"e;A very useful addition to courses on Arab nationalism, nationalism in general, and Arabic linguistics."e;Professor Clive Holes FBA, Professor for the Study of the Contemporary Arab World, University of Oxford"e;Masterfully combines his profound familiarity with the Arabic literature, the endless literature on nationalist ideology, and the very substantial sociolinguistic literature on language and ethnic identity."e;Professor Joshua Fishman, Distinguished University Research Professor ofSocial Sciences, Emeritus, Yeshiva University'This compelling and timely study of Arabic culture, language, history, and nationalism by distinguished Arabic linguist Yasir Suleiman allows English-speaking audiences an inside view of key issues in understanding the Arab world. Based on Suleiman's extensive research in Arabic language and society, the book is scholarly but not pedantic, and will appeal to a wide range of readers.'Karin C. Ryding, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Professor of Arabic, Georgetown UniversityPrizewinner, British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies 2004A fresh perspective on nationalism in the Arab Middle East, investigating the interaction between language and nationalist ideology. It covers both communicative and symbolic functions of the language in relation to cultural and political nationalism and the articulation of national identity. Includes: * the Arab past (the interpretation and reinvention of tradition and myth-making)* the clash between Arab and Turkish cultural nationalism in the 19th and early 20th century* readings of canonical treatises on Arab cultural nationalism* a study of the major ideological trends linking language to territorial nationalism* a research agenda for the study of language and nationalism in the Arab contextThis is the first full-scale study of this important topic and will be of interest to students of nationalism, Arab and comparative politics, Arabic Studies, history, cultural stud

Language, Memory, and Identity in the Middle East differs from traditional modern Middle East scholarship in that it reevaluates the images and perceptions that specialists-and Middle Easterners themselves-have normalized and intellectualized about the region, often with a patronizing rejection of the legitimacy and authenticity of non-Arab Middle Eastern peoples, and a refusal to attribute the Middle East's pathologies to causes outside the traditional Arab-Israeli and post-colonial paradigms.

Drawing on fieldwork in Iraq, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Nationalism, Language, and Muslim Exceptionalism compares the politics of six Muslim separatist movements, locating shared language and print culture as a central factor in Muslim ethnonational identity.

This book discusses the historical record of the idea that language is associated with national identity, demonstrating that different applications of this idea have consistently produced certain types of results. Nationalist movements aimed at ‘unification’, based upon languages which vary greatly at the spoken level, e.g. German, Italian, Pan-Turkish and Arabic, have been associated with aggression, fascism and genocide, while those based upon relatively homogeneous spoken languages, e.g. Czech, Norwegian and Ukrainian, have resulted in national liberation and international stability. It is also shown that religion can be more important to national identity than language, but only for religious groups which were understood in premodern times to be national rather than universal or doctrinal, e.g. Jews, Armenians, Maronites, Serbs, Dutch and English; this is demonstrated with discussions of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the civil war in Lebanon and the breakup of Yugoslavia, the United Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

As the colonial hegemony of empire fades around the world, the role of language in ethnic conflict has become increasingly topical, as have issues concerning the right of speakers to choose and use their preferred language(s). Such rights are often asserted and defended in response to their being violated. The importance of understanding these events and issues, and their relationship to individual, ethnic, and national identity, is central to research and debate in a range of fields outside of, as well as within, linguistics. This book provides a clearly written introduction for linguists and non-specialists alike, presenting basic facts about the role of language in the formation of identity and the preservation of culture. It articulates and explores categories of conflict and language rights abuses through detailed presentation of illustrative case studies, and distills from these key cross-linguistic and cross-cultural generalizations.

This wide-ranging examination of Arab society and culture offers a unique opportunity to know the Arab world from an Arab point of view. Halim Barakat, an expatriate Syrian who is both scholar and novelist, emphasizes the dynamic changes and diverse patterns that have characterized the Middle East since the mid-nineteenth century. The Arab world is not one shaped by Islam, nor one simply explained by reference to the sectarian conflicts of a "mosaic" society. Instead, Barakat reveals a society that is highly complex, with many and various contending polarities. It is a society in a state of becoming and change, one whose social contradictions are at the root of the struggle to transcend dehumanizing conditions. Arguing from a perspective that is both radical and critical, Barakat is committed to the improvement of human conditions in the Arab world.

Suleiman's book considers national identity in relation to language, the way in which language can be manipulated to signal political, cultural or historical difference. As a language with a long-recorded heritage and one spoken by the majority of those in the Middle East in various dialects, Arabic is a particularly appropriate vehicle for such an investigation. It is also a penetrating device for exploring the conflicts of the Middle East.'This is a well-crafted, well organized, and eloquent book. 'Karin Ryding, Georgetown University