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{ Monthly Archives } February 2008

The Zionism of Vladimir Jabotinsky

Geoffrey Wheatcroft writes about one of Zionism’s pioneering figures in a recent TimesOnLine piece. 
Go to article
IME course study guide on the Arab-Israeli Conflict

2008 02 21 Ted Thornton Arab-Israeli Conflict
Israel Comments (0)

Summary of February Elections in Pakistan

See the summary of the February 2008 elections in Pakistan from the BBC.

2008 02 19 Ted Thornton Pakistan Comments (0)

Are Head Scarves in Turkey More About Class Than About Islam?

Sabrina Tavernise writes in today’s New York Times that the current controversy over the repeal of the ban on women wearing head scarves in Turkey may be more about class differences than religion.
(Go to article) 

2008 02 19 Ted Thornton Trends
Turkey
Women Comments (1)

Recent Writing by George Packer on Iraq

George Packer, author of the third of our course texts this semester, writes about how Iraq looks today.  He quotes an Iraqi refugee named Firas: ”
“’I can never blame the Americans alone,’ an Iraqi refugee named Firas told me in early 2007. ‘It’s the Iraqis who destroyed their country, with the help of the Americans, under [...]

2008 02 19 Ted Thornton Assignments
Iraq Comments (0)

Reminder: Study Guide for THE LOOMING TOWER

I remind you that there is a study guide for The Looming Tower.  Summaries of Sayyid Qutb, Hasan al-Banna, Maulana Mawdudi, and many others can be found by clicking on the link there to “Models of Revivalism” (or go directly to “Models of Revivalism”)
Links to other supporting materials are to be found in that study [...]

2008 02 18 Ted Thornton Islam and Politics
Terrorism Comments (0)

Resources for “House of Saud”

Resources for the PBS film “House of Saud” that we will be watching this week can be found at the course syllabus .

2008 02 18 Ted Thornton Assignments
Saudi Arabia Comments (0)

Why Egypt’s Young are Taking Refuge in Conservative Islam

First in a new series entitled “Stalled Lives” running in the New York Times, an article (with video and photos) tells about the frustrations caused by stagnant education systems and economic dead ends that prompt many young people throughout the Middle East to seek solace in fundamentalist Islam. 
Michael Slackman, “Dreams Stifled, Egypt’s Young Turn to Islamic [...]

2008 02 17 Ted Thornton Arab World
Egypt
Islam Comments (0)

New Category - “Semester Project” - Added

Use this section of the blog as a forum for exchanging comments, suggestions, and resources.  
Semester Project
Student Project Topics

2008 02 16 Ted Thornton Assignments
Semester Project Comments (0)

Pakistan on the Eve of Elections: Signs of Hope

On the eve of parliamentary elections in Pakistan (Monday, Feb. 18), Waleed Ziad, an economic consultant and an associate at the Truman National Security Project, writes in an Op-Ed piece in today’s New York Times that democracy in Pakistan is more resilient than it may appear to many outsiders.  Waleed Ziad, “In Pakistan, Islam Needs Democracy” [...]

2008 02 16 Ted Thornton Pakistan Comments (0)

Emerging Trends in the Struggle to Define the Role of Religion in Public Life

The Economist explores the struggle inside Western societies prompted by the rise of Islam to define what roles religion and religious law should play.
 Link to Article

2008 02 15 Ted Thornton Islam
Islam and the West
Trends Comments (0)