About the Book
From this well-known scholar in Lebanese history comes a fascinating supplementary text providing first hand accounts of events described in major textbooks on modern Middle Eastern history. Spanning the late 18th through to the 20th centuries, issues such as nationalism and its relationship to ethnicity, gender, and the environment receive thorough treatments. A long awaited niche text, History of the Modern Middle East fills a large gap in the market for a current collection of documents on this compelling topic. Thorough treatment of issues such as nationalism and its relationship to ethnicity, gender and the environment; Sources cover political, social, economic and cultural histories; Organised in 12 chapters with chapter introductions and headnotes
Table of Contents:
Introduction: How to Read a Primary Source I. The Middle East and North Africa in the Nineteenth Century 1. Central Political Reforms and Local Responses 1. The Hatt-I-Serif Decree Initiates the Tanzimat, or Reform, Period in the Ottoman Empire, November 3, 1839 2. Sultan Abdul Majid's Islahat Fermani Reaffirms the Privileges and Immunities of Non-Muslim Communities in the Ottoman Empire, February 18, 1856 3. The Ottoman Government Decree Defines the Official Notion of the "Modern" Citizen, June 19, 1870 4. Mirza Malkum Khan Satirizes Iran's Central Government and Religious Elite, 1880s 5. Jamal al-Din Al-Afghani Answers Ernest Renan's Criticism of Islam, May 18, 1883 6. Baghdadi Jews React to the Modernization of the Ottoman Empire, May 28, 1908 2. Economic Changes 1. The Treaty of Peace and Commerce (Treaty of Turkmanchai) Between Iran and Russia, February 10-22, 1828 2. The Treaty of Balta Liman Gives the British Economic Advantages Within the Ottoman Empire, August 16,1838 3. An Egyptian Khedival Decree Establishes a European-Controlled Public Debt Administration, May 2, 1876 4. Convention on Free Navigation of the Suez Between the European Powers and the Ottoman Empire, October 29, 1888 5. The Concession for the Imperial Bank in Iran, January 30, 1889 6. The Concession for the Tobacco Monopoly in Iran, March 8, 1890 7. Tobacco Smuggling and the French Regie Monopoly in the Ottoman Empire, 1895 3. Social and Cultural Reformulations 1. Rifa'a Tahtawi Reflects on Paris, Its People, Their Ideas and Lives in the 1820s 2. Anis al-Jalis, an Egyptian Magazine, Defines a Vision of Women and Their Role in Society, 1899 3. Qasim Amin Argues for the Emancipation of Women in Egypt, 1900 4. Teachers of the Alliance Israelite Universelle Write About Child Marriages, Domestic Violence, and the Treatment of Children Among Jews in North Africa, 1902-1915 5. Articles in Iranian Magazines Emphasize the Link Between the Education of Girls and the Advancement of Iranian Society, 1907, 1909 6. Bahithat al-Badiya Advocates Greater Educational and Economic Rights for Egyptian Women, 1909 7. Nazira Zein el-Din, an Egyptian Feminist, Comments on the Unveiling and Veiling of Women, 1928 II. Making Nations in the Middle East, 1900-1949 4. Ideas of Nationalism 1. Leo Pinsker, a Jewish Intellectual, Proposes a "Jewish Homeland," 1882 2. Ahad Ha-Am's "The Jewish State and the Jewish Problem," a Counterargument to the Idea of a Jewish State, 1897 3. The Husayn-McMahon Correspondence, Negotiating the Establishment of an "Arab Kingdom" in the Middle East, 1915 4. The Balfour Declaration, Stating the British Government's Support for a Jewish Homeland in Palestine, and Discussions Leading to Issuing It in 1917 5. Division of the Ottoman Empire: The Treaty of Sevres, August 10, 1920 6. Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) Outlines His Vision of the Recent Nationalist Past of Turkey and the Future of the Country, 1927 7. 'Ali 'Abd al-Raziq, an Egyptian Religious Scholar, Argues for the Separation of State and Religion, 1928 8. The Program of L'Etoile Nord-Africaine: Full Independence for Algeria, May, 28, 1933 9. Antun Sa'adeh Declares His Vision of "Greater Syria" or Regional Nationalism, June 1, 1935 10. Taha Husayn Writes of Egypt as a Mixture of Pharaonic, Arab, and Western Cultures, 1938 11. Syrian Michel 'Aflaq Addresses the Relationship Between Arabism and Islam, 1943 12. Hasan al-Banna Proclaims Egyptian Nationalism and the Religious Basis for an Islamic State, 1949 5. Contested Nationalisms 1. Henry Morgenthau Recounts Aspects of Nationalist-Driven Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians in Turkey, 1915 2. The Zionist Organization's Memorandum to the Peace Conference in Versailles Asks for Support for the Establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine, February 3, 1919 3. The Resolution of the Greater Syrian Congress at Damascus Proclaims Arab Sovereignty over Greater Syria, July 2, 1919 3. The American King-Crane Commission Report Summarizes the Popular Ideas of Nationalism in the Middle East, 1919 5. A Writer for al-Asima, the Syrian Government Newspaper, Seeks to Establish the Popular Idea of the "Nation," October 23, 1919 6. Women and the Vote in Syria: A Parliamentary Debate About the Relationship Between Gender and Citizenship in the Proposed State, April 25, 1920 7. Ferhat Abbas Appeals for the Equality of Muslim Algerians and French Algerians, February 23, 1936 8. The Projet Blum-Violette: The Proposed Enfranchisement of Muslims in Algeria, 1936 9. Shaykh Ben Badis Pronounces a Fatwa (Religious Edict) Against the French "Naturalization" of Algerians, August 10, 1937 10. Nationalism and the Jewish Community in Tunisia, March 5, 1938 11. The Contest for Alexandretta Between Syria and Turkey, May 1938 12. The Arab Case for Palestine and the Case for a Binational State, March 1946 13. President Harry Truman's Statement Supporting Jewish Immigration into Palestine, October 4, 1946 III. The Rise of Postindependence States (1950-2000) 6. Restricting Authority 1. Asadollah Alam's Diary Details Some Elements of the Shah of Iran's Rule in 1976 and 1977 2. Iraq's Saddam Hussein Proclaims History as a Tool for Educating the Masses About the Revolution and Comments on the Role of Women in the Revolution, 1975, 1978 3. The Constitution of Saudi Arabia Bases the Legitimacy of the Ruling House of Saud on Religion, 1992 4. Human Rights Activist Yilmaz Ensaroglu Discusses the Role of the Army in Turkey, 1997 7. Crisis of the State 1. Egyptian President Abdel Nasser Resigns from Office Following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, June 9, 1967 2. Sadiq al-'Azm, an Arab Intellectual, Critiques the Arab State and Clergy for Their Use of Religion, 1968 3. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Denounces the Rule of the Shah of Iran, 1975 4. Documents About One of the Major Political Arguments Underlying the Lebanese Civil War, 1975 5. American Consular Documents Reveal the Diplomats' Assessment of the Revolution in Iran, 1978 6. The Massacre of the Muslim Brothers of Syria in Hama, 1982 7. The Platform of the Islamic Salvation Front in Algiers Bases Its Ideology on Respect for Islamic Values, June 18, 1995 8. Report on Arab Israelis: Breaking the Stranglehold of Alienation, October 27, 2000 IV. The Middle East Today 8. Islamic Political Movements Since 1964 1. Egyptian Writer Sayyid Qutb Articulates a New, Influential Vision of Jihad, 1964 2. Iranian Intellectual Ali Shari'ati Examines Man from the Viewpoint of Islam, 1968 3. Iranian Liberal Mehdi Bazargan Advocates Freedom as a Vital Necessity for Government and Religion, 1974 4. Moroccan Feminist Fatima Mernissi Argues That Islam Has Been Misinterpreted on the Subject of the Position of Women, 1988 5. Egyptian Editorialist Farag Foda Critiques Islamic Movements in Egypt, 1989 and 1992 6. Islamic Fundamentalist Usama Bin Laden Calls on Muslims to Take Up Arms Against America, 1998 7. Reflections on the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 9. Subaltern Groups 1. The Arab Women's Court Vows to Resist Violence Against Women, 1995 and 1998 2. Internet Discussion of Marriage and Education for Saudi Women, 1996 3. Grassroots Environmental Movements in Egypt and Turkey, 1997 and 2000 4. The Imazighen [Berbers] of Algeria Decry the Promouncement of the Country as "Arab," 1998 5. A Kurdish Activist's Letter Appealing to Berna Yilmaz, the Spouse of the Turkish Prime Minister, September 27, 1998 6. Journalist Lilian Liang Discusses Homosexuality in Egypt, 1999 7. Arab and Israeli Soccer Players Discuss Ethnic Relations in Israel, 2000 8. Self-Reflection by the Communist Party of Iran, 2001 10. The Future of the Middle East and North Africa 1. Selection from a Roundtable Discussion of Globalization and Its Impact on Arab Culture, October 26, 2000 2. Lebanese Author Elias Khoury Argues for Democracy, Demilitarization, and Cultural Pluralism in the Middle East and North Africa, 2000
