'There are no walls around the house here.' I wrote in my diary, in an entry dated December 24, 1967. This was a few days after my arrival in America. It took me years to realize that in America other kinds of walls, mainly invisible, existed. I had to learn about their presence, respect their sovereignty, abide by their rules. I could not neglect them, trespass them. I could not disregard them. This meant not only learning the English language but also mastering the metalanguage, the verbal and nonverbal codes of interactions, the different systems and styles of communication.

A collection of 18 essays that covers a wide range of material and re-evaluates women's studies and Middle Eastern studies, Muslim women and the Shari'a courts, the Ottoman household, Dhimmi communities, family law, morality and violence.

"Contributors to the volume are established scholars in their fields and successfully focus on the pertinent issues with a good mix of facts, analysis, and theoretical orientation. The contributions are pertinent and valuable to students of comparative politics generally, as well as to specialists on the selected countries."-Choice

This is a single-volume history of Islam. The opening chapters briefly discuss the historical background of the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, through the rise of the Islam in 18th through 20th centuries. The final two chapters cover the significant events of the 1980s and 1990s.

This edition includes new material on the Arabic novel up to 1993. It is a survey of the Arabic novel and its development from its beginnings in the 19th century until today. It traces the origin, early cultivation and the mature period after World War II of the Arabic novel.

Drawing upon the teachings and writings of the Sudanese reformer, Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, this study aims to provide the intellectual foundations for a total reinterpretation of the nature and meaning of Islamic public law.

This is Judith Caesar's account of her life and work in the Arab Middle East during a period of great political and social turmoil. While there, she was forced to begin the long process of unlearning much of what she thought she knew about Arabs.

Exploring the rationale behind the physical structure and spatial patterns of traditional Iranian cities, this study examines cities built before the general modernization of Iran that began after World War II, in the light of specifically Iranian environmental factors.

The essays in this work illustrate the various ways in which women in the Middle East fall short of being vested with the rights and privileges that would define them as fully enfranchised citizens. They offer an examination of national legislation on personal status, penal law and labour.