Azzam Tamimi

U.S. President, Donald Trump, could not have gone ahead with his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel had it not been for the support he secured from three Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. The acquiescence of those Arab states, unthinkable until just a few years ago, would not have happened had it not been for the success of the counter-revolution in ending the Arab Spring uprisings, a development that was most detrimental to the Palestinian cause. Yet, Trump’s deal of the century seems to have been born still.

What started as a peaceful protest in the spring of 2011 soon developed into one of the most vicious and internationalized conflicts of modern times. The Syrian people’s quest for freedom has proven to be so costly that nearly an entire population is today homeless and entire cities are in total ruin. No longer localized, this conflict has attracted the intervention of groups and countries from across the region and around the world. Yet, the Syrian people seem no less resolved to pursue the objectives for which they rose 5 years ago.

During the months leading up to July 3, 2013, the state of Egypt mirrored that of Chile 40 years ago. What Egypt’s Mohamed Mursi and Chile’s Salvador Allende shared was the misfortune of coming to power with a relatively large majority and an adamant refusal to surrender. While there is no evidence of U.S. involvement in the process, America and its allies in the European Union have refrained from calling what happened in Egypt a coup. Egypt – much like Chile – will likely return to the path of democracy, though after considerable time and effort, and a projected roadmap that will likely generate further economic hardship and instability.

This book is an easy to read textbook that is structured to present readers with an historical overview of some of the prominent Islamic movements active in parts of the Muslim world, specifically in West and South Asia.