In the decade that it took to complete this book, I have accumulated many pleasant debts. My colleagues in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis University showed remarkable patience in accommodating my research leaves. Marc Brettler, Bernadette Brooten, Avigdor Levy, Antony Polonsky, and Ben Ravid were particularly supportive, and I thank them for their collegiality. I would also like to note the support that I received through the Mazar Award for faculty research in the humanities, arts, and social sciences at Brandeis.
A membership in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton during 1998–99 enabled me to get the project off the ground. Patricia Crone took a keen interest in my topic and made my stay at the institute both productive and enjoyable. A workshop that we organized on nationalism among minorities in central Asia and the Middle East helped me to develop some of the themes discussed in this book. While at the institute, I benefited from the sound advice of Michael Walzer, and I thank him for inviting me twice to contribute articles to Dissent. A generous research grant from the U.S. Institute of Peace for 2004–5 helped me concentrate on the final stages of writing. I completed the book as a fellow in the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., during January–May 2005. The collegial working environment at the center was beyond expectations. Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director of the center, was always accessible and welcoming. Michael Van Dusen, Robert Litwak, and Rosemary Lyon were unfailingly supportive. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program, was exceedingly kind, ensuring that I could pursue my writing uninterrupted. My research assistant, Ariel Ahram, was most helpful in some last-minute checks of the Arabic press.
I thank the many librarians and archivists who facilitated my research in the Firestone Library at Princeton, the Widener Library at Harvard, the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the Arabic newspaper archive at Tel-Aviv University. Thanks are also due to the Controller, H. M. Stationary Office in England, for permission to quote copyright material in the Public Record Office and the India Office in London.
A number of people have been generous in providing counsel, in commenting on my work, and in sharing with me their knowledge of Islam and the Middle East. I am grateful to S¸ahin Alpay, Shaul Bakhash, Gene Garthwaite, Ellis Goldberg, Etan Kohlberg, Joseph Kostiner, Meir Litvak, Kanan Makiya, Richard Norton, Hazim Saghiya, Frank Stewart, Ezra Suleiman, Judith Yaphe, and Sami Zu-baida. Michael Cook has closely followed my writing in the course of two decades. He read the manuscript twice with utmost care, making pointed and stimulating comments. I have benefited tremendously over the years from his intellectual wisdom and insightful ideas.
It has been a pleasure to work again with the staff at Princeton University Press. They all did their best to bring the book to completion in a speedy manner. My editor, Brigitta van Rheinberg, was an enthusiastic champion of the project from its infant stages. I value her input and sound judgment, as well as her consistent support through the years.
Writing a book is not always an easy exercise. How wonderful it was, then, that in those tough moments I had Beth, and Neta and Talya, by my side. This book is dedicated to them.