From Babel to dragomans : interpreting the Middle East / Bernard Lewis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lewis, Bernard, 1916-2018.

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Middle East.

Middle East Region.

Religion and politics--Middle East.

Religion and politics.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

xiv, 438 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Summary:

There was a Time When the Peoples of the Middle East, Secure in Their Knowledge of both their cultural and material superiority, disdained to learn the primitive idioms of those beyond the frontiers of civilization. But a time came when the rulers of the world of Islam were obliged to deal with those outside their realm and to develop some form and channel of communication. The result was the rapid growth of the dragomans -- a group that combined the roles of translators and interpreters between governments and countries, and, more profoundly, of intermediaries between civilizations. Over the course of his professional career, Bernard Lewis has proven himself as a scholar learned in a number of languages, who has interpreted Islam, the Ottoman Empire, and the modern Middle East for the West. Now, this respected authority has brought together his reflections on Middle Eastern history and foreign affairs written over six decades. The essays include such topics of pan-Arabism, the Mughal and Ottoman empires, the relationship between Western powers and the Middle East, travel in the region, food and feasts, and the problems and practice of writing Middle Eastern history. The pieces cover great events of twentieth-century history, such as the emergence of modern Israel, the Iranian Revolution, and the Gulf War.

And they address urgent and compelling topics such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the significance of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. The collection ranges from English originals of articles published before only in foreign languages, to previously unpublished writings, to his highly regarded essays from publications such as Foreign Affairs and The New York Review of Books. With more than fifty pieces in all, prefaced by a new, personal memoir by Lewis, this is a valuable collection for everyone interested in the Middle East. Here then is a rich repository of wisdom on one of the key areas of the modern world -- a wealth of profound reflections on Middle Eastern history, culture, politics, and current events. Hailed as "the world's foremost Islamic scholar" (Wall Street Journal), as "a towering figure among experts on the culture and religion of the Muslim world" (Baltimore Sun), and as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies" (New York Times), Bernard Lewis is nothing less than a national treasure, a trusted voice that politicians, journalists, historians, and the general public have all turned to for insight into the Middle East.

Contents:

Part 1 Past History

1 An Islamic Mosque 15

2 From Babel to Dragomans 18

3 Middle East Feasts 33

4 Iran in History 43

5 Palimpsests of Jewish History: Christian, Muslim and Secular Diaspora 53

6 Some Notes on Land, Money and Power in Medieval Islam 60

7 An Interpretation of Fatimid History 66

8 Propaganda in the Pre-Modern Middle East: A Preliminary Classification 79

9 Monarchy in the Middle East 92

10 Religion and Murder in the Middle East 100

11 The Mughals and the Ottomans 108

12 Europe and the Turks: The Civilization of the Ottoman Empire 115

13 Europe and Islam: Muslim Perceptions and Experience 121

14 Cold War and Detente in the Sixteenth Century 135

15 From Pilgrims to Tourists: A Survey of Middle Eastern Travel 137

16 The British Mandate for Palestine in Historical Perspective 152

17 Pan-Arabism 156

18 The Emergence of Modern Israel 181

19 Orientalist Notes on the Soviet-United Arab Republic Treaty of 27 May 1971 188

20 A Taxonomy of Group Hatred 196

21 Islam and the West 205

Part 2 Current History

22 The Middle East, Westernized Despite Itself 221

23 The Middle East in World Affairs 232

24 Friends and Enemies: Reflections After a War 240

25 Return to Cairo 247

26 Middle East at Prayer 265

27 At the United Nations 269

28 The Anti-Zionist Resolution 274

29 Right and Left in Lebanon 284

30 The Shi'a 290

31 Islamic Revolution 299

32 The Enemies of God 313

33 The Roots of Muslim Rage 319

34 The Other Middle East Problems 332

35 Did You Say "American Imperialism"?: Power, Weakness, and Choices in the Middle East 343

36 The Law of Islam 351

37 Not Everybody Hates Saddam 354

38 Mideast States: Pawns No Longer in Imperial Games 357

39 What Saddam Wrought 360

40 The "Sick Man" of Today Coughs Closer to Home 364

41 Revisiting the Paradox of Modern Turkey 367

42 We Must Be Clear 369

43 Deconstructing Osama and His Evil Appeal 371

44 Targeted by a History of Hatred 374

45 A Time for Toppling 378

Part 3 About History

46 In Defense of History 383

47 First-Person Narrative in the Middle East 396

48 Reflections on Islamic Historiography 405

49 The Ottoman Archives: A Source for European History 414

50 History Writing and National Revival in Turkey 421

51 On Occidentalism and Orientalism 430.

Notes:

Collection of articles, essays, etc. originally published 1953-2003.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0195173368

OCLC:

54079701