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Introduction | |
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About This Book | |
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Conventions Used in This Book | |
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Foolish Assumptions | |
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How This Book Is Organized | |
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Icons Used in This Book | |
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Where to Go from Here | |
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Getting Acquainted with the Middle East | |
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The Middle East's Relevance in the 21st Century | |
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Making Sense of It All | |
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Navigating Through the Book | |
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Charting a Map | |
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Getting Acquainted with the Region | |
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Identifying the Countries, the Land, and the Climate | |
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Middle Eastern Hospitality | |
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Meeting the People | |
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Welcoming You into Their Homes | |
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Trying the Cuisine | |
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The History of the Middle East | |
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The Ancient Middle East | |
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The Land Formally Known as Mesopotamia (Iraq) | |
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The Promised Land (Kings, Gods, and Prophets) | |
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Egypt (Pharaohs, Gods, and Pyramids) | |
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Iran | |
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Anatolia (Turkey) | |
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The Medieval Middle East | |
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Islam's Birth and Adolescence | |
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A Series of Crusades: Business as Usual | |
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Uninvited Guests: The Mongols | |
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Succeeding the Mongols: The Ilkhanids and Timurids | |
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Unifying and Conquering: The Ottomans | |
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Converting Safavids to Shiism | |
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The Modern Middle East | |
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A Love-Hate Relationship: The West in the Middle East | |
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Clashing Ideologies: Zionism, Arab Nationalism, and the Islamic Revivalism | |
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Putting the "Saudi" in Saudi Arabia | |
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Establishing the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | |
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Carving Israel from Palestine | |
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Coming of Age: Egypt Grows Up | |
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The Shah(s) of Iran | |
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Talking Turkey | |
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Claiming the Prize: Lebanon and Syria | |
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Politics, Islam, and Oil: Three Reasons Not to Ignore the Middle East | |
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Leadership: Kings, Presidents, and Dictators | |
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Monarchy: Failures and Triumphs | |
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Democracy: Failures and Triumphs | |
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Theocracy: Failures and Triumphs | |
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Socialism | |
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Communism | |
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Disputed Areas | |
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Islamic Militancy in a Nutshell | |
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The Holy Warrior: Terrorist or Freedom Fighter? | |
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Jihad: Holy War or Struggle? | |
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Manipulating Madrasas: When Schools Teach Islamic Militancy | |
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Islam and the West | |
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The Clash of Civilizations | |
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The Clash of Values | |
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Remaining Aware of Uneasy Friendships and Mutual Distrust | |
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Deciphering the Contradiction: Western Culture and Technology | |
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It's All About the Oil: Economics in the Middle East | |
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Struggling to Compete | |
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If It Runs, It Runs on Oil | |
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Economic Failures | |
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Linking Economics to Politics | |
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Regions in Turmoil | |
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The Powder Keg: Israel and Palestine | |
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Keeping the Mapmakers Busy | |
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Uncovering the Origins of Militancy | |
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Firefighting with a Blowtorch: The Third Arab-Israeli War | |
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Adding More Fuel to the Fire: The Israeli Settlements | |
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Sending International "Firefighters" to the Rescue: The Fourth Arab-Israeli War | |
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Fanning the Flames in Lebanon | |
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Lighting the Fuses: The First Intifada | |
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Trying to Stomp Out the Fuses: Ehud Barak | |
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Burning Still: The Cycle of Violence Continues | |
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Approaching the Fire with a Cool Head | |
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Iraq | |
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Weathering Iraq's Stormy Romance with the West | |
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Saddam Hussein: A Killer Statesman | |
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Afghanistan | |
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Setting the Stage for the Soviet Invasion | |
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Fraternizing with the Soviets | |
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New Kids on the Block: The Taliban and Al-Qaeda | |
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Waging War on Terrorism: The United States Strikes Back | |
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Pakistan | |
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Partitioning India | |
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Drawing a Blueprint for a Nuke | |
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Helping the United States Fight the War on Terrorism | |
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Regions in Repair | |
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North Africa | |
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Algeria | |
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A Rebounding Egypt | |
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Libya: Trouble on the Shores of Tripoli | |
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The Sudan: A Land of Civil War and Famine | |
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Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria | |
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Juggling Diplomacy: How Current Politics Took Their Shape | |
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Lebanon | |
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Syria | |
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The Arabian Peninsula | |
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Saudi Arabia | |
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Yemen | |
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Non-Arab Muslim States | |
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Iran | |
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Somalia | |
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Turkey: Politicians, Generals, and Kurds | |
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Cultural Contributions of the Middle East | |
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A Mosaic of Religions | |
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Judaism | |
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Christianity | |
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Islam | |
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Religions on the Edge | |
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Religious Minorities | |
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Mysticism | |
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The Family: The Hub of Middle Eastern Life | |
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Family Dynamics: Love, Honor, and Responsibility | |
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The Lives of Women: Separation and Modesty | |
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Language and Literature | |
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Language, Ethnicity, and Tradition: You Are What You Speak | |
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A Little Background on the Literature of the Middle East | |
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Ancient Literature | |
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Medieval Literature | |
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Modern Literature | |
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Arts and Sciences | |
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Science and Philosophy: A Middle East Contribution | |
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The Arts and Beyond | |
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The Part of Tens | |
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Ten Key Ethnic Groups | |
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Arab | |
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Armenians | |
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Ashkenazim | |
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Bedouin | |
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Berbers | |
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Kurds | |
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Pashtuns | |
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Persians | |
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Sephardim/Oriental Jews | |
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Turks | |
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Ten Key Militant Groups | |
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Al-Qaeda (International) | |
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Hezbollah (Lebanon) | |
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Kach and Kahane Chai (Israel) | |
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Armed Islamic Group (Algeria) | |
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Al-Gamaat al-Islamiyya (Egypt) | |
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Islamic Jihads (Palestine and Egypt) | |
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Hamas (Palestine) | |
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Harakat al-Mujahidin (Pakistan and Kashmir) | |
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Jaish-i Muhammad (Pakistan and Kashmir) | |
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Kurdistan Workers Party (Turkey) | |
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Ten Key Challenges | |
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Assigning the Blame | |
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Coming into the Nuclear Age | |
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Economic Development and Poverty | |
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Ethnic and Religious Pluralism | |
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Gender Inequity | |
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Islamic Extremism | |
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Military Spending | |
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Overcoming the Colonial Legacy | |
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Unequal Distribution of Wealth | |
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Western-Style Democracy | |
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Index | |