Saqi Books

"A wise and beautiful book about what it feels like to be alive—I really loved it."—Zadie Smith

"Maggie Gee's account of her life as a writer cuts to the bone as she relives triumphs, rejections, despair and renewal. It's a wonderful book, for its boldness and vigour, and for its piercing honesty."—Claire Tomalin

How do you become a writer, and why?

Maggie Gee's journey starts in a small family in post-war Britain, a long way from the literary world. At seventeen, Maggie goes, a lamb to the slaughter, to university. From the 1960s onwards she lives the defining events of her generation: the coming of the Pill and sexual freedom, tremors in the British layer-cake of class and race. In the 1980s, Maggie finally gets published, falls in love, marries, and has a daughter—but for the next three decades and beyond, she survives, and sometimes thrives, by writing. This frank, bold memoir dares to explore the big questions: success and failure, sex, death, and parenthood—our animal life.

Maggie Gee was chosen as one of Granta's original Best Young British Novelists. She has published many novels to great acclaim, including The White Family, shortlisted for the Orange and IMPAC prizes; My Cleaner; The Flood, longlisted for the Orange Prize; and The Ice People. She was the first female chair of the Royal Society of Literature from 2004–2008 and is now one of its vice presidents.

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.

Chaouki Chamoun is one of the Middle East's most renowned artists. With 319 color plates to illustrate his story, Chamoun leads us through his own artistic journey, showing how the schools of the modern era have informed his technique and imagery, and how he has been motivated and inspired as much by the tiniest details of a pebble as by the political turmoil visited on his homeland.

Born in Lebanon in 1942, Chaouki Chamoun has participated in over fifty group art shows and biennales since 1969. He is the president of the Lebanese Artists Association and has studied at both Syracuse and New York universities.

"Sumptuous, surprising, and profound."—Orhan Pamuk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is hailed as one of the most charismatic political leaders of the twentieth century, but little is known today about his one and only wife, Latife Hanim. A multilingual intellectual who read law at the Sorbonne, she was a suffragist who closely followed women's movements around the world.

Her marriage set her apart from her contemporaries, raising her to the pinnacle of political power, truly able to work for the betterment of the women of Turkey. But just after two and a half years, Atatürk divorced her and Hanim was forgotten and maligned. Public opinion became dominated by the image of a sharp-tongued, quarrelsome woman who strained Atatürk's nerves.

In the first biography to be written on Latife Hanim, Ipek Çalislar reveals an astonishing woman, ahead of her time.

Ipek Çalislar is a journalist and writer. She has worked for the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet for twelve years, as news editor and later as the Sunday supplement editor. An international bestseller, Madam Atatürk is her first literary work.

Feyza Howell was born in 1957 in Izmur, Turkey. Her translations include Fiasco by Coskun Büktel, The Book of Madness by Levent Senyürek, and The Concubine by Gül Irepolgu.

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.

“Atwan's 1996 interview with bin Laden in his Afghanistan redoubt was one of the first and remains one of the best. Atwan ‘got it’ from the moment bin Laden appeared on the scene. . . . What many [Muslims] hate is not the American people but American foreign policy.”—Michael Scheuer, the founding head of the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit, in The Washington Post review of The Secret Life of al-Qa'ida

In A Country of Words, Abdel Bari Atwan shares his many extraordinary encounters, including tea with Margaret Thatcher, a weekend with Osama bin Laden, intimate meetings with Yasser Arafat, and the row between Colonel Gaddafi and the Shah of Iran that earned him his first journalistic break. But his is also a touching personal journey, none more so than when he describes taking his London-born children back to meet his family living in a Palestinian refugee camp.

I was offered a bed, sharing a cave with Osama bin Laden himself. This “bed” was a mattress lying across several crates of grenades, with an arsenal of rifles and machine guns suspended from the ceiling above, which—together with a cockerel outside who wouldn't stop crowing—did not make for an easy night’s sleep. Bin Laden had no such problems and slumbered like a baby until dawn, his kalashnikov at his side.

Born in Gaza in 1950, Abdel Bari Atwan left at age seventeen and has since become one of the world’s foremost commentators on the Middle East. For the last twenty years he has edited the independent Arabic daily, London-based al-Quds al-Arabi. He is the author of The Secret History of al-Qa'ida.

Mohammed Arkoun was one of the most prominent and influential Arab intellectuals of his day. This Festschrift honors Arkoun's scholarship, bringing together the contributions of eleven distinguished scholars of history, religious studies, and philosophy. It offers a comprehensive selection of critical engagements with Arkoun's work, reflecting on his considerable influence on contemporary thinking about Islam and its ideological, philosophical, and theological dimensions. Published in association with the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations.

Azerbaijani cuisine is one of the most ancient and varied in the world, rich with Eastern European and Western Asian influences.

Over one hundred mouth-watering recipes are included in this book: from pilafs with apricots, dates and plums, aubergine kebab and baked fish with walnuts to halva and sweet crescent pastries.

With stunning recipes and sumptuous photographs, The Azerbaijani Kitchen is a treat for food lovers and a wonderful introduction to this exotic and delicious cuisine.

Chef Tahir Amiraslanov is president of the National Culinary Association in Azerbaijan.

Leyla Rahmanova works for the Golden Books publishing house in Baku, Azerbaijani.

Praise for How Bosnia Armed (2004):

“Well-searched, thoughtful and provocative . . . required reading for anyone interested in the Bosnian conflict.”—The Journal of Military History

In this first comprehensive study of national identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the author seeks to explain what being Bosnian means to Muslims, Serbs, Croats, and Jews.

Marko Attila Hoare is a senior research fellow in the School of Social Sciences at Kingston University.

Al-Khwarizmi’s Algebra (Kitab al-Jabr wa-al-muqabala), written around 820, was the first scientific text in history to systematically present algebra as a mathematical discipline that is independent of geometry and arithmetic. Roshdi Rashed has produced the first Arabic critical edition of Al-Khwarizmi’s work, containing an annotated translation into English, an introductory essay, and extensive commentaries on the text.

Roshdi Rashed is a leading authority in the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is senior director of research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, and is a former professor at the University of Tokyo.

The djinn is an invisible spirit with a will of its own that may lurk at the bottom of your teacup or seep through your pores to possess you. Djinns have long been an explanation for illness and misfortune or an excuse for unconventional behavior.

Barbara Drieskens investigates possession, manifestations, and concepts of person and space. She also explores the importance of storytelling in Egyptian society and recounts first-hand experiences of djinns in this unique ethnographic study.

Barbara Drieskens is a researcher at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient in Beirut, Lebanon.

The treatment of joint costs, which has troubled the sector for decades, is an integral part of any study of accounting in the petroleum industry.

Abdulhadi H. Taher treats joint costs and the problem of “transfer prices” from one division of an international petroleum organization to another as an essential element in determining the revenues to be assigned to each. He also discusses the chemistry of hydrocarbons in order to determine a formal system of cost allocation.

Abdulhadi H. Taher is the former director general of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals, and he has served as a board member of Aramco and governor of Petromin.

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.

Culled from a vast selection of personal messages and transformed into postcards, A Lost Summer reflects a range of reactions, from defiance and courage, confusion and anger, to humor and hope.

When I was 2 years old, until I was 5, the worst bombing took place. When my siblings were about the same age, the same acts took place. For a while I thought that war is like chicken pox: it happens to everyone at a certain age.
—Wadiaa Khoury

A Lost Summer was edited by Maureen Ali, designed by Anna Ogden Smith, and compiled by Lebanon United. Lebanon United can be contacted through www.lebunited.org.

"In a part of the world in which journalism is a dangerous business, Randa Habib is courageous, considered, and influential. By being there to write the stories of Jordan and the region, she has shaped history as much as she has revealed it. In her profession, Randa Habib is a star."Paul McGeough, author of Kill Khalid

In January 1999, a newswire shocked Jordan. King Hussein announced that it was not his brother Hassan that would succeed him, but his son Abdullah. Less than a week later, King Hussein was dead.

During his forty-six-year reign, the Hashemite king preserved his kingdom against rising Islamism and maintained its neutrality in the face of the conflicting interests of neighboring countries. Hussein left his son a stable kingdom, allied to the West. Today, King Abdullah is following in his father’s footsteps, positioning himself as a peace broker alongside the United States in the hopes of ending the sixty-year Middle East conflict.

Award-winning journalist Randa Habib draws on twenty-five years of unparalleled access to the former king to share unique insights into Hussein’s relations with Saddam Hussein, Hafez al-Assad, and Itzhak Rabin. A lively chronicle of the end of an era, this is also a fascinating account of twenty-first-century Jordan, the Jordan of King Abdullah and Queen Rania.

Randa Habib has been director of the Amman bureau of Agence France Presse since 1987, and she has reported extensively from Iraq and other areas of conflict. Habib was the first journalist to interview King Abdullah when he ascended the throne.

“A feast for the eyes and balm for the soul.”—Télérama

Hassan Massoudy’s elegant calligraphy depicts the four seasons of the garden. From the icy palettes of winter to delicate spring growth, and from the dazzling sunshine and blooms of summer through the fading hues of autumn, he captures in calligraphy what countless poets have crafted with words.

The proverb or quotation that inspired each artwork is handwritten in Arabic by Massoudy alongside the English texts on the facing page.

Hassan Massoudy was born in Najaf, Iraq. He moved to France in 1969, where he studied at L’École des Beaux-Arts. His work has been exhibited throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

The fantastic in literature is not a modern European invention; it is present in Arabic narrative dating from the ninth century.

The Imagination Unbound contains an Arabic and English study of al-Adab al-‘Aja‘ibi, with the original Arabic text of Kitab al-Azama (The Book of Greatness) and commentary by the author.

Kamel Abu-Deeb holds the chair in Arabic at the University of London. A poet and essayist, he has published many books and papers in both Arabic and English and has been co-editor of the avant-garde journal Mawaqif.

John Fine’s major study of the history and workings of the medieval Bosnian Church and heresy is now back in print. This crucial work has far-reaching implications for those interested in reconstructing the Islamisation of early Ottoman Bosnia.

John Fine is a professor of Balkan and Byzantine history at the University of Michigan.

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.

This comprehensive volume recounts Croatia’s development from the early Middle Ages to the present day. Branka Magaš observes that the ties that bound Croatia to other states for centuries have contributed to the state’s vitality, with a complex web of Slav, Croat, Dalmatian, Slavonian, Serb, Jewish, Italian, Yugoslav, and other identities emerging as apart of an ongoing social and political dialogue, which at times has included open strife.

Branka Magaš is a historian, journalist, and commentator on the former Yugoslavia. She co-founded the Croatian Peace Forum in 1991 and the Alliance to Defend Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993.

This timely investigation examines the energy problem on a global scale. It assesses the role of Saudi Arabian hydrocarbons in underpinning the industrialization of the kingdom's economy, and the economy at large, in light of recent events, which include the emergence of China and India as major economic and political players, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the current world financial crisis.

Abdulhadi H. Taher received his PhD in business administration from the University of California, Berkley, in 1964. He has worked in both the public and private sectors of the oil industry.

Michael Matthews has a BSc in economics from the London School of Economics.

Major cities worldwide are caught in a whirlwind of change that is turning urban spaces into strategic sites where history is being rewritten. Migration, civil society, and an array of national and transnational players are transforming assumptions about citizenship in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

From the slums of Mumbai to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the new cities are altering the answers to one of mankind’s oldest questions: where do I belong?

Barbara Drieskens is a researcher at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient (IFPO), Beirut.

Franck Mermier is the director of contemporary studies at IFPO.

Heiko Wimmen is a program manager at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Beirut.

Arak and Mezze celebrates two of the Levant’s cherished traditions—the aniseed-flavored spirit that inspired the great eaux de vie of Europe, and the appetizers that have become a byword for all that is delicious and healthy in Lebanese food.

Michael Karam and Norbert Schiller explore the roots of arak making, its place in the history of alcohol distillation, its role in Lebanese society, and the way in which it has shaped the Lebanese rural tradition.

Michael Karam is Lebanon’s leading wine writer.

Norbert Schiller is a prolific Middle East news photographer. His work is featured regularly in The New York Times and Der Spiegel.

"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.

J.E. Peterson takes a detailed look at the crises that have tested the mettle of Oman’s army and accelerated its development, surveying its transition from a strictly traditional regime controlling only parts of the country to a modern, inclusive state, particularly in terms of security concerns.

J.E. Peterson is a political analyst specializing in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf. He is affiliated with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at The University of Arizona in Tucson.

The Arab world's strategic location and considerable material and human potential should allow it to play a major role in world affairs. However, plagued by authoritarian regimes, ethnic and social cleavages, economic underdevelopment, and military weakness, these states depend on external support for security. Hassan Hamdan al-Alkim provides a wide-ranging analysis for understanding contemporary Arab politics and its role in world affairs.

Hassan Hamdan al-Alkim was born in the United Arab Emirates in 1958. He earned his PhD in political science from Exeter University, United Kingdom, and is professor of international relations at the United Arab Emirates University. His website is www.hhalkim.ae.

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.

Can democracy and Islam cohere? Ibrahim Moussawi asserts that Wilayat al-Faqih, or rule by the jurisprudent, the theory upon which the Islamic Republic was constructed, upholds both individual and communal rights, and provides scope for citizens to express their interests. Moussawi argues that in today's Iran, politics and religion are neither rigid nor diametrically opposed.

Ibrahim Moussawi is head of media relations for Hizbullah in Lebanon, and the editor of the party's newspaper al-Intiqad. He has an MA in political science and a doctorate in philosophy of Islamic studies. He frequently appears as a political analyst and commentator on CNN and Sky News.

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.

Based on the masterful twelfth-century Sufi poem “The Conference of the Birds,” this enchanting poem is accompanied by original illustrations painted on ceramic tiles, typical of the medieval Persian style.

It was one night while soaring in the Chinese sky,
I heard people talk of a great bird that flew by,
Called Simurgh, the greatest bird alive,
Who dwells on Mount Qaf, where he is said to thrive,
Upon a giant mountain unlike any other seen, covered with trees,
Beyond Samarkand, across seven valleys and seven seas.

Hooda Shawa Qaddumi teaches English as a Second Language at Kuwait University.

Vanessa Hodgkinson is the Levy-Plumb Artist in Residence at Christ’s College, Cambridge.

Since the oil boom of the 1970s, the Gulf Cooperation Council States have attempted to achieve economic stability and realize their development goals. Such efforts have so far been in vain, however, as the states' autocratic governments have closed off their political systems with the support of international allies, especially the United States.

In this timely and comprehensive analysis of the political economies of the GCC since the 1970s to the present, Yousef Khalifa Al-Yousef examines the factors responsible for the failure of the states to achieve lasting change in development and security. Focusing on institutional structures where oil wealth has been confined to the few, and the consequences of failed legitimacy at home that has led to dependence on foreign powers, Al-Yousef charts the consistent disparities between governance and the needs of the local population, to the detriment of genuine development.

Renowned art historian Hamid Keshmirshekan explores contemporary art in Iran and considers the relationship between its cultural past, modernism, and the issue of contemporaneity with regard to cultural specificity.

Using over three hundred color illustrations, Keshmirshekan contends that the twentieth century is a crucial period in the culture and art of Iran—when the legacies of tradition and modernism were being critically reviewed and the artistic concerns were indivisible from ideological ones.

Hamid Keshmirshekan is an art historian, critic, visiting fellow at the faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford, and editor-in-chief of the bilingual quarterly Art Tomorrow.

Born in Qazvin, Iran, in 1944, Koorosh Shishegaran is considered one of the most expressive and emotive artists of the contemporary Iranian art movement.

In a career spanning six decades, he has established himself as an artist of great discipline, social awareness and manual skill, working in a wide array of different media, from graphic design to painting, photography and furniture design.

Drawing inspiration from Iranian visual culture, Shishegaran is best known for his scribble line abstract paintings (Khat-khatis). These dynamic colourful lines, depicting the contemporary human condition, enabled the artist to find a style and language expressive of the modern era.

With contributions from leading experts in the field and featuring over 300 colour plates, Koorosh Shishegaran: The Art of Altruism brings together the life and works of the artist for the first time, showcasing his various artistic phases and outlining his progressive approach to art-making and distribution.

About Koorosh Shishegaran

Koorosh Shishegaran (b. 1944) received a BA in Interior Design from the Tehran Faculty of Decorative Arts in 1973. He has since participated widely in solo and group exhibitions around the world, including Art Dubai (2015); Shirin Gallery, Tehran (2015); Unedited History. Iran 1960–2014, at MAXXI, Rome (2015) and Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2014); Opera Gallery, London (2012); Beijing Biennial (2003); Barbican Centre, London (2001); Meridian Center exhibitions in the United States (2001–03).

“This book addresses one of the great conundrums of the Arab Awakening: the failure of moderate political Islam. A highly timely analysis ... it offers an excellent insight into one of the most acute crises that faces the Islamic world today.”—George Joffé, University of Cambridge

“Alison Pargeter's outstanding book offers a devastating portrait of Muslim Brotherhood groups in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. Combining strong reporting with level-headed analysis, Return to the Shadows is a must-read account for policymakers and academics alike.”—Eric Trager, Esther K. Wagner Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy

“Over the last five years the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia has undergone dramatic vicissitudes that will shape the future of political Islam. Alison Pargeter retraces these developments with a masterful analysis enriched by access to excellent primary sources.”—Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism, George Washington University

The Arab Spring heralded a profound shift in the Middle East, bringing to power Islamist movements which had previously been operating in the shadows. The Muslim Brotherhood stormed to victory in Egypt and emerged as a key player in Libya’s nascent political arena. Meanwhile, An-Nahda found itself catapulted into power as the head of Tunisia’s coalition government. For a while, it looked as though the region was entering the dawn of a new Islamist age.

But navigating their respective countries through difficult and painful transitions ultimately proved too challenging for these forces, and, just as suddenly, the Brotherhood was dramatically overthrown in Egypt and left severely weakened in Libya. In Tunisia, An-Nahda managed to pull itself through the crisis, but its failure to articulate and deliver the hopes and aspirations of a large section of Tunisian society damaged its credibility.

In this authoritative account, Alison Pargeter expertly charts the Islamists’ ascent and subsequent fall from power. Based on extensive research and interviews with high ranking members of the Brotherhood and An-Nahda, Pargeter offers a comparative analysis of the movement in North Africa since the Arab Spring, and outlines the consequences of the Brotherhood’s decline on both the region and the wider Islamist political project.

Alison Pargeter is an analyst specialising in the Middle East and North Africa. She has held academic positions at the University of Cambridge and King's College, London, and is now a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI). Her previous publications include The Muslim Brotherhood: From Opposition to Power, The New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe, and Libya: The Rise and Fall of Gaddafi.