Journal articles on the topic 'Islam bibliographies'

As Lawrence I. Conrad explains in the general editor's Preface, the intention of the series, The Formation of the Classical Islamic World, is to present a critical selection of previously published articles on an aspect of the formative period of Islam, defined as A.D. 600–950. Each of the volumes is edited by an expert in a field of Islamic studies and is meant to serve as an introduction to the state of knowledge of a given topic and significant debates within the scholarship, conveying a variety of approaches. The two volumes under review here have a geographical rather than a thematic focus and together present forty articles on a range of topics having to do with the first three centuries of Islam on the Iberian peninsula. The two volumes on The Formation of al-Andalus are meant to be read together. “Part 1: History and Society” and “Part 2: Language, Religion, Culture and the Sciences” share overlapping themes, and their references and bibliographies are complementary.

Among other interpretation patterns of the Qur’an, the social pattern is the most prominent at this time due to its emphasis on efforts to actualization of the Qur’an guidance in various aspect of life as well as harmonization of the teachings of Islam with the times. One of the most distinguished works in this type in Indonesia is that of Hamka, Tafsir Al-Azhar. This article is aimed at analyzing the work to define how consistent the author to be in line with the characteristics of the interpretation pattern in terms of its background and objectives, bibliographies it refers to, and its methodology. It is found that the author, Hamka, is very consistent to be in line with social interpretation pattern of the Qur’an.

Guarantees are considered to be the most common form of credit security used for lending transactions in modern banking. In Islam, guarantees are not peculiar since this practice has been known since the time of Prophet Muḥammad (saw). However, to date, no literature has discussed this concept or its historical development in detail. This article is an attempt to fill this gap through a discussion on this issue with special reference to the practice of the Prophet, his Companions and Followers. Reference has also been made to the Holy Qur’ān and prophetic Sunnah, as well as to books on tafsīr (exegesis), classical manuals, journal articles and legal historical bibliographies. This article concludes that financial guarantees were recognized as important in the development of the nation and that they were based upon good ethical values as well as the principle of taʿāwun (cooperation).

This book is the twentieth volume to appear in the Bibliographies andIndexes in Religious Studies series published by Greenwood Press. It isdivided into two parts: a) the introductory chapters, and b) the main bodyof the bibliography and the indexes. The three introductory chapters givean overview of contemporary Islamic revivalist movements from somewhatdifferent perspectives and address many critical issues that are difficultto deal with adequately in just three chaptets.Chapter one discusses such issues as the factors behind the growth ofrevivalist movements, fundamental issues that provide the primary focusfor revivalist writings, the bias of scholars in the West who write andconduct research on Islamic and Middle Eastem studies, and the establishmentof Shari'ah schools in Muslim countries. However, this chaptercontains many less-than-authentic statements or, in other words, somemethodological misinformation. For example, the author refers to a1'Arabi and a1 Muslim a1 Mu 'air as "two Kuwaiti magazines" that triedto promote an intellectual controverjy on "whether the companions of theProphet Muhammad were leftist or rightist and whether the sources of theformative period of Islam can be subjected to modem re-interpretation tojustify claims of Islamic precedent to proponents of 'Islamic left' and'Islamic right"' (p. 5). The author does not document the reasons for thisconclusion, in spite of the fact that the two magazines are different bothin their natures and their contents. AZ 'Arabi is a monthly magazine thatdiscusses current issues for a wide public in the Arab world, whereas a1Muslim a1 Mu'iisir is a quarterly publication that contains various typesof articles related to the Islamization of knowledge.The author of this chapter has attempted to cover a variety of historical,political, and socioeconomic issues. Unfortunately, the attempt ismarred by its inconsistency. For instance, English literature on contemporaryIslamic revivalism, the use of modem media for the disseminationof Islamic literature, and the status and role of Muslim womenwere discussed twice in different parts of the chapter. Many critical termsappear without satisfactory justification: "terrorists," "zealots," "militants," ...

Education In The Arab Gulf States And The Arab World: An AnnotatedBibliography is divided into six parts. Each part contains between one toten chapters according to the topic. In the preface, the author mentions thatshe includes all references found in US libraries and the Libraryof Congress and does not include references from Arab countries. Shealso mentions that she was "selective" in her choices of what to includeand what not. For example, literature from the social sciences thatcontained a lot of stereotyping and biased information about Islam, Arabsand Arab society in general was excluded. Unpublished works alsowere not included. The author then describes her method of listing thebibliography: when there was literature available on the Arab world ingeneral, she included that, and then she would list the seven Gulf States inalphabetical order. If there were no references for a country, then thecountry is not mentioned and she jumps to the next country in that order.Part One contains only one chapter, which is the introduction. ElSannbarypresents an historical overview of the Gulf States, which is herfocus: Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UnitedArab Emirates. A map of the region is presented on page four. She surveysthe history and the present conditions of the seven states economically,politically and educationally. The rest of the chapter includes a one-pagesummary on all the topics, which are mainly the chapters that follow.Part Two comes under the heading "General Background andResources", and consists of three chapters. Chapter Two, "Context ofEducation", contains 165 entries. It starts with the Arab World (entry 1-52)followed by Bahrain (52-60), Iraq (61-76), Kuwait (77-95), Oman (96-102), Qatar (103-108), Saudi Arabia (109-154), and the United ArabEmirates, (155-165). This is the system followed throughout the wholebook. When there is no literature available on a country, it is notmentioned. Chapter Three, "Bibliographies and References", starts withgeneral references (166- 215), and then is followed by Iraq (216), Kuwait(217), Oman (218-2190, Qatar (220-223), United Arab Emirates (224)and finally educational references (225-259). Chapter Four, "Religion andEducation," lists 120 entries (260-380) ...

The primary geographical focus for the historical study of Islam in west Africa, until recently, was the western and central Sudan. As the often-cited J. S. Trimingham wrote (1962:7) “The Guinea States in the south lie outside our sphere since they were not in contact with the Sudan states and were uninfluenced by Islam.” Trimingham's conclusion paralleled those of early twentieth-century French and English scholars who dealt with the issue of Islam in west Africa. Paul Marty's voluminous studies, dating from the second decade of this century, dealt with the Islamic and Muslim-influenced traditions of the various peoples of Francophone west Africa. H. R. Palmer, one of the early British writers of this century, concentrated on the northern territories of Nigeria, where Islam has enjoyed a long history.Two factors explain the focus of these scholars on the western and central Sudan. First, the better known Islamic-influenced kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, and Kanem-Bornu were all located in this region. Second, the Islamic states of the western and central Sudan, in particular, presented the greatest problem to both the French and the British during the early periods of the colonial era. Therefore, the focus on this area may have been motivated by the desire of these writers to understand the Islamic factor. Whatever the motivation of writers like Marty, Palmer, and their associates, Trimingham was wrong to conclude that the “the Guinea States” (i.e., the peoples living in the coastal forest belt) were “uninfluenced by Islam.”

Since firstly transmitted in Java and became a major religion, about 700 years agoor even more, Islam has met with many older cultures and traditions that had been existed hundreds of years before, and grew so far with numerous model of synthesises. Universal values of Islam met with local genius. The universal messages of Islam, interacting with diverse etnicity and particularvalue, had created some new sytheses. The universal value did not pass away. Vice versa, it constantly adhereable and penetrated into the traditional way of life. Indeed, Islam manifested and transformed to be a new colour one: being localized in a new society. The new entity, on eventually, addopted by their socialite in particular, and their member of community in general. This is the fact that we can say to the javanesemoslem community, and will be discussed in the article. It is islamic virtues in the new tradition. The present article, however, will focuse on the religious ethics and the certain figure in the community, DamardjatiSupadjar, and give more specific attention through his concept of individuality (self) and sociality, notably “self-recognition”. The contain is results of bibliographic research. The main method of this article is philosophical interpretation and description.

This bibliography covers articles in jownals and daily newspapers,books, conference papers, and dissertations published in western languages(mainly English) during 1970-92. The attempted coverage of articlespublished in daily newspapers and conference papers, the last to bethought of and difficult to cover, is in itself admirable. However, whilethe limitation of "Through Western Eyes" is suitable for the three introductorychapters, it is not so for the bibliography, as most of the literaturecited is written by non-Muslims. In fact, only roughly one quarter (368)of all works cited (1405) are written by Muslims. This raises a questionabout the objective, although the compilers declare that it seeks to "presentthe Western intelligentsia-scholars, politicians, journalists-withMuslim comment and a bibliographic collection of Western articles thathave tackled the issue of Islamic revival" (p. ii).The book is divided into two parts: three introductory chapters andthe actual bibliography. The first part was written by the compilers individually"to provide substantive analysis as essays that reflect Muslim responsesto the precarious relationship with the West ... [and they] aimat crystallizing the frequently distorted image of political Islam and thelslamic revival" (p. ii).Chapter one, "The Western Pen: A Sword in Disguise?," deals withwestern media bias and the consequent distortion of Islam through a)reproducing photos that appear as covers of such famous magazines asThe Economist and Time and b) using slanted titles (i.e., "The Sword ofIslam" and "Muhammad's Militants: Spreading Islam by the SwordAgain")and special semantics (i.e., "fear," "impose," and "purge" as wellas "fundamentalist network" and "wealthy fundamentalist businessmen")to propagate paranoia about Islam. The chapter highlights, through quotationsfrom various sources, fabricated stories, subjective opinions, andgeneral unfamiliarity with Islam and tends to condemn western authorsand journalists for their role in formulating people's opinions. It concludesthat "Islamic 'fundamentalism' is an all-encompassing term. It is ...

The Brooklyn Museum’s collection of Islamic art, gathered from early in the 20th century, represents the full range of Islamic artistic production, with objects dating from the earliest periods of Islam through the 20th century, from Spain and India, and executed in a variety of media. An extensive library collection of over 5,000 titles has been developed since the establishment of the Museum Libraries in 1923. The collection was enhanced by the acquisition of the personal library of Charles Edwin Wilbour, and by the bequeathing of the library of Charles K. Wilkinson, and it continues to benefit from the generosity of foundation and individual support. The Library is open to the public by appointment, and bibliographic records of its collection are entered on RLIN.

The article examines Muslim pilgrimages to Christian places of worship in Istanbul after the 1950s. It aims to answer whether and how the Ottoman heritage of cultural diversity fits or does not fit with the pattern of the nation-state. After a brief bibliographic overview of the issue of shared sacred spaces, the presentation assembles, as a first step, some of the key elements of Istanbul’s multi-secular links with religious practices: the sanctity of the city both for Christianity and Islam; the long tradition of pilgrimages and their importance for the local economy; meanings and etymologies of the word pilgrimage in the most common languages of the Ottoman space; and the silence of the nineteenth century’s Greek sources concerning the sharing of worship. The second part focuses more specifically on some OrthodoxGreek sacred spaces in Istanbul increasingly frequented by Muslims during the last decades.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggali nilai-nilai pendidikan karya Felix Y. Siauw, yaitu How to Master Your Habits, Yuk Berhijab, Udah Putusin Aja, dan Beyond the Inspiration. Masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah apa saja nilai-nilai pendidikan yang terdapat dalam karya felix Y. Siauw. Penelitian merupakan penelitian kualitatif (library research) dengan pendekatan deskriptif. Analisis deskripsi bibliografi terdiri temuan fakta, hasil, dan gagasan pemikiran seseorang melalui bagaimana menemukan, menganalisis, menafsirkan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai-nilai pendidikan pada buku Felix Y. Siauw adalah: 1) nilai-nilai individu: visioner, termotivasi, serius, sabar, rajin, memaafkan, bergerak, mudah beradaptasi, tabayyun, kepemimpinan, kelincahan, mempelajari sebab-sebab kemenangan, simpati, waspada, tidak terburu-buru, rasional, meluruskan niat, adil, optimis, amanah, tawadhu’, jujur, husnudzan, rindu pada kebaikan, kecerdasan emosional, keberanian, tawakal, tegas, dan ketulusan; 2) nilai-nilai sosial: kesetaraan gender dalam Islam, adab berpakaian, jihad, kekompakan, pendidikan prenatal, menjunjung hak asasi manusia, birrul walidain, tata tertib, etika pergaulan dalam Islam, etika terhadap musuh, keteladanan, toleransi, serta adab makan dan minum; 3) nilai-nilai praktis: langkah membentuk habits; 4) nilai-nilai dakwah: melembaga, menyampaikan kebaikan, dan kewajiban. The purpose of this research is to explore the educational values in Felix Y. Siauw opus, i.e. How to Master Your Habits, Yuk Berhijab, Udah Putusin Aja, and Beyond the Inspiration. The problem in this research is what are the educational values in the books. It is a qualitative research (library research) with descriptive analysis. The analysis of the bibliographic description comprise finding of fact, the results, and the idea of a person's thinking through how to find, analyze, interpret. The results show that educational values on the books of Felix Y. Siauw are: 1) individual values: visionary, motivated, serious, patient, diligent, forgive, move, adaptable, tabayyun, leadership, agility, study the causes of victory, sympathy, alert, unhurried, rational, straightening intentions, fair, optimistic, trustworthy, tawadhu', honest, husnudzan, longing for goodness, emotional intelligence, courage, trust, firm, and sincerity; 2) social values: gender equality in Islam, manners on dressing, jihad, compactness, prenatal education, uphold human rights, birrul walidain, rules, etiquette in Islam, ethics against the enemy, exemplary, tolerance, as well as table manners and drink; 3) practical values: the step to form habits; 4) propaganda values: institutionalized, convey kindness and obligations. Kata kunci: nilai-nilai edukatif, karya, Felix Y. Siauw

Ijtihad is the gateway to Islamic progress. The rise and fall of Islam is closely linked to the ebb and flow of ijtihad activities. Because the activities of ijtihad make sense in digging into the pearls of knowledge stored in the Qur'an and al-Hadith. The Asi-Shaykh priest was one of the initiators of the sect to establish his own method of legal practice in issuing his fatwa. Some of its Islamic activities are in two different places, Iraq and Egypt. The fatwas that he produced during his reign in Iraq were known as the qaul qadim, while the fatwas he produced in Egypt were known as the qaul qadim. In this study the researchers used a bibliographie research approach and their data collection procedure using editing, coding and tabulating. So the result is that finding qaul qadim can be demonstrated in the case of the ability of a guardian to replace the fasting left by the deceased due to the inclusion of shaheh hadith. Whereas in other cases qaul jadid is featured because it reinforces the quality of the arguments.

This study aims to describe form and practice of multicultural education management based on Ulu al-Albab perspective at State Islamic University (UIN) of Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. This study uses a qualitative approach with a bibliographic resarch type with content analysis on the meaning of multicultural education management based on Ulu al-Albab perspective. This study figures out that (1) several aspects were developed as a form of multicultural education, including aspects of institutional development, facilities and infrastructure, academic, research and community service, student affairs, quality assurance, cooperation, building a spirit of giving and sacrifice, and development of academic character and noble morals; (2) multicultural education, closely related to university programs, including implementation of integration of Islam and science, optimizing the role of ma'had, increasing foreign language competence, increasing the quantity of human resources, revitalization of social and religious roles, implementation of information technology-based management, internationalization of universities and international cooperation towards World Class University (WCU), implementation of institutional development, and exploration of funding sources.

Abstract: The Islamic education reform comprises a change that affects people’s choice of education as an agent of change and human and capital investment. Thus, it is a need to modernize the thought of renewing Islamic education according to the time’s advances. The study of the Islamic education reform in early 20th century has become relevant in the context of valuable lessons for reform and or modernization of Islamic education in subsequent developments. This research employed a philosophical and implemental approach. It was bibliographic research with the content analysis of the meaning and substance contained in the whole thought about the reform of the Islamic education in early 20th century. This study found that there were three patterns of renewal of Islamic education; (1) modern orientation in Europe, (2) the refinement of Islamic teachings, and (3) nationalism reform. The concept of Islamic education reform encompasses all ideas that are guided by the Qur’an and Sunnah, and continues to follow the times consciously and systematically and directed towards the interests that refer to the progress of science and technology, and based on faith and devotion (IMTAQ). The reform of the Islamic education system has included both the conceptual-theoretical and operational-practical levels, as well as the fundamental aspects that underlie the students’ lives; it is monotheistic faith which has a monolatry dimension of piety to God. It encourages and ignites to play a real role in all aspects of life.الملخص: إصلاح التعليم الإسلامي هو شكل من أشكال التغيير الذي يؤثر على اختيار الناس للتعليم كعامل للتغيير والاستثمار البشري ورأس المال. فلذلك, يجب تحديث فكرة مجددي التعليم الإسلامي دائما وقفا بالزمان الواقع أومما هو أبعد وأجدد منه. أصبحت دراسة إصلاح التعليم الإسلامي في أوائل القرن العشرين مناسبا وأكثر اهتماما من أجل استكشاف التجارب القيمة أو المعلومات أو الإمكانات المتعلقة بتطوير التعليم الإسلامي في المستفبل. استخدم الباحث المنهج الفلسفي والمنهج التنفيذي على أنواع ببليوغرافية مع تحليل محتوى المعنى والمضمون المتضمن في جميع التفكير حول إصلاح التعليم الإسلامي في أوائل القرن العشرين. وجد الباحث في هذا البحث على الأقل ثلاثة انماط لتجديد التربية الإسلامية. الأول كمنحى التحديث في أوروبا, والثاني للتخليص التعاليم الإسلامية, والثالث كالتحديث الوطنية. يشمل مفهوم إصلاح التعليم الإسلامي جميع المفاهيم التي يسترشد بها القرآن والسنة ويثبت في متابعة الزمان وتشير إلى تقدم العلم والتكنولوجيا على أساس الإيمان والتقوى بالله. يشمل تحديث نظام التعليم الإسلامي كلا من المستويات المفاهيمية النظرية والعملية الواقعية بالإضافة إلى المفاصل الأساسية التي تؤسس حياة الطلاب وهو الإيمان والتوحيد بالله تعالى من أجل تشجيع وتحفيز الطلاب ليلعب دورا حقيقيا في جميع مجال الحياة.Abstrak: Reformasi pendidikan Islam merupakan bentuk perubahan yang mempengaruhi pilihan masyarakat terhadap pendidikan sebagai agent of change dan human and capital investmen. Maka, pemikiran pembaharuan pendidikan Islam harus selalu dimodernisasi sesuai bahkan melampaui perkembangan zaman. Kajian reformasi pendidikan Islam awal abad-20 ini menjadi sangat relevan dalam rangka pelajaran berharga untuk reformasi dan atau modernisasi pendidikan Islam dalam perkembangan selanjutnya. Penelitian dengan pendekatan filosofis dan implementatif ini bersifat penelitian bibliografic resarch dengan content analysis terhadap makna dan substansi yang terkandung dalam keseluruhan pemikiran tentang reformasi pendidikan Islam awal abad-20. Kajian ini menemukan setidaknya ada tiga pola pembaharuan pendidikan Islam; (1) oreintasi modern di Eropa, (2) untuk pemurnian kembali ajaran Islam, (3) pembaharuan bersifat nasionalisme. Konsep reformasi pendidikan Islam meliputi segala konsep yang berpatok kepada al-Qur’an dan Sunnah, dan tetap mengikuti perkembangan zaman yang secara sadar dan sistematis serta terarah pada kepentingan yang mengacu pada kemajuan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi (IPTEK), dan dilandasi dengan keimanan dan ketaqwaan (IMTAQ). Pembaharuan sistem Pendidikan Islam telah mencangkup baik pada tataran konseptual-teoritis maupun operasional-praktis, serta sendi-sendi fundamental yang mendasari kehidupan peserta didik, yaitu iman tauhid yang berdimensi ketakwaan yang monoloyal kepada Allah, dalam rangka mendorong dan memacu untuk berperan nyata dalam semua lini kehidupan.

One cannot think of politicized Islam in Iran without thinking of the IranianLeft’s formation and overall history. The awkward yet symbiotic relationshipbetween them continues to impact how political decisions are made,especially at the parliamentary level. Given the Left’s wide-ranging linkageswith surrounding regions, including the Causacus (early twentieth century)and the Arab Middle East (particularly during the 1970s), experts dealingwith those regions’ politics would benefit from this work. As one of theMiddle East’s strongest leftist movements before the 1980s, any discussionof neighboring revolutionary movements must at least consider it. Althoughthis book assumes familiarity with twentieth-century Iran’s secular politicsand might be considered too dense, its rather large bibliographic section ismeant to encourage individual intellectual pursuits.Many contemporary scholars of the Iranian Left agree on its adherents’general lack of critical self-reflection throughout the twentieth century.Reformers and Revolutionaries in Modern Iran offers a forum for criticalreassessments of organizational platforms along with constructive propositionsmeant to enhance the viability of left-leaning programs – especiallysocial-democratic initiatives. This latter point is crucial, because severalcontributors deliberately state the importance of rejuvenating the Leftthrough social democratic reformism. Historical examples are used to provethis option’s viability over the more “rigid” Marxist-Leninist and Stalinistexamples ...

This article examines the positioning of the concept of khilāfah in the context of global history. It must be admitted that this concept received a negative response from various groups, especially scholars and governments, which did not allow the power of Islam to emerge ideologically on the global stage. Therefore, various results of geopolitical analysis always assume that the concept of khilāfah is a concept that has a negative impact on the global order. However, as explained in this article, the concept of khilāfah has a very strong theological dimension in Islamic teachings. Therefore, the more it is shunned from being used as an Islamic political force, the stronger the desire of some Muslims to use this concept as an argument and pretext in their system of struggle. Through a bibliographic survey, this article finds that the problem of war or violence in the name of religion is not only triggered by the concept of khilāfah but there are other problems that arise socio-historically and socio-politically, in Muslim countries, where interests Western countries, also play a significant role geopolitically and geo-strategic, in the contestation.

AbstrakPesantren sebagai lembaga pendidikan yang menitikberatkan pada nilai-nilai keIslaman, sejak lama dikenal menjadi pusat pembinaan moral dan penjaga tradisi. Namun kini pesantren dihadapkan pada persoalan yang lebih kompleks seperti masuknya nilai-nilai asing sejalan dengan dinamika kebudayaan. Gagasan penelitian dimaksudkan untuk mengetahui model pembelajaran di Pesantren Dinniyah Puteri Padang Panjang dalam menyikapi persoalan multikultur dan perubahan nilai. Penelitian menggunakan teori eksplorasi, yakni menggali secara dalam berbagai cara dan model pembelajaran yang berlangsung di lingkungan pesantren dimaksud. Data dan informasi yang diperoleh melalui wawancara, observasi maupun studi pustaka menunjukkan bahwa kini pesantren tersebut tidak semata-mata menanamkan pendidikan moral dan etika keagamaan semata-mata, akan tetapi melakukan pembudayaan atau pengenalan pranata-pranata kebudayaan kepada santri sebagai upaya untuk membuka wawasan dan kesadaran akan pentingnya menguasai nilai-nilai budaya yang didukung oleh suku-suku bangsa sebagai landasan bagi pembangunan karakter. Keberhasilan Pesantren Dinniyah Puteri dalam mengembangkan pendidikan yang berbasis keagamaan (Islam), maupun pengenalan pranata kebudayaan, adalah cita-cita pendirinya Rahmah El Yunnusiyah yang ingin membuktikan bahwa perempuan itu punya peranan penting sebagai ibu pendidik, yang cakap dan adil, dan aktif serta bertanggungjawab dalam membangun ketahanan budaya masyarakatnya. AbstractAs an educational institution that focuses on Islamic values, pesantren (Islamic boarding school)has long been known to be the center of moral guidance and keeper of tradition. But now pesantren faces more complex issues such as the in flux of foreign values in line with the dynamics of culture. The study intends to acquire knowledge about learning model applied in Pesantren Dinniyah Puteri Padang Panjang in facing multicultural issues and changing values. The study uses the exploration theory, by digging up various ways and models of learning applied in the Pesantren. Data and information obtained through interviews, observation and bibliographic study indicated that today the Pesantren does not merely teach moral and religiousethics, but also introduce its pupils to cultural institutions as an effort to give an insight and to make them aware of the importance of mastering cultural values as a foundation fo rcharacter building. The success of Pesantren Dinniyah Puteri in developing Islam-based education and in introducing cultural institutions, are the ideals of its founder, Rahmah El Yunusiyah, who wants to prove that women have important role as competent, fair, active and responsible educator mothers inbuilding cultural resilience of their community.

Middle East Studies for the New Millennium sheds light on the trials and tribulations of Middle East area studies in the highly charged and politi- cized context of American academia and broader US policy. In this respect, it is an important exposition of how American universities produce knowl- edge about different world regions (ix). The study is the outcome of a research project that spanned a period of nearly fifteen years since 2000. The introductory chapter, by book editors Shami and Miller-Idriss and titled “The Many Crises of Middle East Stud- ies” (MES), refers to the contextual status of the field and relates its ‘crises’ to an American setting in which knowledge and power are intrinsically, even if not always clearly, juxtaposed. Shami and Miller-Idriss point out that three main institutional actors define the politics of the field: univer- sities, federal government, and private philanthropic foundations (8). The role of the US federal government in producing knowledge, the relation- ship between knowledge and power, and ways of knowing about ‘other’ cultures and places has long been a source and subject of numerous debates and controversies (1), but the authors problematize it in terms of the “se- curitization of academic knowledge in the name of ‘national interest,’ the challenges arising out of the possibilities of unbounded, transnational fields of scholarship and the future of the university as an institution” (2). The MES also faced an additional crisis as a growing number of social scientists came to perceive it as too focused on in-depth studying of areas instead of seeking to produce knowledge based on universal theories or explanations. MES, thus, increasingly occupied a diminishing space in social sciences in favor of a humanistic turn toward cultural and linguistic approaches (9). This, according to Shami and Miller-Idriss was not simply a matter of intel- lectual skepticism, but rather a reflection of deliberate attempts at siphon- ing social scientists from universities, narrowing knowledge to specific agenda-settings, and limiting space for alternative perspectives. Due to the perceived ‘anti-Americanism’ of MES, in good measure emanating from claims about Edward Said’s “pernicious influence,” the field has increasingly come under siege through federal monitoring, campus watch, scrutiny of scholars exchanges, and funding restrictions (10). Problematizing the context of MES in such terms helps frame the ap- proach of this study around three main themes that comprise the three parts of the book and its eleven chapters. These include the relationship be- tween MES and other social science disciplines, reconfigurations, and new emphases in MES focusing on university restructuring, language training and scholarly trends, and the politics of knowledge as they relate specifical- ly to the many crises in the Middle East (11). Part I, titled “Disciplines and its Boundaries,” comprises four chap- ters, which highlight the interdisciplinary nature of area studies as a sub- field within the entire “problem-solving” structure of social sciences. This tendency distinguished area studies from earlier Orientalist/civilizational scholarly traditions. The four chapters in Part I cover the relationship be- tween area studies and political science (Lisa Wedeen), sociology (Reshat Kasaba), economics (Karen Pfeifer), and geography (Amy Mills and Timur Hammond). Together, they demonstrate how the privileged discipline or “prestige area” for theorizing reflects a different relationship with area studies depending on the discipline’s definition of the “universal” (11). Wedeen challenges positivist/methodological claims about the separation of fact and value, and the unification of liberalism and science in such a fashion as to render the subfield of American studies a standard universal “nonarea”, reflecting American exceptionalism (12). Kasaba examines the historically cyclical relationship between sociology and area studies “as a push-and-pull reaction to particular political imperatives,” related to how social sciences and American foreign policy have been intertwined since WWII (12). Pfeifer focuses on how international financial institutions have shaped much of western economists’ approaches to the Middle East region, entrenching neoclassical economic ideas associated with stabilization, lib- eralization, and privatization (13). Mills and Hammond examine the “spa- tial turn” in area studies, and how spatial methodologies have provided for a means to understand the broad socio-economic and political dynamics that have served to shape the Middle East. They point also to the interdisci- plinary nature of spatial studies that could very well transform area studies by linking the region to its global context (14-15). Part II, titled “Middle East Studies and the University,” comprises four chapters by Jonathan Z. Friedman and Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Elizabeth An- derson Worden and Jeremy M. Browne, Laura Bier, and Charles Kurzman and Carl W. Ernst. These chapters highlight how knowledge about the Middle East are produced through changing institutional structures and architectures, particularly in relation to the rise of “the global” as a major organizational form within American universities. They also focus on the “capacities” needed to produce a new generation of qualified specialists ca- pable of dealing with profound regional changes that would also require dif- ferent policy and educational approaches (15). Friedman and Miller-Idriss look at the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University (NYU) in order to investigate how area studies centers as well as universities are to transform themselves into global institutions. They point to two separate but coexisting logics of internationalization: that of the specialist with deeper knowledge of the area, and the cosmopolitan who emphasizes breadth in global experience in order to produce the ‘global citizen’ (15-16). Worden and Browne focus on reasons why it was difficult for American institutions to produce proficient Arabic language speakers in significant numbers. They offer an explanation in terms of structural and cultural factors related to time constraints that graduate students face in or- der to learn the language, the relative lower status of language instructors, the devaluation of language learning by some social sciences disciplines, and, for all practical purposes, the difficulty of learning Arabic. Bier ana- lyzes PhD dissertations concerned with the Middle East across six social sciences disciplines (political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, history and MES) during the period 2000-2010, focusing on their themes, topics and methods (253). She points out that neoliberalism and what is termed the ‘Washington Consensus’ have come to dominate political sci- ence, sociology and economics, while issues of identity, gender, colonial- ism, the nation, and Islam dominate in anthropology, history, and MES. Kurzman and Ernst go beyond Bier’s thematic approach to highlight the renewed and significant institutional growth of interest in Islamic studies for national security concerns. They point as well to the encouragement offered by a number of universities to promote cross-regional approaches, not constrained by narrower definitions of distinct regions, although they also raise the problem of lack of adequate federal funding for such purpos- es. Part III, titled “the Politics of Knowledge,” comprises three chapters by Seteney Sami and Marcial Godoy-Anativia, Ussama Makdisi, and Irene Gendzier; and an ‘Afterward’ by Lisa Anderson. These chapters examine not only the production of knowledge but also how knowledge is frequently silenced by forces that “structure and restrict freedom of speech, censor- ship and self-censorship”—the so-called “chilling effects” (19). Sami and Godoy-Anativia examine the themes of campus watch or surveillance and public criticism of MES, especially after the 9/11 events of 2001, and their impact on academia and “institutional architectures” as knowledge is secu- ritized and “privatized” (19). Makdisi and Gendzier question how Ameri- can scholarship about the region has changed over time, yet almost always highly charged and politicized in large measure due to the Arab-Zionist/ Israeli conflict (20-21). Despite moves toward more critical and postna- tionalist approaches, Makdisi emphasizes that overall academic freedom has nevertheless been curtailed. Genzier, in turn, points to how “ignorance has [come to have] strategic value,” as “caricatured images” pass for anal- ysis (21-22). Finally, given the securitization and other intimidating mea- sures undertaken around campuses and universities, Anderson concludes that the state of a “beleaguered” (442) MES is deplorable, describing it as “demoralized, lacking academic freedom and reliable research data, and function in a general climate of repression, neglect and isolation” (22, 442). This important book—with extensive bibliographies in each chapter and its detailed exploration of the state of the field of United States MES in the twenty-first century—stands as a reference source for all interested in Middle East studies. “Infrastructures for Knowledge” could have made for a provocative main title of this work, in reference to the production of knowledge on the Middle East and the reproduction of new generations of Middle Eastern specialists. Its most salient aspect is that it highlights and underscores the formal and informal authoritarian and securitization mea- sures adopted by US federal agencies as well as universities to set effective restrictions on what can or cannot be said and/or taught about MES, both in academic institutions and in the media. In addition to the proliferation of both private and public watchdogs monitoring how MES is being taught on campuses, the establishment since 2003 of twelve Homeland Security Centers of Excellence at six universities (with grants totaling about 100 million dollars) is indicative of the scale of intrusive measures (101). The broader problem is that such infringements do not take place only in US universities. Given that county’s totalizing and vested interests in influenc- ing how knowledge is produced and consumed globally, not least in and about the Middle East, the extent of its hegemonic control in that region can only be surmised.
 Amr G.E. SabetDepartment of Political ScienceDalarna University, Falun, Sweden