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Here is MERIA's Resource Guide to Websites of Middle Eastern Biographies.
We cannot pretend this is in any sense "definitive.” But at least it
should serve as a basis to exploring the internet biographies of leading figures
in the region. We also welcome suggestions for additions or corrections of
addresses.
CONTENTS
A. General Websites for Biographies
B. Biographies by Country
(Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq,
Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United
States and United Kingdom, Yemen)
C. A Sense of History
(Historical Icons, Cultural Icons, and the Odd Loose
Cannon)
A. General Websites for
Biographies
As a first port of call--and just to confirm that Mr. X is in fact still
head of Country Y--see this CIA website: Entitled Chiefs of State and Cabinet
Members of Foreign Governments, it offers no more than lists, but is up-to-date
and reliable all the same: <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/chiefs/>.
Al-Bab (Gateway) has a comprehensive and very well presented list of
links by country, with particularly good coverage of Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and
Palestinians: <http://www.al-bab.com/arab/biog.htm>.
The Belgian-based Middle Eastern MEDEA database has an admirable list of
articles, including many biographies, which range from Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)
to former Algerian Prime Minister Lamine Zeroual: <http://www.medea.be/en/>.
Torje Larsen's Encyclopaedia of the Orient also contains numerous
biographies of current “players” as well as earlier figures from Imam Ali to
Zainab bint Khuzaima: <http://i-cias.com/e.o/index.htm>.
This University of Michigan Middle East Conflicts page has bundles of
links to sites containing Arab and Israeli biographies, as well as biographies
of U.S. politicians involved in Middle Eastern affairs: <http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/arabis.html>.
Also from Michigan is this extensive list of links to current leaders the
world over: <http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/foreign.html>.
The University of Texas has for many years run good Game Role Play
Biographies [of Middle Eastern figures]. The last one appears to be for the year
1999, and includes exhaustive bibliographies of biographies on the net, for
figures as diverse as Ehud Barak and Zalman Shoval (Israel), Salim Hoss
(Lebanon) and the Palestinians Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Nabil Sha'ath: <http://www.la.utexas.edu/chenry/mena/bibs/aip/bibs99/>.
Stratfor has a section on biographies of figures from the Middle East and
North Africa; but you need to log in an as a subscriber: <http://www.stratfor.com/MEAF/bios.htm>.
The Library of Congress Country Studies provides some biographical
information embedded in this treatment of Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE: <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/qatoc.html>.
Distinguished Women is a wonderful website with many links to other sites
concerning political women down the ages. Here you will find numerous Middle
Eastern candidates, from Nefertiti, Zenobia (another Zainab) and Artemisia in
the ancient world, to Asma of 11th century Yemen, to modern figures, like the
Israeli Shulamit Aloni, the Palestinian Hanan Ashrawi, and Turkey's Tansu Ciller: <http://www.DistinguishedWomen.com/subject/govern.html>.
B. Biographies by Country
Afghanistan
Is Afghanistan part of the Middle East? If you want to include it see
this excellent website, which includes a drop-down menu that offers biographies
of leading politicians in the country: <http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/>.
Algeria
There is a brief yet informative biographical profile of current Algerian
Prime Minister Bouteflika at MEDEA: <http://www.medea.be/en/index415.htm>.
A longer biography in French appears at this website for the Algerian
Embassy in London: <http://www.consalglond.u-net.com/Bio.htm>.
A full list of government figures with links to pictures, plus details of
the National Assembly, appear at this site for the Algerian delegation to the
UN: <http://www.algeria-un.org>.
The website for Algeria's embassy in Washington contains speeches by
Bouteflika made on his March 2001 visit to the U.S.: <http://www.algeria-us.org>.
Here is a biography of opposition presidential
candidate Ahmed Taleb el-Ibrahimi: <http://www.wafaalgerie.com/dv_get/9547/biographie.htm>.
A brief profile of Blanca Madani, founder of the World Algeria Action
Coalition and human rights campaigner, especially for the Amazigh (Berbers),
appears at the WAAC site: <http://www.waac.org/waac.htm>.
The Islamist opposition HMS movement website carries a profile of their
president, Sheikh Mahmoud Nahnah: <http://www.hms-algeria.net/hmsalg-e/cvnah-eg.htm>.
Meanwhile, here is some basic information on the better known but banned
FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) and its founder, Kameradinne Kherbane: <http://www.megastories.com/islam/leader/leader.htm>.
Here are three items (the first two of which are profiles) of another
former President of Algeria, Chadli Benjedid: <http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Way/2842/benjedid.htm>.
<http://www.waac.org/library/history/benjedid.htm>.
<http://www.muslimedia.com/ARCHIVES/special01/alg-benjedid.htm>.
The Algerian Free Officers Movement website details aspects of the rule
of President Boudiaf, naturally from their own perspective: <http://www.anp.org/affaireboudiaf/engaffboudiaf.html>.
Bahrain
The Bahraini Embassy in Washington DC provides a useful subsite on the
ruling family, which links to profiles of the late Emir Isa bin-Salman Al-Khalifa, current Emir
Hamad, Prime Minister Khalifa, and Crown Prince Salman:
<http://www.bahrainembassy.org/rulingfam.html>.
Links to other cabinet ministers are found here, although are invariably
speeches rather than full profiles: <http://www.bahrainembassy.org/cabinet.html>.
News in English about the Bahraini Royal Family can be found at this page
run by the Ministry of Labor: <http://www.bah-molsa.com/english/Bahrain-Royal%20Family/news/index.htm>.
More appears in Arabic at: <http://www.bah-molsa.com/arabic/Bahrain-Royal-Family/news/news.htm>.
In April 2000, Dr. Abdulhadi Khalaf of Lund University, Sweden, wrote an
interesting assessment of Sheikh Hamad Al-Khalifa's first year in power. The
website of the Voice of Bahrain opposition group carries his article: <http://vob.org/english/information-db/khalaf.htm>.
The Voice of Bahrain runs interviews with some of their own leaders: <http://vob.org/english/information-db/mirror.htm>.
In 1999 MERIA ran an article on Bahraini opposition forces, which gave
useful details on some of their leaders: <http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/1999/issue1/jv3n1a7.html>.
The Estimate also profiled Sheikh Hamad in 1999: <http://www.theestimate.com/public/031299b.html>.
And in his Mideastnews site, Adel Darwish wrote a thoughtful piece with
some biographical data on Bahrain taking a giant step towards democracy: <http://www.mideastnews.com/gulf001.html>.
Egypt
Yahoo lists five sites about President Hosni Mubarak: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Egypt/Government/Government_Officials/>.
Of these, the official biography comes from the Presidential Office
website: <http://www.presidency.gov.eg/html/the_president.html>.
The Office also has a page that links to another biography of
Mubarak,
and all his predecessors, going back to Mohammed Ali Pasha (who ruled 1805-48): <http://www.presidency.gov.eg/html/english_rulers_of_egypt.html>.
There is more detail to be found in "19 years of achievement",
a tribute to Mubarak's long reign in power, published by the State Information
Service: <http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/19years/html/front.htm>.
Yahoo also has links to sites for Boutros Boutros
Ghali, Anwar Sadat and
Gamal Abdel Nasser: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Egypt/Arts_and_Humanities/Humanities/History/People>.
A brief biography of Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher El Sayed appears at the
Egyptian Ministry of the Foreign Affairs website, under "ministry":
<http://www.mfa.gov.eg/>.
The trial of human rights campaigner and head of the Ibn Khaldun Centre
for Development Studies, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, has aroused much international
opprobrium. The Centre--officially close by Cairo authorities--runs two enormous
listing of articles about the trial on their still operative website: <http://www.ibnkhaldun.org/trial/press/index.html> and <http://www.ibnkhaldun.org/new/index.html>.
Egypt accused Britain in January 2001 of harboring Islamic terrorists.
Some biographical detail is thus included in this report of the case: <http://www.mathaba.net/data/sis/mi6-terrorism.html>.
A Muslim Brotherhood Movement homepage provides facts about history and
beliefs, but less on actual leaders: <http://www.ummah.org.uk/ikhwan/>.
Al Ahram Weekly and Cairo Times have oodles of biographical information
on various folk. Both publications have excellent online search engines. For
more details, see C/ Cultural Icons, below: <http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/> and <http://www.cairotimes.com/content/people/people.html>. Invariably, artists rather than politicians predominate. That said,
both Cairo Times and Al Ahram occasionally profile political figures--and often
quite unusual ones at that, like this article from 1998, about the Egyptian Copt
Rafiq Habib, a leading light in the moderate Islamist Wasat Party: <http://www.cairotimes.com/content/issues/Islists/habib08.html>.
Hisham
Mubarak wrote a useful article in a January 1998 edition of Cairo Times, on the
history of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt. It includes biographical data: <http://www.cairotimes.com/content/issues/Islists/puzzle23.html>.
List of links to articles on Nasser, 30 years after his
death, from Al Hewar:
< http://www.alhewar.com/30_years_after_gamal_abdul_nasser.htm
>
Iran
Persia.org provides an extraordinarily detailed website for President
Mohammed Khatami, which includes a biography along with speeches, pictures,
articles, policies and sundry other facts: <http://www.persia.org/khatami/index.html>.
The President's official website is given here (although it does not
always open): <http://www.president.ir>.
Another Khatami site does open, though is only in Farsi: <http://www.khatami.ws/>.
For a useful guide to who's who in Iran, see this from The Iranian: <http://www.iranian.com/WhosWho/index.html>.
And for a more dissident point of view, find the article, "What
Montazeri said", the first interview with Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri
since he was arrested. It contains a strong attack on conservative fellow
mullahs, and was translated into English in 2000 for Mideast Mirror: <http://www.mideastmirror.com>.
MERIA's own resource guide on the Iranian elections of 2000 includes much
of biographical value: <http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/research-g/iran-elections.html>.
Payvand provides succinct biographies of ten presidential election
hopefuls in 2001: <http://www.payvand.com/news/01/may/1077.html>.
The Asia Society's analysis, Political Paralysis: Iran's 2001 Election
and the Future of Reform, written by Farideh Farhi, includes a section on
"key players": <http://www.asiasociety.org/publications/update_iran.html#key>.
An extensive profile of Mrs Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the
dissident opposition group, Iran e-Azad (National Council of Resistance), is
found here: <http://www.iran-e-azad.org/english/president.html>.
Books about Iranian figures of the recent past, including the late Shah
and Amir Abbas Hoveyda, are admirably profiled at this webpage: <http://www.payvand.com/books/bios.html>.
The National Movement of Iranian Resistance carries a profile of Dr.
Shapur Bakhtiar, who was murdered in 1991: <http://impact.users.netlink.co.uk/namir/bakhtiar.htm>.
"The Narrative of Awakening" is an amazingly detailed series of
pages that together constitute a political biography of the late Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran:
Iraq
Yahoo lists 11 sites devoted to the Iraqi dictator, from sources that
include Megastories ("Early Saddam: Lust for Power"), CNN, Who 2,
Frontline ("The Survival of Saddam"), ABC, Iraq Today and Emergency
Net. A sub-list notes five sites for Saddam Hussein jokes; although prospective
members of the Iraqi Revolutionary Council would be well advised to avoid these,
if they seek promotion. <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Iraq/Government/Executive_Branch/Hussein__Saddam/>.
In addition, there are numerous essays about Saddam. One example is Adel
Darwish's 1998 article, subtitled The Popular Dictator Syndrome among Arabs: <http://www.mideastnews.com/Irq002.html>.
And, to paraphrase Mark Twain, news of Saddam's [reputed] death have been
much exaggerated, according to this January 2001 article from The Estimate: <http://www.theestimate.com/public/011201.html>.
To find out more about Tariq Aziz, currently described as "Acting
Foreign Minister of Iraq", see this biography of the man at the Iraqi
Foreign Ministry website. <http://www.uruklink.net/mofa/aziz.htm>.
The Iraqi Interests Section in Paris provides this list of government
personnel: <http://www.embassyiraq.com/liste.htm>.
There is also a surprisingly comprehensive profile of the Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Naji Sabri, via the same parent site: <http://www.uruklink.net/mofa/naji.htm>.
Much has been made of the likelihood of Saddam's son,
Uday, succeeding
him. A New York Times article on junior's growing powers is called "Baghdad
Journal: Iraqi Youth, the Time Has Come to Rock": <http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/bagfm.htm>.
In late 2000, The Middle East Times reported that Uday was taking a seat
in the National Assembly and was "joining the family business": <http://www.metimes.com/2K/issue2000-14/reg/saddam_husseins_son.htm>.
However, it has not been all plain sailing for Uday. Assailants tried to
kill him in 1996, his newspaper allegedly infringed the law and was shut down in
1999, and now it appears his own brother, Qusay, is a rival for their father's
throne. Head of an important intelligence unit, and said to be named heir, Qusay' story gets coverage at the following website: <http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/1999/msg00358.html>.
For a view of the opposition to Saddam, see the website for the Supreme
Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq; and in particular, its profile of
SCIRI leader, Ayatollah Mohamad Baqir Al Hakim: <http://www.sciri.btinternet.co.uk/English/About_Us/Sayed/sayed.html>.
The Iraqi National Council website has a very good section covering news
(below); but while it gives some biographical detail on leaders like Dr. Ahmad
Chalabi and Sharif Ali, there seems to be no specific section on profiles: <http://209.50.252.70/English/news/news.htm>.
The website for the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq has much on its
president, Massoud Barzani. Apart from a biography, there are speeches, quotes,
video and audio links. On the parent homepage, there are at least three pages
devoted to his father and predecessor as KDP leader, Mustafa Barzani, "a
living symbol of freedom": <http://www.kdp.pp.se/m2/index.html>.
Scroll down past the history and principles of the
PUK--traditional
Kurdish Iraqi rivals of the KDP--for the biography of their leader, Jalal
Talabani: <http://www.puk.org/aboutpuk.htm>.
The following site lists a set of institutional biographies of around 40
of the major opposition groups in Iraq at:
<http://middleeastreference.org.uk/iraqiopposition.html>
Israel
You can find eight sites relating to Ariel Sharon listed at this Yahoo
category: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Israel/Government/Government_Officials/>.
One Belgian-based MEDEA has a succinct biography of Israel's new leader: <http://www.medea.be/en/index333.htm>.
A full listing of Members of the 15th Knesset, including links to
thumbnail sketches and a photograph of each representative, is available
courtesy of the main Knesset website in English. The page in question also
allows you to search by party, by year of birth, by surname and locate female
MKs. More historically minded readers can also check the same for the 13th and
14th Knessets: <http://www.knesset.gov.il/asp/mk/mkindex15_eng.asp>.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has an excellent special section
devoted to Personalities. Readers can access individual biographies via a full
A-Z list, or they can search specifically for past or present Prime Ministers,
Presidents and Foreign Ministers: <http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH000d0>.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems a leading future contended
for power. A loyal website dedicated to the man contains much information,
including a biography: <http://www.netanyahu.org/>.
Limor Livnat is a vocal minister in Sharon's administration. WIN Magazine
(Women's International Net) ran this profile of "The Likud's Iron
Lady" a few years back: <http://www.winmagazine.org/issues/issue5/win5b.htm>.
Meanwhile, let's not forget Labor members of the current coalition
government. Eliezer "Fuad" Ben-Eliezer is interviewed in a recent
Jerusalem Post. (Incidentally, the JP is always an excellent source of
biographical data, and it is worth subscribing to their service, so as to mine
their archives): <http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2001/07/22/Features/Features.30894.html>.
The most senior Labor party figure, of course, is Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres. Yahoo has a subsite listing 12 sources of biographical
information or of his many speeches:
There is a tremendously detailed list of biographies at the following
site, produced by a division of the American-Israeli Co-operative Enterprise,
and called Jewish Virtual Library-Biographies. These biographies include,
however, not only contemporary Israeli figures, but also important Arab
politicians, like King Hussein and Anwar Sadat, and historical personalities,
going back to Abraham and Moses: <<http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/bios.html>.
One example from the political present is Israel's new (since 2000)
Iranian-born State President, Moshe Katsav: <http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/biography/katsav.html>.
You can also find links to biographies embedded within the following: <http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Politics/labor.html>.
Another excellent resource for tracing profiles of major figures in the
Zionist movement, past and present, and in current Israeli politics, is The
JAJZ's Pedagogic Centre's Zionist Century: Our Gallery of People: <http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/100/people/people.html>.
Arieh O'Sullivan of the Jerusalem Post described new Defense Minister Ben
Eliezer as A peace pioneer in a profile written in March 4. Search the archives
via: <http://www.jpost.com>.
Yahoo lists sub-lists for information on each of Israel's Prime Ministers
before Ariel Sharon (six for Barak, ten for Peres, nine for Netanyahu, and so
on…): <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Israel/Arts_and_Humanities/Humanities/History/People/Prime_Ministers/>.
Profiles of Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan and Chaim
Herzog are found at the
following centres named after these deceased leaders: <http://www.rabincenter.org.il/>. <http://www.tau.ac.il:81/dayancenter/index.html>. <http://www.bgu.ac.il/chcenter/>.
A collection of articles "Remembering Rabin" and a tribute to the late
Leah Rabin:
Going back further in time, a website for Tagar (affiliated with the
Likud Party in Israel) has a very informative page on the father of the
Revisionist ideology, Ze'ev Jabotinsky. It includes links to other related books
and sites: <http://www.csuohio.edu/tagar/tagar2.htm>.
There are many biographies of leaders of the Irgun Underground, as well
as those who died on the gallows of the British Mandate: <http://www.etzel.org.il/english/people/frame.htm>.
Jordan
Young King Abdullah II has an official website of his own. Wait patiently
for the graphical wizardry of the opening page to work its wonders, and you get
access to a biography of the young monarch, plus data on Jordan and the
Hashemite Family: <http://www.kingabdullah.jo/>.
The following impressive website lists speeches by and many projects
concerning the former Crown Prince and current king's uncle, Hassan. The site's
remit straddles areas of politics, peace, science, culture and interfaith
relations: <http://www.princehassan.gov.jo/indexb.htm>.
The late King Hussein's website is still operative. Here is its URL,
followed by a URL for a sub-page which details the history of the ruling
Hashemite Royal Family: <http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/>. and <http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/hash_intro.html>.
Hussein's widow, Queen Noor, remains an active figure in national
affairs: <http://www.noor.gov.jo>.
In March 1999, The Estimate ran a good profile of the new Prime Minister
‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-Rawabdeh: <http://www.theestimate.com/public/031299c.html>.
Then in June 2000, Ali Abul Ragheb replaced al-Rawabdeh as Prime
Minister. Here is his full cabinet: <http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/government2_cabinet.html>.
U.S.-Arab Tradeline gave some basic biographical detail on Abul Ragheb: <http://www.awo.net/newspub/pubs/tradelin/000623a.asp>.
Jordan's National Information Service has a good webpage with links to
various Ministries; that said, most of the available information concerns
policies rather than personnel. <http://www.nis.gov.jo/orgstruc/english_struc.html>.
Perhaps a better bet would be to consult the Jordan Times, whose articles
keep track of developments in the Majlis and the Royal Palace: <http://www.jordantimes.com/>.
Kuwait
Arabview.net has probably the clearest profile of Kuwaiti Emir Jaber Al
Sabah: <http://www.arabview.net/KuwaitView/emir.html>.
Far more detailed is the following essay on the al-Sabah family, which
includes useful biographies of all the leading figures. However, it appeared in
The Estimate of June 4, 1999, so it may be a bit dated: <http://www.theestimate.com/public/060499.html>.
The Kuwaiti Information Office in Washington DC has this page introducing
readers to the government and the Al-Sabah family which rules their nation: <http://www.kuwait-info.org/Country_Profile/Govt_and_Political_System/govt_and_political_system.html>.
Arab.net lists Kuwait's leading political personnel: <http://www.arab.net/kuwait/govt/kt_personnel.html>.
For a more nuanced analysis, see this article from The Estimate, titled
"Kuwait's Political System--Part 1: the Al Sabah Family": <http://www.theestimate.com/public/060499.html>.
Lebanon
Former and once again current Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri,
has an impressively detailed website. It covers his biography, achievements,
plans, statements on foreign policy and domestic reconstruction, news reports,
family information, and several long essays by the man himself: <http://www.rafikhariri.net/v1/index.php>. Another exhaustive website devoted to the man is found here: <http://www.rafik-hariri.org/>. More biographical data, this time mixed with some more sceptical
analysis, is found in this article, "The Return(?) of Rafiq Hariri",
from The Estimate: <http://www.theestimate.com/public/090800.html>.
The Lebanese Embassy in Washington lists electoral candidates by
constituency: <http://www.embofleb.org/>.
Always a good source for biographies of Lebanese and Syrian politicians
is the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (MEIB). It must be said, however, that
their stance is decidedly opposed to what they see as Syria's colonization of
Lebanon. Their monthly newsletter includes a feature called "Dossier"
which profiles a prominent figure--including quite often features on members of
the Syrian intelligence elite, which are hard to find elsewhere: <http://www.meib.org/>.
Another good source for Lebanese politicians (including both opposition
and government types, it seems) <http://www.presidenteagency.com/electionlb2000/home2.html>.
A particularly informative recent instance is this May 2001 profile of
The Lebanese Forces website has links to biographies of Bashir Gemayel
and Samir Geagea: <http://www.lebanese-forces.org/>.
Below are two sites devoted to the exiled General Michel Aoun:
<http://www.angelfire.com/de/lebanonl/> and <http://generalaoun.simplenet.com/>.
Ayatollah Sayed Fadlallah, regarded as spiritual leader of Hizballah, has
a copious website in his honor, which also appears in English, French and
Spanish versions: <http://www.bayynat.org.lb/>.
The Institute for Documentation and Research on Lebanon runs a very
useful page of biographies for selected Lebanese MPS. These include such
luminaries as Walid Joumblatt,
Rafic Hariri, Robert Ghanem and Nabih Beri: <http://www.idrel.com.lb/links/mps.htm>
Libya
Muammar Qadhafi (or various spellings thereof) has a Yahoo category
containing links to 14 websites, including such varied sources as ABC News,
Britannica, Magellan, Counter Terrorism Archive, BBC News, Encyclopaedia of the
Orient, and the U.S. Library of Congress: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Libya/Government/Government_Officials/Qadhafi__Muammar/>.
If you can wade through the cant, there is some useful biographical
information at "Some Facts About Mu'mmar al-Qadhafi". Incidentally,
you can link back to the parent site, which includes the BBC Profile and even
the text of the Great Leader's famous Green Book: <http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8744/mqfacts.htm>.
Lisa Anderson wrote a quite contrary and decidedly less complimentary
profile of Qadhafi in the Spring 2001 edition of the Journal of International
Affairs. Here it is, as relayed by the anti-regime National Salvation Front of
Libya: <http://www.nfsl-libya.com/English/Studies/LisaAnderson.htm>.
Incidentally, the NFSL site also has a tribute to "the martyr",
Mohamed Ali Yahya: <http://www.nfsl-libya.com/English1.htm>.
Back in the Jamhariya, only a few get the chance to share the limelight
with Muammar G. One such lucky soul is Ali Treki, hailed as an architect of one
of Libya's more successful projects, namely, turning the OAU into the African
Union. Will this occurrence be any more than just a change in name? If so, might
Treki be the man to eventually succeed his boss? Maybe it is premature to hazard
an answer to such questions. However, a March 2001 interview with Treki in TIME
might enlighten… <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,101184,00.html>.
And in March 2000, The Estimate reported the latest reshuffle of
personnel in Tripoli, under the somewhat weary title, "Libya Abolishes
Government (Again)": <http://www.theestimate.com/public/03102000a.html>.
Morocco
There is an official and comprehensive biography of young King Mohammed
VI here: <http://www.mincom.gov.ma/english/generalities/hismajesty/SM_MedVI.html>.
Several ministers have their own webpages, listed at this site from the
Ministry of Information: <http://www.mincom.gov.ma/french/minister/gouv98/gov.htm>.
Likewise, you can find excellent biographical sketches of Prime Minister
Abderrahmanne El Youssoufi and his cabinet here: <http://www.pm.gov.ma/fr/primature/gouvernement/composition/index.html>.
A November 1999 article from The Estimate describes in some detail the
implications of the sacking of the previously immensely powerful Interior
Minister, Driss Basri: <http://www.theestimate.com/public/111999.html>.
Another article of theirs considers "The Morocco of Muhammad
VI": <http://www.theestimate.com/public/073099.html>.
An informative tribute Morocco's late King Hassan II appears here:
Oman
"Qaboos the Leader-Thirty Years of Dedication" is the name of
an official webpage dedicated to the Sultan of Oman. It contains a biography and
much else besides: <http://www.omanet.com/oman2000/1.htm>.
Omania features another biography of the leader: <http://www.omania.net/qaboos.htm>.
Asia Tour and Cockatoo Press place Qaboos's reign in a historical
context: <http://www.asiatour.com/oman/e-01land/eo-lan13_f.htm>.
Yet another tribute to Qaboos appears at this site, Souk of Oman; sister
pages feature speeches by the leader: <http://www.soukofoman.com/hismajesty1.html>.
It seems difficult to find evidence on opposition politicians, but if
there is anything on the internet about this theme, it will almost certainly
appear as a link on this page: <http://www.oman.org/referenc.htm>.
Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International
Affairs--far better known by its acronym, PASSIA-has an impressive listing of
profiles on famous Palestinians, past and present: <http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/personalities/0_personalities.htm>.
The website for the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestinian
Authority provides another but shorter collection of biographies. It is
restricted to current or more recent figures, like Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala), the
late Faisal Husseini and Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen):
A full list of leaders in the Palestine Authority appears at this
official webpage: <http://www.pna.net/government/pal_ministries.htm>.
A list of the PLO Central Council appears here: <http://www.pna.net/plo/plo_central_council.htm>.
Names of Palestine Legislative Council members are listed here--although
the hyperlinked resumes do not seem to open, unfortunately: <http://www.pna.net/government/plc_members_mopic.htm>.
Naturally, the figure of Yasir Arafat looms large over Palestinian
affairs. Yahoo lists 12 links to sites that deal directly with him, from sources
as varied as Le Monde Diplomatique to ABC, PBS, and the "PNA
President's" own site (listed separately): <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Regions/Middle_East/Countries_and_Regions/Palestinian_Authority/Community/Government/Arafat__Yasser/> and <http://www.p-p-o.com/>.
Who's Who at the PNA comes from a new website for the PNA Ministry of
Information, and has links to a biography of the President, and contact details
for PLC members and PNA Ministers: <http://www.minfo.gov.ps/who/whoswho.htm>.
PASSIA carries a brief tribute to the late Faisal Husseini: <http://www.passia.org/faisl/about.htm>.
Emergency.com profiles leaders of Hamas and Islamic
Jihad: <http://www.emergency.com/Terr-Ldr.htm>.
And in 1997 the New York Times ran the following feature on Hamas leader,
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin: <http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/102497yassin-profile.html>.
Here are some other profiles of and interviews with the man regarded as
Another site offers biographies of some 250 Palestinian
individuals, and 30 institutional biographies, indexed at:
<http://middleeastreference.org.uk/indexbio.html>
There is also a cumulative index to members of the PLO Executive Committee,
Fatah Central Committee and cabinet of the Palestinian Authority on the same
site, via: <http://middleeastreference.org.uk/>
Qatar
The Qatari Diwan (Royal Court) has a website with links to biographies of
the Emir, the Heir Apparent and the Prime Minister: <http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/main_page_english.htm>.
Qatar Info devotes a long and informative (albeit somewhat eulogistic)
page to the ruling family: <http://www.qatar-info.com/general/ruling.htm>.
Saudi Arabia
For fulsome coverage of King Fahd, subdivided into sections detailing his
early life, reign and achievements, is found at the website of the Saudi Embassy
in London:
And for a distinctly dissident take on Saudi Arabian politics and
politicians, the House of Saud website is always a rich mine of information (or
misinformation, depending on your allegiance). For details on Princes Bandar,
Abdullah, Turki, Sultan, Khaled et al, see particularly their archive pages: <http://saudhouse.virtualave.net/>.
Likewise, the opposition group MIRA (Movement for Islamic Reform in
Arabia) runs profiles on "Prince of the Month" in English. Below is
the URL for Khalid bin Sultan. However, it seems difficult to access these via
the parent site. Better to try on an individual page basis, via the Al-Bab Who's
Who (listed as second item in "General Websites", above): <http://www.miraserve.com/arabia/a5h3.htm>.
Yahoo lists sites on the notorious Osama bin Laden (of which more below,
in Section C , "Loose Cannons"). Evidently, judging from his Yahoo
coverage, he is the most famous living Saudi of the 20th century. Well, that's
one achievement, at least… <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Saudi_Arabia/Arts_and_Humanities/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/People/Laden__Osama_bin/>.
Saudi Information Resource runs a long profile of the Kingdom's founder,
Sudan
Sudan.net has a very good page of biographies of leaders, from Ismail
A full list of the Sudanese cabinet appears at the website of the
Sudanese Embassy in Ottawa: <http://www.sudanca.com/glance/glance.html>.
On the net you can find numerous interviews with, and profiles of, the
The London-based Sudan Foundation runs this page on "opposition
voices":
Syria
The homepage for the Syrian Computer Society was among the first places
to contain details on Bashar Assad, SCS director and now President of Syria: <http://www.scs-syria.com/>.
In May and June 2000 The Estimate ran three well-informed articles on
Syria's new President: <http://www.theestimate.com/public/061600a.html>, <http://www.theestimate.com/public/061600b.html>, <http://www.theestimate.com/public/051900.html>.
Bashar's marriage to Asma al-Akhras was announced early this year. The
London-born daughter of a leading Syrian medical consultant, she may even
blossom into Damascus' own Evita Peron, suggests this MEIB Dossier report of
June 2001: <http://www.meib.org/articles/0106_sd1.htm>.
Meanwhile, Syria's Ministry of Information still runs a
tribute to the late President Hafez al-Assad: <http://www.moi-syria.com/assad.htm>.
For more on Assad, father and son, see MERIA's earlier Resource List,
"Syria after Hafez al-Assad": <http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/research-g/syria.html>.
Amongst survivors of the ancien regime, Ghazi Kanaan, Syrian intelligence
boss in Lebanon, remains a powerful figure: <http://www.meib.org/articles/0001_l5.htm>.
Another is the veteran Vice-President Abdel Halim Khaddam: <http://www.meib.org/articles/0002_med.htm>.
Here is a site devoted to the life and work of the late Hafez al-Assad of
Syria: <http://www.assad.org/>.
Tunisia
There is a useful biography of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali at this
website from the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique (RCD): <http://www.rcd.tn/president.html>.
More focused on nation than party is this Ben Ali biography from Tunisia
Online: <http://www.tunisiaonline.com/government/biography.html>.
For an up-to-date list of members of the current Tunisian government (in
French): <http://www.ministeres.tn/html/indexsites.html>.
Turkey
Discover Turkey traces Bulent Ecevit's return to power in 1999: <http://www.geocities.com/discover_turkey/Ecevit.htm>.
The Politics and Policy section at Turkey.org includes the following
page, which has links to prime ministers and presidents of the country, plus
biographies of the cabinet (in Turkish) and of President Sezer (also in
Turkish): <http://turkey.org/politics/p_execut.htm>.
The CV of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem appears at his Ministry's website;
the parent site also contains links to his speeches, and a list of past Foreign
Ministers: <http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupg/ga/icem.page/cvitae.ing.htm>.
Here is a short but usefully hyperlinked profile of former President
Suleyman Demirel: <http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Paradise/5831/demirel.htm>.
A longer profile of the man, in Turkish: <http://www.cankaya.gov.tr/demirel.htm>.
Find a biography of Demirel's successor as president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer,
in a May 2000 edition of Newspot: <http://www.byegm.gov.tr/yayinlarimiz/NEWSPOT/2000/May/N5.htm>.
WIN (Women's International Net) magazine profiled Turkey's controversial
former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, under the title "Ambition for All
Seasons": <http://www.winmagazine.org/issues/issue18/win18c.htm>.
Another WIN article profiles Turkey's first Women's Minister, Isilay
Saygin, and asks whether she is a feminist or a sexist: <http://www.winmagazine.org/issues/issue7/win7c.htm>.
Newspot ran the following biography of Ömer Ýzgý, new
Speaker of Turkey's Grand National Assembly: <http://www.byegm.gov.tr/yayinlarimiz/NEWSPOT/2000/Nov-Dec/N1.htm>.
Turkey on the Threshold of the 21st Century--Ataturk's Dream Nears
Realization (Postscript to Ataturk's Legacy) by Paul B. Henze, also considers
the careers of Erbakan, Ecevit, Bahceli and other politicians: <http://turkey.org/reference/HENZE.htm>.
Turkey's official Newspot magazine profiled an influential Education
Minister of the past, Hasan-Ali Yücel, in a March/April 2001 edition: <http://www.byegm.gov.tr/YAYINLARIMIZ/newspot/2001/mar_apr/n22.htm>.
Yahoo has collated eight sites devoted to Turkey's Kurdish rebel,
United Arab Emirates
A long illustrated biography of Sheikh Zayed Al Nahayan, President of the
UAE and traditional leader of Abu Dhabi, appears on this page from the official
UAE government website: <http://www.uae.gov.ae/Government/sheik_zayed.htm>.
Another even longer profile appears at UAE Forever, complete with video
clips, entitled "Words of Wisdom": <http://www.uaeforever.com/Zayed/>.
An HH Zayed site in Arabic appears not to be running at present, but here
is its URL: <http://www.hhszayed.com/zayed/index.htm>.
The current UAE cabinet is listed here: <http://www.uae.gov.ae/Ministries/ministries.htm>.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and
leader of Dubai, has a website that gives news of his busy diary schedule, and
highlights his interests in poetry, sports, business and the internet: <http://www.sheikhmohammed.co.ae/>.
Gulf News Online has an excellent archive of profiles concerning lesser
mortals. These include directors of government ministries, environmentalists and
local business leaders. In addition, they cover a bewildering array of
expatriates--an English chef, Pakistani poet, Armenian artist and Miss Lebanon
2000, to name a few: <http://www.gulfnews.com/People-Places/Profiles/default.asp.
Meanwhile, Khaleej Times useful Newsmaker World and Newsmaker Middle East
provide snippets of breaking news to update readers on figures in the news: <http://www.khaleejtimes.com/nmakerworld.htm>.
United States and the United Kingdom
Agreed, the U.S. is not part of the Middle East. However, there are many
notable Arabs who live there, many of whose biographies are handily provided
here, courtesy of the Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies: <http://www.ccasonline.org/symposium/speakerbios.htm>.
For information on Jewish and Arab Americans, the following may be
useful: <http://www.diversity-books.com/MiddleEastern.html>.
Scan the State Department's website for data on the main decision-makers
in the ministry, and especially in its Near East Agency: <http://www.state.gov/>.
For the equivalent at Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, see: <http://www.fco.gov.uk/>.
Yemen
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has his own website, which includes a
biography, photo album, list of achievements, video and audio transmissions, and
a description of Saleh's role in attaining Yemen's "Road to Unity": <http://www.presidentsaleh.ye/>.
The National Information Center of Yemen also runs a biography of
President Saleh. It contains further links to his speeches, interviews and other
activities: <http://www.nic.gov.ye/English%20site/SITE%20CONTAINTS/presedency/President/Biog.pres1.htm>.
The Yemen Observer relays an interview the President gave to the
Washington Post in December 2000: <http://www.yemenmonitor.com/uss144.html>.
Also carried by the Observer is a New York Times article of November 2000
that details Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Iryani's comments on the Cole affair,
and suggests that Saleh's half-brother was connected with the attack on the U.S.
vessel: <http://www.yemenmonitor.com/uss129.html>.
The website of the Yemeni Embassy in Washington contains the following
handy list of leading personnel in the nation's government; a number have
hyperlinks to additional biographies:
Al-Bab profiled Yemen's Prime Minister, the Yale-educated Ph.D.
geneticist, al-Iryani: <http://www.al-bab.com/yemen/biog/iryani.htm>.
However, in late March 2001, following elections in February, President
Saleh sacked al-Iryani as Prime Minister and replaced him with Abdulqadir Ba
Jammal. A brief profile of the new premier appears in this news item from the
Yemen Monitor: <http://www.yemenmonitor.com/uss225.html>.
The Yemen Observer of August 1999 profiled two women who made history by
standing in the presidential elections, Ibitsam Al-Hamdi and Ilham Abdulwahab: <http://www.yemen-observer.com/misc/aug6.html>.
MSA relays two articles on Yemeni politicians, one on 'Yemen's Hariri',
Vice President Abderrahman al-Jifri, the other on the 'strongman' of the Islah
Party, Sheikh Abdallah Al-Ahmar: <http://inic.utexas.edu/menic/utaustin/course/oilcourse/mail/Yemen/0015.html>.
The following profile of Ahmar is only in Arabic: <http://www.parliament.gov.ye/Sheykh.htm>.
"Outstanding figures in Yemeni contemporary history" is nice
snapshot of leading figures from the recent past. It comes from the Yemen
Observer of January 2000: <http://www.yemen-observer.com/misc/jan07.html>.
This article from the British-Yemeni Society considers the life of the
colorful political reformer, sufi and early president of the Yemen Union, Sheikh
Abdullah Ali al-Hakimi: <http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/lawless93.htm>.
And the
Yemen Observer wrote about Queen Arwa: Yemen's head of state in 1074: <http://www.yemen-observer.com/misc/jan06.html>.
For
obituaries of more recent Yemenis, as well as British figures associated with
the country, scroll down to the bottom of this page from the British-Yemeni
Society: <http://www.al-bab.com/bys/journal.htm>.
C. A Sense of History
Historical Icons
< http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/biography/ > Contains some 2,000 useful biographies of famous Muslim figures from Koranic times to the 20th century, including quite a few Arab and Iranian politicians.
Al-Bab runs an excellent collation of links to subjects of Arab and
Middle Eastern history-including profiles of major figures from the Prophet
Muhammad to Lawrence of Arabia: <http://www.al-bab.com/arab/history.htm>.
Islamicbookstore.com lists books which include biographies of Arab
Islamist leaders, like the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna,
and Izzadin al-Qassem, plus numerous historical figures: <http://islamicbookstore.com/books-history--politics--law-and-modernity-biographies-of-famous-muslims-of-later-times.html>.
Going back further in time, you can find information on the medieval
Jewish Andalusian philosopher, doctor and religious scholar, Maimonides, at this
site: <http://www.crosswinds.net/~rambam/>.
Also, don't forget that newspaper obituaries are really just biographies
of the recently deceased. Increasingly these are available online. At the risk
of self-promotion, readers are invited to access the archives of The Guardian in
London, and run a search for obituaries written by the compiler of this
resource-"Lawrence Joffe". Figures profiled this year include the
Israelis, High Court Judge, Dov Levin, founder of the diplomatic corps, Walter
Eytan, and right-wing rabbi, Binyamin Kahane; the Palestinian Minister for
Jerusalem Affairs, Faisal Husseini; the Jordanian Field Marshall Habes
al-Majali; the Samaritan High Priest Levi Hacohen; the Lebanese Shi'ite Imam
Mohammed Shamseddin; and the Melkite-Greek Orthodox Patriarch Maximos V Hakim <http://guardianunlimited.co.uk/>.
Cultural Icons
Al-Ahram Weekly is a superb source of profiles of artists, writers and
the occasional politician. See in particular their regular Profile, People and
Culture pages: <http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/>.
Likewise Cairo Times, whose People pages archives range from Israeli
transsexual singer Dana International and Egypt's own Nawal Al
Saadawi--"The high priestess of secular feminism in her pink
nightie"--to sundry geologists, archaeologists and the immortal Omar
Sharif, "the most charming man in the world": <http://www.cairotimes.com/content/people/people.html>.
One good source for profiles of Arabic artists and writers, including
numerous political figures, is Al-Jadid, an English language magazine produced
in the U.S.: <http://www.aljadid.com/pastTOC.html>.
Ray Hanania's website includes the following useful list of biographies
on Arab literary figures--although most, like him, are located in the U.S.: <http://www.hanania.com/arablit.htm>.
For information on Maghrebi writers in French, see this site from
Maghreb.net: <http://maghreb.net/writers/>.
Biographies of and cross-links to many Middle Eastern scholars feature in
the Scholar's List of the MSA (Muslim Student Association of America): <http://msanews.mynet.net/Scholars/index.html>.
The much admired but tragically deceased Israeli Yemenite singer, Ofra
Haza, has a full website dedicated to her career: <http://www.ofrahaza.com/>.
The Egyptian State Information Services provides a link to a tribute site
to the late chanteuse, Umm Kolthoum: <http://www.sis.gov.eg/umm/html/tumm.htm>.
See here for details of the late Iraqi poet, Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayyati: <http://www.humboldt1.com/~mpearce/apoet/index.html>.
"The Blind Poet who saw the Truth" is Yemen Observer's 1999
tribute to the late Abdullah al-Baradouni: <http://www.yemen-observer.com/misc/oct12.html>.
Another artist whose work has aroused political controversy is the
Lebanese singer, Marcel Khalife. Here is a website devoted to his work, and to
countering charges that his lyrics are 'blasphemous': <http://www.marcelkhalife.com/htmls/petition.html>.
Notable Shi'ite personalities feature inter alia at this Encyclopaedia: <http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/>.
One unusual contemporary Shi'ite is Parvin Darabi, an Iranian dissident,
who now lives in the U.S. WIN magazine profiled her and her late sister, Homa: <http://www.winmagazine.org/issues/issue34/win34b.htm>.
Following hard upon the trial of Saad Eddin Ibrahim in Egypt (see under
that country's category, above) comes the trial of another well known dissident
voice, the novelist and feminist, Nawal El Saadawi. The following Newsweek
article profiles the two figures, as relayed by the Ibn Khaldun Center: <http://www.ibnkhaldun.org/trial/press/040601.html>.
"Death of a Fundamentalist Feminist" is the title of a profile
of the late Turkish activist, Konca Kuris: <http://www.winmagazine.org/issues/issue30/win30c.htm>.
Newspot is an excellent resource for biographies of Turkish artists,
poets, politicians, cartoonists and journalists: <http://www.byegm.gov.tr/YAYINLARIMIZ/newspot/newspot.htm>.
The New York State (University) Writers Institute runs a wonderfully
comprehensive profile of Israeli author and veteran political activist, Amos Oz:
<http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/oz.html>.
There are oodles of websites devoted to following the activities of Osama
Bin Laden. Many are listed at this Yahoo holding site: <http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/World/Osama_Bin_Laden/>. PBS's Frontline Show has a website devoted to their programme,
"Hunting Bin Laden": <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/> For an excellent listing of current news about Bin Laden, see this
page from Clever.Net: <<http://www.clever.net/cam/news.binladen.html>.
According to a Yemen Observer article of January 2001, and quoting the Yemen
Times, he is a protege of Sheikh Muqbel bin Hadi al-Wadie, who holds court in
Yemen's Empty Quarter: <<http://www.yemenmonitor.com/uss160.html>.
Evidently, reporting the deeds and claims of Bin Laden or, in this instance, the
radical UK-based sheikh Abu Masri, can be dangerous. Consider this article about
the fate of Hisham Basharaheel, editor of the Yemeni newspaper, Al-Ayyam:
<http://www.angelfire.com/mn/yemenmonitor/alayam.html>. Another ally of Bin Laden is the blind Egyptian Sheikh Omar
Abdurrahman, currently imprisoned in the USA for his role in the World Trade
Center bombings. An article that originally appeared in the Middle East
Quarterly covers the man and his trial: <http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=95>.
Lawrence Joffe is London correspondent of MERIA