ABSTRACT
This book is a collection of chapters on what could be loosely referred to as ‘Middle Eastern’ or ‘Arab/Moslem’ cities. Both of these designations are placed in parentheses to demonstrate the rather vague nature of the terms and also their implications. Simply designating a city such as Cairo, for example, as ‘Arab’ or ‘Moslem’, associates a set of presumptions and preconceptions which may not be an accurate refl ection of a city coping with nearly 20 million inhabitants, negotiating agreements with world trade organizations, and handling advances in information technology – to name just a few of the issues that may be present in any city throughout the world (fi gure 1.1). Such a perception may lead to forms of action which could be counterproductive, thus potentially contributing to the current state of underdevelopment present in many cities in the region. In using a geographical designation, which
subsumes ethnic, religious and social groupings, a more accurate – and non-conventional – reading could be attained. The book thus differs from what has been, for the most part, a rather traditional refl ection on cities inhabited by Arabs in the Middle Eastern region. With that in mind I will be using the terms ‘Arab’ and ‘Middle Eastern’ interchangeably.1
