Digital Archive of the Middle East

Items

• A Call to the Palestinian People to Boycott Oil (1931)
  Text of an article by Palestinian activist Nimer ‘Isa, published in the newspaper 'Filastin' in June 1931 and calling for a boycott of oil. Translated and annotated by Shira Pinhas.
• A Chinese Muslim Teacher Performs the Hajj (1933)
  Excerpts from 'Xixing Riji' [Diaries of the Journey to the West] by Zhao Zhenwu (1895-1938), a teacher at the Islamic Chengda Normal School, in Beijing, describing his journeys across the South China Seas and Indian Ocean to Mecca to perform the Hajj in 1933. Translated and annotated by Janice Hyeju Jeong
• A Christian Fundamentalist Writes President Truman on the Palestine Question (1947)
  Text of a letter from pastor J. Frank Norris to President Truman (a fellow Southern Baptist) outlining a Christian Zionist case for American support of a Jewish state in Palestine. Annotated by Walker Robins.
• A Correspondence between PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat and the President of the Workers’ Party in Brazil (1982)
  An exchange of two letters between Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, founder of the Palestinian Arab Federation of Brazil, in 1982, introduced and published by Souheil Sayegh in the Marxist-inspired journal Nova Escrita / Ensaio. Translated and annotated by John Tofik Karam.
• A Former British Nepalese Gurkha Soldier Recalls His Experiences in World War II North Africa (1941-42)
  Excerpts from an interview by John Cross with former Gurkha soldier Kulman Pun - carried out in 1999 - recalling his wartime experiences in Iraq and North Africa during 1941-42. This and other interviews were published in John P. Cross and Buddhiman Gurung (eds.), 'Gurkhas at War: Eyewitness Accounts from World War II to Iraq' (London: Frontline Books, 2015.) Annotated by Patrick Bernard.
• A French Urbanist Reflects on the City of Beirut (1945)
  Text of a speech by French urbanist Michel Écochard to the Lebanese Society of Political Economy (Société Libanaise d'Économie Politique, SLEP) in Beirut on delivered on 5 April 1945. Translated from the original French and annotated by Jan Altaner.
• A German Arabic Dictionary is Translated into English (1961)
  Excerpt from the introduction to 'A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic', by German Orientalist Hans Wehr (1909-81), annotated by Cyrus Schayegh.
• A Modern Border on an Ancient Route:  An Urdu Account of Crossing the Khyber Pass (1933)
  Excerpt from 'Sayr-e Afghanistan' [Journey to Afghanistan], an Urdu account of a journey made in October 1933 by Indian Muslim scholar Sayyid Sulayman Nadvi (1884–1953), describing his crossing of the Khyber Pass. Translated and annotated by Nile Green
• A nationalist Armenian newspaper in Lebanon responds to the Yerevan protests during the French visit to Soviet Armenia
  Report from the nationalist Armenian newspaper 'Aztag' in Lebanon about the protests in Yerevan during the visit of French Foreign Minister Christian Pineau to Soviet Armenia in June 1956. Selected, translated, and annotated by Tsolin Nalbantian.
• A Palestinian share holder of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique du Panama (1888)
  Share certificate for the 'Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique du Panama' belonging to Palestinian doctor Naim Cotran (c.1877–1961), with notes and translation by Sherene Seikaly.
• A Palestinian Work of Science Fiction (1943)
  Excerpt from the novella 'Ruʿyay' [My Vision] by Palestinian historian and later mayor of Jerusalem, ʿAref al-ʿAref’ (1892-1973), published in Jerusalem in 1943, describing a dream-like vision of the author as he travels with a talking bird across the Arab region. Translated and annotated by Eli Osheroff.
• A Private Letter about Soviet-Turkish Film Production (1934)
  Text of a letter written in November 1934 by Soviet film-maker Esfir’ Il’inichna Shub to Halil Kamil, owner of the Ha-Ka film studio in Istanbul, about Shub's work on a film commissioned by Kamil. Translated and annotated by Sam Hirst.
• A Saudi-Ethiopian Land Rental Contract (2009)
  A 50 years rental agreement over 10.000 hectares of land in Ethiopia’s Gambela province on the border with South Sudan between the Ethiopian ministry of agriculture and the Saudi Star Agricultural Development Company
• A Speech by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia on the War with Israel (1967)
  Text of a speech delivered in Riyadh on 6 June 1967 by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in response to the start of the Six Day War with Israel, translated from the Arabic and annotated by Victor McFarland
• A U.S. Date Expedition in Egypt (1905)
  Report of an expedition in February 1905 by American H.A. Rankin, from Fayum to the Siwa oasis in Northwest Egypt, for the purpose of buying date palm offshoots. Annotated by Atar David.
• A Wartime Polemic on Turkey’s Europeanness (1942)
  Texts drawn from an exchange between journalist and literary critic Peyami Safa (1899–1961) and Rebi Barkın (1899–1974) about the European nature of Turkey, published in the nationalist newspaper 'Çınaraltı' in November 1942. Translated from the original Turkish and annotated by Alex Balistreri.
• A WHO Official Is Surprised by the Turkey’s Tuberculosis Control Policies (1968)
  Text of an article , likely by Dr. Saim Polat Bengiserp in 'Yaşamak Yolu' (Path to life), the newspaper of the İstanbul tuberculosis league, reporting on a visit by Dr Mahler, head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) tuberculosis department. Translated and annotated by Léa Delmaire
• Afghan Islamists’ Assessment of Soviet Perestroika and Expectations of the USSR’s Collapse (1990&91)
  Two sources - an anonymous article in the Afghan opposition periodical 'Falaq', (December 1990) and Dr. Muhammad Zahir Sadiq's article in the journal 'Misaq-e Khun' (February 1991), offering Afghan Islamist perspectives on Marxism and the future of the Soviet Union. Translated and annotated by Siarhei Bohdan
• An Address on Agriculture by Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi to the US Near East Foundation (1955)
  Text of an address delivered by the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi at the 25th anniversary dinner of the Near East Foundation, New York, on 7 February 1955, providing insights into his approach to the modernization of Iranian agriculture as well as US involvement in the work of the NEF. Annotated by Joshua Thew
• An Arab-Ottoman Imperialist’s Take on Europeans and Africans at the Beginning of the 20th Century (1904)
  Excerpts from Ottoman Turkish writings by Sadik al-Mu’ayyad Azmzade (1858-1910) on the activities of Europeans and Africans, selected, translated, and annotated by Mostafa Minawi and Jonathan Lohnes.
• An Armenian Revolutionary Connecting through Bombmaking (1904-1905)
  Text of a letter was written by 'Rostom' (Stepan Zorian, 1867-1919), co-founder of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, translated and annotated by Houri Berberian.
• An Egyptian-Soviet Agreement about the Aswan Dam Construction (1959)
  Seven-page document from the Soviet State Committee for Foreign Economic Relations, describing the provision of economic and technical assistance offered to the United Arab Republic in the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Translated and annotated by Elizabeth Bishop
• An Exchange between the Communist International and High Representatives of Mesopotamia (1922)
  An exchange of letters between the High Representatives of Mesopotamia and Grigorii Zinoviev, Chairman of the Communist International, both criticising the British administration, its motives and policies. Translated and annotated by Burak Sayım.
• An Iranian Leftist Intellectual Visits World War II Soviet Central Asia (1944)
  An account of a visit to Uzbekistan by Said Nafisi (1895-1966) in December 1944, published in 'Payām-i naw'. Translated from the original Persian and annotated by James Pickett.
• An Iraqi Doctor’s Medical Address (1927)
  Text of an address about child health by Dr. Hanna Khayyat, Director of Public Health in Iraq under the British Mandate, given on 23 December 1927 and published in the journal 'Majjalat al-Tibbiyyah al-Baghdadiyyah'. Translated from the original Arabic and annotated by Sara Farhan.