The poetry of Salim Barakat aims to recapture the ancient oral culture of the “Kurdu,” and, in so doing, re-invent a distinctly Kurdish culture. Through poetic innovation, this intensely Kurdish poet brings modernity to ancient Kurdish structures. This book provides an overview of new developments in modern Arabic poetry, as seen through the creativity of its leading exponents, Barakat and Mahmud Darwish, as well as the older Syrian poet Adunis. Its unsurpassed translations of the work of these poets open up possibilities for the reader to enjoy first-hand what modern Arabic poetry has to offer. Translating Barakat’s poetry, and understanding something of what this great poet has to say has thrown new light on the output of his friend Mahmud Darwish. It becomes clear that the Palestinian poet uses a semblance of Barakat’s Kurdish Shahnama and also his Ballade, genres that hail from orality. Analyzing Darwish’s “Fewer Roses,” and “The Hoopoe,” we find that the former is an epic with 50 episodes telling of the wanderings of Palestinians in exile. “The Hoopoe” is specifically a Sufi poem based in the literary Sufism of medieval poets. Darwish has left us with clear instructions on how to translate his poetry, which this book carefully follows.

This book takes a new approach to studying the contemporary Middle East, focusing on popular culture, including film, music, and television. Innovative essays by a group of smart young scholars in anthropology, history, and ethnomusicology.

When the convulsions of the Arab Spring first became manifest in Syria in March 2011, the Ba'athist regime was quick to blame the protests on the "Syrian Muslim Brotherhood" and its "al-Qaeda affiliates." But who are these Islamists so determined to rule a post-Assad Syria? Little has been published on militant Islam in Syria since Hafez Assad's regime destroyed the Islamist movement in its stronghold of Hama in February 1982. This book bridges that gap by providing readers with the first comprehensive account of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood's history to date. In this ground-breaking account of Syria's most prominent, yet highly secretive, Islamist organisation, the author draws on previously untapped sources: the memoirs of former Syrian jihadists; British and American archives; and also a series of wide-ranging interviews with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood's historical leaders as well as those who battled against them--many speaking on the record for the first time. Ashes of Hama uncovers the major aspects of the Islamist struggle: from the Brotherhood's radicalisation and its "jihad" against the Ba'athist regime and subsequent exile, to a spectacular comeback at the forefront of the Syrian revolution in 2011--a remarkable turnaround for an Islamist movement which all analysts had pronounced dead amid the ruins of Hama in 1982.

Tunisia became one of the largest sources of foreign fighters for the Islamic State—even though the country stands out as a democratic bright spot of the Arab uprisings and despite the fact that it had very little history of terrorist violence within its borders prior to 2011. In Your Sons Are at Your Service, Aaron Y. Zelin uncovers the longer history of Tunisian involvement in the jihadi movement and offers an in-depth examination of the reasons why so many Tunisians became drawn to jihadism following the 2011 revolution. Zelin highlights the longer-term causes that affected jihadi recruitment in Tunisia, including the prior history of Tunisians joining jihadi organizations and playing key roles in far-flung parts of the world over the past four decades. He contends that the jihadi group Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia was able to take advantage of the universal prisoner amnesty, increased openness, and the lack of governmental policy toward it after the revolution. In turn, this provided space for greater recruitment and subsequent mobilization to fight abroad once the Tunisian government cracked down on the group in 2013. Zelin marshals cutting-edge empirical findings, extensive primary source research, and on-the-ground fieldwork, including a variety of documents in Arabic going as far back as the 1980s and interviews with Ansar al-Sharia members and Tunisian fighters returning from Syria. The first book on the history of the Tunisian jihadi movement, Your Sons Are at Your Service is a meticulously researched account that challenges simplified views of jihadism’s appeal and success.

This reference work covers the classical, transitional and modern periods. Editors and contributors cover an international scope of Arabic literature in many countries.

This book analyzes the evolution and cultivation of modern Palestinian collective memory and its role in shaping Palestinian national identity from its inception in the 1920s to the 2006 Palestinian elections.