Objective Books About Middle East/Islam

[Chance]

Just finished reading The Siege of Mecca (http://www.amazon.com/Siege-Mecca-Uprising-Islams-Holiest-ebook/dp/B001FSL2KI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1448247510&sr=1-1&keywords=siege+of+mecca). While the book wasn't perfect, it none the less proved to be an intriguing read about an important event I had never even heard of.

It also demonstrated how little I knew about the evolution of the Middle East, and how little I knew about the rifts within the Muslim world. So I'm curious, has anyone here read any good (unbiased) books on the topic?

[peterb]

I liked "Destiny Disrupted" by Tamim Ansary.

[MGW]

I'm 11%, according to my Kindle, into Ghost Wars. Not specifically about Islam but it's a pretty thorough look into the covert history of the Middle East and SW Asia. Enjoying it so far but I'll admit that it's a little hard to keep track of all the different people in the book.

[BehindBlueI's]

http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/

I like Karen Armstrong's books on religion. She's a former catholic nun who felt she failed to find God and left the faith, then returned to her faith as she studied the history of various religions. Her book "A Case for God" is one of my favorite books, but I'm drifting off topic.

http://www.amazon.com/Peace-End-All-Ottoman-Creation/dp/0805068848/

The book is rather dry, but there's a lot of information in there that helps understand the lead up to the modern Middle East.

http://www.amazon.com/Pity-Nation-Abduction-Lebanon-Books/dp/1560254424/

Robert Fisk was a BBC reporter during the decades of war in Lebanon. This book isn't about the entire Middle East per se, but it helps understand the differences that are present there. Much like foreigners lump us together as "Americans" without distinguishing between the Amish farmer and the NYC investment banker, we tend to do the same thing with "Arabs" or "Muslims". Between this book and the Peace to End All Peace books, it shows that it's not that simple. There are plenty of factions, plenty of leaders who use religion to recruit, and it's not always as simple as "Muslim V Christian" or "Druze V Muslims", as sometimes militias would form truces and work together against other blended militias. Much like now, the primary victims of ISIS is non-ISIS Muslims.

http://www.amazon.com/Arab-Mind-Raphael-Patai-ebook/dp/B00NO949TM/

A book on Arab psychology, the differences in how they mean something literally vs blowing off steam, and a really good book to help understand some of the underlying thought processes in much of the Arab community.

http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Pillars-Wisdom-Thomas-Lawrence-ebook/dp/B00YT7AWX0/

A classic, T.E. Lawrence's book on his military expeditions in the Middle East. Not unbiased in the least, as he was quite fond of his Arab allies, but an absolutely fascinating book none the less.

[JHC]

I don't know what it takes to qualify as unbiased. If the information in the book indicates that violent radical Islamist jihad is a bad thing, is that biased? If that is not a disqualifier then "Future Jihad" by Whalid Phares is IMO superb. LOTs of analysis of history that sets the stage.

Lawrence Wright's book "The Looming Tower" is the one I've seen most often held up as a must read to understand how the modern jihadist movement got its mojo going slowly in the post WW II era, with a lot of focus on the Egyptian, Sayyid Qutb becoming scandalized by the decadence of the western cowgirl when he attended University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO in 1948. Leading to Qutb's influential writing that Islam needed to go political to protect their values from the corruption of Western Civilization.

[Josh Runkle]

I'm 11%, according to my Kindle, into Ghost Wars. Not specifically about Islam but it's a pretty thorough look into the covert history of the Middle East and SW Asia. Enjoying it so far but I'll admit that it's a little hard to keep track of all the different people in the book.

Haven't read that book since it came out, but it was a fascinating read at the time (we have so much more info now). I remember being shocked at how Americans (including myself) has fallen prey to a specific narrative that Al Quaeda wanted us to believe.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Jessica Stern:
Isis: State of Terror
Terror in the Name of God - a great study on religious terrorists of different faiths

Arabs at war : military effectiveness, 1948-1991 / Kenneth M. Pollack

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and IslamAug 9, 1994
by Karen Armstrong - really great history of the major faiths

[Chance]

This book isn't about the entire Middle East per se, but it helps understand the differences that are present there. Much like foreigners lump us together as "Americans" without distinguishing between the Amish farmer and the NYC investment banker, we tend to do the same thing with "Arabs" or "Muslims".


That's what I've come to realize. Kind of like "Hinduism" is a big umbrella term for a bunch of loosely associated religions that don't have as much to do with one another as a casual observer might think.

On an unrelated note, I just realized your handle is "Behind Blue I's". I thought it was "Behind Buel's", which left it open to interpretation.


I'm 11%, according to my Kindle, into Ghost Wars.

I haven't read that one specifically, but I've read a number that reference it. You kind of have to pick up those sort of books as soon as they come out, or you lose your place in the knowledge timeline pretty quickly.


I don't know what it takes to qualify as unbiased.

I was wondering how long it would take someone to spin off into the theory of "bias." :) Basically, I tend to get skittish when one side is categorically labeled "the enemy." There's always nuance buried somewhere.

[JAD]

I think it's really hard to be truly objective on the topic, but I found http://amzn.com/0307280500 to be a really good read. I think understanding Jerusalem is fairly central to understanding the conflict.

Thanks to this thread I will read the Karen Armstrong book on the same topic and see how they compare.

[JHC]

I was wondering how long it would take someone to spin off into the theory of "bias." :) Basically, I tend to get skittish when one side is categorically labeled "the enemy." There's always nuance buried somewhere.

I suspected as much. ;)

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. There isn't much in the way of nuance in this arena however. But it doesn't hurt to look for one.

I mean one can pursue colonialism's unfairness etc etc. But this civilization had stalled before the colonial powers showed up.

[Gray222]

Not to start a fire, just curious as to the motivation behind reading books on this topic?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

1. If you have an enemy, it is best to know much about them and cut away things which are not true. That would aid in war-fighting.

2. If we eventually want peace, understanding the motivation of folks is important in bringing resolution. For instance, understanding the importance of the Emperor in Japan was important in the final agreements in WWII. Folks wanted him to go (Australians for instance) but understanding his importance and letting him stay undercut fanatics who wanted to continue the war.

3. History and culture are interesting. That Armstrong book on the History of God gave me many insights into the debates about the nature of God and how various faiths view the divine. More to life than reading the latest ultimate stopping power 454 ACP in American Combat Guns and Blammo by John 'the Warrior Eagle' Thunderthud. Haha.

[Chance]

Not to start a fire, just curious as to the motivation behind reading books on this topic?

History and current events? Why not?

[Gray222]

Aside from mere curiosity, i mean.

Most people got a pretty good primer in school if they paid attention, so i am curious as to personal motivation.

[BehindBlueI's]

Aside from mere curiosity, i mean.

Most people got a pretty good primer in school if they paid attention, so i am curious as to personal motivation.

I didn't. Even in college, if it wasn't Egypt, it was irrelevant. A little bit on the Ottomans.

[Chance]

Aside from mere curiosity, i mean.

Most people got a pretty good primer in school if they paid attention, so i am curious as to personal motivation.

I don't know what school you went to dude, but I don't recall giving anything more than lip service to the Middle East until after 9/11, and by then I was basically done with grade school. The mandatory history courses I had in college were typically Euro-centric.

[JohnO]

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) published The Great Heresies in 1938. The chapter "The Great and Enduring Heresy of Mohammed" is very enlightening especially given when it was written.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/HERESY4.TXT

Also a great lecture is available at the Heritage Foundation's website.

Robert Spencer speaking in 2006 on his book tour for "The Truth about Muhammad"

Links on the following page to download the MP3 and Listen or the MP4 and Watch.

http://www.heritage.org/events/2006/11/the-truth-about-muhammad

[Kevin B.]

Ghost Wars is an excellent book that details the 20+ years preceding 9/11.

[Drang]

Most people got a pretty good primer in school if they paid attention....
When I was in school, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and rifled bores were a fad that would never catch on, the history of the Middle East ended with the pyramids.


(The point being, material covered is pretty dependent on time frame, as well as curriculum. I was in school during Viet Nam, but we never studied it in class.)

[Joe in PNG]

Pay attention? In one's teenage years? To what the teacher is saying?
Who does that when there's things like girls and football!
(Seriously, I learned more history by ignoring my teachers and reading the textbook.)

[Gray222]

I mean, I went to a pretty small private college prep high school and I took several mddle eastern history and related type classes. One of our religious classes covered all religions other than christ based and Judaism. I know its not standard in public schools, especially in an urban area, just figured it wouldnt be too far off, guess i was incorrect in my assumption.

[msh]

The one I'm reading now is David Crist's The Twilight War. It's about our relations with Iran since the fall of the shah and it's very well researched with many, many citations.

[Chance]

Pay attention? In one's teenage years? To what the teacher is saying?
Who does that when there's things like girls and football!

I was in the AP program in high school, and had some wonderful teachers. It just seemed like we never covered anything that wasn't related to either Europe or the US somehow. Like others said, it basically stopped with the Pyramids.

Regarding the other two: I was a major geek in high school (still am), and football went 1-9 my senior year. You know the team sucks when the nerds feel sorry for you.


I mean, I went to a pretty small private college prep high school and I took several mddle eastern history and related type classes.

I underlined the important part. Private schools have more flexibility in their curriculum, and generally don't have to teach to the lowest common denominator.