Arab World

On a back street of the bazaar, in a gray marble fortress of a building amid shabby merchant stalls, all that glitters is solid gold. Or almost. Eighteen karat--three-quarters pure--is the minimum quality offered at Bahrain's gold souk , where courtyard shop windows blaze with baubles of every description and the prices are far below those of Europe and America.

Early in the novel, "Second Person Singular," a main character known throughout the book as "the lawyer" reads a note in his wife's handwriting. "I waited for you, but you didn't come," the note says. "I hope everything's all right. I wanted to thank you for last night. It was wonderful. Call me tomorrow?" The sense of intimacy leaps off the page. But the note was not written for the lawyer. It fell out of a copy of Tolstoy's "The Kreutzer Sonata" he had just bought from a used-book store.

Few countries are as active in courting international opinion as Israel. An entire ministry is devoted to a kind of global PR called hasbara , the Hebrew word for "explaining. " Israelis studiously track public opinion in the United States and Europe, and Israel's military has taken to using YouTube, Twitter and an army of bloggers to disseminate real-time updates around the world, sometimes in the middle of battle. But the public diplomacy campaign, which has largely focused on the West, has ignored the Arab world, which many in Israel have viewed as a lost cause.

Early this year, the Pentagon's strategic review signaled a shift in priorities for U.S. foreign policy, suggesting that more attention would be paid to the Asia-Pacific region. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke of this as a "pivot" toward Asia, signaling what for many analysts and ordinary Americans has been a long-overdue transition away from Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East in general. But there's a problem with that. The act of pivoting involves turning your back, and the United States should not turn its back on the Middle East.

The Arab world greeted President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize with praise for his efforts at reaching out to Muslims but also with frustration -- and sometimes sharp criticism -- that the president's eloquence and charisma have not forced dramatic change on the ground. Bloodshed continues in Iraq, Afghanistan drifts in violence and uncertainty, and talks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have stalled. Obama inspired the region in his Cairo address to Muslims in June, regarded as a wise and conciliatory gesture to erase the combative years of the Bush administration and mend relations with the Arab world.

For centuries, before its steady decline of recent decades, Egypt was the center of the Arab world; Cairo its focus of learning, culture and political power. Now, the country suddenly is changing again in ways likely to reshape the region for years to come. The implications encompass religion, the role of the military and the meaning of citizenship in authoritarian societies. The changes will complicate relations with Israel and pose challenges for U.S. foreign policy. They will affect rising non-Arab powers such as Turkey and Iran.

The austere image of a tall, turbaned man battling the West from a cave inspired young Islamist warriors for years. But when Osama bin Laden died, his virulent brand of jihad had been all but extinguished by the "Arab Spring" that found more potent and peaceful ways to reshape the world. Al Qaeda-inspired militants still roam the mountains of Yemen and along the dangerous coast of Somalia. For many Arabs, though, Bin Laden's appeal had waned in the lexicon of Facebook and Twitter; he had become akin to an oldies rock 'n' roll act, an antiquated icon in a new era of revolution.

Preserving history Re "Unearthing a city's past," Column, Jan. 28 Hector Tobar and The Times deserve commendation for their fine work in bringing public attention to the desecration of a burial site adjacent to the La Placita church near Olvera Street. The cemetery was the final resting place for many of the early settlers of Los Angeles, including relatives of the original 44 settlers and indigenous people from the San Gabriel Valley and its mission. Though Los Angeles has changed a great deal since 1781, we have an obligation to honor the city's heritage and history.

What a pleasure it was to read a series of thoughtful, well-written articles on the Arab world, devoid of many of the typical stereotypes and misinformation. This is not to say that the articles were all positive, but that is natural, as this is journalism and not public relations. David Lamb's exploration of the different problems in the Arab world today not only contributes to American understanding but also forces Arabs in this country and Arab-Americans to take an incisive and closer look at an area of the world that is of special significance.

The latest war in Iraq is never directly mentioned in "Inside Mecca" or "Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle for the Arab World." Nor is Sept. 11. Yet it's sad to say that because of those events, these two documentaries on KCET tonight will receive more notice than they otherwise might. They deserve to be seen on their own merits, not solely through the prism of the war on terrorism. Starting at 8 p.m.

For the better part of the last century, three Arab states - Egypt, Iraq and Syria - dominated Middle East politics in matters of war and peacemaking and shaped the region's relations with the great powers. The kings of Jordan and Morocco - and, of course, Saudi Arabia (and the Persian Gulf states) when it came to oil - had their say too. But it was the three pseudo-republics, authoritarian military regimes really, that threw their collective weight around. Not anymore.

All Gaul was divided into three parts, Julius Caesar wrote in his "De Bello Gallico. " For America, the Arab world had been divided into two: adversarial and acquiescent Arab authoritarians. Until now. The last eight months have witnessed profound changes. The willing and unwilling Arab autocrats have gone or are going the way of the dodo. What remains — Arab states without strong and authoritative leaders and caught up in lengthy, messy transitions, monarchies trying to co-opt and preempt transformational change (Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Jordan)

Eight months after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt continues to grapple with the revolution's aftermath as it prepares for parliamentary elections next month. But at this year's Arab Film Festival , which opens Friday at the Writers Guild of America theater in Beverly Hills, it will be pre-revolutionary Egypt that appears on the screen. In "The Birds of the Nile," a man from a small village moves to Cairo in search of a better life but runs up against the disintegrating structures of Egyptian society.

A year ago, Palestinian Authority employee Fida Jiryis took out a $100,000 mortgage to purchase an apartment in Ramallah, one of thousands of first-time Palestinian home buyers to benefit from a recent push to improve the West Bank economy in preparation for eventual statehood. But several weeks ago, the 36-year-old copy editor sold her property in a panic when the Palestinian Authority cut June salaries by half and warned that it would be unable to meet July's payroll at all. Though the authority eventually paid full July salaries after workers threatened a general strike, officials say future paychecks remain at risk.

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak was wheeled into a courtroom cage in a hospital bed on Wednesday to face trial for killing protesters -- an image that thrilled those who overthrew him and must have chilled other Arab autocrats facing popular uprisings. If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty. Judge Ahmed Refaat called for quiet as he opened the trial of the former president, his two sons Alaa and Gamal, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six senior ex-officers. A business executive and Mubarak confidant, Hussein Salem, is being tried in absentia.

Before the Libyan uprising this year, Salah, a proud Arab, never would have approved if his sister had decided to marry a Berber, a long-oppressed ethnic group populating large parts of western Libya and the rest of North Africa. But the battle against Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi's rule has fused the destinies of the two people, especially in the Nafusa Mountains where Arab and Berber towns rely on one another for survival. "There is one particular Berber who I got to know after the revolution," said Salah, who asked that his last name not be published because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The rapidly escalating conflict in Lebanon has divided the Arab world, deepening the gulf between rulers and ruled and reinforcing in the public's mind the impotence of leaders who for two generations have been unable to produce a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Few countries are as active in courting international opinion as Israel. An entire ministry is devoted to a kind of global PR called hasbara , the Hebrew word for "explaining. " Israelis studiously track public opinion in the United States and Europe, and Israel's military has taken to using YouTube, Twitter and an army of bloggers to disseminate real-time updates around the world, sometimes in the middle of battle. But the public diplomacy campaign, which has largely focused on the West, has ignored the Arab world, which many in Israel have viewed as a lost cause.

Attempting to stave off democratic demands sweeping the Arab world, Morocco's King Mohammed VI unveiled a draft constitution that includes major reforms to strengthen the role of the elected government, apparently strip him of some powers, and enshrine equality of the sexes and civil liberties in a country with a dark history of human rights abuses. But under the proposed constitution, to be voted on by the nation in a July 1 referendum, the king would retain the power to approve Cabinet appointments, as well as maintain authority over the security apparatus, army and key religious posts.