This book examines the pasts and presents of some of the world’s most persecuted peoples, in search of answers to the question of why minorities living in Asia’s Highlands, with ancient roots in their homelands, have been continually oppressed by both historical and modern governments.The role of religious beliefs and practices is crucial to their story of isolation, tenacity, and resistance in the mountains of Asia. The Rohingya, Uyghurs, Hazara, Yazidis, Armenians, and Samaritans...

In recent years, postcolonial theories have emerged as one of the significant paradigms of contemporary academia, affecting disciplines throughout the humanities and social sciences. These theories address the complex processes if colonialism on culture and society-with repect to both the colonizers and the colonized-to help us understand the colonial experience in its entirety. The contributors to Archaeology and the Postcolonial Critique present critical syntheses of archaeologi...

Near Eastern archaeology is generally represented as a succession of empires with little attention paid to the individuals, labelled as terrorists at the time, that brought them down. Their stories, when viewed against the backdrop of current violent extremism in the Middle East, can provide a unique long-term perspective.Extremism, Ancient and Modern brings long-forgotten pasts to bear on the narratives of radical groups today, recognizing the historical bases and specific cultura...

“A very persuasive argument for the best way to counter jihadism” (The Washington Post) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Zealot and host of Believer“[A] thoughtful analysis of America’s War on Terror.”—The New YorkerThe wars in the Middle East have become religious wars in which God is believed to be directly engaged on behalf of one side against the other. The hijackers who attac...

A provocative manifesto for an interpretation of Islam that synthesizes liberal ideas and respect for the Islamic tradition.From furious reactions to the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to the suppression of women, news from the Muslim world begs the question: is Islam incompatible with freedom? With an eye sympathetic to Western liberalism and Islamic theology, Mustafa Akyol traces the ideological and historical roots of political Islam. The years following Muhammad's passing in 632 ...

Does history matter? This book argues not that history matters, but that Islamic history does. This Very Short Introduction introduces the story of Islamic history; the controversies surrounding its study; and the significance that it holds - for Muslims and for non-Muslims alike. Opening with a lucid overview of the rise and spread of Islam, from the seventh to twenty first century, the book charts the evolution of what was originally a small, localised community of beli...

In a narrative that is at once thoughtful and passionate, an award-winning historian reveals the history of peaceful coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews over the course of fourteen centuries until the present day.The harsh reality of religious conflict is daily news, and the rising tensions between the West and Islam show no signs of abating. However, the relationship between Muslims, Christians, and Jews has not always been marked with animosity; the...

Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) was an influential Egyptian ideologue credited with establishing the theoretical basis for radical Islamism in the post colonial Sunni Muslim world. Lacking a pure understanding of the leader's life and work, the popular media has conflated Qutb's moral purpose with the aims of bin Laden and al-Qaeda. He is often portrayed as a terrorist, Islamo-Fascist, and advocate of murder. This book rescues Qutb from misrepresentation, tracing the evolution of his thought withi...

Praise for Bernard Lewis"For newcomers to the subject[el]Bernard Lewis is the man."TIME Magazine“The doyen of Middle Eastern studies."The New York Times“No one writes about Muslim history with greater authority, or intelligence, or literary charm.”British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper“Bernard Lewis has no living rival in his field.”...

As a civil war shatters a country and consumes its people, historian Christian C. Sahner offers a poignant account of Syria, where the past profoundly shapes its dreadful present. Among the Ruins blends history, memoir and reportage, drawing on the author's extensive knowledge of Syria in ancient, medieval, and modern times, as well as his experiences living in the Levant on the eve of the war and in the midst of the "Arab Spring". These plotlines converge in a rich narrative of a country ...

Home of one of the world's most ancient and enduring civilizations, Iran has been at the nexus of world history for the past three thousand years. Situated at the crossroads between East and West, it has been marked by its encounters with other cultures and has influenced them with its own. From paradise gardens and Persian carpets to the mystical poetry of Rumi and Hafez, Iran's contributions have earned it a place among history's most refined and sophisticated societies. In this book, Ri...

Prophecy, politics, and the birth of a religionMore than a billion people consider themselves Muslim. It is the world’s second-largest religion. Yet Western portrayals of the Islamic mind are often flawed. Islam for the Western Mind is an intensive look--from a Christian perspective--at what inspires and motivates Muslims, namely Muhammad and the teaching of the Koran.Dr. Drummond, an ordained Presbyterian minister and former professor, presents a balanced look at ...