Bøger i Saqi Essentials serien

Sifts through the works of a score of contemporary Arab chroniclers of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants in the events. This book retells their stories in their own style, giving us a vivid portrait of a society rent by internal conflicts, and shaken by a traumatic encounter with an alien culture.

The Druze, who can be traced back to eleventh-century Levant, have long intrigued scholars of the Middle East. This work reveals the remarkable Druze pantheon of semi-deities and investigates their dogmas and rituals, noting the stratification between the few Uqqal (elect wise ones) and the numerous Jahil (ignorant ones).

One of the greatest living Arab poets offers a radical exploration of the commonalities between two seemingly disparate traditions, Sufism and Surrealism. Similarities and intersections are discovered in the writings of leading figures such as Rimbaud, Breton, ibn 'Arabi and al-Niffari.

At a time when Islam is the focus of attention, vilified by some and a source of inspiration for others, this book seeks to go against the stream. Its radical review of mainstream historiography of Islam draws on interdisciplinary analysis - historical, social, psychological and anthropological.

Saladin, the Kurdish founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty, conquered Jerusalem in 1187 and repelled the Crusaders. Saladin's skill and conduct would become enshrined in European as well as Muslim lore. This is a biographical account, drawing from two chronicles written by contemporaries of the legendary leader.

Focussing on the oft-neglected role of women in Ottoman high society and power politics, this book brings to life the women who made their mark in a male domain.

Presents a rebuttal of the cultural reductionism of Max Weber and others who have tried to explain the politics and society of the Middle East by reference to some unchanging entity called 'Islam,' typically characterised as instinctively hostile to capitalism. This work looks at the facts, analysing economic texts with his customary common sense.

First published in 1963, Ibrahim Abu-Lughod's pioneering work traces the role of the Arab intelligentsia in increasing Arab awareness of Europe and in shaping an Arab image of the West.

An Imam in Paris (Takhlis al-Ibriz fi Talkhis Bariz), is one of the earliest records of the Muslim encounter with Enlightenment-era European ideas. Al-Tahtawi's book helped introduce ideas of modernity to his native land.

Mernissi explores the historical links between the religion of Islam, the societal oppression of women, and the suppression of democracy in predominantly Muslim nations.