MINORITY RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: A COMPARATIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS

This book assesses a region that dominates news, but which has rarely been viewed from the perspective of minorities. It offers readers in-depth analysis of group identity-oriented questions, providing commentary on religious, linguistic, ethnic and ethno-nationalists groups in the region, against the backdrop of the Ottoman Empires impact. A significant part of the commentary is devoted to issues of conflict, and the role of external actors, from European interest at the end of the Ottoman period and its impact on the region, to more recent Anglo-American involvement. The book classifies groups of identity-based communities in the region, overviews their history, and comments on their contemporary legal status. It offers insight into how minorities were viewed under the rubric of Islam, and how this came to be affected by other externalities. While engaging normative and historical arguments germane to minorities, the book examines three countries that are historically inter-linked, in detail. These countries - Iraq, Syria and Lebanon - are at the heart of questions concerning identity-based communities at present. In keeping with the two other books in this series, the three countries histories are told from minority perspectives, the range of communities that could fall under the banner of minorities are explored in detail, the applicable domestic legislative machinery is identified and assessed, and a number of key domestic remedies are highlighted that could serve as models for ensuring greater cohesion and inclusion of minorities in political life. The book provides commentary on unfolding contemporary events, while ensuring that the analysis remains relevant irrespective of the turn that current events may take, in a region that risks becoming politically volatile.