Arabs

The humanization of the Arabs and the dehumanization of the Arabs--these are the contrasting aims of the book reviews by Edward Said and Dick Roraback. Said sought to highlight the complex subtleties and historical richness of Arabs in history as portrayed in the magnum opus of a senior Middle East historian. Roraback sought to highlight in an uncritical manner the stereotypes and racist remarks of two amateur Middle East travelers from America . . . Whereas Said's review holds out the hope for better understanding between Americans and Arabs, I am afraid that Roraback contributes to widening the gulf between them.

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.

His hands thick, the color of pewter, he bends steel rods in the city dust. "It's different being an Egyptian after the revolution," says Mohammed Mahmoud, sweating at the edge of a construction site. A boy laborer nods. A flash of metal brightens the dirt. "We gained our dignity back. " The revolts shaking North Africa and the Middle East are about many things, but the most potent is a yearning for respect after decades of repression and promises betrayed. Men like Mahmoud don't see the world in ideologies; they want to draw their pay and build their dreams.

LONDON - Posthumus, the protagonist of Shakespeare's "Cymbeline," marched through the Herculean columns of the Globe theater, stopped abruptly at the front of the stage and looked up at an audience of hundreds - most of whom didn't speak a whisper of the language they were about to hear. His voice boomed, and he raised his arms and curled his hands into fists. "All these people have come from the newest country in the world," shouted actor Francis Paulino Lugali in Juba Arabic, "and this country is South Sudan!"

On a quiet stretch of road flanked by the rolling hills of northern Nineveh province stands a checkpoint many fear could become the next frontline in a new conflict over age-old issues of land and power dividing Arabs and Kurds. To the west lies the provincial capital, Mosul: insurgent-infested and, since April, governed by a hard-line Arab nationalist group that is seeking to affirm Nineveh's Arab identity.

The weather at Razi Elementary School was depressing -- a driving winter rain mixed with occasional hail that soaked prospective voters as soon as they stepped out of their cars. Inside the school, local politicians fretted about the possibility of a record low turnout here in Israel's second-largest Arab city, and among Arab voters nationwide. On the streets, a protest against a right-wing Israeli politician serving as an election supervisor here briefly turned violent.

The Arab world had been empty of hope for years, but then, at the dawn of winter, Tunisia tumbled into anarchy and, suddenly, Arabs spotted a glimmer of renewal. Mohammad Bouazizi was a fruit seller of little consequence until he set himself on fire last month and ignited a wave of street protests that brought down an autocratic regime. The act of a single man sacrificing all in a moment of defiance symbolized the desperation felt by millions of Arabs. Writers and intellectuals, scrap men and taxi drivers now speak bravely about the prospect of rebirth across the Middle East.

I would like to congratulate you on the article (March 13), "U.S. Arabs Close Ranks Over Bias," and your fair intelligent reporting of the situation of Arab-Americans. It is rare to find such unbiased coverage in today's media. As a Times reader, I have gained a better understanding of their plight. LUCINDA WILLS South Pasadena

I think Geyelin has some basic misconceptions about Jews. Although Jesus was Jewish there is no reason to assume that all Jews are as tolerant and forgiving of personal and collective abuse as he was. As far as I know, Jews are human beings just like everyone else, and when they are threatened, as is the almost continual case by their fellow Semites, the Arabs, they get angry. Yes, they eventually hate. Arabs don't apologize for hating Jews certainly! Why does it seem that Jews and the Israeli government in particular are required to be better Christians than the rest of the world?

UMM AL FAHM, Israel — He's an Israeli-born Islamist whom the government considers so dangerous he's been banned from stepping foot in Jerusalem. Yet his prison stints over the last decade for allegedly funding terrorist groups, inciting violence and spitting on an Israeli security officer — all of which he denies — have only served to make Sheik Raed Saleh, 53, extremely popular and influential among Arab Israelis. After returning this month from London, where he successfully fought deportation by British immigration officials who cited his controversial views, Saleh received a hero's welcome.

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.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Mohammad Fahad Al-Qahtani is a busy man with a dangerous passion. A human rights activist and relentless writer of letters and legal briefs, he challenges a kingdom that demands unquestioned authority. He slips videos onto the Internet and fires off missives to King Abdullah, calling for the freeing of political prisoners and the arrest of the king's half brother and heir apparent. He smiles at such audaciousness at a time when Saudi authorities are trying to contain calls for change encouraged by Arab rebellions, but turns somber when pondering the consequences.

A day after representatives of 83 nations promised "additional appropriate measures" to shore up the Syrian opposition, a special United Nations envoy said Monday that the Bashar Assad regime will withdraw troops from populated areas by April 10, with a mutual cease-fire to begin within 48 hours. To put it mildly, skepticism is in order. Assad has reneged on similar commitments in the past, and Russia, one of his two supporters on the U.N. Security Council, shows no signs of abandoning its ally.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi royal family prizes stability as much as the oil that secures its wealth, but political upheaval across the Middle East has shaken the kingdom's sense of balance, forcing it to press for radical change in Syria and confront a bid by longtime nemesis Iran to wield greater influence. The decades-old rivalry between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shiite-controlled Iran for prominence in the region is one of the volatile subplots embedded in the "Arab Spring.

  Amal Zuhair's hijab is pushed back, revealing a strip of hair that to her traditionalist elders is a provocation, much like her fondness for rock music. She says she feels like two people: "I leave myself at home whenever I go outside. I am this other thing, this pretend person they want me to be. " Zuhair's struggle with her identity mirrors a broader quest in Libya as the country tries to recover from the four-decade rule of Moammar Kadafi, whose Arab nationalist regime long repressed minority cultures.

A series of explosions and shootings struck Iraq on Tuesday, leaving scores dead and injured a week before a major Arab summit in Baghdad aimed at showcasing the nation's stability after the U.S. military withdrawal. Starting shortly after dawn, at least 20 bombs exploded at 13 sites, from Baghdad to the northern city of Kirkuk to the southern cities of Hillah and Karbala. The nationwide death toll was at least 46, with more than 200 injured, the Associated Press reported. At least two car bombs exploded near the heavily fortified Green Zone, where next week's Arab League summit is scheduled to take place.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is scheduled to be in Syria on Saturday on a special peace mission, but the veteran diplomat faces daunting obstacles in trying to craft a cease-fire in the almost yearlong conflict that has cost thousands of lives. Annan, a joint special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League, will meet Saturday in Damascus, the Syrian capital, with President Bashar Assad, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters Friday. On the eve of his trip, opposition activists reported scores more killed across Syria as the now-traditional Friday protests took place in many parts of the country.