Middle East: Past and Present

By Yahya Armajani

Book Overview

The authors have traced the influence of the peoples of this region through history and show that it could again determine the destiny of the world. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0135815541
• ISBN13: 9780135815540
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Middle East in Perspective

For those with little background in Middle East issues, Dr. Yahya Armajani has produced a well-organized and thorough, though a bit dry, introduction. As befits a part of the world where the vast majority of the people are Muslim, the four main divisions of the book focus nearly entirely on Islamic history. The sections break down this way: The Rise and Fall of the Islamic Empire, which provides an excellent account of the lands before Islam, the story of Muhammad and his followers, the beginnings of the Muslim state and goes right up through the major Islamic dynasties and religious attitudes toward science, philosophy, law and more. The Heirs of the Islamic Empire, which looks at the Ottoman Empire, the Safavids of Iran and international relations Imperialism and Awakening, including the intervention of the West in Egypt and several other Middle Eastern regions, Western relations with Iran and the Ottomans, the rise to power of the Young Turks and pan-Islamic movements. This is particularly important to those wondering why the Islamic world mistrusts the West so deeply and resents what it sees as Western interference.And The Modern Middle East, including the new Turkey, the establishment of the state of Israel, the many political and cultural battles of Egypt, including the rise of the Islamic brotherhood, and unity and diversity of the Arabic world. This is a readable book, jampacked with information. In fact, given the expanse of ideas and peoples covered in such a history, a reader may find the book a bit overwhelming-the long list of names and various dynasties, changing political fortunes and borders can be wearing. This book might best be read in small doses. That said, it does a very credible job of telling us what we, especially in the West, ought to know more about.