Description
For many Middle Eastern Muslims the “West” came to personify the ultimate “other,” occupying a space that was simultaneously appealing, intimidating, and often abhorrent. The multilayered, ambivalent interaction between Middle Eastern societies and the West has been a major theme in the history of this region for the past two centuries. The al-Qa eda terrorist attack against the United States on September 11, 2001, the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and Israel’s war against Hizbullah in the summer of 2006 have made the in-depth study of this interaction more critically important than ever. Taking the concepts of the Middle East and the West into account as useful analytical categories, the various articles in this volume examine and analyze a broad spectrum of Middle Eastern encounters and attitudes toward the West. This collection provides a fuller understanding of the complexities involved in both the historical and contemporary relationship between Middle Eastern societies and the West.
Table of Contents
Part I: Middle Eastern States and the West
The Middle Eastern State and the West, Gabriel Ben-Dor
The Clash of Civilizations or Their Decay? An Iraqi Perspective, Ofra Bengio
Bashar al-Asad: Between East and West, Eyal Zisser
Globalization vis-a-vis Traditional Cultures and Nationalism: The Case of Turkey, Aryeh Shmuelevitz
Globalization and the Middle East Economy: Challenge and Response, Paul Rivlin
Part II: Middle Eastern Cultures and the West
Comparing the Culture Wars in Israel and the Muslim Middle East, Henry Munson
Shall East and West Never Meet? The Civilizational Debate in Contemporary Arab-Muslim Discourse, Rivka Yadlin
The Clash of Values: lslamists and the I 994 UN International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Mordechai Kedar
Arab Perceptions of Globalization, Esther Webman
lslamil’ Democracy vs. Western Democracy: The Debate Among lslamists, Meir Litvak
Modern Sufi Attitudes toward the West: Four Naqshbandi Case Studies, Illchak Wcismann
Muslims and Islam in France: From Dar al-Harb to “Dar al-Laïcité,” Dan Eldar
Islam in Europe: Interaction with the Wider World and Perspectives on Conflict Resolution, Remy Leveau
Haredim and Western Culture: A View from Both Sides of the Ocean, Kimmy Caplan
Iranian Cinema Goes Universal, Eldad J. Pardo
About the Author
Meir Litvak is senior lecturer in the department of Middle Eastern and African history at Tel Aviv University and the author of Shi'i Scholars in 19th Century Iraq: The Shi'i 'Ulama of Najaf and Karbala.
May 2007