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Conflict in the Middle East
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Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis began on October 29, 1956, when Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the Suez Canal after Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-70) nationalised the canal, a valuable waterway that controlled two-thirds of the oil used by Europe. -
Why was the Suez Crisis so important?
The 1956 Suez Crisis, when Britain along with France and Israel invaded Egypt to recover control of the Suez Canal, was arguably one of the most significant episodes in post-1945 British history.
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Suez Crisis
In 1956, British and French forces invaded Egypt in collusion with Israel. Although the military operation was a success, the political storm it caused led to a humiliating withdrawal that dealt Britain's global prestige a severe blow.
Suez crisis. (n.d.). National Army Museum.
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Defining Arab Nationalism
A discussion on the origins of Arab Nationalism. -
Arab Nationalism: Mistaken Identity
“Awake, O Arabs, and arise!” begins the famous ode of Ibrahim al-Yaziji, penned in 1868 in Lebanon.
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The 1967 Six-Day War
Fifty years ago, war transformed the Middle East. Six memorable days, known to Israelis as the Six-Day War and to Arabs and others as the 1967 War, redrew the region’s landscape in fundamental ways.
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1967 war: Six days that changed the Middle East
Fifty years ago, war broke out between Israel and its neighbours. The conflict lasted just six days but its effect would last to the present day.
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The Importance of the Tactical Level: The Arab-Israeli War of 1973
Each level of war is essential to achieve success, and are all equally important. The Arab-Israeli War of 1973 provides an illustration of why the tactical level is essential.
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Yom Kippur War
In the Year 1973, Israel was deliberately and simultaneously attacked by the nations of Egypt and Syria. Both nations sought to retake lands lost to them during the six day war of 1967.
All images are Creative Commons attribution and taken from Wikipedia
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Historiography and memory of the Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990
The Lebanese Civil War was both an internal Lebanese affair and a regional conflict involving a host of regional and international actors. It revolved around some of the issues that dominated regional politics in the Middle East in the latter part of the 20th century, including the Palestine-Israel conflict, Cold War competition, Arab nationalism and political Islam.
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Lebanon profile - Timeline
A chronology of key events from 1516 to 2020
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Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War, civil conflict (1975–90) in Lebanon emanating from the deterioration of the Lebanese state and the coalescence of militias that provided security where the state could not.
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Why Has Israel Tried to Forget 18 Years of Fighting in Lebanon?
For the past 20 years, the lost and unnamed war seemed to slip away from public consciousness. Now it’s suddenly back. Why was it forgotten and how has it been suddenly remembered?
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The Iranian Revolution (1977-1979)
The Iranian Revolution of 1977-79 was the first in a series of mass popular civil insurrections which would result in the overthrow of authoritarian regimes in dozens of countries over the next three decades.
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Iranian women - before and after the Islamic Revolution
The Islamic Revolution of 1979 brought seismic changes to Iran, not least for women. One area that has come under scrutiny is the way women dress and wear their hair - the old Shah, in the 1930s, banned the veil and ordered police to forcibly remove headscarves. But in the early 1980s, the new Islamic authorities imposed a mandatory dress code that required all women to wear the hijab.
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How the Iran-Iraq war will shape the region for decades to come
orty years ago, a major war between Iran and Iraq set the stage for far-reaching and lasting regional dynamics. The conflict — which began in September 1980 when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, and ended in a stalemate in 1988 — was the nascent Islamic Republic’s first major military test.
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The 'beauty' and the horror of the Iran-Iraq war
...Iraq invaded Iran and what has been described as the 20th Century's longest conventional war began. Both sides suffered terrible casualties but they had different motives for fighting and now, looking back, two soldiers see their experiences in a very different light.
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Iran-Iraq War
When Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, it triggered a bitter eight-year war which destabilised the region and devastated both countries.
Participation of child soldiers on Iranian front (top left); Iranian soldier wearing a gas mask (top right); Port quarter view of USS Stark listing to port after being mistakenly struck by an Iraqi warplane (middle left); Pro-Iraq PMOI forces killed in Operation Mersad (middle right); Iraqi prisoners of war after the re-capture of Khorramshahr by Iranians (below left); ZU-23-2 being used by the Iranian Army (below right).
Source: Wikipedia
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Intifada begins on Gaza Strip
In the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip, the first riots of the Palestinian intifada, or “shaking off” in Arabic, begin one day after an Israeli truck crashed into a station wagon carrying Palestinian workers in the Jabalya refugee district of Gaza, killing four and wounding 10.
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Palestinians wage nonviolent campaign during First Intifada, 1987-1988
The Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories that followed Israel’s victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war significantly expanded Israel’s political and economic control over the Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
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What you need to know about the 1987 Intifada
The First Intifada was a largely spontaneous series of Palestinian demonstrations, nonviolent actions like mass boycotts, civil disobedience, Palestinians refusing to work jobs in Israel, and attacks (using rocks, Molotov cocktails, and occasionally firearms) on Israelis.
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Gulf War 1990 - 1991 | Australian War Memorial
17 January 2021 marks thirty years since the start of Operation Desert Storm, the military response by a US-led coalition of 35 nations against Iraq’s illegal occupation of neighbouring Kuwait in August 1990.
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Gulf War: 30 years on, the consequences of Desert Storm are still with us
It was a short message to end a short war. On February 26 1991, Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz put his signature to a letter addressed to the United Nations Security Council.
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Operation Desert Storm: 25 Years Since the First Gulf War
A series of photos from the war.
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Islamic fundamentalism
31 articles on the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in the Middle East
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A Multidimensional Analysis of Religious Extremism
Even though religious extremism is currently a hotly debated topic, it is often reduced to a unidimensional construct that is linked to religious violence.
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The Fundamentalist Distortion of the Islamic Message
This paper [written by Syed Manzar Abbas Zaidi] is an in depth research into the phenomenon of the Islamic fundamentalist evoking the powerful symbolism involved in religious doctrine, to impart his warped message of militancy.
Fighting Islamic fundamentalism: The key role of local Muslim activists. (2015, October 13). New Hampshire Public Radio. https://www.nhpr.org/the-exchange/2015-10-01/fighting-islamic-fundamentalism-the-key-role-of-local-muslim-activists
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Islamic fundamentalism, the Arab Spring, and the Left
One of the key developments in the Middle East over the last three decades has been the rise of what commentators variously call political Islam, Islamism, and Islamic fundamentalism.
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Islamic Terrorism, the Middle East, and Central Asia: the Elusive Connection
Olivier Roy, research director in the humanities and social sciences sector of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique in Paris, discussed Islamic terrorism, past and present, in the Middle East and Central Asia.
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Trends in Terrorism: What’s on the Horizon in 2021?
On a global level, several developments could increase terrorism in certain parts of the world. With the United States drawing down forces in the Middle East, South Asia, and throughout Africa, al Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS), and their respective affiliates could make a renewed push to capture new territory and destabilise countries and regions.
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Middle East and North Africa: Terrorism and Conflicts
During 2002–2018, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) accounted globally for 36.1 per cent of terrorist incidents, 49.3 per cent of terrorist-induced casualties, and 21.4 per cent of conflict deaths.
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Hot Topics: Terrorism in the Middle East
A libguide created by The University of Maine research librarians with links to terrorist groups and online news.
Sample of books
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Iran and Iraq by Surveys the historical background and recent events of the war between Iran and Iraq and considers the resulting political and economic complications for the region and for oil-dependent countries.Call Number: 955.05 MANISBN: 9780531101551Publication Date: 1986
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The Suez crises byCall Number: 956.044 HARISBN: 9780850787764
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The Six-Day War by After being attacked and threatened by Egypt and its Arab neighbors one too many times over the previous years, Israel finally had enough. Over a six-day period, Israel attacked and captured several key military points to create a buffer between itself and its aggressors. This book includes maps to help explain original territory claims, troop movements, and the newly drawn borders.Call Number: 956.046 BROISBN: 9780823945498Publication Date: 2004
Books on the Middle East
Click on image to access list of books