This extremely timely and helpful ready reference will familiarize all students and readers with the Gulf region and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, and Qatar. These states are bound by the desert culture, the Gulf, new oil economy, and Islam, to name some commonalities. Most Americans know something about the region, such as oases, dates, camels, oil, Bedouin tribes, and the legends of Lawrence of Arabia to Osama bin Laden. Islamic concepts and practices are still unfamiliar. On one extreme, Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam, has been largely closed off to Western tourists. On the other extreme, Dubai courts tourist dollars as it constructs modern architectural showcases. This is the first A-Z encyclopedia to focus on the Gulf, illuminating the land, people, religion, culture and traditions, institutions, economy, and much more for general readers. The more than 200 essay entries have a current focus with historical context as necessary.
The breadth of coverage means that this resource will be of use for a wide range of researchers and browsers. Besides individual entries on each state, major cities and regions are also profiled. The natural environment and human adaptation to it receives significant space. Islamic customs and rules and various interpretations are clearly explained. Essays on topics such as key public figures, institutions, major events, politics, and state structures―some based on sources often not available in English―make this two-volume set the first-choice resource for accurate information. Suggestions for further reading accompany most entries; a chronology, selected bibliography, and photos also complement the text.

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab States Today [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Arab States

Humor & Entertainment

Maisel, Sebastian

Shoup, John A.

Movies

Greenwood

Speed up your Arabic: Strategies to Avoid Common Errors (Speed up your Language Skills)

Pronunciation, spelling, the concept of roots and patterns and idomatic phrases are just some of the areas that cause confusion for students of Arabic. Learning how to avoid the common errors that arise repeatedly in these areas is an essential step in successful language learning. Speed Up Your Arabic is a unique and innovative resource that identifies and explains the most commonly made errors, enabling students to learn from their mistakes and enhance their understanding of the Arabic language.  Each of the nine chapters focuses on a grammatical category where English speakers typically make mistakes in Arabic. Each chapter is divided into sections that classify the concepts and errors into subcategories. Full explanations are provided throughout with clear, comprehensive examples and exercises to help the learner gain an in-depth understanding of Arabic grammar and usage.  Key features:   Carefully selected grammar topics and examples based on the most commonly made errors   Comprehensive explanations of the most difficult grammar points help learners gain an in-depth understanding of Arabic grammar and usage.   Exercises throughout reinforce learning and link theory to practice   A complete answer key making it ideal for self-study   A glossary of grammatical terms, an Arabic-English glossary and a bibliography to aid learning    Useful drills and listening samples available for free download at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415660556/   Suitable both for classroom use or self-study, Speed Up Your Arabic is the ideal resource for all intermediate learners of Arabic wishing to refine their language skills.

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Routledge

Pronunciation, spelling, the concept of roots and patterns and idomatic phrases are just some of the areas that cause confusion for students of Arabic. Learning how to avoid the common errors that arise repeatedly in these areas is an essential step in successful language learning.
Speed Up Your Arabic is a unique and innovative resource that identifies and explains the most commonly made errors, enabling students to learn from their mistakes and enhance their understanding of the Arabic language. Each of the nine chapters focuses on a grammatical category where English speakers typically make mistakes in Arabic. Each chapter is divided into sections that classify the concepts and errors into subcategories. Full explanations are provided throughout with clear, comprehensive examples and exercises to help the learner gain an in-depth understanding of Arabic grammar and usage. Key features: <ul>
<li>Carefully selected grammar topics and examples based on the most commonly made errors</li> <li>Comprehensive explanations of the most difficult grammar points help learners gain an in-depth understanding of Arabic grammar and usage.</li> <li>Exercises throughout reinforce learning and link theory to practice</li> <li>A complete answer key making it ideal for self-study</li> <li>A glossary of grammatical terms, an Arabic-English glossary and a bibliography to aid learning </li> <li>Useful drills and listening samples available for free download at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415660556/</li> </ul> Suitable both for classroom use or self-study, Speed Up Your Arabic is the ideal resource for all intermediate learners of Arabic wishing to refine their language skills.

Reference

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Yezidis in Syria: Identity Building among a Double Minority

Yezidis in Syria: Identity Building among a Double Minority traces the development of Yezidi identity on the margins of Syria’s minority context. This little known group is connected to the community’s main living area in northern Iraq, but evolved as a separate identity group in the context of Syria’s colonial, national, and revolutionary history. Always on the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy, the two sub-groups located in the Kurdagh and the Jezira experience a period of sociological and theological renewal in their quest for a recognized and protected status in the new Syria. In this book, Sebastian Maisel transmits and analyzes the Yezidi perspective on Syria’s policies towards ethnic and religious minorities.

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Lexington Books

"A book full of insights into a complex and often misunderstood society which has so far managed to reconcile the secularizing influences of modern technology with its strong religious traditions. . . . Sophisticated and penetrating."--International Journal
"Will undoubtedly become the new reference work on Saudi Arabia, and is accessible enough for undergraduates to use."--Middle East Studies Association Bulletin
"With succinct chapters on Saudi geography and people, history and politics, oil and development, foreign and security politics, and a particularly fine essay on the hajj, Long's book is remarkably successful in providing a feel for this country of startling contrasts and anomalies. . . . This short and readable handbook is an extraordinary resource for up-to-date information and fair-minded interpretation."--Choice
This second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, and includes new chapters on tradition and modernity and on Islam and society. It features extensive analysis of the substantial political, economic, and social changes that have taken place in the past ten years, including 9/11, the U.S. war on terror, the Saudi war on terror, oil pricing, and technological advancements.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

History

Long, David E.

Middle East

University Press of Florida

Modern Standard Arabic: Integrating main Arabic dialects

Schulz, Eckehard

Edition Hamouda

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