Middle Eastern Minorities: The Impact of the Arab Spring

Minority communities in the Middle East are the most susceptible to the turbulence engulfing the region; the majority may suffer physical violence and socioeconomic loss, but minorities could potentially vanish. Instead of ushering in democracy and inclusive politics, the revolutionary upheavals of the Arab Spring have brought chaos and fear and reinforced the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism throughout the region. Zabad uses historical sources as well as first-hand interviews to vividly describe the current status of minorities in the Middle East, explaining their attitudes towards the revolutionary upheavals, as well as the various strategies they used to avail themselves of the opportunities presented and confront the risks posed. The question of ethnic, sectarian and religious minorities is situated in the context of the broader history of the region in order to explain the underlying institutional and ideological factors that caused their predicament and problematized their relationship with the majority. The book provides a rich trove of information and insights generated from ten case studies that covered the Shī‘a in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon and Egypt; the Druze, the Alawites, Christians and Kurds in Syria; the Copts in Egypt, and the Zaydis in Yemen.