Arab west understanding the book

Understanding arabs introduces the elements of arab culture and islam in an evenhanded, unbiased style. A guide for modern times is a handbook, intended to be read easily and quickly, by people who are not specialists. Apr 16, 2012 from the rise of fundamentalism to the historically uneasy relationship between the arab world and the west, margaret nydell has expanded her highly respected book to bring todays complex issues into clearer focus. Now more than ever, margaret nydells book understanding arabs is a mustread. The best books on understanding the arab world five. Understanding the crusades from an islamic perspective. One of james baldwins most important book of essays, the fire next time explores themes of race, religion and identity.

Arabic is a semitic language, closely related to hebrew and aramaic. Globally, many muslims report not feeling respected by those in the west. Established in 2007, cawu has been promoting intercultural dialogue through a variety of programmes including meetings and forums with community members, religious leaders and politicians from egypt and the west. Understanding arabs by margaret nydell overdrive rakuten.

Dispatches from the arab spring university of minnesota press. As we mentioned in the section on arabics influence, above, the expansion of islam entailed integrating arabic into local cultural milieus. The arab spring unleashed forces of liberation and social justice that swept across north africa and the middle east with unprecedented speed, ferocity, and excitement. It addresses western perceptions and misconceptions of arabs, islam and the. A history of the arab peoples book by albert hourani.

His book is an extended essay on the conflict from the 1930s onwards. Margaret nydells seminal work as the essential guide to comprehending an immensely varied culture. This book is intended for readers who have never studied the middle east, or experts who may wish to fill gaps in their knowledge of the region from other disciplines. Understanding arabs should be required reading for any professional or policy maker who is involved in any way with working with arabs or on matters impacting the middle east. Drawing on a rich repertoire of archives, cultural texts, and oral histories, sarah gualtieri complicates. Be the first to ask a question about understanding arabs. The arab world unclassified for official use only for official use only unclassified a religious language for muslims who comprise the majority of the arab world, arabic is the language of god, of his prophet and of the quran, the holy book.

The best books on understanding the arab world five books. Our aim is to bridge the gap of misunderstanding between arab and western communities by exposing biased media reporting and informing the public and important persons on complicated. Practically all interviews could be recorded and have been fully. West has a responsibility to learn from history arab news. The series of ten workshops explored the many cultural connections which have existed historically between the middle east and the west. The center for arabwest understanding cawu developed from the ideals of the egyptian electronic magazine arabwest report. Twentyfive years after the publication of his postcolonial classic, the. Arab west report media research and commentary from. This book aims to recapture this lost dimension of history, and it is my hope that in so doing it will contribute to a better understanding of both the west and the arab islamic world, their exchanges and shared heritage, as well as help to foster more positive present and future relations. While arabs speak the same language, there is enormous ethnic diversity among the spoken dialects. For her understanding of the arab mind, her expertise in teaching, and her skill in crafting this book, dr.

It is probably the best book i have read on the subject. Understanding arabs, 6th edition ebook by margaret k. These tensions are encapsulated in the character of hypa, a monk who struggles internally between his faith and his pagan inclinations towards the magical, the erotic and the poetic. Dispatches from the arab spring university of minnesota. Through the book, the typical western arab will learn a great deal about how this history grew to shape the cultural values of present day me, and how all these seemingly independent nationstates were actually interacting for the vast majority of their history. That being said, theres not a single book to recommend that will cover everything. It is a book that i have read since i was very young in many different versions. The languages, cultural, religious and sectarian communities of the region, and selected turning points and. The definitive guide to understanding arab culture for three decades. A history of intellectual relationships, funded by the national endowment for the humanities masterworks program. This website was developed by cornelis hulsman in 20042007 thanks to the sponsorship of dr. Understanding the arab culture is a thoroughly practical crosscultural guide to working with arab cultures, written with thewesterner in mind. The 20th century was a century in which the muslim world experienced at the hands of the west in the perception of the muslim world a dismantling of some of its important constructs. Understanding arabs should be required reading for any professional or policy maker who is involved in any way with.

Jul 01, 2012 for her understanding of the arab mind, her expertise in teaching, and her skill in crafting this book, dr. Democracy, as a secular entity, is unlikely t be favorably received by the vast majority of middle easterners who are devout followers of the islamic faith. In fact, the seed for the book was a segment tolan produced for fresh air in 1998. Johnny west, a former reuters middle east correspondent, tries to answer these and other questions in karama. Set in the 5th century ad, in a preislamic egypt and syria, azazeel is a tale of extraordinary magical realism, depicting the tensions between the new christian religion and the timehonoured pagan beliefs. The role of the arabislamic world in the rise of the west. An arab bestseller that quickly gained an audience abroad, the book did to egyptian culture and literature what khaled hosseinis the kite runner did to afghan culture in 2002 trace the last half century of a nations history and anxieties while breaking taboos along the way. Although the future of the democratic uprisings against oppressive authoritarian regimes remains uncertain in many places, the revolutionary wave that started in tunisia in december 2010 has transformed how the world sees arab. The books offered new perspectives into the events and outcomes of the uprising. Significant percentages of several western countries share this sentiment, saying that the west does not respect muslim societies.

Reading list for understanding the arabisraeli conflict. Understanding muslim west alienation is a welcome effort by arshad khan in this direction. To be an arab, like an american, is a cultural trait rather than racial. Although the stories are arab, persian and indian, it is a book that is associated with the arab world and is different from the arab world that you see on tv, which is. The center for arabwest understanding cawu developed from the ideals of the egyptian. For nearly three decades, diplomats, students, business people and governments have relied on dr. Although the stories are arab, persian and indian, it is a book that is associated with the arab world and is different from the arab world that you see on tv, which is all about violence and war and things like that. Arab is an ethnolinguistic category, identifying people who speak the arabic language as their mother tongue or, in the case of immigrants, for example, whose parents or grandparents spoke arabic as their native language. For nearly three decades, diplomats, students, bus. The crusades have been stereotyped, creating a narrative that supports both islamophobia and antiimmigrant sentiments in the west, as well as westophobia and paranoia in the muslim world. The secret lives of women who are transforming the arab world, is the story of her journey to saudi arabia, egypt, and other middle eastern countries, where she. Whether for establishing or deepening ones knowledge of the region, these fundamentals are important to know. Margaret nydell introduces elements of arab culture and islam i. Keys to understanding the middle east open textbook library.

Islamic expansion keys to understanding the middle east. Benami, a historian by training, served in the government of ehud barak, israels labour prime minister from 19992001. The title of the book refers to a tree in the backyard of a home in ramla, israel. Her history also largely ignores the modern zionist story, for armstrong sees the zionists as a western imposition, willfully ignorant and dismissive of the needs and claims of jerusalems arab inhabitants. The book focuses more on the key differences than similarities, issues that westerners will find puzzling, unusual or difficult to cope with. Understanding the arab culture is a thoroughly practical crosscultural guide to. Understanding arabs, 6th edition by nydell, margaret k. Obrien i read this on the way to nyc and flying back.

It is a short and simple read, but you will have a better understanding of the arab world after reading this. Spring offers an urgent analysis of a remarkable ongoing worldhistorical event that is widely misinterpreted in the west. The electronic network for arabwest understanding enawu is a specialized information network that links together a network of thinktanks and information repositories in the west and the arab world. So, i felt primed and pumped to finish misreading scripture with western eyes. Arab routes charts a radical new history of the early syrian community in southern california, revealing its fascinating crossborder, multilocal, and multiethnic networks and coalitions across the us, latin america, and the arab world.

Egypts ministry of tourism and the coptic orthodox church worked together. The center for arab west understanding cawu developed from the ideals of the egyptian electronic magazine arab west report. Any person who adopts the arabic language is typically called an arab. That may explain why her book spends so little time on twentiethcentury jerusalem for that is largely a. The request for egyptian ngo status was filed in 2004 and obtained in january 2008. However, having been able to verify firsthand her statements i must agree with most everything she says in this book. Specifically, 52% of americans and 48% of canadians say the west does not respect muslim societies. That may explain why her book spends so little time on twentiethcentury jerusalem for that is largely a jewish story. A good illustration of the rising demand that muslims return to their own roots rather than seeking salvation in the west might be a 1962 book by jalal ale ahmad iranian, d. This book does not do that, it tells about real life and how arabs live their lives day to day. By paul amar editor, vijay prashad editor univ of minnesota press, 9780816690121, 384pp. Tracing the flows of protest, resistance, and counterrevolution in every one of the countries affected by this epochal changefrom morocco to iraq and. While in the city, we visited the morgan library and saw its gothenburg bible among many, many others.

Israeli citizen as mentioned above, served as israels ambassador to the united states from 2009 to 20, a tumultuous period that saw another failed attempt at peace between palestine and israel, the arab spring, and fears of irans nuclear program. A contemporary guide to arab society is the completely revised and updated new edition of dr. At no time has a solid understanding of arab culture, history, and practices been more important. Matt reess top 10 novels set in the arab world best books the. Bringing together the knowledge of activists, scholars, journalists, and policy experts uniquely attuned to the pulse of the region, dispatches from the arab spring offers an urgent and engaged analysis of a remarkable ongoing worldhistorical event that is widely misinterpreted in the west. West is sympathetic to the new generation and its foment. Arabic is the official and the original language of the quran, the islamic holy book. Papers from the ameen rihani symposium, april 1920, 2002, american university, washington, d. Social capital and local water management in egypt auc press 2016 is the first major publication by dalya m. Read understanding arabs, 6th edition a contemporary guide to arab society by margaret k. I hope that this book will help provide a more nuanced understanding of the islamic and arab world a world that is often viewed as. Early on in his book eugene rogan, who teaches the modern history of the middle east, confesses that in any free and fair election.

Enan galaly and later became part of the arabwest foundation since the holy family tradition shows excellent examples of muslimchristian cooperation. Orientalism is a way of seeing that imagines, emphasizes, exaggerates and distorts differences of arab peoples and cultures as compared to that of europe and the u. A history is panoramic view of 500 years of arab history, and as such, is both a challenge and a rewarding endevor to read. Despite the tremendous scope of time and space over 0 years and spanning from spain to the east indies hourani furnishes the reader with a solid view of the many currents that underlie modern islam. The american negro has the great advantage of having never believed the collection of myths to which white americans cling. What single book would you recommend to a western arab. The sort of criticisms we have seen from western scholars and journalists tend to be tinged with racism and. Major themes islam and the west muslims frontline pbs. This book aims to recapture this lost dimension of history, and it is my hope that in so doing it will contribute to a better understanding of both the west and the arabislamic world, their exchanges and shared heritage, as well as help to foster more positive present and future relations.

Many muslims therefore reject the idea of translating the quran into any other language. An unparalleled introduction to the changing middle east, it offers the most comprehensive and accurate account of the uprisings that profoundly reshaped. It points to a truth, but it doesnt help us understand it. From the rise of fundamentalism to the historically uneasy relationship between the arab world and the west, margaret nydell has expanded her highly respected book to bring todays complex issues into clearer focus. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that.

Her first edition was very much focused on western particularly american. Understanding muslimwest alienation is a welcome effort by arshad khan in this direction. It often involves seeing arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous. Before continuing further, it is important to gain an understanding of how democracy is perceived by the ordinary people of the middle east. Nydells book does an excellent job of explaining arab culture from an arab perspective. Alongside the malaise of unemployment, an explosion of arabic popular culture, helped along by the internet, has separated these youths from their parents, and their parents rulers. My reply was that arab league states directly engaged in ongoing negotiations with iraq had told the west that this was a limited economic issue and would be dealt with in its arab context. The electronic network for arabwest understanding enawu is a specialized information. Written by highlyesteemed arabist and academic margaret nydell. Dispatches from the arab spring understanding the new middle east.

This new fourth edition of the classic introduction to arab culture has been completely revised and updated to help readers understand the complex issues playing out on the world stage. Smaller percentages of italian, french, german, and british respondents agree. Arab west report media research and commentary from egypt. Said, in his groundbreaking book, orientalism, defined it as the. Several deal with issues of the arabs relationship to the west. There are no reliable figures on book production and book sales in arab countries. The arab world includes muslims, christians and jews. Western scholars helped justify the war in iraq, says edward said, with their orientalist ideas about the arab mind. The fourth edition of this classic introduction to arab culture has been completely.

The author makes many broad statements and uses the word always a lot in this book, which usually discredits the author. Click for the official site of arabwest foundation. For those who wish to understand arab society and culture, this book is a mustread. The literature of the arab world is largely unknown in the west, and even. The electronic network for arab west understanding enawu is a specialized information network that links together a network of thinktanks and information repositories in the west and the arab world. Having lived in both the middle east and america, khan is in a unique position to straddle the two worlds and present to each side their role in initiating and escalating this complex conflict. The aim of cawu is to foster a better understanding between the arab world and other cultures by encouraging students, journalists, academics.