Selected by Fred Rhodes

INTRODUCTION TO THE QUR’AN

By M A Draz

published by IB TAURIS

ISBN 1 860 64 421 x price: £29.50 hardback

In this illuminating book, the distinguished Islamic scholar M A Draz, one of the Muslim world’s most erudite authorities of this century, sets out the fundamental principles of the Qur’an and its much misunderstood and misquoted teachings on gender and women, polygamy, war, faith, Judaism, Christianity and many other issues. The Qur’an is understood by Muslims and non-Muslims alike as the source and fountainhead of Islam. But very few have a real understanding of the precepts and historical background of the revelations which came to the Prophet Muhammed. Draz deals with fundamental questions. What was the nature of the Qur’anic Revelation? Was the Qur’an a product of the mind of Muhammed or the influence of Jewish or Christian teachings? And how was the Qur’anic message transmitted? By the sword or by persuasion?

Translated into English for the first time, the subject of this book is significant, and its author’s approach impressive. It stands apart in its thoroughness, its seriousness in dealing with its subject, and the ideas that it raises by both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN EGYPT 1910-1925

Secret Societies, Plots and Assassinations

By Malak Badrawi published by CURZON

SBN 0 7007 1231 8 price £40.00 hardback

Between 1910 and 1925, three murders of Egyptian political figures were committed, and 15 others attempted. Encouraged by the British occupiers, the Egyptian government undertook various measures to prevent such acts. New laws were proclaimed, and existing ones tightened so that anyone suspected of disrupting the peace, or of provoking and promoting such violence stood trial and was punished accordingly.

Starting in 1919, as a consequence of the nationalist movement, the political violence escalated to include bombings, sniper attacks, and even poison attempts. British civil officials and army personnel were now among the victims in this campaign, and more than 33 attempts were made against them. Twelve of these, including Sir Lee Stack, Sirdar of the Egyptian Army, and governor-general of the Sudan, were fatalities. The assassination of the Sirdar, which was apparently motivated by patriotism, was a major embarrassment for the Wafd government in power at the time.

This book is an attempt to understand the mood and motives that provoked this political violence.

 

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RELIGION AND STATE

The Muslim approach to politics

By L Carl Brown published by Columbia University Press

ISBN 0 231 12038 9 price £17.50 hardback

If westerners know a single Islamic term it is likely to be jihad, the Arabic word for ‘holy war’. The image of Islam as an inherently aggressive and xenophobic religion has long prevailed in the West and can at times appear to be substantiated by current events. This book challenges this conventional wisdom with a fascinating, historical overview of the relationship between religious and political life in the Muslim world, from Islam’s early centuries to the present day.

Religion and State examines the commonplace notion held by both radical Muslim ideologues and various western observers alike that in Islam there is no separation between religion and politics. By placing this assertion in a broad historical context, the book reveals both the continuities between pre-modern and modern Islamic political thought as well as the distinctive dimensions of modern Muslim experiences. It shows that both the modern day fundamentalists and their critics have it wrong when they posit an eternally militant, unchanging Islam. Brown maintains that we can better understand present-day politics among Muslims by accepting the reality of their historical diversity while at the same time seeking to identify what may be distinctive in Muslim thought and action.

THE BALKANS

At the end of the 20th century people spoke as if the Balkans had plagued Europe forever. But 200 years earlier, the Balkans did not exist. It was not the Balkans but the ‘Rumeli’ that the Ottomans ruled, formerly Roman lands that they had conquered from Byzantium, together with its Christian inhabitants. To westerners, familiar with classical regional terms such as Macedonia, Epiros and Dacia, the term ‘Balkan’ conveyed little. “My expectations were raised”, wrote one traveller in 1854, “by hearing that we were about to cross a Balkan; but I discovered ’ere long that this high-sounding title denotes only a ridge which divides the waters, or a mountain pass.”

This original book dispels current western cliches and replaces stereotypes with a vivid account of how mountains, empires and religions have shaped their inhabitants’ lives.

As a bridge between Europe and Asia the Balkans have been exposed to a constant incursion of nomadic peoples across the centuries. Mountain ranges made farming hard and political control almost impossible and allowed small communities to live side by side through to the end of the 20th century. Empires based on religion not ethnicity shaped customs and beliefs in ways that did not entirely vanish with the coming of modernity.

Mazower provides a historical and cultural background to contemporary Balkan politics and offers the reader a fresh view of the region’s relationship with Europe as a whole.

VEILS AND DAGGERS

By Linda Steet published by Temple University press

ISBN 1 56639 751 0 price £44.50 hardback

ISBN 1 56639 752 9 price £34.95 paperback

National Geographic magazine has long been a staple of home, school, and public libraries across the world. Veils and Daggers provides a critically insightful and alternative interpretation of National Geographic by examining 100 years of its Arab world coverage. The book’s analysis of the discourses of Orientalism, patriarchy, and primitivism in the magazine’s representation of the Arab world uncovers the ideological perspectives that have guided National Geographic throughout its history. Drawing on cultural, feminist, and postcolonial criticism, it generates alternative readings that challenge the magazine’s claims to objectivity and to mirror the world.

In this fascinating journey, it becomes clear that neither textual nor visual constructions of Arab women and men, of Islamic and Arabic culture in the magazine can be regarded as natural or self-evident, and it is artfully demonstrated that the act of representing others is never innocent. Veils and Daggers repositions and redefines National Geographic as an educational journal. It is an important and groundbreaking contribution in the areas of social foundations and education, cultural studies, feminist studies, social studies, and ethnic studies.

THE PALESTINE QUESTION

The history of Palestine has been marked by many dramatic events that have left a lasting impact not only on the region, but also on the world at large. Closely linked with history, with three world religions, with Palestinian and Zionist Jewish nationalism, as well as with the strategic interests of the two superpowers, the Palestine question has been the cause of several wars in the Middle East. It constitutes one of the most explosive, intractable and unresolved issues of modern times that threatens not only the stability of the region, but also the peace of the world.

Yet, despite its crucial importance, and the mass of literature written about the subject, ignorance about the Palestine question is fairly widespread. What are its basic issues? Which of its protagonists is right or wrong? Who are the aggressors and who are the victims? Very few are in a position to give the correct answers. Much confusion exists with regard to these questions.

This book is an attempt to present the facts in a succinct, objective and well-researched manner.explores a variety of social worlds all claiming Islamic affiliation: the feudal aristocracy of northern Lebanon, the working class Sufi brotherhoods of Egypt and the new bourgeoisie of Algeria and Morocco. In each, he shows how Islam evolves in relation to shifting social, political, economic and class structures. The impact of colonialism is also discussed, and reformist and radical Islamic movements are analysed in relation to changes in Middle Eastern society as a whole.

THE GLOBALIZATION OF BUSINESS AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Opportunities and Constraints

By Masoud Kavoosi published by Quorum Books

ISBN 1 56720 203 9 price £48.95 hardback

In the course of the last two decades, international business activities in the region have increased greatly. The Middle East may not have its own Silicon Valley, but for the most part it is properly poised, with the necessary elements in place, to develop into an industrial region, similar to other developing regions of the world.

With a greater degree of Islam’s influence on all facets of life, both in the business environment and daily functions, combined with accelerated industrial modernity, all of the Middle East is undergoing fundamental and rapid change.

Successful international business requires the development and implementation of business strategies responsive to different environments. In the Middle East, the economic, social, and political dimensions differ considerably. Multinational companies must be fully informed and aware of these dimensions and the globalisation of the region. This book makes a significant contribution to the understanding of business, environment and conditions in the Middle East.

TURKEY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Turkey’s ambition to transform its society following the western model meets with a hesitant response in western Europe. Turkey regards itself as a bridge between Europe and Asia, while Europe prefers to regard Turkey as a barrier against the East. Meanwhile, Turkey’s eastern neighbours look upon Turkey as a defector to the West. In this book, an analysis of societal characteristics serves to illustrate the Turkey of today as a country in an advanced struggle for modernisation and development.

The book opens with an outline of Anatolia’s geopolitical role in European history: from a Roman province and Christian heart-land, through the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire and the Balkans, to Turkey’s centuries-old role as the mainstay of the West against Russian and Soviet expansion. More detailed attention is given to the developments of the last decades and the characteristics of Turkish society. Special sections deal with the historical backgrounds to present problems, such as the origin of Turkish nationalism, the rise of the Kurdish question, the role of the armed forces in politics, the struggle for human rights, secularisation versus religious conservatism, and relations with the European Union, the new Turkic republics and the unruly Caucasus.

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