Böcker i Cambridge Middle East Studies-serien

In Saudi Arabia there are now open debates about religion and politics, often in violation of official taboos. Madawi Al-Rasheed explores this phenomenon, and how, in consequence and with the rise of multiple interpretations of religious texts, the traditional Wahhabi discourse is losing its hold on the new generation.

Discusses some of the most significant ideological debates that have animated the Arab world over the last two decades; from the 'Arab age of ideology', through an 'age of ideological transformation', demonstrating how the recent flow of ideas from one group to another have their roots in the past.

In a challenging and authoritative analysis, Parvin Paidar considers how Iranian women have been affected, and their position redefined, by the political transformations of twentieth-century Iran.

The authors speculate on the relationship between identity and citizenship in Israeli society and explore the differential rights accorded different social strata. They conclude that, despite ongoing tensions, globalization and economic liberalization have transformed Israel from a frontier society to one more oriented towards peace and private profit.

Sanasarian's book explores the political and ideological relationship between religious minorities in Iran and the state during the formative years of the Islamic Republic. While the book is essentially empirical, it also highlights questions associated with exclusion and marginalization and the role of the state in defining those boundaries.

Based on three decades of ethnographic fieldwork and documentary research, this 1997 book traces the political and social history of the Shahsevan, one of the major nomadic peoples of Iran.

Explores the social and political dynamics of nineteenth-century Shi'ism and through this sheds light on modern debates.

Challenging recent scholarship which has dwelt on Islamic activism, Nadje Al-Ali explores the anthropological and political significance of secular-oriented activism by focusing on the women's movement in Egypt. The author frames her work around current theoretical debates in Middle Eastern and post-colonial scholarship and interviews with members of the movement.

Benny Morris' The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem was published in 1988. Its startling revelations about how and why 700,000 Palestinians left their homes and became refugees during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948 undermined traditional interpretations as to whether they left voluntarily or were expelled as part of a systematic plan. This book represents a revised edition of the earlier work, compiled on the basis of newly-opened Israeli military archives. While the focus remains the 1948 war and the analysis of the Palestinian exodus, the new material contains more information about what happened in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa, and how events there led to the collapse of Palestinian urban society. It also sheds light on the battles and atrocities that resulted in the disintegration of rural communities. The story is a harrowing one. The refugees now number four million and their existence remains a major obstacle to peace.