People in Western societies have long been interested in their dreams and what they mean. However, few non-Muslims in the West are likely to seek interpretation of those dreams to help them make life-
Following Stalin's death in 1953, association football clubs, as well as the informal supporter groups and communities which developed around them, were an important way for the diverse citizens of th
During World War II, the British formed a secret division, the 'SOE' or Special Operations Executive, in order to support resistance organisations in occupied Europe. It also engaged in 'targeted kill
Over the last three decades Afghanistan has been plagued by crisis – from Soviet invasion in 1979 and Taliban rule to US invasion following the events of 9/11. Here the top specialists on Afghanistan,
How is home-grown contemporary art viewed within the Middle East? And is it understood differently outside the region? What is liable to be lost when contemporary art from the Middle East is 'transfer
Diagnosed with schizophrenia in the 1950s, German writer and artist Unica Zurn produced a wealth of remarkable textual and visual material within psychiatric institutions across Germany and France. Wh
The states created after the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1992 all appointed official national anthems—the purpose of which was to forge new national identities out of the bloody and difficult history
British Muslim activism has evolved constantly in recent decades. What have been its main groups and how do their leaders compete to attract followers? Which social and religious ideas from abroad are
After the Armenian genocide of 1915, in which over a million Armenians died, thousands of Armenian-Turks lived and worked in the Turkish state alongside those who had persecuted their communities. Liv
The Mesopotamian campaign during World War I was a critical moment in Britain’s position in the Middle East. With British and British Indian troops fighting in places which have become well-known in t
In 1923 the Turkish government, under its new leader Kemal Ataturk, signed a renegotiated Balkan Wars treaty with the major powers of the day and Greece. This treaty provided for the forced exchange o
With the end of the First World War, the centuries-old social fabric of the Ottoman world—an entangled space of religious co-existence throughout the Balkans and the Middle East—came to its definitive
The uprisings that were seen throughout the Middle East during 2010 and 2011, make it difficult to over-state the role of educated youth in the region’s politics. Daniele Cantini combines an analysis
The 2006 elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, the first in which both Fatah and Hamas fielded candidates, resulted in a resounding victory for Hamas. Winning 74 out of the 132 seats (com
Much is known about Britain’s role in the Atlantic slave trade during the eighteenth century but few are aware of the sustained campaign against slaving conducted by the Royal Navy after the passing o
Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity is forbidden in contemporary international human rights law, yet in many interpretations of Islamic law, this is seen to contradi
Ottoman Turkey’s coastal provinces in the early nineteenth century were economic powerhouses, teeming with innovation, wealth and energy—a legacy of the Ottoman’s outward-looking and trade-orentated d
Herbert Gladstone (1854-1930) was the only one of the sons of the renowned nineteenth-century Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone to enjoy a significant political career in his own right. Yet he ha
Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistan has faced the threat of terrorism in different forms and shapes. Yet in recent years, the threat has taken on a new dimension. After 9/11 the
Love stories have always been at the heart of French cinema, but romantic comedies have, until recently, been absent from it. In 2001, the global success of Amelie catalysed a major development in the
