Middle East

The Arab Net, Al Jazeera and Al Bawaba web sites are sources of news and information about countries with Arab and Muslim populations in the Middle East and North Africa.

Travel Advisories:  Travelers should check the following web sites prior to traveling to the Middle East to determine if any advisories apply:

The US State Department 

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The World Health Organization web pages for International Travel and Health and Outbreak News.

Human Rights:  Human rights issues can be an important part of forming an understanding of conditions in world regions and countries in those regions.  The Human Rights Watch web site is one of the most respected sources of information in this area.

Recommended Reading:  The Middle East:  A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years by Bernard W. Lewis is an excellent one volume history of this region by a distinguished scholar.

Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid is regarded as one of the most authoritative books on the subject.  While the primary focus of the book is on Afghanistan and adjoining countries in Central Asia, there are important connections to other countries in the Middle East.

Islam:  A Short History by Karen Armstrong is an excellent introduction to this religion that is a vital part of the life and culture of the Middle East and adjoining regions.

Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism are Reshaping the World by Benjamin Barber, director of Rutgers University's Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy.  Mr. Barber takes the position that the United States and western nations need to re-examine their policies of globalism and its consequences throughout the rest of the world.

From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman recounts his experiences and observations during a decade-long tenure as a correspondent in Beirut and Jerusalem that began in 1979.  He also provides interesting analyses of forces influencing events in Lebanon and Israel and adjacent countries in the Middle East as well as interesting portraits of the many and variety actors strutting across this stage.  The latest edition was updated in 1995.  His original book was very well received by a variety of critics.

Guides:  Let's Go - Middle East; Lonely Planet - Arab Gulf States | Middle East

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