The Islamic Awakening's Second Wave

Hassan al-Turabi, often referred to as the most significant Muslim cleric since Ayatollah Khomeini, had a central influence during the 1990s on the rise of Sunni Islamist movements across the Middle East and North Africa. He was a mentor of Ayman al-Zawahiri and had a close personal relationship with Osama bin Laden, sponsoring his presence in Sudan before the Al Qaeda leader fled to Afghanistan. Al-Turabi was the ideological force behind the coup led by Omar al-Bashir, with whom he has since fallen out, that brought Islamists to power in Sudan in 1989. As an opposition leader al-Turabi has been in and out of jail for years, most recently over the issue of Darfur.
The soft-spoken philosopher of Islam sat down with me for a lengthy and candid discussion in the summer of 1992. We met in a dilapidated townhouse near DuPont Circle in Washington, where he had come, as it turned out without success, to repair relations with the United States.     

Forensic value of 14 novel STRs on the human Y chromosome

We identified and characterized 14 novel short-tandem-repeats (STRs) on the Y chromosome and typed them in two samples, a globally diverse panel of 73 cell lines, and 148 individuals from a European–American population. These Y-STRs include eight tetranucleotide repeats (DYS449, DYS453, DYS454, DYS455, DYS456, DYS458, DYS459, and DYS464), five pentanucleotide repeats (DYS446, DYS447, DYS450, DYS452, and DYS463), and one hexanucleotide repeat (DYS448). Sequence data were obtained to designate a repeat number nomenclature. The gene diversities of an additional 22 Y-STRs, including the most commonly used in forensic databases, were directly compared in the cell line DNAs. Six of the 10 most polymorphic markers include the newly identified Y-STRs. Furthermore, these novel Y-STRs greatly improved the resolution of paternal lineages, above the level obtained with commonly used Y-STRs, in the European–American population.     

Bureaucracy and development in Saudi Arabia: A behavioural analysis

The objective of the paper is to evaluate the developmental potential of the Saudi bureaucracy in terms of the innovative or developmental attitudes of its members. The paper is divided into four sections: (1) a brief discussion of the research procedures used in the study, (2) an analysis of group perceptions of innovative values within the Saudi bureaucracy, (3) an analysis of the innovative attitudes of Saudi bureaucrats and (4) an analysis of the factors inhibiting the development of innovative behaviour among Saudi bureaucrats. The results of the study indicate low levels of innovative behaviour among Saudi bureaucrats.     

A portrait of the Israeli woman as the beloved: the woman‐soldier in the poetry of Mahmüd Darwish after the 1967 war

Understandably, the treatment of the Israeli as an individual in contemporary Arabic literature has been quite limited. A significant attempt to portray an Israeli woman has been made by the Palestinian poet, Mahmüd Darwish. Over the course of three poems, written at different points in the poet's career, Darwish introduces and develops the character Rita, capturing in each poem a different facet of the personal, human tragedy inherent in the love between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man. The conflicts of love, national suffering, and the inconstancy of human behaviour work against any hope for a lasting relationship between Rita and the poet. Beyond the narrative of this ‘Rita trilogy’, a number of points merit critical evaluation: the novelty of a compassionate portrayal of an Israeli woman in Arabic literature, and the question of whether Rita is in fact an individual or a symbol of something greater. Texts of the poems treated are provided as appendices in both English and Arabic.     

Racial inequality in employment in Canada: Empirical analysis and emerging trends

Abstract: This article examines racial discrimination in employment in Canada using data from a sample of legal cases that were published in the Canadian Human Rights Reporter between 1980 and 1999. The authors discuss some theoretical perspectives on racial discrimination, briefly review empirical studies on the topic, examine the nature of and trends in such employment discrimination cases over the two decades, and provide an in‐depth discussion and analysis of selected legal cases on racial discrimination in Canada. After some concluding remarks, policy recommendations to combat racial discrimination in the workplace are suggested. Sommaire: Le présent article examine la discrimination raciale en matière d'emploi au Canada à l'aide de données d'un échantillon de causes judiciaires qui ont été publiées dans le Canadian Human Rights Reporter de 1980 à 1999. Les auteurs discutent de certaines perspectives théoriques sur la discrimination raciale, passent brièvement en revue les études empiriques sur le sujet, examinent la nature et les tendances de tels cas de discrimination en matière d'emploi au cours des deux décennies, et fournissent une discussion et analyse approfondie de causes judiciaires sélectionnées portant sur la discrimination raciale au Canada. En conclusion, ils proposent des recommandations de politiques pour combattre la discrimination raciale dans le lieu de travail     

The significance of Cancún

This paper discusses the effects of feminism, nationalism and colonialism on modern Arab women. These three elements are seen as interconnected in the Arab world, as in many other developing countries. However, even though early Arab feminist consciousness developed hand in hand with national consciousness, feminism is an indigenous product of Arabic political and socioeconomic dynamics. The colonialist and counter‐colonialist representations of Arab women need to be challenged. And observers must see that Arab women's need for positive change is no more nor less than that of women anywhere else.