Educational Experience:
September '73 - June '81
The University of California at Los Angeles
Department of History
Doctorate of Philosophy, June '81
Master of Arts, June '74
September '70 - January '73
The City University of New York
Department of History
Bachelor of Arts, January '73
September '67 - January '70
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Associate of Arts, January '70
Employment Experience:
September '89 - present
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Department of History
Professor and Chair
September '85 - September '89
Birzeit University, The West Bank
Department of History
Chair
June '84 - August '85
The University of California at Los Angeles
Department of History
Visiting Lecturer
June '83 - June '84
The University of California at Riverside
Department of History
Visiting Assistant Professor
Awards and Honors:
Summer 2003 - National Endowment for the Humanities, Seminar on St. Francis of Assisi and his times. Siena, Italy.
Summer 1997 - Research Grant by the American Research Center in Egypt, Cairo.
Summer 1996 - National Endowment for the Humanities, Seminar on Statecraft and war in the Christian and Islamic Traditions; Rutgers University.
1994/95 - The Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Professor-Department of History, University of Pennsylvania. (Declined)
1993/94 - Fulbright Senior Scholar Lecture/Research Award, Department of History, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Summer 1993 - National Endowment for the Humanities, Seminar on Islam and the Scientific Tradition, Columbia University.
1981/82 - American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Cairo, Egypt.
1979/80 - University Fellow, UCLA.
1978/79 - University Fellow, UCLA.
1977/78 - Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, Cairo, Egypt.
1976/77 - National Defense Foreign Language (Title VI) Fellowship.
1975/76 - National Defense Foreign Language (Title VI) Fellowship.
1974/75 - National Defense Foreign Language (Title VI) Fellowship.
Passed Ph. D. examinations with distinction, Department of History, UCLA.
Doctoral Fields:
Islamic history
The Modern Middle East
North African history
Arabic literature
Research Interests:
Social and economic issues in early Islamic history
Development of Islamic theology, law and Sufism
Periodization of Islamic history
Modern politics in the Middle East
Modern Islamic revival
Qur'anic Studies- Naskh (Abrogation) in the Qur'an
Merchant Capital and Islam
A Social and Economic Biography of Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (Ph. D. Dissertation)
Courses taught/prepared to teach:
History of World Civilizations (Ancient to Modern)
Early Islamic history (500-1055)
History of the Middle East (12th-18th centuries)
History of the Modern Middle East (19th and 20th centuries)
History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
History of Pre-Colonial North Africa including Islamic Spain
History of Modern North Africa
History of West Africa until the 19th century
History of Islamic Iran (until 1800)
Islamic institutions and political ideas
Seminar on Islamic sects
Seminar on early Islamic cities
Seminar on the development of Islamic thought
Seminar on Shi'ism and the Fatimids
Problems in Umayyad historiography
Seminar on Social and Economic Issues in Abbasid History
Seminar on Religion and Power: Islam and Christianity in the Middle ages
Service and Committee Membership at Cal Poly Pomona
Member of the Academic Senate
College Representative to the Honors Program Founding Committee
Member of the Graduate Council
Member of the Senate's General Education Committee
Member of the Senate's Academic Programs Committee
Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee
Member and vice-chair of the Faculty and Staff Affairs Committee
Member of the Faculty Merit Pay Review Committee
Chair of the Department of History
Vice-Chair of the University Council of Department Chairs
Chair of the University Council of Department Chairs
Chair of the College Council of Department Chairs
Member of the College of Arts Leadership Council
Member of the California Department of Education Textbook Adoption Committee and Content Review Committee
Member and Chair of the Malcolm Kerr Dissertation of the Year Award Committee (Middle East Studies Association of North America)
Membership:
American Historical Association
American Research Center in Egypt
Middle East Medievalists
The World History Association
The Middle East Studies Association of North America
Book Reviews:
The History of the Maghrib, by Abdulla Laroui, Journal of Historical Research, Tripoli, vol. 1 (1979) (in Arabic)
Economic Relations between the Arab East and the West, by Galal Amin, Journal of Historical Research, vol. 1 (1979) (in Arabic)
Arab Public Opinion toward Arab Unity, by Sacd al-Din Ibrahim, Journal of Historical Research, Tripoli, vol. 3 (1981) (in Arabic)
Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of Islamic Polity, by Patricia Crone, The Muslim World, vol. LXXIII (1983)
The Early Islamic Conquests, by Fred M. Donner, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 15 (1983)
al-Fustat: Its Foundation and Early Devlopment, by Wladyslaw Kubiak, Ufahamu, African Studies Center, UCLA, vol. 13 (1983)
The Early Abbasid Caliphate: A Political History, by Hugh Kennedy, UCLA Historical Journal, vol. 4 (1987)
Economic Survey of Syria During the 10th and 11th Centuries, by Muhsin Yusuf, MESA Bulletin, (Winter/1988)
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, by Amin Maalouf, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, (Fall/1988)
Ta'rikh al-Tabari. vol. XXIX al-Mansur and al-Mahdi. Translated by Hugh Kennedy, Middle East Studies Bulliten (Jan., 1992)
Meccan Trade and Islam. by Robert Simon, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. (Summer, 1993)
Muslim-Christian Encounters: Perceptions and Misperceptions by W. M. Watt. The History Teacher Spring, 1993
Ta'rikh al-Tabari. vol XII. The Battle of al-Qadisiyya and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine. Translated by Y. Friedmann. Journal of Semetic Studies. Manchester, England. 1994
Ta'rikh al-Tabari. vol. XXXIII. Storm and Stress along the Northern Frontiers of the Abbasid Caliphate. Translated by C. Bosworth. British Society for Midddle Eastern Studies. 1994.
Ta'rikh al-Tabari. vol. III. The Children of Israel. Translated by R. Brinner. British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. 1994.
The Middle East Since 1914. By Ritchie Ovendal. The History Teacher. 1994
Science, Religion and Learning: The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. R.B. Serjeant, et al (eds.) British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. 1994.
History of Palestine: 634-1099. By Moshe Gil. Middle East Journal. 1995.
Zandaqa et Zindiqs en Islam au second siecle de l'Hegire. By Melhem Chokr. International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 1995.
The History of al-Tabari, vol. XI: The Challenge to the Empires A.D. Translated by Yahya Blankinship. Journal of Semitic Studies. Spring, 1996.
The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads. By Khalid Yahya Blankinship. Middle East Studies Bulletin. 1995.
The History of al-Tabari. vol. XXVIII. Abbasid Authority Affirmed. Translated by Jane Dammen McAuliffe. Journal of Semitic Studies.
A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. By Mark Tessler. Journal of Church and State.
Palestinian Peasants and Ottoman Officials. By Amy Singer. Arab Studies Quarterly.
Rediscovering Palestine: Peasants and Merchants in Jabal Nablus. By Beshara Doumani. Journal of Arab Studies Quarterly. (forthcoming)
Review Essay on Hasan al-Turabi: The Making of an Islamic Fundamentalist. Al-Jadid: Journal of Arab Culture.
Against Islamic Extremism: The Thought of Mohammed S. al-Ashmawi. By Helen Fluehr-Lobban. Al-Jadid: Journal of Arab Culture.
The Eye of the Beholder: The Life of Muhammad. By Uri Rubin. Bulletin of the Middle Eastern Studies Association.
Gateway to Hell, Gateway to Paradise: The North African Response to the Arab Conquest. By Elizabeth Savage. International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.
Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid Wars. By Ruven Amitai-Preiss. Bulletin of the Middle Eastern Studies Association.
The Challenge of Fundamentalism: The New World Disorder. By Bassam Tibi. Al-Jadid: Journal of Arab Culture. Los Angeles.
The Cambridge History of Egypt. The Islamic Period vol. 1. By Carl Petry, ed. American Historical Review.
Muslim Kingship: Power and the Sacred in Muslim, Christian and Pagan Traditions. By Aziz al-Azmeh, Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies. Amman, Jordan.
The New Mamluks: Egyptian Society and Modern Nationalism. by Amira El-Azhary Sonbol. Al-Jadid: Journal of Arab Culture. Los Angeles.
The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought. By Muhammad Arkoun. Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies. Amman, Jordan.
Papers presented at conferences:
"New approach to the study of the Khawarij," Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual conference, Ann Arbor, MI (1978)
"Periodization and the role of merchant Capital: A new approach to Egyptian history," American Research Center in Egypt annual conference, San Francisco, CA (1980)
"The rise and expansion of Arab merchant capital," MESA, Washington D.C. (1980)
"The Muctazila: A Theological/Philosophical School in search for Alternatives," MESA annual conference, Baltimore, MD (1987)
Panel Discussant: Periodization of Islamic history, MESA annual conference, Toronto, Canada (1989)
"The Social Significance of Religious Inquisition in Early Islam" The World History Association annual conference, Provo, Utah (1990)
"Periodization of Islamic History: The role of Iqta'" MESA annual conference, November, 1991.
"The Frankish Wars and their effect on Palestine," Birzeit University, March, 1992.
"Ibn al-Jazzar and pediatric medicine in Medieval Islamic history." National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar on Islam and the Scientific Tradition. Columbia University. Summer,1993.
"Oral History of the Intifada: A Challenge to Formal Historians." The Tamer Conference on Oral History, Ramallah, The West Bank, July, 1994.
"The Social Origins of Naskh (Abrogation) in the Qur'an,"
The First Annual International Research Forum. Cal Poly Pomona. March, 1996.
"The Mihna and the Periodization of Islamic History" MESA annual Conference, San Francisco, 1997.
"Arab Kingship or Universal Rule: A Framework for the Study of Umayyad History," The Middle East Conference, University of California Santa Barbara, March 25th, 2000.
"Situating Middle Eastern History in Global History," World History Association Conference, Boston, June 2000.
Articles:
"Social and Economic conditions in pre-Islamic Mecca," International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 14, no. 3, 1982
"Conceptualizing Islamic history," Journal of Trends in History, New York, vol. 2 no. 3, 1982. Also appeared in The Middle East and North Africa, The Haworth Press, New York, 1982.
"Adb al-Qadir al-Gilani;" "The Ulama;" "Umar b. al-Khattab," Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Edited by J. Strayer, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1984
"The Khawarij;" "The Muctazila;" "The Umma," translated into German by Peter von Sievers, Handbook on the Political Economy of the Middle East.
"Religious Inquisition as Social Policy: The Persecution of the Zanadiqa." Arab Studies Quarterly (Spring, 1994)
"Ibn al-Qalanisi, Khawandamir, Evarist Levi-Provencial, and al-Qalqashandi." In Encyclopedia of Historiography. Edited by R.D. Woolf, Garland Press, 1996.
"U. N. Sanctions on Libya," "Israel's Deportation of Hamas members," "Egypt's fight against Islamists," in The Twentieth Century: Great Events, Supplement. Edited by A.J. Sobczak, Salem Press, 1996.
"The Muctazila: A Philosophical/Theological School in search of Alternative Institutions" (in preparation)
"The Social Origins of Naskh (Abrogation) in the Qur'an." (in preparation)
"The Conflict between the Shari'a founders and the State: Implications for the decentralization of the Caliphate." (in preparation)
Books:
Merchant Capital and Islam. Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1990
Who Makes History: Palestinian Experience in Oral History. with Tom Ricks and Adel Yahya. Tamer Institute for Community Education, Jerusalem, 1994.