Mary-Jane Deeb is an American Middle East expert, librarian and novelist. Deeb worked at the Library of Congress, where she succeeded George Atiyeh as Chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division. [1]
Deeb's mother was Slovenian and her father was a Levantine from Egypt. She grew up in Alexandria, where she spoke French at home and English at a school run by Irish nuns. [2]
Deeb gained her MA from the American University in Cairo in 1972, with a thesis on the Khazin family. [3] She gained her doctorate at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She then taught for a decade at the American University in Washington, and was Director of the Omani Program there. During the Lebanese Civil War she spent four years in Beirut, working for international organizations including the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST), and the US Agency for International Development. [4]
From 1995 to 1998 Deeb was editor-in-chief of The Middle East Journal . [5] She was also director of the Algeria Working Group at The Corporate Council on Africa. She was a UN observer for the 1997 Algerian parliamentary election. [4]
In 1998 Deeb joined the Library of Congress as Arab World Area Specialist. She became Head of the Near East Section, and in 2005 became Chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED). She retired from the Library of Congress in February 2019. [4]
Algeria comprises 2,381,740 square kilometres (919,590 sq mi) of land, more than 80% of which is desert, in North Africa, between Morocco and Tunisia. It is the largest country in Africa. Its Arabic name, Al Jazair, is believed to derive from the rocky islands along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. The northern portion, an area of mountains, valleys, and plateaus between the Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert, forms an integral part of the section of North Africa known as the Maghreb. This area includes Morocco, Tunisia, and the northwestern portion of Libya known historically as Tripolitania.
Mary Doria Russell is an American novelist.
Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world, with 2.8 billion and 1.9 billion adherents, respectively. Both religions are considered as Abrahamic, and are monotheistic, originating in the Middle East.
Algerian nationalism is pride in the Algerian identity and culture. It has been historically influenced by the conflicts between the Deylik of Algiers and European countries, the French conquest of Algeria and the subsequent French colonial rule in Algeria, the Algerian War, and since independence by Arab socialism, Islamism and Arab nationalism.
The Arab Islamic Republic was a proposed unification of Tunisia and Libya in 1974, agreed upon by Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi and Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba. Additional countries—Morocco and Algeria—were later included in the proposal, which was never implemented.
The Middle East Journal is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Middle East Institute. It was established in 1947 and covers research on the modern Middle East, including political, economic, and social developments and historical events in North Africa, the Middle East, Caucasus, and Central Asia. Jacob Passel is the current editor.
Christopher Wise is a cultural theorist, literary critic, scholar, and translator. His publications largely focus on Sahelian West Africa, especially Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal, as well as Palestine, Jordan, and Israel. He has also published theoretical works on Fredric Jameson, Jacques Derrida, and Noam Chomsky.
Frederica Mathewes-Green is an American author and speaker, chiefly on topics related to Eastern Orthodox belief and practice.
Lisa Anderson is an American political scientist and the former President of the American University in Cairo (AUC).
Arab cinema or Arabic cinema refers to the film industry of the Arab world. Most productions are from the Egyptian cinema.
Lebanon is an eastern Mediterranean country that has the most religiously diverse society within the Middle East, comprising 18 recognized religious sects. The religions are Islam, Christianity, and two other religions: Judaism and Baháʼí.
Religion in Algeria is dominated by Muslims, with nearly ninety-eight of the population adhering to Sunni Islam of the Maliki school of jurisprudence, as of 2020. The remainder include other Islamic schools and branches, Christian denominations, Baháʼís and Jews. Estimates of the Christian population range from 71,000 to 200,000. The latest available estimates suggest a Baháʼí population of 3,300, and a Jewish community of less than 200 people.
Algeria and the Tunisia are both predominantly Muslim nations in North Africa. Both countries have historic dynasties primarily focused in Algiers and Tunis that became specialized in piracy and global trade. Eventually these dynasties fell under the influence of the French in the 19th century. Both remained under French control until Tunisian independence became official in 1956 and Algeria became independent after the conclusion of the Algerian War in 1962. Since independence both countries have had periods of antagonism over issues such as border security and terrorism, however it appears that both countries are trending towards a positive relationship. The Algerian-Tunisian border is around 1034 km (642 mi) long and was officially agreed upon in 1960. Both countries are members of the African Union, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Union for the Mediterranean and the United Nations.
Libyan nationalism refers to the nationalism of Libyans and Libyan culture. Libyan nationalism began to arise with the creation of the Senussi religious orders in the 1830s that blended North African Sufism with orthodox Islam. After colonization of Libya by Italy, opponents of Italian colonial rule from Tripolitania and Cyrenaica combined forces in 1922, with Senussi leader Omar Mukhtar leading the revolt against Italian forces in Libya. Libya became an independent state after World War II.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Cairo, Egypt.
Alexei Mikhailovich Vasiliev is a prominent Russian Arabist and Africanist. Dr. of Science, Professor, full member (academician) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) since 2011.
The Young Egypt Party also known as the Green Shirts was a fascist Egyptian nationalist political party. It is notable for counting a young Anwar Sadat as a member.
Viola Shafik is an Egyptian-German film theorist, curator, and filmmaker.
Arab folk dances, also referred to as Oriental dance, Middle-Eastern dance and Eastern dance, are the traditional folk dances of the Arabs in Arab world. Arab dance has many different styles, including the three main types of folklore, classical, and contemporary. It is enjoyed and implemented throughout the Arab region, from North Africa to the Middle East.