Histories of colonialism, imperialism, racism, and immigration have impacted the political and social identities of MENA peoples and created a sense of unity through histories of belonging. These histories provide the framework with which many people recognize, misrecognize, or erase MENA identities and experiences today. I use this historical context to investigate the ways in which MENA identifying students at the Claremont Colleges seek to foster identity based community on campus. Though efforts continue to be made to foster MENA community at the Claremont Colleges, there is more work to be done in order to foster a community in which the diversity of the MENA identifying student population is recognized, while unity is fostered and maintained.

Unable to enact change through the existing political institutions of their authoritarian regimes, and consistently repressed by state security forces (the mukhabarat), activists in Egypt and Syria relied on street activism to challenge their conditions. This study analyzes the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Syria through the conceptual lens of a rhizome. Rhizomatic movements are horizontal, grassroots, and allow for the networking of local community-specific grievances, into larger national movements. This networking allows opposition members groups to build solidarity, construct collective identities, and develop a set of shared goals, strategies, and tactics. Furthermore, it provides for the transcendence of existing societal divides (such as religious, ideological, political, socio-cultural, and class), allowing participants to unite as a single force. Since a rhizome is horizontal and lacks a fixed structure, they are significantly more difficult to dismantle, as there is not a set leadership or hierarchy to target. Importantly, this rhizomatic logic integrates itself within the notion of viewing movements within larger cycles of protest or waves of contention. Rhizomatic movements are built through the praxis of networking, rather than through ideological networking. As such, the conditions and history of opposition movements provides important analytical considerations. This study, using process tracing, argues that the Egyptian revolution was rhizomatic in nature and thus able to pose a significant enough force to challenge Mubarak's regime. Although faced with brutal repression, activists remained coordinated, interconnected, and continued to mobilize. Conversely, the Syrian opposition, plagued by years of in-fighting among activists, was unable to develop as a rhizomatic force. Activists failed to sufficiently network, build collective identities, and develop common tactics. This hindered their ability to appeal to and mobilize large segments of the population that were discontent with Assad but still viewed him as the best option for their own interests. When faced with systematic suppression by Assad's regime, the opposition faltered, returning to their own respective individual self-interests and goals, allowing the regime to fragment their attempts at mobilization.

Over the past thirteen years the United States has used military force against three different Muslim-majority nations. These conflicts have lead to the deaths of many Muslims, including many innocent civilians. Meanwhile, American Muslims have become conflicted about their identities as Muslims and Americans. However, this does not mean that they have become a fifth column within America. What it does mean is that they have felt anguish regarding the torment of their religious brethren, while at the same time retaining their American identity. Post-9/11, Muslim American groups have acknowledged their place in the racial ordering of America. Muslim Americans understand that they are second rate citizens within their own country.

<p>Jordanien ser sig som en arabiskmuslimsk stat på väg mot en demokrati. Med en sådan självbild blir islam en integral del av samhället. Det stöd som det jordanska samhället gav det Muslimska Brödraskapet i valen november 1989 och 1993 visade dessutom att organisationen blivit något som kungahuset måste ta med i beräkningen i den demokratiska processen. För det Muslimska Brödraskapet kan det upplevas som en tilltalande idé då man genom ett samarbete med kungahuset både kan bevara sin maktbas och dessutom se till att andra konkurrerande och kanske mer militanta och extrema muslimska grupper marginaliseras.</p><p>Den demokratiska processen i Jordanien kan således ses som en samverkan mellan det Muslimska Brödraskapet och kungahuset.</p>

Discussing the case of Egypt, the author claims that since the preconditions in the Middle East are very different from those in Europe, there also has to be a different approach towards its modernization process. She suggests a „restructuring“ of the state not only in the economic sector but also in the political, cultural, or social areas. The advantage of such an approach lies in the fact that elements and values of the traditional culture can be maintained and even expanded. Furthermore, as this approach does not presuppose any specific model, it can be applied to all kinds of societies. However, restrucuring cannot replace modernization.

This study deals with the Middle East reporting of three gigantic media companies which together are largely responsible for refining and shaping our views of events in the world. The informational and communicative arm of these giants – Aljazeera, the BBC and CNN – is unprecedented in the history of human communication. The BBC, for example, broadcasts in 33 languages and has an army of nearly 10,000 journalists. In only one decade Aljazeera has turned into the kind of media whose power policy and decision makers can hardly ignore. The recent addition of an English language satellite channel has turned the network into a global media player. CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news satellite channel, has services in 12 languages and several English editions covering the four corners of the world. But the study is not about Aljazeera, the BBC or CNN as new phenomena in world media and communication. Its purpose, approach, data and analysis focus mainly on their Middle East reporting and specifically how they represent the voices involved in the conflict in Iraq and the ongoing struggle between the Palestinians and Israelis. The investigation is mainly concerned with the language of hard news discourse and how the broadcasters intentionally or otherwise produce and reproduce certain linguistic items and patterns to interpret both the discursive and social worlds of the events they carry. The study comprises five papers all published in international journals dealing with issues of critical discourse analysis. Together, the papers highlight the significant role power holders have in shaping the discourse of their institutions. They provide a new theoretical framework to arrive at the discursive patterns and social assumptions to uncover how the strings of power help refine and shape these patterns and assumptions relying on a variety of sources and empirical data besides textual material. The ultimate aim is to increase awareness and consciousness among both reporters and audiences of how discursive choices are made and the social relationships of power behind them are enacted. The picture painted in the five papers is not a happy one for readers who have long taken the ‘neutrality’ and ‘objectivity’ of the BBC, CNN and Aljazeera for granted. A vital role of a critical analyst is to help readers first to become conscious of how the more powerful in the society work to control our lives through their discourse and that we cannot be emancipated unless we can recognize how and why they do that. It will be rather shocking for many readers to realize that the language we read and listen to is mostly what the broadcasters intentionally have selected to shape the world of both conflicts their own way and not the way the observers (journalists) want it to be or we as audiences expect it to be.

Jordanien ser sig som en arabiskmuslimsk stat på väg mot en demokrati. Med en sådan självbild blir islam en integral del av samhället. Det stöd som det jordanska samhället gav det Muslimska Brödraskapet i valen november 1989 och 1993 visade dessutom att organisationen blivit något som kungahuset måste ta med i beräkningen i den demokratiska processen. För det Muslimska Brödraskapet kan det upplevas som en tilltalande idé då man genom ett samarbete med kungahuset både kan bevara sin maktbas och dessutom se till att andra konkurrerande och kanske mer militanta och extrema muslimska grupper marginaliseras. Den demokratiska processen i Jordanien kan således ses som en samverkan mellan det Muslimska Brödraskapet och kungahuset.

The aim of this research project was to find out why the employees in the Middle East region, as a part of a large global company, did not use a project tracking information system. The research was conducted with a mixed method, starting with a qualitative study in order to gain an understanding of the problem and the current setting. Thereafter, hypotheses were tested with an e-survey sent out to the entire user group, which were around 350 persons. The outcome of the survey was surprisingly that the hypotheses, which were based on the United Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), were rejected. The findings in this study showed that if the user experiences a relative advantage with the system it has a positive effect on use as well as good data quality. This study has found that the opinions of colleagues and managers play a role on use and also the lack of integration. This research will serve as a base for future studies to investigate how the system is used and how it supports the business process. Furthermore, these findings contribute to the criticism on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and its successor.

The study of terrorism has gained attention and prominence post-September 11, 2001. Much of the literature on terrorism is teleological, and many authors focus their research on America’s involvement with terrorism in the Middle East beginning with the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. Accordingly, the literature fails to highlight the rise of terrorism in the Middle East and the importance of the Middle East to American foreign policy during the Nixon Administration. This study looks at how the American media and the American government conceptualized terrorism during the Nixon Administration, from 1969 to 1974. An analysis of American print media sources demonstrates that terrorism was associated with the Middle East more than other regions in the later years of Nixon’s presidency. American government documents reveal that the government linked terrorism with the Middle East after a fundamental shift in the perception of terrorism took place after the Munich Olympics massacre in 1972. In order to understand the contemporary manifestation of terrorism in American life, it is imperative to understand the history of how America conceptualized terrorism.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The intention of this study is to examine and compare the prevalence and correlates of suicide ideation among the youth in four Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries, namely Morocco, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. The results from this study are a valuable resource for further understanding suicidal behavior among youth in a region where the subject is often understudied and considered taboo. Additionally, findings from the study are important in prevention efforts in order to reduce suicide related behaviors and injuries among youth in EMR countries. The study also examined the correlates and variables associated with suicide ideation as differentiated by gender in an effort to see how these behaviors varied between boys and girls. Methods: The results of the study were derived using secondary analyses of datasets from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) which is conducted by the World Health Organization. The study analyzed data on students who fell primarily between the ages of 12 to 16 from the countries of Jordan (N=2197, 2007), Lebanon (N=5115, 2005), Morocco (N=2670, 2006) and United Arab Emirates (N=15790, 2005). The data was analyzed using logistical regression analyses to determine the associations between suicidal ideation and eight risk factors, which included being a victim of bullying, having a lack of close friends, feeling sad or hopeless, consuming alcohol, using illicit drugs, missing school, being involved in a physical fight, and dealing with hunger. The results of the study were also evaluated to examine differences among genders and the risk factors as associated with suicide ideation as well as differences between age groups. Results: The results of this study suggest that suicidal ideation among youth in EMR countries may be influenced by social, political, cultural and economic factors. Females showed higher rates of suicide ideation. Several of the eight risk factors analyzed showed significant associations to suicide ideation. Conclusion: There is a need for increased research into the areas of mental health in the EMR, especially in the area of suicide and suicide related behaviors. Suicide related statistics may be underreported in many nations of the EMR which are predominantly Islamic, where suicide is strongly prohibited by religion. Previous studies indicate that suicide ideation is strongly associated with certain risk factors. This study analyzed eight of these risk factors using a secondary logistical regression analysis of data from the Global Student Health Survey which is conducted annually by the WHO. The risk factors included in the study are bullying victimization, alcohol use, illicit drug use, having no friends, feeling sad, missing school, physical fighting and hunger. Additionally, associations were examined among different age groups ranging from 12 to 17 years and among the two genders. Several of the risk factors were shown to have a strong association to suicide ideation. Suicide ideation was more common among girls than in boys among all the countries studied. The results of this study may be useful to those looking to design and implement educational suicide prevention programs among school-age children in the EMR.