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The breadth of Arabic literature produced by Arab writers from pre-Islamic times to the contemporary period reveals a world of thought and feeling largely unseen and unheard in the English-speaking world. In this wide-ranging and unique anthology, works by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim authors show the genius of Arab civilization through the prism of literature.

Through odes (or Mu’allaqat); selections from the Qur’an; samples of Hadith and the poetry of rivalry, love, adventure, and mystic transcendence; and prose conveying scientific innovation, philosophical inquiry, theological disputation, and historical analysis, this extraordinary collection provides an authoritative overview of Arabic literature.

The hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, is a religious duty to be performed once in a lifetime by all Muslims who are able. The Prophet Muhammad set out the rituals of hajj when he led what became known as the Farewell Hajj in 10 AH (632 AD). This set the seal on Muhammad's career as the founder of a religion and the leader of a political entity based on that religion.

The convergence of the Prophet with the politician infuses the hajj with political, as well as religious, significance. For the caliphs who led the Islamic community after Muhammad's death, leadership of the hajj became a position of enormous political relevance as it presented them with an unrivaled opportunity to proclaim their pious credentials and reinforce their political legitimacy. This unique study analyzes information provided by contemporary sources about the leadership of the Hajj in Islam's formative period, between the seventh and tenth centuries, and assesses the pilgrimage from a political perspective.

A unique study because it collects and analyzes information provided by contemporary sources about the leadership of the Hajj in Islam's formative period, between the seventh and tenth centuries, and uses it to assess the pilgrimage from a political perspective.

Published in advance of a major British Museum exhibition, The Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, opening in London in January 2012.

M.E. McMillan earned a PhD in Islamic history at the University of St Andrews, and has worked for the UN Security Council as a translator. The author lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Arab media landscape has undergone fundamental changes since the 1990s, which has affected how information and coverage are transferred.

While new information and communication technologies emerge, such as Arab satellite television and blogging, censorship is adapting to these new possibilities of communication, which in turn affects the media's message and resultant public opinion.

Arnim Heinemann is a researcher at the Orient-Institut Beirut.

Olfa Lamloum is a researcher at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient, Beirut.

Anne Françoise Weber is a program manager at the Beirut office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

"Pargeter is one of the best analysts of Islamic radicalism. This book—detailed, authoritative, sober, perceptive, and meticulously researched—shows why. . . . A must read."—Jason Burke

Although the popular uprisings of 2011 were not driven by Islamist forces, it is the Islamist movements, and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, that have filled the power vacuums that opened up with the collapse of the regimes of the region. How did they do it and how will they manage their new political role?

In this authoritative analysis, Alison Pargeter follows the twists and turns of the Muslim Brotherhood as it battled through the years of oppression under authoritarian regimes to finally become a key and legitimate political actor. From Egypt and Syria to Tunisia and Libya, the Brotherhood and its affiliates are now faced with the complex task of transforming themselves from semi-clandestine opposition movements into legitimate political actors and, in some cases, into ruling powers.

A fully updated paperback edition with two new chapters.

Alison Pargeter is a writer and analyst specializing in the Middle East and North Africa and in Islamist movements in the region and beyond. She has held academic positions at the University of Cambridge and Kings College, London, and is a senior associate at Menas Associates, an international consultancy firm. She is the author of Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi and The New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe.

The sharp increase in oil revenues since 2002 has left the Arab Gulf States with billions of petro-dollars. But how will these countries fare in the post-oil era? The rulers of these states are taking serious measures to ensure the survival of their economies, and indeed their regimes, in a world with scarce mineral resources.

This book explores the extent to which these countries have been and will be able to prepare for the future by transforming themselves into serious international destinations for tourism, finance, healthcare, and education. It also considers the implications of failure for the future survival of their regimes.

Topics covered include sovereign funds, Islamic finance, new technologies, higher education, and the role of women.

A timely study into this vibrant and important region, this book will provide food for thought for academics, policy makers, and general readers.

Nabil Sultan is a senior lecturer at the Liverpool Hope University.

David Weir is a professor at Liverpool Hope University.

Zeinab Karake-Shalhoub is director of research at the Dubai International Financial Centre in the United Arab Emirates.

"Safieh presents an enthralling compilation that expresses his love for humanity through essays, articles, and lectures." - Publishers Weekly

"These brilliant essays are essential reading for all who would seek to bridge the divide between Palestinians and Israelis."—Eugene Rogan

"Afif Safieh is that rare combination of scholar, diplomat and humanist. There is much to be learned from reading his work—a compelling and principled call for examination and engagement."—Sara Roy

Afif Safieh served as Palestinian General Delegate in London; Washington, DC; and Moscow from 1990 to 2009. During this time, he met and interacted with the leading figures of our age from Yasser Arafat, John Major, and Tony Blair to Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Pope John Paul II.

The Peace Process: From Breakthrough to Breakdown brings together Safieh’s articles, lectures, and interviews spanning three decades, revealing the political and intellectual journey of one of Palestine’s most skilled and distinguished diplomats.

His writings center on the Palestinian struggle for independence and are a testament to his vision and humanity.

Born in Jerusalem in 1950, Afif Safieh is the roving ambassador for special missions for the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Fatah deputy commissioner for international relations. He served as head of mission in London; Washington, DC; and Moscow, as well as in the Holy See and the Netherlands.

This long-awaited sequel to the classic Genesis of Arabic Narrative Discourse investigates a number of crucial questions related to the genre’s development. For example, can the study of this genre provide us with wider insights into the culture as a whole? And how have writers in one Arab country influenced those in others?

These are just some of the issues addressed through close reading of authors such as Yusuf Idris, ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi, and Edwar al-Kharrat, among others.

Sabry Hafez is a professor of modern Arabic and comparative literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

From Africa to Asia, there are areas that are home to minority and, in some cases, majority groups of Twelver Shia. Geography and history place Iran at the center of these Shia worlds, but to what extent can we speak of an "Iranian model" that these groups follow?

This essential work explores the tenuous relations between these groups and Iran while shedding light on understudied communities, such as those in the Gulf, Turkey, Afghanistan, central Asia, and Senegal.

Sabrina Mervin is a senior researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the co-director of the IISMM (Institut d'études de l'Islam et des sociétés du monde musulman).

Fouad Ibrahim traces the evolution of Shi‘ite opposition in Saudi Arabia since the 1979 Shi‘ite uprisings, paying particular attention to the reform movement, which has succeeded in bringing issues of political and individual liberty to worldwide attention.

Fouad Ibrahim is an editor of Saudi Affairs. He has written extensively about Islam, Shi‘ism, and Saudi Arabia.

Arabic erotic literature has a long and rich history, which goes back as far as the ninth century. Far from being the pursuit of prurient pornographers, eroticism and sexuality received considerable attention from scholars. Written by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274), one of the leading scientists of the age, The Sultan's Sex Potions is part of a group of works devoted to aphrodisiacs as well as sexual stimulants, sexual practices, and positions.

Sober and measured in tone, the work was intended to be a manual that would allow the patient to dispense with the services of a physician. Written at the request of the ruler, its potions, electuaries, syrups, and enemas enjoyed a "royal warrant of appointment" to arouse the lust for coitus and enhance sexual potency.

This volume includes a critical edition of three manuscripts (Berlin, Cairo, and Glasgow) and is accompanied by a translation, as well as an introduction to Arabic erotic literature, a biography of the author, and extensive indexes.

A Persian polymath and prolific writer, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) built up a large body of work ranging across a number of disciplines including mathematics, geometry, mineralogy, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and theology. The Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) considered al-Tusi to be the greatest of the later Persian scholars.

Daniel L. Newman is head of the Arabic Studies department, professor of Arabic, and course director of the MA in Arabic–English Translation and Interpreting at the University of Durham, England.

“Outstanding . . . tender, sexy and alarming.”—Jim Crace

When Alfred White, patriarch of the White family, collapses at work, his wife, May, and their three disparate children find themselves confronting issues they would rather ignore. Maggie Gee skillfully weaves a narrative that reminds us that racism not only devastates the lives of its victims, but also those of its perpetrators.

Maggie Gee is the first female chair of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in London. The White Family was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and the IMPAC Award. The Flood was longlisted for the Orange Prize.

The American-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 has had an unpredictable impact on the role and policies of Turkey. Although Turkey gave vital support to America in the first Gulf War, in the second, America’s only formal ally in the region refused to support US strategy. To explain Turkey’s changing foreign policy, William Hale examines the relationship between Turkey, the United States, and Iraq since the 1920s. Published in association with the London Middle East Institute at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies).

William Hale is a professor of Turkish politics and former head of the Department of Political and International Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

The prevailing belief among Muslims is that, because the Qur'an is the Word of God and God is eternal, it follows that His Word is also eternal. The belief is based on the postulate that the Word of God must be of the same nature as God Himself. Mahmoud Hussein refutes this by showing that it contradicts the very teachings of the Qur'an.

Whereas God transcends time, His Word is inscribed within time. It is not a monologue, but a living exchange, through which God reveals to His Prophet different orders of truth, weaving together the absolute and the relative, the general and the particular, the eternal and the contingent.

An international bestseller, Understanding the Qur'an Today offers a new perspective on one of the world's most influential texts and adds an invaluable contribution to the debate on Islam and modernity.

Mahmoud Hussein is the pseudonym of Bahgat Elnadi and Adel Rifaat, French political writers of Egyptian origin. Together, they have published many successful works, including La lute de classes en Egypte and Al-Sira, le Prophète de l'islam raconté par ses compagnons.

"A passionate call for political and social change in Arab countries . . . and a stern critique of the status quo."Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor

The problems in the Middle East are always someone else’s fault.

While the West blames dictators and extremists, Arabs often blame centuries of foreign interference. For many, both in the East and West, the root problem is a lack of freedom.

Looking beyond the turmoil reported on our TV screens, Guardian journalist Brian Whitaker examines the "freedom deficit" that affects Arabs in their daily lives: their struggles against corruption, discrimination, and bureaucracy, and the stifling authoritarianism that pervades homes, schools, and mosques as well as presidential palaces.

Drawing on a wealth of new research and wide-ranging interviews, Whitaker analyzes the views of Arabs living in the region and argues that in order to achieve peace, prosperity, and full participation in today’s global economy, Arabs should embrace political and far-reaching social and cultural change.

Brian Whitaker was Middle East editor at the Guardian for seven years and is currently an editor for the newspaper’s Comment is Free website. He is the author of Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East (Saqi Books, 2006; also published in the United States by the University of California Press, 2006). His website, www.al-bab.com, is devoted to Arab culture and politics.

A multi-authored text suggesting solutions to Yemen's most pressing challenges as it seeks to implement a far-reaching and all-inclusive political and economic transition. Expert analysts who have worked in Yemen for decades provide innovative analysis of the country's major political crises. Why Yemen Matters covers politics, regional issues, economic development, and society and migration.

Helen Lackner has worked as a consultant in social aspects of development in over thirty countries and specializes in rural issues, in particular water management, poverty alleviation, and gender and youth aspects. Lackner is also co-editor of Yemen into the Twenty First Century: Continuity and Change.

"More than any other woman, Nawal El Saadawi has come has come to embody the trials of Arab feminism."—San Francisco Chronicle

"The leading spokeswoman on the status of women in the Arab World."—Guardian

"Saadawi writes with directness and passion."—The New York Times

Bodour, a distinguished literary critic and university professor, carries with her a dark secret. As a young university student, she fell in love with a political activist and gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Zeina, whom she abandoned on the streets of Cairo.

Zeina grows up to become one of Egypt's most beloved entertainers, despite being deprived of a name and a home. In contrast, Bodour remains trapped in a loveless marriage, pining for her daughter. In an attempt to find solace she turns to literature, writing a fictionalized account of her life. But when the novel goes missing, Bodour is forced on a journey of self discovery, reliving and reshaping her past and her future.

Will Bodour ever discover who stole the novel? Is there any hope of her being reunited with Zeina?

Nawal El Saadawi is an internationally renowned Egyptian writer, feminist, and psychiatrist. Her works have been translated into more than thirty languages.