Forty-five books were submitted, seven short of the record of fifty-two in 2006 but still a significant number, indicating the continued attractiveness of the prize to publishers. In the opinion of the judges the entry overall was of high quality. It was also of considerable variety, the range covering anthropology, archaeology, architecture, history, law, literature, politics and religion. Missing this year, however, was any work on language or linguistics.
Cairo of the Mamluks by Doris Behrens-Abouseif (I B Tauris).
This beautifully illustrated book, complete with some spectacular axonometric drawings, adroitly treads the dividing line between a work aimed at a scholarly audience and one intended for the interested amateur. The core of the work is devoted to descriptions of sixty of the most important Mamluk buildings, with much out-of-the-way detail - a valuable addition to knowledge of the monuments of "a city beyond imagination" (Ibn Khaldun).
Martyrdom in Islam by David Cook (Cambridge University Press).
A comprehensive yet not over-long study of a topical but largely misunderstood subject, wide in scope, well researched, and full of fascinating insights. Coming from a background in religious studies, the author is able to speak in comparative terms about martyrdom in the two other montheistic traditions, while a good number of the case studies with which he illustrates his analysis of doctrine come from beyond Arabia - from India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Africa.
The Future for Palestinian Refugees: Towards Equity and Peace by Michael Dumper (Lynne Rienner Publishers).
Michael Dumper has found something fresh to say about this long-standing problem, placing it in the context of other conflicts involving refugees. A thoroughly well researched and clearly written book which deserves to be read not only by the parties but also by the broader interested public.
Introduction to Middle Eastern Law by Chibli Mallat (Oxford University Presss).
A well written work, based on extensive research, that constitutes a bold attempt to frame the law of the Middle Eastern countries in a new way.
Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran by Beatrice Forbes Manz (Cambridge University Press).
Of this work the reviewer noted that, fifteen years or so in the making, it was "a rich and detailed examination of a dynamic period in the history of Iran and Central Asia". The chapters on the sources of religious authority and the involvement of the religious classes in politics were particularly original and important. "Manz makes magisterial use of a wide range of sources; her work will be a model for the discussion of these issues [of Timurid society] on a broader canvas."
Governing Property, Making the Modern State by Martha Mundy and Richard Saumarez Smith (I B Tauris).
This original work, written for the specialist rather than the general reader, sets out an argument, backed by an impressive collation of over ten years of fieldwork and analysis of archival records, that modernity came to Ottoman society in the nineteenth century as the outcome of internal processes, not as an import from the West.
Space and Muslim Urban Life by Simon O'Meara (Routledge).
In this short but packed book Simon O' Meara brings, in the words of the reviewer, "a new depth and sophistication" to the literature on the Islamic city. In an examination showing intimate on-the-spot knowledge he homes in on space rather than monuments to interpret pre-modern Fez not as a UNESCO World Heritage site but as a machine for living. He assembles an impressive body of legal data to explain the purpose of the many walls that subdivide Fez, with far-reaching implications for the study of other Islamic cities.
A Tribal Order: Politics and Law in the Mountains of Yemen by Shelagh Weir (The British Museum Press).
This admirably readable work of anthropology describes the politico-legal system in an area of northern Yemen. The reviewer commented: "She explores in impressive detail the tribal system, tribal governance, law and politics, and state and tribal relations, the latter crucial to our understanding of Yemen today". The book is the result not only of extensive fieldwork but the examination of some 350 Arabic documents describing for example the minutiae of land transactions on the one hand and defence pacts on the other. The judges agreed with the judgment of the reviewer that overall "the book is a remarkable achievement in adding greatly to our understanding of this complex tribal world" and, they would add, to dispelling notions of the uniformity of tribal systems.
Medieval Islamic Medicine by Peter E Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith (Edinburgh University Press).
This volume not only updates Manfred Ullmann's monumental Die Medizin im Islam of 1968 but also challenges aspects of past conventional wisdom, for example on the importance of the translation movement of the 9th century. The reviewer, after stating that the book offers a readable, up-to-date introduction to the field covered by its title, comments that the "book will be useful also to the many academics within the field who are becoming aware of the discipline's growing importance", adding that "this volume will certainly take its place among the sources that allow easy access to 'non-Western' accomplishments". He concludes that it is "an inestimable contribution both to its own field, but also within and - perhaps most importantly - outwith Islamic and Middle Eastern studies."
The judges further decided that £2000 should be awarded to The Ismailis in the Middle Ages by Shafique N Virani (Oxford University Press). This fascinating and elegantly written book deals with a little known area of later medieval Islamic history, namely that of the Ismailis after the Mongol destruction of Alamut in 1256.The author draws on a wide array of Arabic and Persian sources, providing new and valuable information on the fate of the Ismailis in the period 1256-1500. The author gives an admirably lucid account of the history of both events and doctrines, and explains how the Ismailis survived in hostile environments, using a variety of stratagems.
2007As in every year so far the Judges Panel decided that the award should be split. They came to the following conclusion.
The runner up was The Turks in World History by Carter Vaughn Findley, published by Oxford University Press and the winning title was Seafaring in the Arabian Gulf and Oman: The People of the Dhow by Dionisius Agius, published by Kegan Paul.
Medieval Islamic Political Thought by Patricia Crone published by Edinburgh University Press.
Making Music in the Arab World by A.J. Racy (Cambridge University Press)
We were delighted that both authors could be present at the award ceremony to receive cheques for £1,000.
The book which was awarded the main prize of £8,000 was Satellite Realms: Transnational Television, Globalisation and the Middle East by Naomi Sakr, published by I B Tauris. The judges had no doubt that this book deserved the main prize. It is the best book written on Arab television. It focuses mainly on the production side of transnational television and gives a profound insight about the institutional foundations in what our reviewer describes as "simply Stunning" in character. This is an outstanding book that admirably meets the criteria of being based on sound scholarship that will enhance the understanding of the Middle East among a wider readership in the English speaking world and we were delighted to present Naomi Sakr with this award.
Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Thought by Michael Cook (Cambridge University Press)
The book was described as 'a truly outstanding work'. Professor Cook received a cheque for £7,000 at the Award Ceremony which was held at the residence of Kuwaiti Ambassador, HE Khaled Al-Duwaisan in the presence of Shaikh Mubarak al-Abdullah al-Mubarak Al Sabah.
Franklin D. Lewis, Rumi: Past and Present, East and West - The Life, Teachings and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi (Allen Lane - Oneworld, 2000)
Professor Lewis received a cheque for £7,000 at an Award Ceremony during the BRISMES Annual Conference in July 2001.
Both received a cheque for £5,000 at an Award Ceremony which followed the BRISMES Annual Conference in July 2000.
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WOCMES 2010
The Third World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies will be held in Barcelona between 19th and 24th July 2010.
Read more...Annual Lecture 2009
British and French military intelligence in Syria and Palestine, 1914-18. Myths and RealityTuesday, 15th December 2009, at 5.30pmKhalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS
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