chaos, "sectarianism" has become a catch-all explanation for the region's troubles. The turmoil is attributed to "ancient sectarian differences", putatively primordial forces that make violent conflict intractable. In media and policydiscussions, sectarianism has come to possess trans-historical causal power. This book trenchantly challenges the lazy use of "sectarianism" as a magic-bullet explanation for the region's ills, focusing on how various conflicts in the Middle East have morphed from non-sectarian (or cross-sectarian) and nonviolent movements into sectarian wars. Through multiple case studies -including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Kuwait - this book maps the dynamics of sectarianisation, exploring not only how but also why it has taken hold. The contributors examine the constellation of forces - from those within societies to external factors such as theSaudi-Iran rivalry - that drive the sectarianisation process and explore how the region's politics can be de-sectarianised. Featuring leading scholars - and including historians, anthropologists, political scientists and international relations theorists - this book will redefine the terms of debate on one of the most critical issues in international affairs today.
Call Number: olin DS63.123 .S43 2017ISBN: 9780190664886Publication Date: 2017-03-15
Middle East Studies after September 11 : Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia by
Middle East Studies after September 11: Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia will show the long-term implications of current approaches to Middle East scholarship on the internal transformation of Middle Eastern societies. It describes the complex relationship between American academia and state government: a relationship which has influenced and restructured the state, society and politics in the Middle East as well as in the United States. It engages the disciplines of Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, History and International Studies, while maintaining the epistemological, methodological, and ontological insights of a sociological approach to the Middle East. Contributors are: Beyazit H. Akman, Mahmoud Arghavan, Dunya D. Cakir, Emanuela C. Del Re, Babak Elahi, Manuela E. B. Giolfo, Shah Mahmoud Hanifi, Merve Kavakci, Tugrul Keskin, Seyed Mohammd Marandi, Ameena Al-Rasheed Nayel, Staci Gem Scheiwiller, Francesco L. Sinatora, Zeinab Ghasemi Tari
ISBN: 9004281533Publication Date: 2018-05-24
Material Evidence and Narrative Sources: Interdisciplinary Studies of the History of the Muslim Middle East by
This book demonstrates the effectiveness of creative interdisciplinary research, applied to historical, cultural and archaeological problems in the study of the Middle East.
Call Number: olin DS62 .M475 2014ISBN: 9789004279667Publication Date: 2014-11-01
Quick Introductions
Was Lawrence of Arabia Good for the Arab World? Adapted from Mason’s LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, New Academia Publishing, 2017.
Imperial History of the Middle East - 5,000 years in 90 seconds
Middle East & Islamic Studies * Cornell
Department of Near Eastern Studies
Offers courses in the archaeology, civilization, history, languages and literatures of the Near East from ancient times to the modern period and emphasizes ...
neareasternstudies.cornell.edu/
This blog by Ali Houissa, The Middle East & Islamic Studies Curator, highlights topics relevant to the study of the Middle East and Islam, and shares information regarding Cornell University Library’s programs and services.
BLOGS: a guide to researching the Middle East and beyond
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Ali Houissa
Contact:
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Spotlight*New
The Modern Middle East and North Africa : A History in Documents by
Utilizing a mix of documents - including photographs, posters, diaries, diplomatic records, archival sources, and literary works - The Modern Middle East and North Africa: A History in Documents is structured around an underlying theme of unity in diversity. This theme helps to offsetstudents' stereotypical image of the Middle East and North Africa as an undifferentiated, monolithic, and unchanging part of the world inhabited mainly by terrorists and religious fanatics. Compiled and edited by two prominent historians, Julia Clancy-Smith and Charles Smith, the book's approach offers a compromise between conventional political and diplomatic histories and those focusing on social and cultural history. The authors demonstrate how the Middle East and North Africa haveparticipated in and shaped the grand currents of global history during the past two centuries. Headnotes, extended captions, sidebars, introductory essays, and a robust photo program (including a documentary picture essay devoted to women and gender) provide an essential context framing thedocuments.
Call Number: Oversize DS37.7 .C53 2014 +ISBN: 9780195338270Publication Date: 2013-08-12
Inventing the Middle East by
The "Middle East" has long been an indispensable and ubiquitous term in discussing world affairs, yet its history remains curiously underexplored. Few question the origin of the term or the boundaries of the region, commonly understood to have emerged in the twentieth century after World War I. Guillemette Crouzet offers a new account in Inventing the Middle East. The book traces the idea of the Middle East to a century-long British imperial zenith in the Indian subcontinent and its violent overspill into the Persian Gulf and its hinterlands. Encroachment into the Gulf region began under the expansionist East India Company. It was catalyzed by Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and heightened by gunboat attacks conducted in the name of pacifying Arab "pirates." Throughout the 1800s the British secured this crucial geopolitical arena, transforming it into both a crossroads of land and sea and a borderland guarding British India's western flank. Establishing this informal imperial system involved a triangle of actors in London, the subcontinent, and the Gulf region itself. By the nineteenth century's end, amid renewed waves of inter-imperial competition, this nexus of British interests and narratives in the Gulf region would occasion the appearance of a new name: the Middle East. Charting the spatial, political, and cultural emergence of the Middle East, Inventing the Middle East reveals the deep roots of the twentieth century's geographic upheavals.
ISBN: 9780228014065Publication Date: 2022-10-15
The New Cambridge History of Islam by
Robert Irwin's authoritative introduction to the fourth volume of The New Cambridge History of Islam offers a panoramic vision of Islamic culture from its origins to around 1800. The introductory chapter, which highlights key developments and introduces some of Islam's most famous protagonists, paves the way for an extraordinarily varied collection of essays. The themes treated include religion and law, conversion, Islam's relationship with the natural world, governance and politics, caliphs and kings, philosophy, science, medicine, language, art, architecture, literature, music and even cookery. What emerges from this rich collection, written by an international team of experts, is the diversity and dynamism of the societies which created this flourishing civilization. Volume four of The New Cambridge History of Islam serves as a thematic companion to the three preceding, politically oriented volumes, and in coverage extends across the pre-modern Islamic world.
Call Number: olin DS35.6.C17 2010 (6 vols.)ISBN: 9780521838245Publication Date: 2010-10-22
Pitfalls of Scholarship: Lessons from Islamic Studies by
Pitfalls of Scholarship offers an array of reflections on higher education, its entanglements with humanity's pursuit of natural and social knowledge, and the impact national environments have upon it. This book considers the humanities, vocational, and scientific/technological sides of the university from the vantage-point of an Islamic studies scholar in twenty-first century American academia. Four discussions and a personal note make up the parts of these pages.
Call Number: olin LA227.4 A38 2016ISBN: 9781137565358Publication Date: 2016
Making the Arab World by
How the conflict between political Islamists and secular-leaning nationalists has shaped the history of the modern Middle East In 2013, just two years after the popular overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian military ousted the country's first democratically elected president--Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood--and subsequently led a brutal repression of the Islamist group. These bloody events echoed an older political rift in Egypt and the Middle East: the splitting of nationalists and Islamists during the rule of Egyptian president and Arab nationalist leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. In Making the Arab World, Fawaz Gerges, one of the world's leading authorities on the Middle East, tells how the clash between pan-Arab nationalism and pan-Islamism has shaped the history of the region from the 1920s to the present. Gerges tells this story through an unprecedented dual biography of Nasser and another of the twentieth-century Arab world's most influential figures--Sayyid Qutb, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood and the father of many branches of radical political Islam. Their deeply intertwined lives embody and dramatize the divide between Arabism and Islamism. Yet, as Gerges shows, beyond the ideological and existential rhetoric, this is a struggle over the state, its role, and its power. Based on a decade of research, including in-depth interviews with many leading figures in the story, Making the Arab World is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the roots of the turmoil engulfing the Middle East, from civil wars to the rise of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Call Number: olin DS63.1.G47 2018ISBN: 9780691167886Publication Date: 2018-04-03
A History of the Modern Middle East by
A History of the Modern Middle East examines the profound and often dramatic transformations of the region in the past two centuries, from the Ottoman and Egyptian reforms, through the challenge of Western imperialism, to the impact of US foreign policies. Built around a framework of political history, while also carefully integrating social, cultural, and economic developments, this expertly crafted account provides readers with the most comprehensive, balanced and penetrating analysis of the modern Middle East. The sixth edition has been revised to provide a thorough account of the major developments since 2012, including the tumultuous aftermath of the Arab uprisings, the sectarian conflict in Iraq and civil war in Syria that led to the rise of ISIS, the crises in Libya and Yemen, and the United States' nuclear talks with Iran. With brand-new timelines in each part, updated select bibliographies, and expanded online instructor resources, A History of the Modern Middle East remains the quintessential text for courses on Middle East history.
Call Number: DS62.4 .C53 2017ISBN: 9780813349800Publication Date: 2016-08-02
An Introduction to the Modern Middle East : history, religion, political economy, politics by
Combining elements of comparative politics with a country-by-country analysis, author David S. Sorenson provides a complete and accessible introduction to the modern Middle East. With an emphasis on the politics of the region, the text also dedicates chapters specifically to the history, religions, and economies of countries in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf, the Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa. In each country chapter, a brief political history is followed by discussions of democratization, religious politics, women's issues, civil society, economic development, privatization, and foreign relations. In this updated and revised second edition, An Introduction to the Modern Middle East includes new material on the Arab Spring, the changes in Turkish politics, the Iranian nuclear issues, and the latest efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma. Introductory chapters provide an important thematic overview for each of the book's individual country chapters and short vignettes throughout the book offer readers a chance for personal reflection.
ISBN: 9780813349220Publication Date: 2013-12-03
The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa by
With recent upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa, the eighth edition of The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa has been thoroughly revised to provide a necessary, comprehensive and current examination of the domestic politics and foreign policies of this crucial region. A newly expanded introduction provides students with a comparative and thematic overview of the region, from its political regimes and electoral institutions to its economic and social concerns. Each chapter, written by an invited specialist, uses a common framework to explore the historical background, social and political environment, political structure and dynamics, and foreign policy of a country. Chapters are augmented by a country map, a box providing key facts, and an annotated bibliography summarizing the major literature.The eighth edition provides vital new considerations of the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the ongoing sectarian violence and rise of ISIS, and the growth of social forces like youth movements and women's rights groups. In addition, the inclusion of six new contributors brings fresh perspectives, ensuring that The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa remains an essential guide to the region's political landscape.
Call Number: olin DS62.8 .G68 2017ISBN: 9780813349947Publication Date: 2016-08-02
Islamic History by
Opening with a lucid overview of the rise and spread of Islam, from the seventh to the twenty-first century, this Very Short Introduction introduces the story of Islamic history, charting the evolution of what was originally a small, localized community of believers into an international religion with over a billion adherents. The book examines how Islam rose from the obscurity of seventh-century Arabia to the forefront of modern global concerns, and it highlights how we know what we claim to know about Islam's rise and development. Historian Adam J. Silverstein also discusses the peoples--Arabs, Persians, and Turks--who shaped Islamic history, and sheds light on three representative institutions--the mosque, jihad, and the caliphate--that highlight Islam's diversity over time. Finally, the book analyzes the roles that Islamic history has played in both religious and political contexts, while stressing the unique status that history enjoys among Muslims, especially compared to its lowly place in Western societies where history is often seen as little more than something that is not to be repeated.
ISBN: 9780199545728Publication Date: 2010-02-01
What Is Political Islam? by ISBN: 9781626376922Publication Date: 2018-02-10
Shariah : What Everyone Needs to Know; by
Sharia is by now a term that most Americans and Europeans recognize, though few really understand what it means. Often portrayed as a medieval system used by religious zealots to oppress women and deny human rights, conservative politicians, media commentators, and hardline televangelistsstoke fear by promoting the idea that Muslims want to impose a repressive Sharia rule in America and Europe. Despite the breadth of this propaganda, a majority of Muslims - men and women - support Sharia as a source of law. In fact, for many centuries Sharia has functioned for Muslims as a positivesource of guidance, providing a moral compass for individuals and society. This critical new book by John L. Esposito and Natana Delong-Bas aims to serve as a guide for what everybody needs to know in the conversation about Sharia, responding to misunderstandings and distortions, and offeringanswers to questions about the origin, nature, and content of Sharia.
Call Number: KBP144 .E76 2018ISBN: 9780199325054Publication Date: 2018-04-11
Lifeworlds of Islam by
How do old ideas continue to appear relevant in a modern world? A sociological approach to Islam allow us to approach an answer to this question.In Lifeworlds of Islam, Mohammed A. Bamyeh shows that Islam has typically operated not in the form of standard dogmas, but more often as a compass for practical individual orientations or "lifeworlds." Through a comprehensive sociological analysis of Islam, he maps out how Muslims have employed thefaith to foster global networks, public philosophies, and engaged civic lives both historically and in the present. Bamyeh further argues that all three fields are poorly understood in recent literature, which tends to focus on one specific problem or another and does not take into account thevariety of lifeworlds in which Islam operates. The book contends that the larger preoccupations of ordinary Muslims-how to imagine a global society, how to guide life in the manner of a total philosophy, and how to relate to the world of daily struggles in organized or semi-organized civic forumsand social movements-are neither unique to the present period nor to religious life. They are rather shared universal quandaries.A focused empirical lens on the career of a religion, Lifeworlds of Islam contributes to the larger literature and provides insight into the nature of global citizenship, the philosophical needs of individuals, and the ethical values that foster social participation.
ISBN: 9780190280567Publication Date: 2019-05-20
The New Middle East by
Since Muhammad Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia on December 17, 2010, galvanizing the Arab uprisings that continue today, the entire Middle East landscape has changed in ways that were unimaginable years before. In spite of the early hype about a so-called "Arab Spring" and the prominence observers gave to calls for the downfall of regimes and an end to their abuses, most of the protests and uprisings born of Bouazizi's self-immolation have had disastrous results across the whole Middle East. While the oldpowers reasserted their control with violence in Egypt and Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, and Syria have virtually ceased to exist as states, torn apart by civil wars. In other states, namely Morocco and Algeria, the forces of reaction were able to maintain their hold on power, while in the "hybriddemocracies" of Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq, protests against government inefficiency, corruption, and arrogance have done little to bring about the sort of changes protesters have demanded. Simultaneously, ISIS, along with other jihadi groups (al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda affiliates, Ansar al-Shariahs,etc.) has thrived in an environment marked by state breakdown.This book explains these changes, outlining the social, political, and economic contours of what some have termed "the new Middle East." One of the leading scholars of modern Middle Eastern history, James L. Gelvin lucidly distills the political and economic reasons behind the dramatic news arrivingeach day from Syria and the rest of the Middle East. He shows how and why bad governance, stagnant economies, poor healthcare, climate change, population growth, refugee crises, food and water insecurity, and war increasingly threaten human security in the region.
ISBN: 9780190653989Publication Date: 2017-11-01
The Modern Middle East : a history by
Extensively revised and updated in the wake of the Arab uprisings, the changes that they fostered, and the fault lines that they exposed, the fourth edition of The Modern Middle East explores how the forces associated with global modernity have shaped the social, economic, cultural, andpolitical life in the region over the course of the past 500 years. Beginning in the sixteenth century, this book examines the impact of imperial and imperialist legacies, the great nineteenth-century transformation, cultural continuities and upheavals, international diplomacy, economic booms andbusts, and the emergence of and resistance to authoritarian regimes. Engagingly written, drawing from the author's own research and other studies, and enriched with maps and photographs, original documents, and an abundance of supplementary materials, this text provides students with fresh insightsinto the events and debates that have shaped history and absorbed historians.
Call Number: olin DS62.4 .G37 2015ISBN: 9780190218867Publication Date: 2015-06-01
Emerging Scholarship on the Middle East and Central Asia by
Emerging Scholarship on the Middle East and Central Asia: Moving from the Periphery provides fresh analysis and cutting-edge critique of phenomena and events across the region. Working out of diverse disciplinary traditions, the authors call on varied theoretical frameworks in order to challenge entrenched stereotypes and long-standing perspectives. This volume explores emerging directions in scholarship across a range of issues, including: the Gulf; Saudi strategizing; Afghan refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran; contemporary Turkish politics; the current Syrian conflict; Middle Eastern and Central Asian art; perceptions of security threats from Afghanistan; and the potential future role of China in the region. The authors in this volume have given wide-berth to dominant approaches to scholarship on the region, while grappling with overlooked issues and marginal populations in order to advance new frameworks. On the Periphery deserves a central place in future scholarly engagement with the Middle East and Central Asia.
ISBN: 9781498558426Publication Date: 2018-09-15
The Idea of the Muslim World by
When President Barack Obama visited Cairo in 2009 to deliver an address to Muslims worldwide, he followed in the footsteps of countless politicians who have taken the existence of a unified global Muslim community for granted. But as Cemil Aydin explains in this provocative history, it is a misconception to think that the world's 1.5 billion Muslims constitute a single religio-political entity. How did this belief arise, and why is it so widespread? The Idea of the Muslim World searches for the intellectual origins of a mistaken notion and explains its enduring allure for non-Muslims and Muslims alike. Conceived as the antithesis of Western Christian civilization, the idea of the Muslim world emerged in the late nineteenth century, when European empires ruled the majority of Muslims. It was inflected from the start by theories of white supremacy, but Muslims had a hand in shaping the idea as well. Aydin reveals the role of Muslim intellectuals in envisioning and essentializing an idealized pan-Islamic society that refuted claims of Muslims' racial and civilizational inferiority. After playing a key role in the politics of the Ottoman Caliphate, the idea of the Muslim world survived decolonization and the Cold War, and took on new force in the late twentieth century. Standing at the center of both Islamophobic and pan-Islamic ideologies, the idea of the Muslim world continues to hold the global imagination in a grip that will need to be loosened in order to begin a more fruitful discussion about politics in Muslim societies today.
Call Number: olin BP52 .A94 2017ISBN: 9780674050372Publication Date: 2017-04-24
Left-Handed in an Islamic World by ISBN: 0998147710Publication Date: 2017-01-25This is the memoir of an American anthropologist living in the Arab world with his family. His stories derive from across a number of different societies and time frames, and bring into play the larger Middle East context from 1968 to 2012.
People Like Us: Misrepresenting the Middle East by
InPeople Like Us, which became a bestseller in Holland, Joris Luyendijk tells the story of his five years as a correspondent in the Middle East. Extremely young for a correspondent but fluent in Arabic, he spoke with stone throwers and terrorists, taxi drivers and professors, victims and aggressors, and all of their families. He chronicles first-hand experiences of dictatorship, occupation, terror, and war. His stories cast light on a number of major crises, from the Iraq War to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along with less-reported issues such as underage orphan trash-collectors in Cairo. The more he witnessed, the less he understood, and he became increasingly aware of the yawning gap between what he saw on the ground and what was later reported in the media. As a correspondent, he was privy to a multitude of narratives with conflicting implications, and he saw over and over again that the media favored the stories that would be sure to confirm the popularly held, oversimplified beliefs of westerners. InPeople Like Us, Luyendijk deploys powerful examples, leavened with humor, to demonstrate the ways in which the media gives us a filtered, altered, and manipulated image of reality in the Middle East.
Call Number: Olin DS49.7 .L89 2009ISBN: 9781593762568Publication Date: 2009-09-29
A Concise History of the Middle East by
An introduction to the history of this turbulent region from the beginnings of Islam to the present day, this widely acclaimed text by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. is distinguished by its clear style, broad scope, and balanced treatment. This book explores the evolution of Islamic institutions and culture, the influence of the West, the modernization efforts of Middle Eastern governments, the struggle of various peoples for political independence, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the reassertion of Islamic values and power, the issues surrounding the Palestinian Question, and the post-9/11 Middle East. The eleventh edition has been fully revised to reflect the most recent events in, and concerns of, the region, including an expanded and more nuanced discussion of the "War on Terrorism" and the Arab uprisings, coverage of the rise of ISIS, and a new chapter on the growing environmental problems of the region. In addition, the authors have incorporated new scholarship on the early history to provide a fuller picture of the political shifts and socioeconomic concerns of that time. With updated bibliographical sketches, chronology and glossary, A Concise History of the Middle East remains an essential text for students of Middle East history.
ISBN: 9780813349633Publication Date: 2015-07-07
The Middle East in the World by
The Middle East in the Worldoffers students a fresh, comprehensive, multidisciplinary entry point to the broader Middle East. After a brief introduction to the study of the region, the early chapters of the book survey the essentials of Middle Eastern history; important historical narratives; and the region's languages, religions, and global connections. Students are guided through the material with relevant maps, resource boxes, and text boxes that support and guide further independent exploration of the topics at hand. The second half of the book presents interdisciplinary case studies, each of which focuses on a specific country or sub-region and a salient issue, offering a taste of the cultural distinctiveness of the particular country while also drawing attention to global linkages. Readers will come away from this book with an understanding of the larger historical, political, and cultural frameworks that shaped the Middle East as we know it today, and of current issues that have relevance in the Middle East and beyond.
ISBN: 9780765639769Publication Date: 2015-02-09
Islam: Terms & Concepts
What is Islam? Check the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary for a definition and the Encyclopedia Britannica for information on the history, principles and practices of Islam.
Sunnis and Shia: Islam's ancient schism - BBC, UK.
Crescent (symbol of Islam) WHAT is the origin of the crescent moon symbol seen throughout Islamic cultures? Source: theguardian.com
Islam - Muslim - Moslem - Islamist
Islam vs Muslim: When and why do we use the different terms?
Muslim vs Moslem: Why do people say Muslim now instead of Moslem?
'Muslim' vs 'Islamic' - DAWN.COM
Muslims vs. Islamists Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Ten Things Everyone Needs to Know about Islam - Excerpts from Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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The Arab world in seven charts: Are Arabs turning their backs on religion?
Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies - Taylor & Francis Concepts in Islamic Studies series spans a number of subject areas that are closely linked to the religion.
... More 'Concepts" @ Cornell University Library 
Intro to Islam Research Paper / Lynette White, ....
Islam (religion) -- Encyclopedia Britannica
American Religion Data Archive The ARDA collection includes data on USA religious groups (individuals, congregations and denominations). The collection consists of individual surveys covering various groups and topics.
Religions of the book - faculty.fairfield.edu Three world religious traditions have their origins in the Middle East-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-but there are also a number of more highly localized traditions. These include Zoroastrianism (primarily in Iran); the Druze of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel; and the Kurdish-speaking Yazidi-s of northern Iraq, each with their own traditions of religious identity and practice. [WORLD RELIGIONS -The Middle East and Central Asia: an anthropological approach].