Showing papers in "International Journal of Middle East Studies in 1985"

The Ottoman Emigration to America,1860–1914

Abstract: Population movements have always played a major role in the life of Islam and particularly the Middle East. During the nineteenth century, however, the transfer of vast numbers of people from one region to another profoundly altered the social, ethnic, and religious structure of the Ottoman state—that is, the Middle East and the Balkans. The footloose tribes of eastern Anatolia, Syria, Iraq, and the Arabian peninsula were spurred into motion on an unprecedented scale by economic and social events, and the Ottoman government was forced to undertake settlement measures that had widespread effects. The Ottoman-Russian wars, which began in 1806 and occurred at intervals throughout the century, displaced large groups of people, predominantly Muslims from the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean islands. Uprooted from their ancestral homelands, they eventually settled in Anatolia, Syria (inclusive of the territories of modern-day Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel as well as modern Syria), and northern Iraq. These migrations continued until the time of the First World War. In addition, after 1830 waves of immigrants came from Algeria—especially after Abdel Kader ended his resistance to the French—and from Tunisia as well. These people too settled in Syria at Damascus.

Anatomy of an Iranian Political Crowd: The Tehran Bread Riot of December 1942

Abstract: During the morning of December 8, 1942, a large group of university students paraded through the streets of Tehran to the parliament building on Baharistan Square to demand higher bread rations and prompt action on critical problems by an incompetent government and an inactive parliament. Spectators and organized groups from South Tehran added their numbers to the already large crowd. Police forces withdrew from the square and the demonstration became a riot. The crowd occupied the parliament building and moved toward the commercial district, smashing windows and signs and looting stores along the way. On the morning of December 9, students again instigated a march to the parliament building, but this time army troops firing machine guns met and dispersed them. Although city shops were closed on December 9, some reopened on December 10, and all reopened on December 11; normality had returned. The bread riot claimed over 20 people killed, 700 wounded, 150 arrested, and 150 stores sacked and burned.

Language Reform in Turkey and Iran

Abstract: Of all man's cultural badges, that of language is perhaps the most intimately felt and tenaciously defended. Even chauvinists who are prepared to concede under pressure that language, race, and culture are not the same thing—that their national ethnicity may be mixed, their religion imported, their culture synthetic to a degree—will still cling to the national language as the last bastion of irrational totemic pride. Hence, one of the most controversial features of the programs of westernization and modernization fostered by Kemal Ataturk in Turkey and Reza Shah in Iran was that of state-sponsored language reform, characterized chiefly by attempts to “purify” Turkish and Persian of their centuries-old accretion of Arabic loanwords. A case study of this process also affords some insight into the differing attitudes to national social reforms in Turkey and in Iran, and among the respective regimes, intelligentsia, and masses, which might help to explain why on balance one “succeeded” while the other “failed.”

The Population of Turkey After The War of Independence

Abstract: An attempt is made to estimate the population of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 the year in which it was founded. The estimate is made using reverse population projection and data from the 1935 census. Consideration is also given to the quality of the data in the 1927 census the demographic impact of the wars preceding independence and the effect of Turkeys special demographic conditions on subsequent socioeconomic development including agricultural development and the participation of females in the labor force. (ANNOTATION)

The Saudi Religious Elite (ULAMA) as Participant in The political System of The kingdom

Abstract: The Ulema are the power that holds the Sultan and his people together—the medium of control. But they seldom meddle in politics. This premise was expressed by Ameen Rihani, an Arab traveller, in 1928, before either Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz became king or Najd and its dependencies became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Was Rihani correct in his conclusion? Is he right today? This article will endeavor to explore the term ulama in the Saudi context in the twentieth century. Later, an attempt will be made to discuss the participation of Saudi ulama in a number of key cases in the history of Saudi Arabia.The house of Saud along with the house of Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of the Unitarian movement, were parties to a unique coalition in the eighteenth century. The coalition embraced the Unitarian movement, or Wahhabiyah, founded in the mid-eighteenth century, and members of the Arab noble house of Saud of Najd.

State-Systems and Revolutionary Challenge: Nasser, Khomeini, and the Middle East

Abstract: Revolutions are momentous events that shake the foundations of societies, transforming their social and political structures and often signalling the triumph of a new ideology. It has long been noted that the international ramifications of revolutions are no less profound than their domestic impact. This is not only because revolutions often give rise to powerful states, thus potentially undermining the extant balance of power, but also because they sometimes infuse those states with norms and objectives that are antithetical to those subscribed to by other members of the international system. They also exert a demonstration effect beyond the boundaries of their country of origin, with a potential for triggering waves of revolution and counter-revolution both within and between societies.

From Theocracy To Monarchy:Authority And Legitimacy In Inner Oman, 1935–1957

Abstract: The twentieth-century Ibadi imamate of “inner” Oman (1913–1955) constituted one of the world's last theocracies. In a demise unique for the mid-twentieth century, it became assimilated into one of the world's last absolute monarchies. The 1955 shift from theocratic to dynastic rule met initially with the support, or at least the acquiescence, of most of the tribesmen and notables of the interior. This acquiescence at first appears surprising because the fundamentalist Islamic religious and political principles for which the imamate stood continued to be properly supported. One of these principles for Ibadis was that the imām, the spiritual and temporal leader of the Islamic community, should be the most qualified of available candidates and chosen by a consensus of the community's religious men of learning and notables, a notion markedly at contrast with the ascriptive one of dynastic rule. Conflict between these two forms of rule is basic to much of Islamic political history and to that of pre-1970 Oman in particular.

Allegorical Gardens in the Persian Poetic Tradition: Nezami, Rumi, Hafez

Abstract: A striking feature of medieval Persian poetry is the abundance of nature imagery that permeates every poetic genre, and especially imagery relating to gardens. The royal gardens and parks evoked in the descriptive exordia of the qasīda, the luxuriant gardens of romance that provide settings for tales of love, the spiritual gardens of mystical writings, the flowery haunts of rose and nightingale in the courtly ghazal—all provide eloquent testimony to the importance of the garden in Persian culture.

The Demographic Development of Palestine, 1850–1882

Abstract: An attempt is made to describe demographic trends in Palestine from 1850 to 1882 using data from Ottoman sources. The focus is on the quality of the available data. The author concludes that the period was one of economic social and political transformation accompanied by a period of accelerated population growth. The population in 1882 was around 470000 an increase of approximately one-third over the period studied. (ANNOTATION)

Themes in the Economy of the Bedouin of South Sinai in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Abstract: Writers analyzing recent economic change among the Bedouin of South Sinai have not yet investigated institutions and events beyond the limits of their informants' memories. Marx, Perevolotsky, and Ben David refer, quite rightly, to the period following the Second World War as a time of economic change in Sinai. They note that in that period tribesmen tended to become unskilled laborers in new enterprises such as mining, road-building, and services, all generated by central governments that were then becoming exceedingly involved in Sinai. This trend, together with the growth of contraband in the 1940s and 1950s, modified traditional Bedouin economy by inducing a movement away from occupations based on the use of natural resources. A change in life-style followed, manifested primarily in a tendency to settle in villages such as El Milga and Abu Sileh near the Monastery of Saint Catharine, El Wad near El Tor, or Bir Zreir near Nweiba (see map).

Civilian Society and Political Power in the Ottoman Empire: A Report on Research in Collective Biography (1480–1830)

Abstract: Prosopography, or collective biography, as this field of study is sometimes called by scholars dealing with periods later than Greek and Roman antiquity, is a relatively simple and unsophisticated research technique. Basically, it consists of assembling and comparing biographical data for all individuals belonging to a clearly circumscribed group of people. Frequently, but not necessarily, the individuals in question held public office of some kind. This technique recommends itself by the fact that it can be applied even to periods on which very little evidence is available, such as the Roman Republic But on a different level, prosopography can also contribute to our understanding of societies with a fairly rich documentation. Thus, quite a few items among the more recent literature cited by Lawrence Stone in his book on the causes of the seventeenth-century English revolution might be described at least in part upon prosopographical techniques. In the same vein, the research technique has been used by a number of scholars to shed some light upon the institutions and society of the Ottoman Empire.

Socialization to politics in morocco: sex and regional factors

Abstract: Research in the West has clearly shown that attitudes developed in school greatly contribute to the views of students on societal and national issues, especially toward their country and leaders.' In the newly independent and developing countries, the schools play an even more important role in value formation, since the material used in school is often prepared with a definite and clear objective of inculcating certain specific values in the young-above and beyond the task of imparting factual, scientific information. There, school teachers also are likely to convey attitudes and values different from those received at home, especially concerning development and national integration.2 The main objective in this paper is to look at the attitudes and orientations of elementary school children in Morocco toward politics and government. This also involves an attempt to determine their knowledge of and about political leaders and issues and their sense of identity as Moroccan nationals. Sex and region will be the two independent variables that will be investigated for their impact on these attitudes. Most of the data for the study were gathered in the summer of 1980. At that time, a survey questionnaire was administered to elementary and junior highschool students in Rabat (the capital), Casablanca (the biggest city and the most politically volatile), and Marrakesh (the main city in the southern part of the country). Since it was not possible to draw a random or representative sample, a number of specific schools judged to be typical of the school population in the country were selected.3 A total of 1,269 usable questionnaires were obtained, but since we deal here with the elementary schools (Grades 3-5) only, the sample is broken down as follows: From a total of 740 students, 366 were boys and 374 were girls; 285 students were from Rabat, 282 from Casablanca, and 173 from Marrakesh. The questionnaires were administered in three schools in Rabat, three schools in Casablanca, and two schools in Marrakesh. As stated above, the main interest in this paper is to present data related to political education and knowledge as we find them in the elementary schools of urban Morocco. Since it is generally agreed that the traditional attitudes of males and females are quite different,4 our investigation will focus on the present attitudes among the young to see how much change, if any, has been effected.

In Pursuit of the Granary of Rome: France's Wheat Policy in Morocco, 1915-1931

Abstract: Acquiring a colony and making a colonial venture profitable are two very different affairs. Throughout the French protectorate period in Morocco (1912-56), there was a sizable gap between colonial aspirations and realizations. Later, political and economic factors would be the primary cause. During the first two decades, however, this gap was caused by colonial idealism and ignorance of Moroccan environmental realities. French colonization in Morocco and the protectorate's first agricultural policy were based on legend rather than on sound economic logic. This article analyzes France's "wheat policy" in Morocco-the manifestation of a misguided colonial vision. Its purpose is both to help explain French colonialism in Morocco, and to paint the historical backdrop to modern irrigation agriculture in this country.

Wage Labor And Migration: Persian Workers in Southern Russia, 1880–1914

Abstract: It is common knowledge of Iranian history that at the turn of the present century iran was undergoing important social transformations. A notable feature of this period that witnessed the rising movement for constitutional reforms was a heightening of social tensions and contradictions in a traditional society that had now become subject to potent forces of change from within and without. The disintegration of the political power of the Qajar dynasty went hand in hand with an accelerating trend of economic decline, while the social fabric of the country at large was unraveled by a growing tendency for outbursts of massive social agitation and popular unrest.

Images of Arab Women in Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz, and Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

Abstract: Naguib Mahfouz's realistic treatment of his subject matter in Midaq Alley (Cairo, 1947) stands in sharp contrast to the symbolic mode of Tayeb Salih in Season of Migration to the North (Beirut, 1966). The style of Mahfouz here is simple, clear, and direct. His characters are common people who belong to the lower strata of life in Cairo and, more specifically, in the “Midaq Alley” of Cairo, this dark enclosed street which literally grinds down its inhabitants (as its Arabic name suggests), then carries on, indifferent to their plight.

The Inflationary Process of the Iranian Economy, 1970–1980

Abstract: During the past decade, the Iranian economy has experienced two severe shocks. The first was the huge increase in oil revenues and the subsequent increase in government expenditures. The second was the Iranian revolution, with the concomitant flight of capital and production setbacks. The first shock produced in the Iranian economy severe inflation that, although not unfamiliar to the Iranians, has been unprecedented in scale and is still accelerating. Analysis of the causes of this inflation is important for understanding the course of events and for predicting future trends.

Long-Term Economic Relations Between Afghanistan and the soviet Union: An Interpretive Study

Abstract: Before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on December 27, 1979, a study of the economic relations between the two countries might have been based on the proposition that each country would maximize the gains to itself from the set of economic transactions consisting of bilateral trade, transit trade, and capital assistance to Afghanistan, its term structure, and repayment rates and schedule. Further, it could have been argued that the division of the gains from these transactions would have been a function of the demand and cost conditions in each country, as well as the relative bargaining positions of a small versus a large country, which could have been influenced by the availability of alternative sources for commodity trade and the supply of capital from the rest of the world.

National Planning—the Critical Neglected Link: One Hundred Years of Jewish Settlement in Israel

Abstract: Throughout one hundred years, Zionist ideology has dictated national settlement planning in Israel. In this highly dynamic society, political processes significantly affected the planning environment, and major planning goals were clearly derived from this reality, while being evaluated against social values. Negligence in the planning process was most critical in the formulation of conflicting long-range goals that impeded implementation. Goal conflict was especially harmful when economic planning was not as sound at a time when geopolitics, security, and defense goals were primarily pursued. Within the fundamental goals, incremental decisions—to construct new communities or extend existing ones—were also implemented. Antiplanning variables slowed down execution only to some extent, but their impact may increase in the future. Analyzing the relationship between ideology and settlement implementation national planning concepts (through historical perspective), a subject that has received little attention in the past, contributed some analytical policy insights. Clearly, goal hierarchy or the domination of certain goals is sometimes required. However, in order to resolve conflicts, an effort should be made to decrease the differences in weights among goals. Thus, tension could be reduced to facilitate implementation. It is also possible to trade off one goal for another. Compromising among incompatible goals is a crucial matter to Israeli national settlement planning. There should be more balance in the allocation of resources economic objectives on one hand, and geopolitics, security, and defense goals the other. In addition, an attempt should be made to reduce the influence of antiplanning variables. Some of them, such as domestic or international political pressures, are more difficult to control; others are easier to influence. Specific attention should be devoted to achieving a higher professional level in planning, and more opportunity should be provided to experts to contribute input to decision-making processes.

Nineteenth-Century Arabic Writings On Women And Society: The Interim Role Of The Masonic Press In Cairo — (Al-Lata'if, 1885–1895)

Abstract: This article, which draws largely from Arabica press sources from 1885 to 1900, seeks to sharpen our view of social attitudes reflected in the activities of local Freemasons in Egypt and Syria during the last decades of the Ottoman Empite. A number of earlier historians have attached considerable importance to pre- and post-1908 masonic orders and Ottoman politics. Too few, however, have tried to analyze ways in which essential social themes, some widely recognized as having importance across international and intercultural lines, were viewed through the perspective of late 19th-century Freemasonry. A first task in this introduction, therefore, will be to see how Masons in Europe and the Middle East viewed, or were presumed to view, a number of such social themes in general terms. We will then turn to one specific issue which clearly assumed more than passing importance as a propagandistic cause pursued by a small but influential group of Masons in Syria and Egypt over nearly two decades' time. We may tentatively suggest that the purpose of such endeavors was to encourage majority acceptance of the relevance and value of a cause espoused for the body politic as a whole, without necessary reference to its original, here clearly minority, proponents.

Bandali Al-Jawzi's Min Tārīkh Al-Harakāt al-Fikriyyat Fi'l-Islām: The First Marxist Interpretation of Islam

Abstract: Bandali al-Jawzi (1871–1943) has been regaining popularity recently, particularly among his native Palestinians and Muslim nationalists of his adopted home, the Soviet Union. In 1977, for instance, the Union of Palestinian Journalists and Writers, in cooperation with the Oriental Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, commemorated Jawzi as an outstanding Palestinian author. At that time a collection of various of his articles on the Arabic language and history was published in Beirut, as well as an edition of his only book, Min Tārīkh al-Harakāt al-Fikriyyat fi'l-Islām (The History of Intellectual Movements in Islam), first published in 1928. It is this recent exposure which was to take its rightful place in Islamic intellectual history.