books on the Arab mindset

[Rex Brynen]

Looking at the bookshelf, a few more suggestions that might help understand the different perspective:

Excellent choices, MontainRunner.

I'm not sure Ayubi is really obsolete... his main contribution isn't so much on Arab nationalism, but on "articulated" social formations, the evolution of "fierce" state, and the particular role of corporatist (patron-client) -based political consolidation in the absence of (Gramscian) regime-class hegemony. He is, however, an enormously difficult read at the best of times.

On the issue of consiracy theories, Wilf is right that they are common in the Middle East. I would note, however:

1) The region has been subject to more than its fair share of conspiracies (Sykes-Picot Agreement, the 1953 overthrow of Iranian PM Mossadegh, the 1956 Suez war, etc).

2) I think we underestimate the deep-rootedness of conspiracy theories in our own societies. After all:

• 80% of Americans believe UFOs have visited earth, and 37% believe the US government has been in secret contact with aliens (CNN)
  
• 68% of Americans believe the US government covered up the plot that killed President Kennedy (ABC)
  
• one year after the moon landing, 30% of Americans were suspicious as to whether it had actually occurred (Knight newspapers via wiki)
  
• 43% of Britons believe that Princess Diana's death was not an accident (BBC).
  
• 36% of Americans believe that the USG either conspired to bring town the World Trade Center, or deliberately allowed the attack to go forward, so that it could launch a war in the Middle East (Scripps Howard/University of Ohio). In New York, almost half (49.3%) believe the USG "consciously failed to act" to prevent 9/11 (MSNBC/Zogby)
• 41% of Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11 (Newsweek via wiki).

Most ominously of all, 1930s European/Western perceptions of Jewish conspiracies—coupled with widespread anti-Semitism—generated the Holocaust.

My broader point is to point out the dangers of cultural awareness training that over-emphasizes the differences without recognizing the similarities—and assumes that there is a fixed "mind set" which determines the behaviour of all of the locals, regardless of class, gender, education, occupation, interests, etc.