Through Middle Eastern Eyes (Eyes Books Series) - Softcover

Clark, Leon E.; Pearson, Robert P.

9780938960485: Through Middle Eastern Eyes (Eyes Books Series)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0938960482 ISBN 13: 9780938960485

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002

This book provides an avenue for Americans in all walks of life to deepen their understanding of Middle Eastern peoples and their attitudes toward the United States and each other. The book creates contexts for readers struggling to understand current conflicts in the region— Iraq, Israel/Palestine as well as the dilemma of the Kurds. It is one of the few books containing an overview of contemporary Middle East culture and politics with balanced views from Jews and Muslims rarely contained in one volume, including:

Transcripts of Bin Laden's videotaped messages

Post-9/11 transcript of the Saudi Arabian ambassador's interview on Meet the Press

A round-up of Arab-American responses with self-criticism by a Muslim and an Israeli scholar

Since September 11, 2001, much of the world has turned its attention to the Middle East, mostly with a string of questions. Who were these 19 terrorist hijackers all from the Middle East? Why did they attack the U.S - the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.? What is there about the Middle East, if anything, that would lead these terrorists to believe they were martyrs in a holy war and would be given a special place in heaven?

Through Middle Eastern Eyes attempts to answer these questions — and many more. The last five selections in the book deal specifically with 9/11 by presenting the views of Osama bin Laden, the relations to 9/11 throughout the Middle East, the agenda of radical Islamic fundamentalists and the response to this agenda by moderate Muslims. In addition, several other selections in the book deal with the tenets of Islam, its influence on people's daily lives, and the tug of war between traditional and Westernized values in the region. First published almost three decades ago, Through Middle Eastern Eyes attempts to bring to life the Middle East-a seedbed of history and religion, a hotbed of ethnic and religious conflict. Sources range from speeches and historical documents to autobiography, traditional and modern literature, and economic and political analysis.

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About the Author:

ROBERT P. PEARSON is a former professor of education at Swarthmore, Lafayette and Muhlenberg colleges. He holds a B.A. from Brown University, an M.A. from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in international education from the University of Massachusetts. He has pursued research and writing in Middle East studies since 1962 when he first went to Afghanistan as a Peace Corps volunteer. He has also worked for the Peace Corps as a staff member and trainer in Washington, D.C., Libya, Morocco and Albania. Most recently he has served as an international educational consultant working in Croatia (with Bosnian Muslims), Ethiopia, Swaziland and Armenia.

LEON E. CLARK, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at American University, founded and directed the International Training and Education Program. He worked overseas on development projects for more than 30 years, including assignments with the Ministry of Agriculture in Egypt and the Ministry of Education in Pakistan. He was a Research Fellow at the Yale Divinity School when he died in 2003. He had also been a journalist and an international consultant for over 40 years, working in Asia and Africa.

Mr. Clark was the General Editor and Founder of the World Cultures Series, the group of books that presents world cultures to readers through the "eyes" of its own peoples.

Review:

This anthology is designed to allow the people of the Middle East to speak for themselves and thereby provide a perspective different from the conventional one so commonly presented. After brief sympathetic and objective introductions, Part One offers imaginative and thought-provoking readings that bring alive the daily life of the Muslim world---its childhood and education, ideas of morality, religious upbringing, and the religion of Islam.
Part Two is devoted to a balanced and stimulating discussion of politics. The readings focus on a wide variety of relevant topics, such as the golden age of the Arabs and Ottomans, the impact of colonialism and the anti-colonialism that resulted, nationalist revolutions, feminism, the founding of the state of Israel, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the first Palestinian uprising (the Intifada) and the peace process. The Gulf War of 1990-91 and its aftermath are also discussed, and readings were added to explain the reasons for "Bin Ladinism" in the Islamic world fter the September 11, 2001 attacks.
This book contributes to a better understanding of the Muslim world and therefore deserves to be widely read. Summing up: Essential. (CHOICE)

Now in a fully updated edition to take the 9/11 attacks and their repercussions into account, Through Middle Eastern Eyes by academician Robert Pearson and Leon E. Clark... provides the reader with a superbly presented history and compelling examination of Middle Eastern culture, ethnic clashes, faiths and evolution. A broad source reference offering particular focus on both ancient and modern wars, Through Middle Eastern Eyes is an excellent and highly recommended contribution to contemporary Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies reference collections and reading lists. (Wisconsin Bookwatch, October 2002)

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