Here is a service for that Sunday when you want to do something different, but are not sure what. It includes a congregational responsive reading, a sermon, a prayer, and a rhyming drama that requires no memorization.

During the crucial decade of the 1950s in Egypt, both Gamal Abdel Nasser and the idea of Arab nationalism were assuming more and more influence in Egypt and the greater Arab world. Exploring this phenomenon, James Jankowski also offers important insights into the political context in which Nasser maneuvered. Jankowski focuses on the period from the 1952 Revolution in Egypt to the dissolution of the short-lived union of Egypt and Syria in 1961 - and on the outlook and actions of Nasser, the dominant figure in Egypt's new revolutionary regime. Concisely and convincingly, he identifies the unique blend of ideological and practical considerations that led Egypt to a progressively deeper involvement in Arab nationalism. He draws on newly available materials from the U.S. and British archives and on the memoir literature now available in Arabic to present a detailed reconstruction of this formative period in Egyptian political history. Jankowski traces Egypt's - and Nasser's - movement from a peripheral to a central position in Arab nationalist politics.

The causes of the October War in Israel can be traced to the political, economic, and strategic processes that occurred in the Middle East between 1967 and 1973. The papers compiled in this book were presented in the aftermath of the October War at an international colloquium held at Tel Aviv University.The growth 'and power of Middle East oil-producing countries, changes in inter-Arab relations, domestic policies, foreign policies, and strategic changes in the Middle East arena are analyzed and evaluated by American and Israeli scholars. American foreign policy, Soviet military doctrine, and Arab war aims are dealt with as well. The introduction which summarizes the discussion reflects the perspective of December 1974 from which the events of the years 1967-1973 were seen and evaluated.

An Egyptian diplomat-turned-scholar provides a detailed analysis of events from the fall of Mubarak through the aftermath of the 2013 military move to oust Egypt's first democratically elected president. The Arab Spring caught the world by surprise and was truly inspiring. Then, many watched with bewilderment as the process unfolded in unforeseen directions. This lively and well-documented book tells the story of events in Egypt from the end of the Mubarak era in 2010 through the revolution in 2011 and the military interference in the summer of 2013. Written from an insider's perspective, it discusses what occurred and analyzes the motives of the parties involved, putting each incident in context so the reader can see—and understand—the big picture. The author's background as an Egyptian diplomat provides insights that fuel a nuanced and richly detailed study. Among other topics, the book sheds light on the Egyptian military and economy, the life and written opinions of the military leader Al Sisi, and ties between the United States and the Egyptian armed forces. It reveals evidence of a conspiracy against the first elected civilian administration in Egypt, details the conflict between the Islamists and the deep state, and examines the rise and fall of political Islam. A final chapter speculates about possible scenarios for the future of Egypt.

The 2011 uprisings across the Arab world directed the attention of the international community to the Middle East once again. Millions of people took to the streets to demonstrate against their autocratic regimes. This was an important indication of the Arab people’s desire for change, along with an opportunity to restore their dignity. Although, over time, these movements weakened, they gave rise to discussions of politics, economy, social organisms, and civil-militia relations. To understand this phenomenon, various theories, including revolutionary ones, were discussed. The revolutionary experiences of these countries are important to examine as these very countries had similar waves of change over 50 years ago. The Arab countries of Egypt, Tunis, Libya, Syria and Yemen had gone through coup d’états and leader changes during the 1950s and ‘60s. Comparing these two periods may provide very useful insights to understand the demands of people and how they act to reach these goals. This book will particularly analyze the revolutionary periods of Egypt in the 1950s and 2010s. As such, it will be useful not only to scholars and students of Middle Eastern studies, but also to people who want to understand the nature of the demands for change in this region.

Routledge Library Editions: Egypt brings together as one set, or individual volumes, a series of previously out-of-print classics from a variety of academic imprints. With titles ranging from Education in Egypt to Egypt in Transition, from Egyptian Religion to Egypt's Economic Potential, this set provides in one place a wealth of important reference sources from a wide range of authors expert in the field.

The liberatory sentiment that stoked the Arab Spring and saw the ousting of long-time Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak seems a distant memory. Democratically elected president Mohammad Morsi lasted only a year before he was forced from power to be replaced by precisely the kind of authoritarianism protestors had been railing against in January 2011. Paradoxically, this turn of events was encouraged by the same liberal activists and intelligentsia who’d pushed for progressive reform under Mubarak. This volume analyses how such a key contingent of Egyptian liberals came to develop outright illiberal tendencies. Interdisciplinary in scope, it brings together experts in Middle East studies, political science, philosophy, Islamic studies and law to address the failure of Egyptian liberalism in a holistic manner – from liberalism’s relationship with the state, to its role in cultivating civil society, to the role of Islam and secularism in the cultivation of liberalism. A work of impeccable scholarly rigour, Egypt and the Contradictions of Liberalism reveals the contemporary ramifications of the state of liberalism in Egypt.