Why They Don't Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil [Hardcover]

Mark Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005

This is a ground-breaking exploration of the roots of the current conflict between the US and the Muslim world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If media chatter about the "Axis of Evil" seems ubiquitous to the point of losing its meaning, LeVine offers up an alternative "Axis of Empathy" to counteract what he sees as the U.S.'s dangerous "Axis of Arrogance and Ignorance." The author uses his own experiences traveling in the Middle East and North Africa to show readers not only that "they" don't hate "us," but that our concepts of "us" and "them" are invalid and skewed. This sprawling book is divided into three parts, and touches on many diverse subjects that fall under its larger themes of globalization and Middle Eastern attitudes toward the West. LeVine, a professor of Middle Eastern history and a musician who has recorded with musicians as diverse as Mick Jagger and Hassan Hakmoun, clearly has an interest in music and its potential for bridge-building. He includes a chapter on "Rock and Resistance in the Middle East and North Africa" and advocates for what he calls "culture jamming," or bringing people together to "build an alternative to imperialism, occupation, intolerance, and violence." LeVine writes in an engaging, if occasionally wandering, style, and the most effective parts of the book are those in which he recounts his personal experiences. Although aimed at an academic audience, this book will be valuable to anyone wishing to hear a different perspective on the complicated relationship between the U.S. and the Islamic world.
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Review

A bold and iconoclastic work based on extensive personal experience ... essential for understanding ... the Middle East today. -- Joel Beinin, Professor of Middle East History, Stanford University

A clarion call for building genuinely alternative cross-cultural bridges in the age of the 'war on terror'. -- Chris Toensing, Editor, Middle East Report

Everybody talks about ‘globalization’ and ‘terrorism’ but few do it with such analytical clarity and moral outrage. An awesome book. -- Rodolfo D. Torres, author of Savage State: Welfare, Capitalism, and Inequality

Mark LeVine is a wandering minstrel who also happens to be a brilliant Middle Eastern scholar. -- Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz and Dead Cities

Perceptive, cosmopolitan, and dazzlingly well-informed. -- Thomas Frank

"His analysis of the war in Iraq is a must read." --International Journal of Middle East Studies

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oneworld; annotated edition edition (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851683658
• ISBN-13: 978-1851683659
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Abdessaid Cherkaoui

Praticien spécialiste du droit d'auteur : chargé, entre autres attributions, du développement et de la promotion du droit d'auteur ; de faire respecter la législation sur la propriété littéraire et artistique par une activité plus éducative que répressive (par la sensibilisation, la négociation et l'établissement de contrats et licences); de recevoir les déclarations, enregistrements et dépôts des œuvres en vue de leur protection ; d'assurer la meilleure protection possible de leurs droits aux créateurs, artistes et autres titulaires des droits ; de prendre les mesures nécessaires destinées à la réparation des préjudices subis ; de constater les infractions à la loi et dresser les procès-verbaux (P V) en matière de reproduction illicite, contrefaçon, piraterie,concurrence déloyale ; litige ou contentieux ;

Activités Professionnelles et Domaines d'Intervention :

Professionnel des Droits de Propriété Intellectuelle : chargé d'exercer, dans le cadre de la loi pertinente en la matière, notamment dans les domaines : des oeuvres des beaux arts, y compris les dessins, les peintures, les gravures, lithographies, les impressions sur cuir,etc. ; des œuvres musicales avec ou sans paroles ; des œuvres du théâtre dramatiques et dramatico-musicales ; des œuvres chorégraphiques et pantomimes ; des œuvres audio-visuelles y compris les œuvres cinématographiques et le vidéogramme ; des œuvres d'architectures ; des œuvres des arts appliqués, des œuvres photographiques, des dessins des créations de l'industrie de l'habillement ; des illustrations, des cartes géographiques, des plans, des croquis et des œuvres tridimensionnelles relative à la géographie, la topographie, l'architecture ou la science ; des programmes d'ordinateur ; des conférences, allocutions, sermons, plaidoiries et autres œuvres faites de mots ou exprimés oralement ; des modèles et dessins industriels ; de l'édition du livre, du multimédia ; de la radiodiffusion ; de la production phonographique, télévisuelle, cinématographique, photographique, etc.,

Expert judiciaire de la propriété intellectuelle.
1978 : Nomination, et prestation de serment, au titre d'expert de la propriété littéraire et artistique, assermenté et agrée près la Cour d'Appel de Casablanca (unique expert au Maroc, et premier expert dans le monde arabe, officiellement agréé en la matière) - Dossier n° 17.704 du 22 novembre 1978.

Office de médiateur assermenté : chargé par les instances compétentes de servir d'intermédiaire entre différentes parties et de faciliter des accords entre elles.

Expérience en matière de procédures d'expertise et d'arbitrage :
Règlement avec succès, par voie de médiation, d'un grand nombre de litiges commerciaux en matière de propriété intellectuelle/droits d'auteur, droits voisins, modèles et dessins ; contribution également au règlement, dans le cadre d'arbitrage, des différends touchant d'autres domaines de droits industriels et électroniques (brevets, marques, logiciels et noms de domaine).

Bons offices offerts en 1996 lors de la guerre commerciale (sur la propriété intellectuelle), entre la Chine et les Etats-Unis d'Amérique.

Consultant juridique auprès des institutions nationales, arabes, islamiques et internationales.

Consultant pour avocats, journalistes, médias, entreprises de spectacles...

Aide et assistance juridique et technique aux groupements professionnels des auteurs, artistes, éditeurs, producteurs, industriels, créateurs, inventeurs, etc.

Expert-conseil en commerce juridique des droits d'auteur économiques, membre du "groupe sélectif de décideurs et professionnels au Maroc", (Etats-Unis d'Amérique / USIS 1998).

2006 : Arbitre et Médiateur International :
Membre du Centre d'Arbitrage et de Médiation de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OMPI/WIPO).


Encadrement de travaux de recherche menés en la matière, notamment par des universitaires.

Participation aux réunions, colloques et séminaires des diverses Organisations internationales (OMPI / WIPO ; UNESCO ; ALECSO ; INTERGU ;).

Chercheur spécialisé dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle : activité consacrée à la recherche, à la promotion de la création intellectuelle et à l'étude des grands systèmes contemporains du droit d'auteur (germano-latin, anglo-saxon), à l'étude des problèmes qui se posent sur le plan mondial ; recherches de solutions aux problèmes de la piraterie, etc.


Auteur de plusieurs articles, déclarations, interviews, études et ouvrages de référence.

Publications de presse :

Depuis 1973 :
- Publication d'articles de presse
- Déclarations aux agences de presse (MAP ; Reuter ...)
- Interviews accordés aux médias (RTM / Fès - Tanger - Rabat / Sharq Al Awsat..)
- Présentation/Publication d'études et lettres spécialement réalisées - Voir : ASBU ; OMC / WTO ; ALECSO ; ISESCO ; UNESCO ; M. le Président des USA ; M. le Président Clinton ; M. le Président Arafat ; S.M. Hassan II ; S.M. Mohammed VI ; Ligue des Etats arabes ; Congrès des Etats-Unis ...

Publications libraires :

Auteur d'une encyclopédie inédite en arabe : fruit de quatre décennies d'études et de recherches pionnières en la matière (en cours de traduction).

1995 : Publication d'un ouvrage en arabe (de 520 pages) sur les droits de propriété intellectuelle (fondement de la civilisation).

1999 et 2000 : Publication de trois livres bilingues (de 200 pages chacun) sur « la propriété intellectuelle dans le contexte de la mondialisation ».

2005 : Publication d'un livre en français de 341 pages consacré à l'étude des « nouveaux aspects de la propriété intellectuelle » (ADPIC/TRIPs) en général, et à celle du nouveau régime du droit d'auteur (tel qu'il en ressort des nouvelles lois adoptées notamment par les pays arabes dont le Maroc, pris comme exemple dans cette étude).

2008 : Publication de deux œuvres de référence en arabe qui portent sur les nouveaux droits d'auteur/Copyright.

Tous ces ouvrages sont référencés dans plusieurs bibliothèques et Universités : « Library of Congress Online Catalog » ; Universités Harvard, Chicago ; Indiana...Universités et bibliothèques des pays arabes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some of them do, January 9, 2006

By 

Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why They Don't Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil (Hardcover)

Mark LeVine, who is a professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, Culture and Islamic Studies at the University of California, Irvine wants to champion what he calls "cultural jamming" as a means to bridge the cultural abyss between the Middle East and the West.

I think this idea has a certain appeal since cultural jamming is the practice of satirizing the power structure. It can be a force for understanding between the Middle East and the West, but primarily it is a force against established power, whether eastern or western. It is a natural product of the young, who do not yet have much power, but who will indeed have power in the future. So I am in sympathy with LeVine's enthusiasm; however as young people become older and take on the responsibilities of their societies and weld the power, will they not become the satirized?

One of the points Levine makes early in this ambitious book is that the narrow-minded, fundamentalist culture of e.g., Kansas, is similar to the narrow-minded, fundamentalist culture of the jihadis. In a broad sense the fundamentalist Christians of America and the fundamentalist Muslims of the Middle East are just opposite sides of the same intolerant, ignorant coin. They both believe that they have the one real God on their side, and regard people who believe differently as going to straight to hell.

Consequently, LeVine's conclusion that "they" don't hate "us" because there really is no monolithic "they" or "us" is technically correct. Generalizations that pigeonhole people are always wrong except as handy ways to talk. The so-called "culture" of the West with its McFoods, its NASCAR races, its mindless TV, its "football," its Hollywood movies and its gross commercialization is really just the commercial culture of America. The real culture of America is much more complex and includes a plethora of subcultures from blue blooded New Englanders living on inherited wealth to Spanish-speaking illegal aliens who work in our fields and kitchens. It includes Harvard graduates and burger-flippers; blue states and red; people who believe in democracy and the separation of church and state, and evangelicals who are waiting anxiously for the Rapture. It includes the legacy of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain and Al Capone, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, atheists and true believers, Nobel Prize winners and Paris Hilton. It includes millions of Muslims as well as Christians of every stripe, Buddhists and Hindus, Midwesterners, Southerners, Californians and people who have never left North Dakota.

American culture, as crass as it often is, is not the villain. The use of military power exclusively for perceived American interests, and the economic exploitation of less developed nations is what is causing a lot of pain in the world today, and is what justifiably could cause others to hate us. Invading Iraq and causing the death of tens of thousands of Iraqis and the suffering of millions more, is what fosters hatred. Artificially supporting our rich and massive agribusinesses so that Third World farmers can't compete also engenders hatred.

But a lot of the hatred is a legacy of colonialism. Only time will heal those wounds.

Still, there are cultural differences in the aggregate that must be understood and appreciated before the twain of the Middle East and the West can harmoniously meet. Education in the West and particularly in the US is based not on the Qu'ran, as it is in Muslim countries (nor on the Bible), but upon secular histories and the authority not of religious leaders who interpret holy books, but on scientific authority. There is separation of church and state in the West while in Muslim countries typically it is believed that political power comes properly from God and not from the people. While in the West we may be persuaded to think of the Middle East as backward and even evil, that is not part of the classroom instruction. However, a denigration of Western ideas and institutions is part and parcel of Islamic education where the focus is tightly on the teaching of the Qu'ran. We only have that sort of narrow focus in our more conservative religious schools.

These are real cultural differences. When everyone in Saudi Arabia has as much chance to secure a decent living as a Saudi prince, when Iranians can listen without fear to Western music, when Palestinians are represented by politicians that are really working for their benefit instead of playing out revenge scenarios, when the oil profits benefit the people as a whole and not just the ruling classes (or special interests in the West)--in short when everybody has a greater stake in the societies, there will be a lot less hatred, and cultural differences will be seen in a more benign light.

One final thing: LeVine wants the US to declare a truce with Muslim countries. (See page 330 and following.) But even though I agree that the US's "war on terror" is at best a misnomer and at worse a crusade, I don't think declaring a truce makes any sense at all. We are not at war with Islam or Muslims or Muslim countries. To declare a truce would falsely say that we were. Also a declaration that we have sinned in the past (colonialism, etc.) and now apologize is of limited value. We can apologize for the slaughter of Native Americans, for enslaving Africans, even for killing of the Neanderthal if we like. And I suppose Muslims could apologize for forcing innumerable peoples to embrace Islam or else. I don't like any of that sort of thing because I, in particular, enslaved nobody and killed nary a Native American. I cannot apologize for those who did.

What is needed is a declaration of intent to not exploit others or otherwise do nasty things to them. That's what LeVine ought to be calling for.

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for supporters and opponents alike, September 5, 2005

By 

Franz Krausensteg "franzk" (Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why They Don't Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil (Hardcover)

Globalization is a very popular topic these days and innumerable publications have appeared which either celebrate it as nothing short of a revolution which produces wealth and brings people closer together or, at the other end of the spectrum, demonize it as a destructive monster which burns everything in its path. Levine takes on this controversial topic in a book which consists of three parts. The first is mainly devoted to setting up the stage for the rest of book and to placing it into the current often ideological discourse about globalization.
In the second part the author analyzes the deep historical roots of globalization, especially its relations to what he calls the modernity matrix (modernity, imperialism/colonialism, capitalism and nationalism), which puts the phenomenon in perspective within the broader historical theater. LeVine chooses a holistic approach which does not reduce globalization to a mere economic phenomenon, but, rather, illuminates its cultural and political as well as its economic components. It shows, based on official data by organizations like the IMF and the World Bank, that even the self-proclaimed successes of globalizations actually benefit both a minority of countries and minorities within those countries themselves.
The author's ability to connect the dots between long time historical processes and their daily life micro-manifestations, especially in Middle Eastern and North African countries confers the book a 'humanity' which does usually not characterize academic analyses. A humanity which is also at the core of LeVine's courageous approach to the topic and its many implications.
The third and last part of the book is devoted to the global peace and justice movement and culminates in a manifesto of its goals and strategies (according to the author) for a successful future. The author's point of view and perspective is never concealed throughout the book and, even though the author certainly takes a side, its historical analysis remains sober and matter-of-factual.

The book is written in a fluid and pleasant style and is a must read for both supporters and opponents of globalization alike.

11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this!, August 10, 2005

By 

Sarah Shipman (Brighton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why They Don't Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil (Hardcover)

This book gives a very different view from the one we get in a lot of the media - and everyone should read it, especially journalists! In a very gripping way, Mark Levine takes readers on a personal guided tour of the Arab world and into the Muslim mindset, and challenges the view that all Muslims are anti-American. Or that there is a single "Muslim" view of the world. A real eye-opener, and a very good read.