This accessible and deeply informed book examines the threat that Islamic extremists pose to America and provides a balanced discussion of the link between Iraq and the war on terror. Explaining the basics of Islam and guiding the reader through the intricacies of each significant fundamentalist group, the Palmers answer key questions: Who are the Muslim extremists and how do they fit within the broader context of the Islamic religion? What is their war plan and how do they operate? Who are their allies and what are their weaknesses? What is the experience of Israel, the Islamic world, and the United States in fighting extremists? How can they be defeated? Now in a thoroughly revised and updated edition, the book includes new chapters on Hamas, the Iraqi clones of Hizbullah-including Sadr-and the Islamic government in Turkey.

This accessible and deeply informed book examines the threat that Islamic extremists pose to America and provides a balanced discussion of the link between Iraq and the war on terror. Explaining the basics of Islam and guiding the reader through the intricacies of each significant fundamentalist group, the Palmers answer key questions: Who are the Muslim extremists and how do they fit within the broader context of the Islamic religion? What is their war plan and how do they operate? Who are their allies and what are their weaknesses? What is the experience of Israel, the Islamic world, and the United States in fighting extremists? How can they be defeated? Now in a thoroughly revised and updated edition, the book includes new chapters on Hamas, the Iraqi clones of Hizbullah-including Sadr-and the Islamic government in Turkey.

At a time when survey research is increasingly being conducted in the Arab world, there is also growing concern about the degree to which research assumptions and methods developed in the West are appropriate for use in the study of Arab society. This book assesses the application and limits of survey research performed in the Arab world, reviews the surveys currently being used to study public attitudes and behavior patterns, and discusses epistemological, methodological, and ethical issues associated with these studies. Readers are alerted to normative and empirical considerations bearing on the quality of survey research and given practical suggestions for innovation in the design and execution of survey research and in the analysis of survey data. The book raises intellectual issues of concern to all who seek to better understand Arab society and provides extensive information about attitudes and behavior in the Arab world.

Every time that the US gets involved in the Middle East, or so it seems, things turn sour. With this thought in mind, the objective of this book is to help Americans and Europeans better understand how the Arabs view the world and why they behave the way that they do, their Arab psyche if you like. Along the way, the book provides those who are about to embark upon an adventure in the Arab world with a sketch of pleasures and pitfalls that await them. There are plenty of both. The search for the Arab psyche traces its evolution through the eras of tribalism, Islam, colonialism, flawed independence, resurgent Islam, global terror, and popular revolution. Each stage has left an indelible mark on the Arab psyche while adding new complexities to the way the Arabs attempt to cope with their ever changing world. American frustrations in dealing with the Arabs have increased apace. The book is written in a conversational tone and requires no prior knowledge of the Middle East. Monte Palmer is a political psychologist who has spent most of a long career studying Arab society and behavior. He is Professor Emeritus at Florida State University and a former Director of the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut. His recent books include THE POLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST, ISLAMIC EXTREMISM (with Princess Palmer, ) and EGYPT AND THE GAME OF TERROR (a novel.)

Come with Scott Parker, America's leading expert on the Arab Psyche, as he leads you through the murky world of Islamic extremism in his search for the soul of Egypt. Along the way, he is forced to serve as an intermediary between the American Embassy in Cairo and the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's largest Islamic fundamentalist group. To the dismay of both, he uses this unwelcome role to pursue his own ideas for fighting terror and extremism with curious and unpredictable results. If Scott glories in the Egyptian environment, his wife, Constance, does not. She finds Egypt abhorrent, the Embassy parties boring, and her husband remote. Lonely and longing for the simple purity of her rural Nebraska childhood, she throws herself into Christian feminism with the help of Gloria Goldensickle, an Israeli psychoanalyst who dreams of peace through love. Scott's journey provides the reader with an insider's view of Islamic extremism, Arab security services, and American embassies abroad. Readers should also find the clash of American and Middle Eastern customs to be amusing if not frightening.