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THE NORTHEN FRONT
ISBN: 0863567703
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle: A WARTIME DIARY
Author: CHARLES GLASS -
POWER, POLITICS AND THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF ARABIAN OIL
ISBN: 0863565255
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle:
Author: AILEEN KEATINH -
THE SHI’IS OF SAUDI ARABIA
“The Shi’is of Saudi Arabia” offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Shi’i opposition in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, from the Iranian Revolution in 1979 to the ascension of Abdullah to the throne in August 2005. Fouad Ibrahim examines the Reform Movement, which replaced the Islamic Revolution Organization following the Shi’i uprisings in al-Hasa and Qatif. Since its initiation, the Movement has campaigned for an Islamic state similar to the Iranian model. It became more moderate in the early nineties, when it began advocating democracy, human rights and civil society. It also succeeded in bringing issues of political and individual liberty in Saudi Arabia to the attention of human rights organizations, Western governments and political parties throughout the world. King Fahd decreed a general amnesty in 1993, allowing Shi’i dissidents who had fled to return to the country. In return, the Shi’is were required to abandon their political programme of reform. This marked a new era for the Shi’is in the Eastern Province. Ibrahim assesses the leaders’ considerable efforts to formulate a new discourse, participating in activities throughout the country with the aim of bringing about political change in the kingdom.
ISBN: 086356903X
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle:
Author: FOUAD N. IBRAHI -
THE PRIVATE WORLD OF OTTOMAN WOMEN
Recovering the oft-neglected role of women in Ottoman high society and power politics, this book brings to life the women who made their mark in a male domain. Though historical records tend to favour the glitter of palaces over the trials of daily life, Goodwin also reconstructs ordinary women’s domestic toil. As the Ottoman Empire first expanded and then shrank, women travelled its width and breadth whether out of necessity or merely for pleasure. Some women owned slaves while others suffered the misfortune of being enslaved. Goodwin examines the laws, which governed women’s lives from the harem to the humblest tasks. This perceptive study of Ottoman life culminates with the nineteenth century and explores the advent of modernity and its impact on women at a time of imperial decline.
ISBN: 0863567452
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle:
Author: GODFREY GOODWIN -
THE JANISSARIES
From the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, the janissaries were the scourge of Europe. With their martial music, their muskets and their drilled march, it seemed that no one could withstand them. Their loyalty to their corps was infinite, as the Ottomans conquered the Balkans as far as the Danube, and Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Their political power was such that even sultans trembled.
Who were they? Why were they an elite? Why did they decline and what was their end? To answer these questions, the book begins by exploring the origins of the Janissary corps with the careful selection of youths from Christian families in the Balkans. It then introduces the pillars of the Ottoman state which these recruits were to serve, and depicts the victorious years of this elite corps.
ISBN: 0863567401
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle:
Author: GODFREY GOODWIN -
ISLAM
At a time when Islam is the focus of attention, vilified by some and a source of inspiration for others, Arkoun’s is one of few voices that seeks to go against the stream. His radical review of mainstream historiography of Islam draws on interdisciplinary analysis – historical, social, psychological and anthropological. One of the foremost thinkers of the Muslim world, Arkoun is in a position to question dogmatic constructs from within, with respect and critical acumen. An understanding of this approach can lead to an emancipatory turn in the intellectual and political spheres of Muslim societies.
ISBN: 0863567657
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle: TO REFORM OR TO SUBVERT?
Author: MOHAMMAD ARKOUN -
THE SECRET HISTORY OF AL-QA’IDA
Over the last ten years, journalist Abdel Bari Atwan has cultivated well-placed sources and amassed a wealth of information about al-Qa‘ida’s origins, masterminds and plans for the future. Atwan reveals how al-Qa‘ida’s radical departure from the classic terrorist/guerrilla blueprint has enabled it to outpace less adaptable efforts to neutralise it. The fanaticism of its fighters, and their willingness to kill and be killed, are matched by the leadership’s opportunistic recruitment strategies and sophisticated understanding of psychology, media and new technology – including the use of the Internet for training, support and communications.
Atwan shows that far from committing acts of violence randomly and indiscriminately, al-Qa‘ida attacks targets according to a decisive design underwritten by unwavering patience. He also argues that events in Iraq and Saudi Arabia are watershed moments in the group’s evolution that are making it more dangerous by the day, as it refines and appropriates the concept of jihad and makes the suicide bomber a permanent feature of a global holy war. While Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri remain al-Qa‘ida’s figureheads, Atwan introduces a new kind of leader made possible by its horizontal chain of command, epitomised by the brutal Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi in Iraq and the anonymous bombers of London, Madrid, Amman, Bali and elsewhere.
ISBN: 0863567606
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle:
Author: ABDEL BARI ATWA -
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JOURNEYS OF A SUFI MUSICIAN
Erguner’s memoir sets out to share not only the final moments of a vanished community, but also to relate the encounter of traditional Sufi culture with the Western world. He raises issues relating to the transmission of a teaching both musical and spiritual and the role of a ‘traditional’ musician.
ISBN: 0863565476
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle:
Author: KUDSI ERGUNER -
MODERN ARABIC LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION
ISBN: 0863565972
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle: A COMPANION
Author: SALIH J. ALTOMA -
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THE SHI`ITE MOVEMENT IN IRAQ
ISBN: 0863563953
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle: `UNIQUE AND IMPRESSIVE … DRAWS A FASCINATING PICTURE OF THE SHI`ITE LANDSCAPE. JABAR IS UNIQUELY PLACED TO WRITE ON MODERN IRAQ.`
Author: FALEH A. JABAR -
ASIYE, GUZEL ASIYE’S STORY
ISBN: 0863561942
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle: ASIYA’S COURAGE SHINE THROUGH EVERY PAGE OF THIS SENSITIVE ACCOUNT… AS UPLIFTING AS IT IS HARROWING .’ ANNE SEBBA
Author: RICHARD MCKANE -
TRIBES AND POWER
Tribes and Power provides a comprehensive understanding of the structure, functioning, and change of today’s Middle Eastern tribes. In some Middle Eastern countries, tribalism has been strengthened by centralized policies, modern technology, and the market economy. This stimulating collection scrutinizes the complexities of kinship structures in Arab and Islamic cultures, and contains case studies of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.
ISBN: 0863568041
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle: NATIONALISM AND ETHNICITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Author: FALEH A. JABAR -
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AYATOLLAHS, SUFIS AND IDEOLOGUES
ISBN: 0863569129
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle: STATE, RELIGION AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Author: FALEH ABDUL-JABAR -
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THE PRIVATE WORLD OF OTTOMAN WOMEN
ISBN: 0863567517
Publisher: SAQI
Subtitle:
Author: GODFREY GOODWIN