Public debates depict Arabs as opposed to gender equality because of Islam. However, there may be substantial numbers of Arab Muslims who do support feminist issues and who do so while being highly attached to Islam. This study explains why certain Arabs support feminism while remaining strongly religious. We propose that some Arab citizens are more likely to subvert patriarchal norms, especially in societies that construct Islam and feminism as more compatible. Empirically, we apply three-level multinomial analyses to 51 Arab (...) Barometer and World Values Surveys, which include 57,000 Arab Muslims. Our results show that one in four Arab Muslims supports Muslim feminism—far more than those who support a more secularist version of feminism. Employed women, single people, people who distrust institutions, and more highly educated people support Muslim feminism more than do others—especially in societies that construct feminism and Islam as less contradictory, such as those with strong feminist movements. The presumption that Islam and feminism are necessarily opposed may hinder feminism. A more effective way to boost gender equality in the Arab region may be to embolden emancipatory religious interpretations. (shrink)

Textbook Islam, nation building, and the question of violence / Gregory Starrett and Eleanor Abdella Doumato -- Egypt : promoting tolerance, defending against Islamism / James A. Toronto and Muhammad S. Eissa -- Iran : a Shi'ite curriculum to serve the Islamic state / Golnar Mehran -- Jordan : prescription for obedience and conformity / Betty Anderson -- Kuwait : striving to align Islam with Western values / Taghreed Alqudsi-Ghabra -- Oman : cultivating good citizens and religious virtue / (...) Mandana E. Limbert -- The Palestinian national authority : the politics of writing and interpreting curricula. Genesis of a new curriculum / Nathan Brown ; A conflict of historical narratives / Seif Da'Na -- Saudi Arabia : from "Wahhabi" roots to contemporary revisionism / Eleanor Abdella Doumato -- Syria : secularism, Arabism, and Sunni orthodoxy / Joshua Landis -- Turkey : sanctifying a secular state / Ozlem Altan -- Textbook meanings and the power of interpretation / Gregory Starrett -- Conclusion : tailor-made Islam / Eleanor Abdella Doumato and Gregory Starrett. (shrink)

Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah are two moderate Islamic organizations in Indonesia which operate in the area of preaching amar ma’ruf nahi munkar, and enlightenment tajdid, sourced from the Al-Quran and Sunnah. Besides being known as a religious organization, NU and Muhammadiyah are also known as organizations that play an active role in the humanitarian field. The study is based on the premise that religious discourse as a resolution can come in various forms and strategies, even by involving actors (...) from across disciplines and countries. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine the role of NU and Muhammadiyah organizations in reducing conflict and realizing peace in the Middle East. This research used a qualitative descriptive case study method with NU and Muhammadiyah as research subjects. Miles and Huberman model was used for data analysis which required data collection, data presentation, data condensation, and drawing conclusions. In this study, it was found that in helping to create world peace, NU and Muhammadiyah had done a number of things. In the international arena, NU played a major role in global peace efforts. This role can be seen when NU actively initiated, organized, and led various meetings and conferences and interfaith dialogues. NU also formed the International Conference of Islamic Scholars or the Ulama Conference. and World Muslim Scholars. The role of Muhammadiyah, too, included resolving conflicts in Central Africa, Palestine, and the Rohingya Muslim Conflict. In resolving the Middle East conflict, Muhammadiyah was actively involved in sending aid, for example in the Palestinian conflict, Muhammadiyah formed Muhammadiyah AID. (shrink)

Academic research suggests that variances in contextual dynamics, and more specifically religion, may lead to disparate perceptions and practices of corporate social responsibility. Driven by the increased geopolitical and economic importance of the Middle East and identified gaps in knowledge, the study aims to examine if indeed there is a divergent form of CSR exercised in the region. The study identifies unique CSR dimensions and constructs presented through an empirical framework in order to outline the practice and perception (...) of CSR in a context with strong Islamic beliefs. The framework goes beyond the platform of mere Islamic philanthropy and is based on CSR-stakeholder management practices. Following an exploratory research design and collecting interview data from representatives of 63 organisations from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, the study offers a snapshot of the CSR reality from the perspective of those living the phenomenon. The results suggest that the practice and perception of CSR in the examined context are largely grounded in the areas of social and altruistic actions but they cannot be examined in isolation from the religious context of CSR operation. This focus is mainly attributed to the dominant role of Islam in the examined sample, which leads to forms of non-structured or semi-structured approaches to CSR. Apart from the theoretical advancements offered to the CSR literature, the study also provides contributions for practitioners and policy makers. (shrink)

© The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected] edited volume is based on the proceedings of an international workshop held in 2009 on the theme of ‘Material Evidence and Narrative Sources’ during the fourteenth annual gathering of the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, focused on ‘Interdisciplinary Studies of the History of (...) class='Hi'>Islamic Societies’. Fifteen articles seek to integrate material and textual evidence for the medieval and modern Middle East, deliberately adhering to a trend of interdisciplinarity that began in the 1970s, exemplified in the approach of specific studies by Michael Cook, Leor Halevi, Peter Brown, Oleg Grabar, and Jacob Lassner, as well as in the recent publications of the editors, D. J. Talmon-Geller’s Islamic Piety in Medieval Syria: Mosques, Cemeteries and Sermons under the Zangids... (shrink)

This paper provides new theoretical insights into the interconnections and relationships between women, management and globalization in the Middle East (ME). The discussion is positioned within broader globalization debates about women’s social status in ME economies. Based on case study evidence and the UN datasets, the article critiques social, cultural and economic reasons for women’s limited advancement in the public sphere. These include the prevalence of the patriarchal work contract within public and private institutions, as well as cultural (...) and ethical values which create strongly defined gender roles. The discussion examines the complexities of conceptualizing women’s equality and empowerment in Islamic states. The paper reveals that there have been significant achievements in advancing women in leadership and political roles, but that there are still institutional and cultural barriers embedded in business systems. Linking feminist, development and management theoretical strands a development framework is proposed which is sensitive to the Islamic Shar’ia encompassing government, organization and individual level strategies. It is suggested that scholars should integrate literatures from gender and management, development and Middle East studies, and in particular that critical scholars of gender and organization should consider the interrelations of the national and transnational in critiques of contemporary global capitalism to understand the complexity of women and social change in the ME. (shrink)

Ethical issues regarding research biobanks continue to be a topic of intense debate, especially issues of confidentiality, informed consent, and child participation. Although considerable empirical literature concerning research biobank ethics exists, very little information is available regarding the opinions of medical professionals doing genetics research from the Middle East, especially Arabic speaking countries. Ethical guidelines for research biobanks are critically needed as some countries in the Middle East are starting to establish national research biobanks. Islam is (...) the dominant religion in these countries, and it affects people’s behavior and influences their positions. Moreover, communities in these countries enjoy a set of customs, traditions and social norms, and have social and familial structures that must be taken into account when developing research policies. We interviewed 12 medical professionals from the Middle East currently working with stored tissue samples to document their opinions. We found general agreement. Participants’ primary concerns were similar to the views of researchers internationally. Since children tend to represent a high percentage of Middle Eastern populations, and because children’s bodies are not just small adult bodies, the interviewed professionals strongly believed that it is imperative to include children in biobank research. Participants generally believed that protecting confidentiality is socially very important and that informed consent/assent must be obtained from both adult and child participants. This study provides a starting point for additional studies. (shrink)

Non-communicable diseases disproportionately affect low and middle-income countries where nearly three quarters of NCD deaths occur. Bangladesh is also in NCD burden. This cross-sectional study was done on 50 health facilities centres at Gazipur district in Bangladesh from July 2015 to December 2015 to introduce SARA for better monitoring and evaluation of non-communicable diseases health service delivery. The General Service readiness index score was 61.52% refers to the fact that about 62% of all the facilities were ready to provide (...) general services like basic amenities, basic equipment, standard precautions for infection prevention, and diagnostic capacity and essential medicines to the patients. But in case of non-communicable diseases, among all the health facilities 40% had chronic respiratory disease and cardiovascular diseases diagnosis/ management and only 32% had availability of diabetes diagnosis/management. Overall readiness score was 52% in chronic respiratory disease, 73% in cardiovascular disease and 70% in diabetes. Therefore, service availability and readiness of the health facilities to provide NCD related health services were not up to the mark for facing future targets. A full-scale census survey of all the facilities of the study area would give a better understanding of the availability and service readiness. (shrink)

ABSTRACTThis paper explores specific forms that neoliberal discourse and culture in academia today take in the field of Israeli Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. The article applies various textual and contextual interrogation strategies to the language, narratives and the unsaid in interviews with leading scholars in the field, in order to construe what Fredric Jameson calls the ‘political unconscious,’ particularly that arising from the use of market as a conceptual metaphor. Contextualising this field of discourse within neoliberal (...) academia, I deconstruct the work ‘demand’ and ‘interest’ do, and highlight the dialectical dynamics of experts’ dependence on audience. I argue that, in this field, the economic discourse shelters Zionist logics, presuppositions and praxis, such as recruitment logics and fundraising practices that effectively address Jewish and Zionist students and donors. (shrink)

Some of the foremost living scholars in Islamic thought have come together to create a standard and definitive work on the subject of Islamic thought. Noted scholars from North America, Europe, and the Middle East offer new and generative interpretations of major themes in the field. They address perennial theological and philosophical questions: the nature of the God-head, the ultimate constitution of matter, the world's origin, causality, divine providence and the existence of evil, freedom and determinism, (...) political wisdom, and the reaches of human knowledge, The contributions include historical and analytical expositions of these issues in medieval Islam as well as discussions of individual thinkers, translations of Arabic texts with commentary, comparisons of Greek and Islamic thought, and bibliographical and textual sources. As a whole, these essays offer a wealth of philosophical, theological, bibliographical, philological, and historical information. Among the outstanding contributions are: an article by Charles Butterworth on Aristotle's rhetoric and how it was understood by al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes; Richard M. Frank's essay on the concepts of atoms and bodies, one of the most complex subjects in Islamic theology; and an article by Shams Inati on Ibn Sina and single expressions that discusses how language relates to mental processes and the unknown. Michael E. Marmura develops a new perspective on the subject of efficient causality, emphasizing the paradigmatic position of God's relationship to the world; Muhsin Mahdi analyzes a treatise of Averroes' that deals with the relationship between philosophy and law. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Der Islam Jahrgang: 94 Heft: 2 Seiten: 609-611.

A.Yu.Krymsky is a world-renowned scholar, a well-known Orientalist who has dedicated his life to the study of Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern issues. Even the layman knows that it is impossible to study the languages, literature, history or ethnography of the peoples of the region without a deep insight into the science that is called Islamology or Islamology. The lives of people in this region, whether private or public, are closely related to religion - Islam. People familiar with (...) the Judeo-Christian tradition often fail to understand the specific impact of the system of Islam as a universal regulator of the entire existence of a Muslim. It is quite clear that at the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages ​​in Moscow, he studied the position of the Muslim religion while studying the history of the medieval East, and even in Arabic lessons, students engaged in the analysis of cornic texts. (shrink)

This essay outlines the significance of understanding the relationship between Islam and science, particularly from the twentieth century onward. It mainly revolves around the viability of Darwin's evolutionary thought in the Muslim world, which is confronted by various groups of Muslim commentators and scholars. This study goes through various original sources, official documents, former unpublished theses, and Qur’ānic commentaries in Islamic languages from north Africa to the Malay‐Indonesian world to display the uninterrupted challenge of Muslims with European science in (...) general and European evolutionary thought in particular; an act which is not going to stop now, nor tomorrow. Finally, this essay aims to inform readers how a philosophical reading of Islam and science would be crucial before approving or rejecting any form of connection between the two, particularly in future. (shrink)

Patronage and Poetry in the Islamic World: Social Mobility and Status in the Medieval Middle East and Central Asia. By Jocelyn Shariet. Library of Middle East History, vol. 24. London: I. B. Tauris, 2011. Pp. x + 326. £62.50, $105.

One of the most important facts that the Second Vatican Council has revealed is that the point of the Church is not itself, but to go beyond itself, to be a community that preaches, serves, celebrates, and witnesses to the reign of God with due respect to the text and context. During the past century, the Church of the Middle East experienced the absence of an authentic missionary enthusiasm and the lack of a clear and pertinent theology with (...) which it could face the challenge presented to Christianity by Islam. This challenge resides in its special role and mission before the Muslims, which this paper will further discuss and, in doing so, answer the question, How can the Church of the Middle East try to approach the Muslims in a time of violent Islamic fundamentalism and persecutions, in a region where most of the Christians are opting to remain distant or to emigrate? (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Books ReceivedAquinas on Being. By Anthony Kenny. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2002. Pp. x + 212. Price not given.Before and after Avicenna: Proceedings of the First Conference of the Avicenna Study Group. Edited by David C. Reisman, with the assistance of Ahmed H. al Rahim. Leiden: Brill, 2003. Pp. xix + 302. Price not given.Beside Still Waters: Jews, Christians, and the Way of the Buddha. Edited by Harold Kasimow, John (...) P. Keenan, and Linda Klepinger Keenan. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2003. Pp. 284. Paper $14.95.The Buddhist Unconscious: The ālaya-vijñāna in the Context of Indian Buddhist Thought. By William S. Waldron. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. Pp. xvi + 269. Price not given.Comparative Political Philosophy: Studies under the Upas Tree. Edited by Anthony J. Parel and Ronald C. Keith. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2003. Pp. xxxviii + 260. Paper $26.95.The Confucian Quest for Order: The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought of Xun Zi. By Masayuki Sato. Leiden: Brill, 2003. Pp. xviii + 500. Price not given.Gathering the Meanings: The Compendium of Categories: The Arthaviniścaya Sūtra and Its Commentary Nibandhana. Translated from the Sanskrit by N. H. Samtani. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 2002. Pp. xxxiv + 390. Price not given.I Have Arrived, I Am Home: Celebrating Twenty Years of Plum Village Life. By Thich Nhat Hanh. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2003. Pp. 253. Paper $25.00.Identity and the Moral Life. By Mrinal Miri. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003. Pp. xvii + 132. Hardcover Rs 645.00.Indian Philosophers and Postmodern Thinkers: Dialogues on the Margins of Culture. By Carl Olson. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002. Pp. xv + 331. Hardcover Rs 950.00.Islamic Humanism. By Lenn E. Goodman. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Pp. xiii + 273. Price not given.Letting Go: The Story of Zen Master Tōsui. Translated by Peter Haskel. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2001. Pp. xv + 167. Hardcover $45.00. Paper $16.95.A Life Journey to the East: Sinological Studies in Memory of Giuliano Bertuccioli (1923-2001). Edited by Antonino Forte and Federico Masini. Kyoto: Scuola Italiana di Studi sull'Asia Orientale, 2002. Pp. xxxv + 280. Price not given.The Measure of Things: Humanism, Humility and Mystery. By David E. Cooper. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2002. Pp. ix + 372. Price not given. [End Page 277]Mencius, Hume and the Foundations of Ethics. By Xiusheng Liu. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2003. Pp. vii + 204. Price not given.Monks and Monarchs, Kinship and Kingship: Tanqian in Sui Buddhism and Politics. By Chen Jinhua. Kyoto: Scuola Italiana di Studi sull'Asia Orientale, 2002. Pp. xiii + 310. Price not given.Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teachings of the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje. By Michele Martin. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2003. Pp. 351. Paper $18.95, U.K. £12.95.New Confucianism: A Critical Examination. Edited by John Makeham. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Pp. 262. Hardcover $55.00.On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam: Abū Hāmid Al-Ghāzalī's Faysal al-Tafriqa Bayna al-Islām wa al-Zandaqa. By Sherman A. Jackson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Pp. xiv + 156. Hardcover Rs 295.00.Pandita Ramabai's American Encounter: The Peoples of the United States (1889). By Pandita Ramabai and translated and edited by Meera Kosambi. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003. Pp. xi + 284. Hardcover $59.95. Paper $29.95.Parmenides of Elea: A Verse Translation with Interpretative Essays and Commentary to the Text. By Martin J. Henn. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2003. Pp. 147. Hardcover $59.95.Philosophes taoïstes, tome II: Huainan Zi, texte traduit, présenté et annoté sous la direction de Charles le Blanc et de Rémi Mathieu. Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 2003. Pp. lxxxiii + 1182. Hardcover €56,90.The Philosophy and Ethics of the Vīraśaiva Community. By Dan A. Chekki. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2003. Pp. xxv + 287. Hardcover $119.95.Poems of Hanshan. Translated by Peter Hobson with introduction by T. H. Barrett. Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira Press, 2003. Pp. viii + 151. Hardcover $65.00. Paper $19.95.Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: An Unfolding Dialogue. Edited by Jeremy D. Safran. Boston... (shrink)

This essay surveys the evolution of historical scholarship on epidemic diseases in the Mediterranean/Islamicate world with a particular focus on plague. Temporally, it covers the scholarship on plague epidemics during the last 1,500 years, surveyed in three major pandemics: first, second, and third pandemics of plague. Geographically, it addresses the Mediterranean basin and its hinterland, including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the Anatolian peninsula, the Balkans, and occasionally drawing on adjacent areas such as the Black Sea (...) region and the Persian plateau. It outlines major trends and turning points in the modern historiography; reviews prevailing paradigms, contested issues, and emergent consensuses; and identifies methodologies, sources, and approaches. Whenever possible, it highlights contributions from paleogenetic and other scientific studies, with special reference to the diversity of opinions, actors, and materials in this highly controversial but vigorous field of study. The major goal of this essay is to reunite the divided historiographies of the Mediterranean world, which are typically studied separately in the case of Europe and the Islamicate world, with a view to underscoring their shared epidemiological experiences. (shrink)

Approximately 15% of couples are affected by infertility worldwide. Subsequently, the use of assisted reproductive technologies is becoming increasingly popular, including the use of donor eggs, sperm and embryos. Despite ongoing ethical debate surrounding gamete donation, this is now a widely accepted practice in Western countries. Assisted reproductive technology is becoming more commonly utilised within the Muslim population; however, gamete donation remains a relatively controversial and taboo topic within this religion. Interestingly, there are significant differences in beliefs between Sunni and (...) Shi’a Muslims. Whilst Sunni Islam absolutely forbids the use of third-party reproductive assistance, Shi’a Islam is somewhat more lenient towards this practice. Reproductive tourism has therefore become prevalent in Shi’a Middle Eastern countries that permit the use of donor gametes in assisted reproductive technologies; however, this continues to evoke a strong bioethical debate, particularly around sperm donation. With the increased influx of reproductive tourism, this is beginning to weaken the regional Sunni Islam ban on the use of donor technologies, questioning the morality of their current beliefs. Consideration of religious beliefs is also crucial for patient-centred care in UK patients treated by the National Health Service for fertility issues. Of note, there is a lack of non-Caucasian donors in the United Kingdom. Reproductive tourism is also becoming increasingly common in the United Kingdom and needs to be considered in terms of future patient management in delivering good obstetric care. (shrink)

This study explores how Islamic business ethics and values impact the way in which Muslim women entrepreneurs conduct their business in the Arab world. Guided by institutional theory as a theoretical framework and social constructionism as a philosophical stance, this study uses a qualitative, interview-based methodology. Capitalizing on in-depth, face-to-face interviews with Muslim Arab women entrepreneurs across four countries in the Arab Middle East region, the results portray how Islamic work values and ethics are embedded in (...) the entrepreneurial activities of these Arab women. The results also illustrate how Muslim women entrepreneurs seek well-being in their life and excellence in their work while running their businesses. The Muslim women entrepreneurs adhered to the Islamic work-related values of good and hard work, honesty and truthfulness, fairness and justice, and benevolence and perceived them as instrumental to the survival and success of their enterprises. The agency of the Muslim Arab women allowed them to construct and navigate their entrepreneurial careers away from the traditional, doctrinaire interpretations of Islam. This study, therefore, contributes to theory development on the interrelationship between gender and business ethics within entrepreneurial contexts and in relation to Muslim values. It also contributes to studies on entrepreneurship and business ethics by showing how Arab women practice entrepreneurship and project their faith in their enterprises. The implications of the study for academics, multinational corporations, and globalization are numerous and important for understanding how business is conducted in Islamic countries. (shrink)

Introduction to collection of papers by group of scholars and ACO missionaries brought together to discuss the developments within the ACO over the past hundred years during a conference that was organised by Dr Wilbert van Saane of Haigazian University in January 2021. I will briefly summarise what strikes me as characteristic of the ACO on the basis of these articles, and conclude with a discussion of how this may contribute to further reflection in Mission Studies and World Christianity.

BackgroundBurnout is a recognized challenge among the oncology workforce. It affects both genders with a higher frequency among women. This study examined the factors contributing to the development of burnout among female oncologists from the Middle East and North Africa.MethodsAn online cross-sectional survey was distributed to oncology professionals from different countries in the MENA region. The validated Maslach Burnout Inventory of emotional exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Achievement plus questions about demography/work-related factors and attitudes toward oncology were included. Data (...) were analyzed to measure BO prevalence and related factors.ResultsBetween 10 February and 15 March 2020, 545 responses were submitted by female oncologists. The responses pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic emergence in the region. BO prevalence was 71% among female professionals. Women aged 25% on administrative work daily. Nearly half of the respondents expressed a recurring thought of quitting oncology and 70% had no burnout support or education. Inability to deliver optimal care was reported as distressing for career development in 82%. Factors significantly influencing the BO risk were identified. Marital status, having children, academia and years in practice did not impact the risk of BO among female oncologists from MENA.ConclusionFemale oncologists from the Middle East and North Africa were found to have a high prevalence of BO. In this cohort, the majority of women oncology workers were young and in their early to mid-career stages. Burnout was linked to being younger, practicing in North African nations, having a heavy administrative load, and having persistent thoughts of quitting. Practicing a hobby and engaging in oncology communication, on the other hand, reduced the chance of BO. Burnout support and education, specifically for oncology women, is required. (shrink)

The present volume focuses on aspects of Islamic thought in Iran and Yemen, and other regions of the Middle East, ninth through fifteenth century CE, through a close study of manuscript materials. The book's sixteen chapters are arranged under five rubrics: Mu'tazilism, Zaydism in Iran and in Yemen, Twelver Shi'ism, Mysticism, and Bibliographical Traditions. The material included in the book has been published previously in a different version. The appearance of these studies together in a single (...) volume makes this book a significant and welcome contribution to the field of classical Islamic Studies. (shrink)

Michel Foucault has inspired a rich body of work in the field of critical social theory and the social sciences in general. Few scholars working in the area of social movement studies, however, have applied a Foucauldian perspective to examining the twin phenomena of social mobilization and collective action. This may stem, in large part, from the commonly held assumption that Foucault had far more to say about ‘regimes of power’ than ever about mobilization and collective action or contention (...) politics in general. Be that as it may, a close interrogation of his work reveals the broad contours of a theoretical framework for analyzing social movements whose chief merit lies in a sensitivity to the sociopolitical context within which oppositional movements form, develop and conduct their operations. This paper aims at delineating what a Foucauldian model of social movements would entail, with specific reference to the Middle East and North Africa, a region traditionally consigned to the margins of social movement studies. An enquiry of this kind is important because, as I argue, the leading mainstream social movement theories that have been applied to contemporary MENA cases invariably fall short of fully elucidating the phenomenon of mass mobilization. Specifically, leading mainstream theories are prone to certain universalistic assumptions and ‘West-centric’ orientations that render them incapable of accounting for the specificities of MENA cases. I shall demonstrate how a Foucauldian perspective on social movements can bypass the problem of applicability to the MENA region by mapping out a theoretical framework whose chief merit lies in a sensitivity to the sociopolitical context within which oppositional movements form, develop and conduct their operations. At the same time, I argue that a Foucauldian model transcends social movement theories with their linear conception of social and political progress, their exclusivist understanding of sociopolitical ‘development’ and ‘modernist’ assumptions by advancing an account of ‘multiple modernities.’. (shrink)

This study deals basically with a critique of ideological and policy-oriented approaches in area studies, and problems of political interventions and ideological inclinations in the Middle Eastern studies. Politics and ideology not only makes the area more complex to understand, since they aim to meet the needs of the governments, but also prevents the academic studies to develop independently. The study aims at putting forth a historical analysis required both to take the issues of the (...) class='Hi'>Middle East studies within their unique socio-economic settings, and to regard them from the historical point of view. Central for the paper is to propose bases for the development of area studies depending on the interactions of regional histories and politics with each other. The study argues that Middle East studies in particular and area studies in general would produce reasonable knowledge and add up to the literature within a working relationship with world history, and in a comparative and multi-dimensional manner. (shrink)

This study adds to the growing research exploring the consequences of knowledge hiding in organizations. Drawing from the social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, this paper examines the direct and indirect—via distrust in supervisor—relationships between supervisor knowledge hiding and supervisee organizational citizenship behavior directed at the supervisor in the context of the Middle East. Using a supervisor–supervisee dyadic design, two-source data were obtained from 317 employees of 41 Saudi firms. The findings suggest that supervisees’ distrust in (...) their supervisors mediates the significant and negative relationship between SKH and supervisees’ OCB-S. Furthermore, the significant and positive relationship between SKH and distrust in supervisor is more pronounced for foreign workers than for local workers. This study provides empirical support and a better understanding of the existence and consequences of SKH for local and foreign workers and also discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings. (shrink)