Everyday Life In The Muslim Middle East

A revised and updated edition of a popular and widely used text

From the time of its birth in Mecca in the 7th century C.E., Islam and the Islamic world rapidly expanded outward, extending to Spain and West Africa in the west, and to Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent in the east. An examination of the daily life in these Islamic regions provides insight into a civilized, powerful, and economically stable culture, where large metropolitan centers such as Damascus, Baghdad, and Cairo thrived in many areas, including intellectual and scientific inquiry. In contrast with medieval Europe, there is little common knowledge in the West of the culture and history of this vibrant world, as different from our own in terms of the political, religious, and social values it possessed, as it is similar in terms of the underlying human situation that supports such values. This book provides an intimate look into the daily life of the medieval Islamic world, and is thus an invaluable resource for students and general readers alike interested in understanding this world, so different, and yet so connected, to our own.

Prior to 2011, popular imagination perceived the Muslim Middle East as unchanging and unchangeable, frozen in its own traditions and history. In Life as Politics, Asef Bayat argues that such presumptions fail to recognize the routine, yet important, ways in which ordinary people make meaningful change through everyday actions. First published just months before the Arab Spring swept across the region, this timely and prophetic book sheds light on the ongoing acts of protest, practice, and direct daily action. The second edition includes three new chapters on the Arab Spring and Iran's Green Movement and is fully updated to reflect recent events. At heart, the book remains a study of agency in times of constraint. In addition to ongoing protests, millions of people across the Middle East are effecting transformation through the discovery and creation of new social spaces within which to make their claims heard. This eye-opening book makes an important contribution to global debates over the meaning of social movements and the dynamics of social change.

This book is a social critique of the cultural taboo of the female virginity in the Middle East. It highlights the unobtainability of this cultural myth and its multilevel destructive influences on various aspects of social life.

Some of the most pressing questions in the Middle East and North Africa today revolve around the proper place of Islamic institutions and authorities in governance and political affairs. Drawing on data from 42 surveys carried out in fifteen countries between 1988 and 2011, representing the opinions of more than 60,000 men and women, this study investigates the reasons that some individuals support a central role for Islam in government while others favor a separation of religion and politics. Utilizing his newly constructed Carnegie Middle East Governance and Islam Dataset, which has been placed in the public domain for use by other researchers, Mark Tessler formulates and tests hypotheses about the views held by ordinary citizens, offering insights into the individual and country-level factors that shape attitudes toward political Islam.

Social theorists focus on the everyday lives and experiences of people living in South Asia in this book composed of papers that clearly convey important facets of the history, diversity, and richness of the region's social-cultural life, as well as speak to theoretical questions and concerns viewed as vital by a range of contemporary scholars. This edition contains many updated versions of those from the original book, as well as new papers from scholars whose work focuses on the kinds of critical contemporary issues that have impacted the region and grabbed the media over recent years: young, middle-class workers in call centers, the impact on local gender systems of the massive out-migration of Sri Lankan housemaids to oil-producing Middle East, the force and flavor of new Hindu nationalisms, contemporary terrain of homosexualities and local "global gay" movements, "brain-drain in reverse" of professionals to India, and the emergence of new middle-class lifeways amidst far reaching processes of cultural economic liberalization and globalization.

This book traces the history of conflict and contact between Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Ottoman Middle East prior to 1914.

A Companion to the Anthropology of the Middle East presents a comprehensive overview of current trends and future directions in anthropological research and activism in the modern Middle East. Named as one of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles of 2016 Offers critical perspectives on the theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical goals of anthropology in the Middle East Analyzes the conditions of cultural and social transformation in the Middle Eastern region and its relations with other areas of the world Features contributions by top experts in various Middle East anthropological specialties Features in-depth coverage of issues drawn from religion, the arts, language, politics, political economy, the law, human rights, multiculturalism, and globalization

The Islamic Middle East is a rare, thought-provoking account of the origins, nature, and evolution of Islam that provides a historical perspective vital to understanding the contemporary Middle East.

This core text is the first to provide a much-needed interdisciplinary approach to international studies. Emphasizing the interconnected nature of history, geography, anthropology, economics, and political science, International Studies details the methodologies and subject matter of each discipline then applies these discipline lenses to seven regions: Europe; East Asia and the Pacific; South and Central Asia; sub-Saharan Africa; the Middle East and North Africa; Latin America; and North America. This disciplinary and regional combination provides an indispensable, cohesive framework for understanding global issues. The fully updated fourth edition includes four new global issues chapters: The Refugee Crisis in Europe; The Syrian Civil War and the Rise of the Islamic State; Global Climate Change; and The Globalization of Modern Sports. .

This book provides a much-needed classroom text in international studies that is genuinely interdisciplinary in its approach. International Studies focuses specifically on five core disciplines; history, geography, anthropology, political science and economics, and describes them in relation to one another, as well as their individual and collective contributions to the study of global issues. The expert authors also emphasize the continuing importance of area studies within an interdisciplinary and global framework, applying its interdisciplinary framework to substantive issues in seven regions: Europe, East Asia and the Pacific, South and Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and North America. This new edition has been completely updated and substantially revised with two new chapters on Media, Sovereignty and Cybersecurity and Sustainable Development. This disciplinary and regional combination offers a useful and cohesive framework for teaching students a substantive and comprehensive approach to understanding global issues.

A Companion to the History of the Middle East offers a fresh account of the multifaceted and multi-layered history of this region. A fresh account of the multifaceted and multi-layered history of the Middle East Comprises 26 newly-commissioned essays by leading international scholars Primarily focused on the modern and contemporary periods Covers religious, social, cultural, economic, political and military history Treats the region as four differentiated political units – Iran, Turkey, Israel and the Arab world Includes a section on current issues, such as oil, urban growth, the role of women, and democratic human rights

The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS), established in 1984, is a quarterly, double blind peer-reviewed and interdisciplinary journal, published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), and distributed worldwide. The journal showcases a wide variety of scholarly research on all facets of Islam and the Muslim world including subjects such as anthropology, history, philosophy and metaphysics, politics, psychology, religious law, and traditional Islam.

Addressing values and politics in the Muslim world, this pioneering volume examines attitudes towards democracy and politics, self-expression and traditional values, convergence and divergence of values between the elite and the publics of Islamic and European countries.

In two volumes, the SAGE Handbook of Social Anthropology provides the definitive overview of contemporary research in the discipline. It explains the what, where, and how of current and anticipated work in Social Anthropology. With 80 authors, contributing more than 60 chapters, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date statement of research in Social Anthropology available and the essential point of departure for future projects. The Handbook is divided into four sections: -Part I: Interfaces examines Social Anthropology's disciplinary connections, from Art and Literature to Politics and Economics, from Linguistics to Biomedicine, from History to Media Studies. -Part II: Places examines place, region, culture, and history, from regional, area studies to a globalized world -Part III: Methods examines issues of method; from archives to war zones, from development projects to art objects, and from ethics to comparison -Part IV: Futures anticipates anthropologies to come: in the Brain Sciences; in post-Development; in the Body and Health; and in new Technologies and Materialities Edited by the leading figures in social anthropology, the Handbook includes a substantive introduction by Richard Fardon, a think piece by Jean and John Comaroff, and a concluding last word on futures by Marilyn Strathern. The authors - each at the leading edge of the discipline - contribute in-depth chapters on both the foundational ideas and the latest research. Comprehensive and detailed, this magisterial Handbook overviews the last 25 years of the social anthropological imagination. It will speak to scholars in Social Anthropology and its many related disciplines.

Contemporary approaches to comparative studies of the Middle East increasingly recognize how globalization and regional mass communication have blurred differences across countries. Populations travel across national borders and compare narratives about political change, economic futures, and the role of the outside world in shaping their lives. Organized by five principal themes of a regional overview, politics, economic development, social context, and international issues, Interpreting the Middle East provides a vibrant introduction to the Middle East that is compatible with this regionalist perspective. Invited authorities contribute insightful and accessible original discussions of central headline-fresh issues such as the aftermath of the Iraq war, Iran's regional ambitions, developments in the Israeli'Palestinian conflict, and the global politics of Middle East oil, gender, and religion. Section introductions by the editor integrate the contributions, and suggested readings, a glossary, and a biographical list of key persons provide helpful guidance for readers.

A Concise History of the Middle East provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of this turbulent region. Spanning from pre-Islam to the present day, it explores the evolution of Islamic institutions and culture, the influence of the West, modernization efforts in the Middle East, the struggle of various peoples for political independence, the Arab–Israel conflict, the reassertion of Islamic values and power, the issues surrounding the Palestinian Question, and the Middle East post-9/11 and post-Arab uprisings. The twelfth edition has been fully revised to reflect the most recent events in, and concerns of, the region, including the presence of ISIS and other non-state actors, the civil wars in Syria and Yemen, and the refugee crisis. New parts and part timelines will help students grasp and contextualize the long and complicated history of the region. With updated biographical sketches and glossary, and a new concluding chapter, this book remains the quintessential text for students of Middle East history.

As the analytical concept of youth gained importance, and was generally accepted as a period with its own cultural values and norms, social scientists began to analyze how social change was linked to youth. In the Middle East, a new concept of youth already began to find its way into the region in the late 19th century, and played a role in the anti-colonialist struggle. The same concept still plays a leading role today in the way young people act in relation to traditional values, political systems, and the West. In the Arab world in general, some 50% of the total population is 18 years of age or below, which means that youth as a social group is of growing importance in the area. This also means that for decades to come Middle Eastern governments will be challenged as their young citizens demand work, a place to live, and access to enjoyable and challenging activities for the ever-expanding leisure time embedded in a modern way of life. Drawing on extensive research, which covers a wide geographical area, this volume includes, among others, articles on: Youth, History and Change in the Modern Arab World; The Discovery of Adolescence in the Middle East; Discovering the Other: Arab/Jewish Youth Encounters in Arab Films; Youth, Moral and Islamism: Spending Leisure Time with Hamas in Palestine; The Construction of Youth in Public Discourse in Turkey: A Generational Approach; and, Youth Culture and Official State Discourse in Iran. Youth and Youth Cultures in the Contemporary Middle East is a comprehensive work which describes and analyzes the forms of youth culture presently being exposed throughout the contemporary Middle East. It will appeal not only to scholars, but also to those with a general interest in Middle Eastern culture.

After the revolution of 2011, the electoral victory of the Islamist party ‘Ennahdha’ allowed previously silenced religious and conservative ideas about women’s right to abortion to be expressed. This also allowed healthcare providers in the public sector to refuse abortion and contraceptive care. This book explores the changes and continuity in the local discourses and practices related to the body, sexuality, reproduction and gender relationships. It also investigates how the bureaucratic apparatus of government healthcare facilities affects the complex moral world of clinicians and patients.

This concise, content-rich volume provides an overview of women's roles in the Middle East and North Africa from the advent of Islam to the present. • A chronology of women's roles in the Middle East and North Africa encompassing work, religion, family, law, politics, and culture from pre-Islamic to contemporary times • Photographs illustrating various aspects of women's lives in the region • A selected bibliography including contemporary articles on new topics in women's research • A brief glossary of key terms such as abaya, sharia, and mahr