Cradle of Islam

Mai Yamani is an author, broadcaster and lecturer on politics and society in Saudi Arabia and in the Middle East. Her other books include Changed Identities: The Challenge of the New Generation in Saudi Arabia and The Rule of Law in the Middle East and the Islamic World (Ed.). She has recently held research posts at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London, the Brookings Institution in Washington and the Carnegie Endowment for Peace in Beirut.

"A vivid and vibrant picture of Hijazi society and its transformations in the twentieth century, from intimate domestic culture to public performance and political ritual. A particular insight into female society and its active culture." - Sami Zubaida, Professor of Sociology at Birkbeck College, University of London; "Mai Yamani is consistently the sharpest observer of modern Saudi Arabia and paints a vivid picture of the cauldron of political and religious divisions that are tearing it apart. This is a major contribution to the study of Arab diversity - at a time when the West urgently needs to understand it." - Tim Sebastian, BBC "Hard Talk"; "An invaluable contribution to the social and political history of a hitherto largely unknown, ignored and unrecognized people. An irrefutably powerful argument for the preservation of cultural identity, respect for human dignity and a celebration of our human diversity." - HRH Prince Hassan of Jordan

• Acknowledgements * Prologue: Returning to the Cradle * Defining the Hijaz: The Roots of Cultural Resistance * The Hijazi 'awa'il and the Preservation of Hijazi Identity * The Political Awakening of the Hijazi 'awa'il * The Rotes of Passage 1: Ceremonies of Birth * The Rites of Passage II: Marriage and Social Status * The Rites of Passage III: Death - The Final Vindication * Cultivating the Social Arts I: The Art of Formal Conversation among the Hijazi 'awa'il * Cultivating the Social Arts II: Reasserting Culinary Tradition * Cultivatng the Social Arts III: The Adaptation of Hijazi Dress to the New Social Order * Conclusion * Appendix A: Deconstructing the awa'il * Appendix B: A Selection of Polite Phrases * Select Glossary * Bibliography and Further Reading * Notes