The World Through Arab Eyes

The uprisings that transformed the Middle East beginning in 2011 have left experts scrambling to understand where the region is likely to go in years to come. But missing from most of the analysis is a longer view of the evolution of Arab Public opinion and identity and how this is likely to influence this fast-changing region. In The World Through Arab Eyes, Shibley Telhami shows how the roots of these rebellions stretch back decades and explains how they will continue to affect the stability of the Middle East in the years to come. Telhami draws on a decade's worth of polling data and analysis to provide a comprehensive look at this evolution of Arab identity and opinion. The demand for dignity, which was foremost in the chants of millions of Arab demonstrators, went far beyond being a struggle for “food” and individual rights. Telhami identifies the key prisms through which Arabs view issues ranging from democracy and religion to foreign actors, including the United States, European and Asian countries, Iran, Turkey, and, centrally, Israel. These prisms provide a key to interpreting the past, comprehending the seismic changes in Arab politics today, and engaging with the region in the future.

European and Arab versions of the Crusades have little in common. For Arabs, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were years of strenuous efforts to repel a brutal and destructive invasion by barbarian hordes. Under Saladin, an unstoppable Muslim army inspired by prophets and poets finally succeeded in destroying the most powerful Crusader kingdoms. The memory of this greatest and most enduring victory ever won by a non-European society against the West still lives in the minds of millions of Arabs today. Amin Maalouf has sifted through the works of a score of contemporary Arab chroniclers of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants in the events. He retells their stories in their own vivacious style, giving us a vivid portrait of a society rent by internal conflicts and shaken by a traumatic encounter with an alien culture. He retraces two critical centuries of Middle Eastern history, and offers fascinating insights into some of the forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today. 'Well-researched and highly readable.' Guardian 'A useful and important analysis adding much to existing western histories ... worth recommending to George Bush.' London Review of Books 'Maalouf tells an inspiring story ... very readable ... warmly recommended.' Times Literary Supplement 'A wide readership should enjoy this vivid narrative of stirring events.' The Bookseller 'Very well done indeed ... Should be put in the hands of anyone who asks what lies behind the Middle East's present conflicts.' Middle East International

The recapture of Jerusalem, the siege of acre, the fall of Tripoli, the effect in Baghdad of events in Syria; these and other happenings were faithfully recorded by Arab historians during the two centuries of the Crusades. First published in English in 1969, this book presents 'the other side' of the Holy War, offering the first English translation of contemporary Arab accounts of the fighting between Muslim and Christian. Extracts are drawn from seventeen different authors encompassing a multitude of sources: The general histories of the Muslim world, The chronicles of cities, regions and their dynasties Contemporary biographies and records of famous deeds. Overall, this book gives a sweeping and stimulating view of the Crusades seen through Arab eyes.

The author has combed the works of contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants. He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today.

A vibrant collection of writings about America from its earliest Arab immigrants, as they reflected on and described the United States for the very first time.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 In 1096, the Turkish sultan Kilij Arslan learned that an enormous Franj army was en route to Constantinople. He feared the worst, and immediately began planning how to defend his city. #2 The Byzantines had always recruited Western knights to help them fight the Muslims, and in 1096, they were joined by thousands of Franj, who were Christian refugees from the East. They had come to exterminate the Muslims, but they also sacked many Greek churches on their way. #3 The sultan’s palace was awash with agitation. The Turkish cavalry was ready to mount their chargers at a moment’s notice, but there was a constant flow of spies and scouts reporting the smallest movements of the Franj. The Franj went through several villages and plundered the harvests, then returned to camp and began to squabble over the spoils. #4 The Franj were ambushed and nearly six thousand of them were killed. The sultan, Kilij Arslan, was proud of his achievement, but he kept a cool head. He sent two Greek spies to the Civitot camp to report that Reynald’s men were in an excellent position and that they had taken Nicaea.

"The first Arab immigrants to New York or Alaska or San Francisco were 'small' men and women, preoccupied with eking a living at the same time as confronting the challenges of settling in a new country. They had to come to terms with new race communities such as Indians, Chinese and Blacks, the changing role of women, and the Americanisation of their identity. Their writings about these experiences--from travellers and emigrants, rich and poor, men and women--took the form of travelogues and newspaper essays, daily diaries and adventure narratives, autobiographies and histories, full-length books published in the Ottoman Press in Lebanon and journal articles in Arabic newspapers printed in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. Together they show the transnational perspective of immigrants as they reflected on and described the United States for the very first time"--Back cover.

Oil is the lifeblood of modern economics. It is the precious resource at the heart of empire-building---from the British empire to the American empire today. It underpins the world's financial markets. But seventy per cent of the world's oil supplies lie under the sands of the Middle East. Did the United States invade Iraq to grab Iraq's oil? Many people think so. This book shows how this is part of a wider U.S. attempt to dominate international oil and maintain America's global dominance. Written by an influential oil consultant with experience of working in both the U.S. and Arab oil industries, this book provides a rare insight into the real motivations behind U.S. intervention in the Arab world and the relationship between the United States and the Arab states. Abdulhay Yahya Zalloum provides a historical account of the roots of today's involvement, analyzing U.S. intervention in the Arab world since the nineteenth century. Zalloum provides an account of America's changing role in OPEC. He examines the fate of Iraq's oil and the involvement of U.S. contractors. He also analyzes the role of oil in America's relationship with Israel, providing an important insight into how this dynamic is viewed in the Arab world. The book offers a unique perspective on how the United States is viewed in the Arab region and how progress should be made if real peace and stability are to be brokered.