Books


The Massacre That Never Was: The Myth of Deir Yassin and the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem

by Eliezer Tauber
Koren Publishers

What really happened at Deir Yassin? In The Massacre That Never Was, a work of engrossing narrative and exhaustive research, Professor Eliezer Tauber proves that no massacre of Palestinians took place in the village of Deir Yassin in 1948, exploding a myth that has been the cornerstone of the Palestinian narrative for seven decades. Reconstructing a fierce ten-hour battle through a meticulous analysis of Arab and Jewish testimony and documents from 1948 that are still closed to the public, Professor Tauber persuasively demonstrates that the massacre narrative was a myth intentionally invented by the Arab leadership of 1948 Jerusalem. Furthermore, the subsequent false rumors surrounding the event exacerbated the mass exodus of Arabs from Palestine, thus creating the refugee crisis and fueling propaganda against Israel, which has shaped the world’s understanding of the affair to this day. A timely work of historical reappraisal, The Massacre That Never Was will have a major impact on how we understand Israeli and Palestinian history.

ASMEA co-published this book with Koren Publishers. We are honored to have supported the research and efforts of Prof. Tauber so that his groundbreaking book could be published in English for the first time.

Watch the book discussion held at the Fifteenth Annual ASMEA Conference and check out book reviews HERE.


Political Islam from Muhammad to Ahmadinejad: Defenders, Detractors, and Definitions


Joseph Morrison Skelly, Editor
Foreword by Bernard Lewis

In April of 2008, the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) hosted its inaugural conference to much acclaim. Titled, The Evolution of Islamic Politics, Philosophy and Culture in the Middle East and Africa: From Traditional Limits to Modern Extremes, the conference featured scholarly presentations on the profound Islamic influence in these two regions by a diverse array of academics and policy analysts.

Selections from the ASMEA inaugural conference are available from Praeger Security International (an imprint of ABC-CLIO) entitled Political Islam from Muhammad to Ahmadinejad: Defenders, Detractors, and Definitions. Edited by ASMEA’s Treasurer, Joseph Morrison Skelly, this collected volume features a Foreword by ASMEA’s Chairman, Bernard Lewis, and brings together a team of experts to create a compelling, scholarly investigation of the interrelationship of Islam and politics.

Divided into several topical sections—including the origins of Islamism; new interpretive frameworks; jihad in Africa; case studies in Iran, Iraq, and the Palestinian Authority; and proposals for reform—Political Islam from Muhammad to Ahmadinejad: Defenders, Detractors, and Definitions is an in-depth exploration of various dimensions of this ideology. The book assesses political Islam across a wide chronological timeframe and within regional perspectives from Africa and the Middle East. The volume tackles controversial issues head on while providing an intellectual platform for advancing an enlightened Islam into new stages of economic development, intellectual renewal, and accommodation with constitutional democracy and human rights—thus making this collection ideal reading for the international community, the Islamic world, and scholars who seek a deeper understanding of this subject.

ISBN: 0-313-37223-3 / 978-0-313-37223-0

Learn more from ABC-CLIO


Jewish Christianity and the Origins of Islam

ASMEA Member Prof. Francisco del Rio Sanchez of the University of Barcelona is the editor of the book titled, Jewish Christianity and the Origins of Islam. The book includes a series of research papers first presented at the Eighth Annual ASMEA Conference held in Washington, D.C. October 29 – 31, 2015.

Contributors to this publication include the following ASMEA presenters:

 

Guillaume Dye, Jewish Christianity, the Qurʾān, and Early Islam: Some methodological caveats

Robert Hoyland, The Jewish and/or Christian Audience of the Qurʾān and the Arabic Bible

Simon C. Mimouni, Du Verus Propheta Chrétien (Ébionite?) au Sceau des Prophètes musulman.

Francisco del Río Sanchez, Jewish-Christianity and Islamic Origins. The Transformation of a peripheral religious movement?

Carlos A. Segovia, The Jews and Christians of Pre-Islamic Yemen (Ḥimyar) and the Elusive Matrix of the Qurʾān’s Christology

Stephen Shoemaker, Jewish Christianity, Non-Trinitarianism, and the Beginnings of Islam

Holger Zellentin, Judaeo-Christian Legal Culture and the Qurʾān: The Case of Ritual Slaughter and the Consumption of Animal Blood