Rejecting the conventional Western interpretation of Middle Eastern history as an offshoot of global power politics, the author contends that the region's experience is the culmination of long-existing indigenous trends, passions and patterns of behaviour, and that foremost among these is Islam's mi...

Rejecting the conventional Western interpretation of Middle Eastern history as an offshoot of global power politics, the author contends that the region's experience is the culmination of long-existing indigenous trends, passions and patterns of behaviour, and that foremost among these is Islam's millenarian imperial tradition.