|
MAY 2000 BOOK REVIEWS |
Books in BriefSelected by Fred RhodesGETTING GOD’S EAR By Eleanor Abdella Doumato published by Columbia University Press
THE OTTOMANS IN SYRIA
A History of Justice and Oppression In no province of the empire was this more marked than in Syria. This book examines the administration of the Syrian interior from 1785 to 1841 and shows how the empire established independent local power bases and how their rule over the peasantry was based on oppression and extortion. This reached its apogee under the reformist governor of Egypt, Mohammed Ali Pasha, who rebelled against the Sultan and occupied all of Syria. Dick Douwes investigates the local administration of the time, its political instability and factionalism, the oppressive nature of Ottoman taxation and the financial problems extending through the region and explores the emergence of military households. The Ottomans in Syria will prove essential to historians of the Ottoman Empire and of the Middle East in general.
THEY CAME AND THEY SAW
Western Christian Experiences of the Holy Land This book is about Christian experience. It tells of the personal encounters of western Christians with the people of the Holy Land. For these western Christians, who have come to know the Holy Land intimately, such encounters were life-changing experiences. The contributors to this volume belong to a variety of Christian denominations - Catholics, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Presbyterians, a United Methodist, and a Mennonite - from England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Canada and the USA. Some are ministers, some scholars, and some are active in advocacy for justice and peace. While various factors drew them to Israel-Palestine, seeing the situation for themselves has changed their earlier perceptions. The contributors tell how they considered the situation before seeing it, describe the experiences which influenced them, and indicate what they have done about it. This book is written for the general reader. The autobiographical style makes for attractive reading and analysis is kept to a minimum. The reader is allowed to draw their own conclusions and to register their own emotions.
A HISTORY OF INNER ASIA
By Svat Soucek published by
Cambridge University Press ISLAMIC ART COLLECTIONS Islamic art objects - ceramics, glass, metalware, ivory, carpets, miniature paintings - have always attracted collectors, in the Muslim world as well as outside.Today, Islamic art is found in collections all over the world, from the large collections in well-known major museums to a few objects included in general archaeological or art collections.This is the first comprehensive annotated description and index of Islamic art collections in museums, libraries, other institutions and in private hands. Each entry includes a short description of each collection, its main characteristics, documentation, publications and exhibitions.
THE ARAB SHI’A This is the first book to examine the Arab Shi’a community, a group whose identity and problematic relationship with the rest of the Middle East has cut to the heart of the crisis of Arab politics and society. From southern Iraq and along the coast of the Gulf, the Arab Shi’a are concentrated in the strategic Gulf region; they form majorities in Iraq and Bahrain and they are the largest religious group in Lebanon. Historically there have been major tensions between the Shi’a and Sunni communities. This book, based on extensive field interviews, examines the nature of Shi’ite belief and community life, contemporary political and social problems, key grievances, and the nature of their relationship with the dominant Sunni state today as they seek a major voice in a new political order. Political and social integration of the Shi’a is the key to orderly political evolution in the Gulf in the next century. COMPROMISING PALESTINE A durable peace between the two communities resident in the Holy Land is arguably the world community’s largest piece of unfinished business in its war against deadly conflicts. Viewed in broad, metahistorical terms, we may very well be witnessing at the present moment the final momentous chapter in the long and unbearably tragic struggle for Jewish, and Arab, self-determination, vindication, and - above all - land posession. Innocent bystander, distant observer, and direct participant alike: we are all permitted the fervent wish that this forthcoming chapter be sealed in ink rather than blood. Thus motivated, this monograph of reflections on partition hopes to contribute to the quality of analysis at each level of debate as Israeli-PLO conflict resolution enters the critical countdown after May 1999 and the crafting of a detailed peace blueprint. That conflict resolution must take place on the ground and not only on paper - the confining, inhospitable ground of geographic, demographic, historic Palestine.
COSMOPOLITANISM, IDENTITY AND AUTHENTICITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST This book presents the views of leading Arab intellectuals from countries from Morocco to the Gulf who discuss their own highly diverse personal and professional perspectives on cosmopolitanism in the Middle East. The central theme of the book is the relationship between cosmopolitanism, identity and authenticity. Several questions are raised, such as whether cosmopolitanism as a lifestyle and attitude is restricted to certain exceptional periods, places and environments in the past history of the Middle East, or whether it has a future. Does cosmopolitanism rule out authenticity and the quest for a fixed identity?
ISLAM AND GENDER The Religious Debate in Contemporary Iran
By Ziba Mir-Hosseini published by IB TAURIS One of the major issues of these elections has been how can justice for women be achieved in an Islamic society? Through a series of lively interviews with clerics in the Iranian religious centre of Qom, Ziba Mir-Hosseini explores the issue of gender in the context of Islamic jurisprudence and examines how clerics today perpetuate and modify their notions of gender and women’s rights. Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the introduction of religious Shari’a law relating to gender and the family, women’s rights in Iran suffered a major setback. However, as Iran’s leaders have faced the social realities of women’s lives and aspirations, positive changes have gradually come about, especially in the context of the recent liberalisation in the country. Unique in its approach and its subject matter, this book relates Mir-Hosseini’s position, as a Muslim woman and a social anthropologist educated and working in the West, with Shi’i Muslim thinkers of various backgrounds and views. In the literature on women in Islam, there is no account of such a face-to-face encounter, either between religion and gender politics or between the two genders. Copyright © IC Publications Limited 2001. All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means or used for any business purpose without the written consent of the publisher. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained herein is as accurate as possible, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.
|
Women,
Islam, and Healing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
The
Ottoman state administered vast and complex territories and its main task
was the maintenance of justice - adelet - the key concept of government
in the Ottoman view of society and state. Rulers who stepped beyond the
bounds of the law were judged guilty of tyranny. By the late 18th century,
this huge empire was in decline, its capabilities were limited and its
resources and manpower scarce. Consequently, the Ottoman Empire relied
increasingly on a policy of coercion.
Geographically
and historically, Inner Asia is a confusing area which is much in need
of interpretation. Svat Soucek’s book offers a short and accessible
introduction to the history of the region. The narrative, which begins
with the arrival of Islam, proceeds chronologically, charting the rise
and fall of the changing dynasties, the Russian conquest of Central Asia
and the fall of the Soviet Union. Dynastic tables and maps augment and
elucidate the text. The contemporary focus rests on the seven countries
which make up the core of present-day Eurasia: Uzbekistan, Kazakstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Sinkiang, and Mongolia. Since 1991,
there has been renewed interest in these countries which has prompted
considerable political, cultural, economic and religious debate. While
a vast and divergent literature has evolved in consequence, no short survey
of the region has been attempted. Soucek’s History of Inner Asia
promises to fill this gap and to become an indispensable source of information
for anyone studying or visiting the area.
An
International Survey
The
forgotten Muslims
A
Guide to Final Status Negotiations
Edited
by Roel Meijer Published by CURZON
On
18 February, Iranians turned out to cast their ballots in a general election
that was widely seen as crucial in deciding the future political and social
direction of the country. Reformists who support President Mohammed Khatami
are trying to wrest control of parliament from the conservatives. This
election may have been the defining moment in the battle over how far
the Islamic Constitution allows for change; the results will have a profound
effect on what kind of country Iran will be for years to come and have
repercussions for the future of political Islam around the Muslim world.