Preface Introduction: Understanding People in Context 1. Self and Identity From My Life Ahmad Amin (Egypt) The ID Card Layla al-Uthman (Kuwait) From Why Keep Asking Me about My Identity? Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt) 2. Rites of Passage From An Egyptian Childhood Taha Hussein (Egypt) From Khul-Khaal: Five Egyptian Women Tell Their Stories Nayra Atiya (Egypt) My Wedding Night Alifa Rifaat (Egypt) 3. Codes of Masculinity Choice Abd al-Aziz al-Maqalih (Yemen) Sa''id, the Searcher Hijab Yahya Musa al-Hazimi (Saudi Arabia) Those Two Heavy Wings of Manhood: On Moustaches Hassan Daoud (Lebanon) 4. Honor versus Shame The Beards Zakaria Tamer (Syria) Misfortune in the Alley Ramziya Abbas al-Iryani (Yemen) Abu Richard Mu '' nis al-Razzaz (Jordan) 5. Private versus Public The Freak Yusuf Idris (Egypt) From The Sheltered Quarter: A Tale of a Boyhood in Mecca Hamza Bogary (Saudi Arabia) Tears for Sale Samira Azzam (Palestine) 6. Sexual Mores Let''s Play Doctor Nura Amin (Egypt) A Red Spot Rabia Raihane (Morocco) Caught Red-Handed Yusuf Idris (Egypt) From Who''s Afraid of Meryl Streep? Rashid al-Daif (Lebanon) 7. Gender Relations A Mistake in the Knitting Ihsan Kamal (Egypt) International Women''s Day Salwa Bakr (Egypt) From Breaking Knees Zakaria Tamer (Syria) She and the Dogs Ibrahim al-Koni (Libya) 8.
Marriage and Children From My Life Ahmad Amin (Egypt) From The Seven Days of Man Abdel-Hakim Kassem (Egypt) The Spider''s Web Ihsan Kamal (Egypt) Heir Apparent Ramziya Abbas al-Iryani (Yemen) 9. Family Dynamics The Funfair Hanan al-Shaykh (Lebanon) The One-Eyed Woman Hanan al-Shaykh (Lebanon) The Newcomer Daisy al-Amir (Iraq) From The First Well: A Bethlehem Boyhood Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (Palestine) From A Refugee Childhood Rafiq Abdul Rahman (Palestine) 10. Religion--Official versus Popular From A Child from the Village Sayyid Qutb (Egypt) From The Saint''s Lamp Yahya Haqqi (Egypt) The Dome with the Crescent: A Trilogy Mohamed al-Mahdi Bushra (Sudan) An Old Picture Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt) 11. Fate and God''s Will versus Freedom of Choice The Village Tale Mahmud Tahir Lashin (Egypt) Bread, Hashish and Moon Nizar Qabbani (Syria) Life''s Will Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi (Tunisia) 12. Forms of Violence Washing Off Disgrace Nazik al-Mala '' ika (Iraq) Blood Feud Habib Jamati (Lebanon) The Martyr Ibrahim Tuqan (Palestine) Bus #99 Yasir Abdel Baqi (Yemen) 13. The Ruler and the Ruled The Chair Carrier Yusuf Idris (Egypt) On the Tenth Day Zakaria Tamer (Syria) From What Value Has the People Whose Tongue Is Tied? Nizar Qabbani (Syria) The Moment the Barrier of Fear Broke Down Adel Abdel Ghafar (Egypt) 14. The Arab-Israeli Conflict Innocence Yusuf Idris (Egypt) Identity Card Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine) From The Last Chapter Leila Abouzeid (Morocco) Legend Abdallah Salih al-Uthaymin (Saudi Arabia) 15. Perceptions of the West From My Life Ahmad Amin (Egypt) Sardines and Oranges Muhammad Zafzaf (Morocco) From The Funeral of New York Adonis (Syria) From The Crane Halim Barakat (Syria) America Dunya Mikhail (Iraq) Notes About the Authors Permissions and Acknowledgments.