Modern History
Reprinted from the Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Summer  2002 (with changes in orthography to HTML standards).
Copyright 2002 by the Middle East Studies Association of North America
Beirut: Reviving Lebanon’s Past, by Hassan N. Diab. 130 pages, bibliography, index. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1999. $55.00 (Cloth) ISBN 0-275-96210-5

It is customary to divide studies on pre-civil war Lebanon into two broad categories: works that take a bleak view of Lebanon’s past, emphasizing civil strife, rising economic and social inequalities, foreign domination and manipulation, and the inherent frailty of the Lebanese entity; and works written in a far less pessimistic vein that underline peaceful and largely cooperative relations among the main sects (at least in the period between the end of the 1860 events and the 1958 crisis), and improving economic conditions and rising living standards for the bulk of the population over the first three-quarters of the twentieth century.[22] Diab’s Beirut clearly falls into the first category. Adopting a Marxist/dependency theory perspective, Diab attributes “the disparities among social classes and regions” in Lebanon to the “uncontrolled incorporation of Lebanon, particularly Beirut, into the Western capitalist world system” (p. 101). While it is not easy to clearly discern Diab’s main thesis, he comes close to stating it succinctly on page three: “Our general argument is that since the early European expansion into the Middle East through Beirut, there has been a steady, positive relationship between Beirut’s incorporation into the capitalist division of labor and the Beirut-Lebanon disparity.”

Diab argues that what took place in Lebanon prior to 1975 represented growth without development (ch. 3). For Diab, there is a direct relationship between the development of capitalism in Lebanon and the accentuation of three main types of disparities: sectoral disparities between the services sector on the one hand and agriculture and industry on the other; social disparities between the haves and have-nots; and regional disparities both between Beirut and the rest of Lebanon and within Beirut itself (between the affluent heart of the city and the poor suburbs) (For a discussion of these disparities see ch. 4). The evidence that the author brings in support of the growth of inequality and the deterioration in the living standards of the poorer strata of the population, while detailed, is inconclusive and heavily drawn from only a few secondary sources. But even if we accept his position on the increase in inequality and the decline in the living conditions of the poor, we can still question his claim that these developments were in fact repercussions of the role of Beirut in the regional and global economies.

Unlike other recent works on Lebanon’s history that make extensive use of primary sources, notably archival material,[23] all of Diab’s references are from secondary sources. Leaning heavily on the contributions of authors who share his negative view about economic and social conditions in pre-1975 Lebanon (for example, Salim Nasr and Claude Dubar, Halim Barakat, Toufic Gaspard, and Ali Chami), Diab virtually ignores the scholarly output of writers like Iliya Harik, John Entelis, Elie Salem, and even Michael Hudson, who present a more positive image of the same era. Diab’s final chapter on Beirut in the postwar era is short, sketchy, and could have benefited from further research. This failing is really unfortunate, especially given the book’s title.

Despite its shortcomings, Beirut is highly recommended for readers from a variety of disciplines seeking to enrich their understanding of economic and social conditions in pre-civil war Lebanon and of Beirut’s historic role in the Lebanese economy and regional and global economies.

Sami E. Baroudi
Lebanese American University

Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey, by Andrew Mango. 666 pages, illustrations, maps, chronology, notes, bibliography, index. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Publisher, 1999. $40.00 (Cloth) ISBN 0-5867-011-1

Not since the publication of Lord Kinross’s biography of Atatürk in 1964 has there been a major study of the ‘Father’ (Kinross) or ‘Founder’ (Mango) of modern Turkey. Mango’s biography has been well received and deservedly so. Unlike Kinross and some other foreign biographers, Mango knows Turkish fluently and has been able to utilize Turkish sources extensively. Atatürk’s personal writings, speeches, memoirs, and a variety of secondary sources are listed in the bibliography. Mango’s biography is therefore a mine of information both about the subject and the historical period he lived in and then molded. After a brief historical introduction, Mango has divided the biography in five chronological parts: 1) “early years,” 1881-1910; 2) “the long war” 1911-18; 3) “the will of the nation,” 1919-23; 4) “republic and reform,” 1923-26; and 5) “unrivalled ruler,” 1926-38. There is a brief chapter of ten pages devoted to “Aftermath,” Turkey after Atatürk. Most space is devoted to the years 1919 to 1923 when Mango narrates the story of the national struggle in which Mustafa Kemal played a heroic role. That is followed by a narrative on the early reforms of 1923 and 1926 when the Kemalists began to create the ‘laicist’ (not the secular) state. The narrative in parts 1, 2, and 5 is equally engaging and analytical, making the text a standard reference for the entire period. The narrative is supplemented with short biographical sketches of some of the most significant personalities, a chronology of events, notes, a bibliography, and an excellent, annotated index. Pictures that accompany the text illustrate Atatürk’s life from his youth in Salonica to his final years and are therefore a most useful addition.

Despite the wealth of information and detail Mango provides, his interpretations remain, by and large, conventional. This shortcoming is due to his reliance on Atatürk’s speeches and writing, on memoirs written long after the events, and on uncritical secondary sources which tend to perpetuate certain myths about the man and his life. Perhaps a couple of examples will suffice: the rivalry between Enver and Mustafa Kemal ought to be examined more critically; the same applies to the role of such civilian officials as Hilmi Pasha and Ali Munif in the events of June-July 1908, and the civilian Defence of Rights Associations after 1919. Mustafa Kemal’s speech at the secret CUP congress in September 1909 is based entirely on later memoirs and therefore suspect (p. 92). He warned the delegates about the dangers of soldiers becoming involved in politics. But on 2 May, Sevket Pasha had already issued a proclamation ordering that all active members of the armed forces cut their ties with political parties or resign their commissions (Takvim-i Vekayi, 199, 20 April 1325/2 May 1909). Despite these shortcomings, overall the book is a valuable contribution to the field and may be read by a variety of readers with both pleasure and profit.

Feroz Ahmad
University of Massachusetts at Boston

Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule to Pivotal Role in the Middle East, edited by Moshe Ma’oz, Joseph Ginat, and Onn Winckler. 307 pages, index. Brighton, UK: Sussex Academic Press, 1999. $65.00 (Cloth) ISBN 1-898723-83-4

The essays in Modern Syria originated at a conference on modern Syria held at the University of Haifa in 1996. Of the book’s fourteen chapters, ten are devoted to various political, economic, and diplomatic aspects of the regime of the late Hafiz al-Asad. The term ‘Ottoman’ in the book’s subtitle appears to derive from two chapters on that era—“The Question of Citizenship of the Algerian Immigrants in Syria, 1847-1900” and “European Foreigners in Damascus and Aleppo During the Late Ottoman Period”—that seem far-removed from the core purpose of the work. Few of the contributions break new research ground, several are modest re-workings of previously published work, and some of the main topics of discussion such as the succession question and the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon have been overtaken by events. With one or two exceptions, there is no compelling reason for any but the most dedicated Syria-watchers to read this book.

The exceptions appear in the section on economic developments and structural changes. David Lesch’s chapter on obstacles to Syria’s integration into the global economy is enlightening on several levels. First, on the basis of his own experiences as a representative of a US-based company bidding on a silo construction project, Lesch describes the difficulties of doing business in Syria even after the passage of the supposedly liberalizing Investment Law of 1991. Foreign firms seeking a business opportunity first had to employ a local mediator, or ‘five-percenter,’ for facilitation purposes and then overcome any number of barriers in order to keep the bid process lurching along. Lesch laments the existence of an ossified business climate unreceptive to competition and argues that the limited steps toward Syrian economic liberalization were driven primarily by considerations of regime survival and not by concerns over general economic improvement.

Moshe Efrat and Winckler present two perspectives on the Asad regime’s economic achievements and shortcomings. Both emphasize the negative effects of the inordinately high defense expenditures of the 1980s, and Winckler adds a much-needed discussion on the impact of Syria’s high birth rate on the younger generation’s future employment prospects.

The chapters on Syria in the Middle East include Michael Eppel’s discussion of the “attraction-repulsion” relationship with Iraq; David Kushner’s update on the often troubled dealings with Turkey; Ma’oz’s familiar summary of Asad’s strategies toward Israel; and Daniel Pipes’s self-evident assertion that the Asad regime has failed to adhere to every agreement to which it has been a signatory.

William L. Cleveland
Simon Fraser University


Middle East Conflict, by François Massoulie. Translated by Angela Parker. (Interlink Illustrated Histories) 160 pages, figures, photographs, bibliography, color maps, chronology, index. New York, NY: Interlink Books, 1999. $15.00 (Paper) ISBN 1-56656-237-6

Massoulie takes on an enormous task by reviewing the conflict in the Middle East. The French scholar-diplomat presents a comprehensive account of the region’s history, exploring the major factors that helped shape its politics during the twentieth century. Middle East Conflict is divided into seven chapters that revolve around themes of Arab-Israeli disputes, inter-Arab confrontations, Arab nationalism, and religious fundamentalism.

Overall Massoulie reaches dark conclusions, describing the region as constantly at war, either with itself or with Israel. Much of this disorder is attributed to legacy: the decline of Islamic civilization, and especially the weakening of Ottoman control over the Middle East coupled with the emergence of colonialism and Zionism. Internal factors are also addressed, including the rise of Islamist movements against unpopular secular regimes during the 1970s. Not that the future of the Arab world looks any brighter. With the Arab-Israeli peace process taking effect, Massoulie predicts that new sources of internal conflicts will emerge from within the Arab world. A population explosion, increasing fragility of the oil economies, and further impoverishment will be the main culprits.

Middle East Conflict has its merits. Seemingly written for a general readership, a great deal of useful information is spelled out in a systematic and concise manner. The maps, pictures, and historical documents that accompany the text are well-chosen and effectively illustrate many of the author's arguments. With regard to content, the book succeeds in exploring the general trends that have swept the Middle East since the turn of the twentieth century. It readily provides a historical background on some of the most important mass movements in the Middle East, including the Muslim Brotherhood and Arab nationalism. At the same time it offers an answer as to why democratic transition and modernity failed to take root in the Middle East. Both were initially equated with westernization, itself perceived as alien, anti-Islamic, and, above all, colonial. Furthermore, it is for those reasons that the Middle East has yet to adopt democracy as a viable form of governing today.

Massoulie does an adequate job of integrating all these factors into a historical account that explains some of the weaknesses of the modern Middle Eastern states and the consequences of Arab rivalries. Still, the specialized reader will not be completely satisfied. The comprehensive approach that the author uses, for example, does not do justice to the topic at hand. Massoulie’s discussions are often too brief, glossing over inter-Arab rivalries, making a mere note of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and dismissing altogether many problems arising from that fateful episode. Similarly, Massoulie’s historical account becomes a mere recital of facts and statistics at times. One case in point is Lebanon. This section is filled with data showing the complexities of the Lebanese question but it is unevenly paired with scant analysis and no elaboration on the country’s internal dynamics. Massoulie concludes with a chapter suggesting the emergence of new conflicts in the region during the 1960s. Though it would seem that the English edition has been updated to include events to 1998, the author does not revisit these issues.

Hamoud Salhi
California State University at Dominguez Hills

Policing Islam: The British Occupation of Egypt and the Anglo-Egyptian Struggle over Control of the Police, 1882-1914, by Harold Tollefson. (Comparative Colonial Studies, 38) 200 pages, maps, bibliography, index. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. $59.95 (Cloth) ISBN 0-313-30714-8.

Despite its title, Tollefson’s Policing Islam is less about the policing of Islam in Egypt than the “Anglo-Egyptian struggle over control of the police,” as its secondary title suggests. In fact the word Islam cannot be found in the index, nor can Muhammad ‘Abduh, or any other Islamic ulama prominent in Egypt during this period. Perhaps, it was thought that using such a provocative title would spark interest in a subject that would otherwise be of little interest to the general reader. The sole reference to anything Islamic―an “Islamic-oriented secret [society]” known as the “Mutual Brotherhood Society,” on “the extreme fringe of the nationalist movement”―can be found three-quarters of the way through the book, on page 150.

The misleading title is unfortunate, because this excellent monograph documents in a thorough fashion the struggle of the British to assert control over the Egyptian police between 1882 until 1914. At the outbreak of World War I, this thirty-two year exercise in frustration came to an end when Great Britain finally dropped all pretence of trying to ‘help’ modernize the Egyptian infrastructure, declared the country a protectorate, and took over control of the police in the process. After all, Tollefson reminds us, “the British occupied Egypt for reasons of power politics, not to bring democracy to Egypt. The intention of gradually introducing democracy was more of an afterthought” (p. 100).

So, why was controlling the Egyptian police so important to the British with an army of occupation on the scene? Tollefson answers this question in the introduction, where he writes that the “actual use [of the army] against the [Egyptians] would have torn the veil off the veiled protectorate and galvanized diplomatic opposition against the British in Egypt. It was too blunt an instrument to be wielded in the delicate circumstances entailed by the strategy of rule through native proxy” (p. xii). In other words, this strategy had worked well for the British in India; hence, its use in Egypt, which Tollefson details later in the book.

Undoubtedly the most infamous Anglo-Egyptian police action under the British was the Dinshawai incident of 1906. Summarizing the affair, Tollefson writes that it “was a turning point in Anglo-Egyptian relations; it turned many Egyptians against British occupation who had not previously been so and further stimulated the nationalist movement.” If this were not bad enough, it also “shook the Liberal government’s confidence in Cromer’s judgment and hastened his retirement” (p. 131). As mentioned earlier, this episode showed the lack of success of the attempted police reforms under Cromer, who had had “greater freedom of action to try to improve the police and ghaffirs after 1890,” Tollefson writes, “but he did not do as much as he could have” (p. 113).

Tollefson’s documentation is thorough and meticulous, and his narrative is readable. He artfully wends his way through each stage of his story, peopling it with key players and details in the events described and ending each chapter with a summary conclusion. After a while, however, this formulaic approach (that is, summary conclusion)―all too reminiscent of a dissertation format―becomes somewhat tedious and hinders the otherwise smooth flow of the material. Nonetheless, Tollefson does an excellent job in documenting the story of the Anglo-Egyptian police between 1882 and 1914. For this reason, Policing Islam has much to offer area-studies scholars

Michael D. Berdine
Pima Community College
[22] For advocates of each view see Eyal Zisser, Lebanon: The Challenge of Independence (London: I. B. Tauris, 2000) preface, p. x.

[23] Such as Carolyn Gates, The Merchant Republic of Lebanon: The Rise of an Open Economy (London: The Center for Lebanese Studies in Association with I. B. Tauris, 1998); Meir Zamir, Lebanon’s Quest: The Road to Statehood (London: I. B. Tauris, 2000), and Eyal Zisser, Lebanon.