Book Reviews

Fall 2026 Book Reviews
Book Reviews
Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and Its Radical Consequences
By Brahim El Guabli. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2025. 300 pp.; $95.00 (hardcover); $34.95 (paperback)

Book Review by Bruce Maddy-Weitzman
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy
By Dalia Dassa Kaye. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2025. 236 pp.; $60.00 (hardcover)

Book Review by Sophie Baron
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan
By Aaron Magid. Irvine & Boca Raton: Universal Publishers, 2025. 254 pp.; $29.95 (paperback); $9.99 (Kindle)

Book Review by Asher Susser
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan
By Suzy Hansen. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026. 368 pp. $30.00 (hardcover)

Book Review by Robert Ellis
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
The New Age of Genocide: Intellectual and Political Challenges After Gaza
By Martin Shaw. Newcastle upon Tyne: Agenda Publishing, 2025. 224 pp.; $110 (hardcover); $29.95 (paperback).

Book Review by A. J. Caschetta
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions: Islamic Arguments for Religious Freedom.
Edited by Mustafa Akyol. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2026. 184 pp.; $24.95 (hardcover).

Review by Dexter Van Zile
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law.
By Roy K. Altman. Charleston, S.C.: Advantage Books, 2026, 304 pp.; $32.00 (hardcover), $9.99 (Kindle).

Reviewed by Judith Friedman Rosen
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
Beyond Dialogue: Building Bonds Between Christians and Muslims
By Craig Considine. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2025. 256 pp.; $69.95 (hardback); $24.95 (paperback)

Book Review by Mark Durie
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
Saudi Arabia: A Modern History
By David Commins. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2025. 384 pp.; $28.99 (hardcover); $16.99 (Kindle)

Book Review by Jacob Goldberg
September 1, 2026
Book Reviews
A Daring Enterprise: A U.S.-Egyptian Partnership and the Case for Soft Power
By James A. Harmon, Cornelius Queen, and Mark Warren. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2026. 240 pp.; $35.00 (hardcover)

Book Review by Patrick Clawson
September 1, 2026
More from MEF
On Friday, September 18, 2026, Michigan State University’s Muslim Studies Program marked its 20th anniversary at the MSU International Center. The honoree was Mohammed Ayoob, a distinguished professor emeritus of international relations and the program’s founding coordinator.
Campus Watch
9/11 Wasn’t About Islam, Says the Professor Michigan State Just Honored
‘The Reality Was Far More Complex and Was Primarily Related to the Widespread Opposition to American Policy in the Middle East’
September 21, 2026
 · 
Gregg Roman
A telecommunications tower.
Middle East Forum Observer
To Combat Iranian Proxies, Trump Should Target Their Penetration of Iraqi Telecom
While Al-Zaidi Promised the White House He Would Extricate Iranian Influence, He Has Since Hedged His Bets
September 21, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
Eritrea's Foreign Affairs Minister Osman Mohammed Saleh.
Middle East Forum Observer
Eritrea’s Old Red Sea Narrative Meets a New Middle East
Gulf Arab States Can Maintain Relations with Israel While Also Engaging Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Other Horn of Africa Relationships
September 21, 2026
 · 
Blen M. Diriba
The United Nations resolution reaffirms that the National Oil Corporation is the sole entity authorized to market and export Libyan oil and calls for prohibiting the deposit of oil revenues outside official accounts, in an effort to prevent the emergence of parallel financial systems. Image: An oil tanker berths in Libya.
Middle East Forum Observer
Europe’s Misreading of Libya Compounds Its Energy Crisis
By Working with Khalifa Haftar, Instead of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Europe Can Compensate for the Saudi Shortfall with Libyan Oil
September 20, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
A liquified natural gas tanker and tugs sail to the terminal.
Middle East Forum Observer
Which Countries Face the Greatest Fuel Vulnerability in the Middle East?
Even States That Export Large Volumes of Oil May Rely on Foreign Imports of Fossil Fuels
September 20, 2026
 · 
Umud Shokri
The Hagia Sophia, built as a Byzantine cathedral in the 6th century. After the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, it became a mosque. Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish Republic, turned it into an interfaith museum in 1934 to highlight his country's status as a secular and pluralistic nation. Eighty-six years later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan turned it back into a mosque. The building now stands as a stark symbol of the neo-dhimmitude that has hollowed out the pluralist promise Turkey showed soon after its founding.
Dhimmitude Project
The Betrayal of Lausanne in the ‘Forgotten Holy Land’
Jews and Christians Treated as Conquered Remnants in Modern Turkey
September 19, 2026
 · 
Craig Considine
The United Arab Emirates has completed its 560-mile Etihad Rail network, linking the seven emirates.
Middle East Forum Observer
Will Instability and War Jump-Start the Gulf Arab Railway?
The Gulf Arab States Realize the Need for an Alternative Route When Maritime or Air Connectivity Fails
September 19, 2026
 · 
Radhika Lakshminarayanan
When a local pastor condemned officials for naming a busy intersection after Hezbollah-supporter Osama Siblani in September 2025, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud (above in 2024) called the pastor “an Islamophobe,” declaring: “I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here. And the day you move out of the city will be the day that I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of the city because you are not somebody who believes in coexistence.”
FWI News
Journalist Sues Dearborn and Its Mayor for Anti-Christian, Anti-Jewish Discrimination
Local Pastor Supports Lawsuit
September 18, 2026
 · 
Dexter Van Zile
Protesters at a January 20, 2025 rally in London demonize Israel, adding fervor and strength to the Islamist cause in the United Kingdom.
FWI Opinion & Interview
Baroness Warsi: Unable—or Unwilling—to Defend Civil Society in U.K.
Labour’s Likely Islamophobia Czar Says Only ‘Six Freaks’ Back Hamas
September 18, 2026
 · 
Hannah Baldock
Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco formally agreed to upgrade their respective diplomatic liaison offices to full embassies and appoint official ambassadors. Accompanied by mutually agreed steps to expand direct commercial aviation routes and finalize key bilateral agreements on investment protection and double-taxation prevention by the end of 2026, the decision represented a further step in the evolution of their 2020 normalization framework.
Middle East Forum Online
Israel and Morocco Are Redrawing the Strategic Map of North Africa
Behind the Formal Diplomatic Language Lies a Vastly Broader, Far More Complex, and Highly Consequential Regional Narrative
September 18, 2026
 · 
Amine Ayoub