The core focus of this study is Arab nationalism in the Middle East - an area in which there has been an ever-growing interest. Yasir Suleiman's approach to this area is unique in his linking of the role of language to the articulation of a nationalist ideology. Although the role of Arabic has always been considered vital, this is the first time it has been examined in relation to Arab nationalist discourse.

Devlops Yasir Suleiman's groundbreaking project on Arabic in the social world. Starting with the symbolic and cognitive roles of language, Yasir Suleiman investigates how Arabic is involved in ideological and cultural debates in which conflict is a defining feature. He shows how discussions about the inimitability of the Qur'an in the pre-modern period were, at some deep level, concerned with issues of ethnic election against the background of inter-ethnic strife among Arabs and non-Arabs, mainly Persians. Further, he shows how discussions of the (un)translatability of the Qur'an were related...

The question of identity in relation to language has hardly been dealt with in the Middle East and North Africa, in spite of the centrality of these issues to a variety of scholarly debates concerning this strategically important part of the world. The book seeks to cover a variety of themes in this area.

The question of identity in relation to language has hardly been dealt with in the Middle East and North Africa, in spite of the centrality of these issues to a variety of scholarly debates concerning this strategically important part of the world. The book seeks to cover a variety of themes in this area.