Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Vinay Lal

Vinay Lal is an associate professor in the Department of History at University of California in Los Angeles with a focus on South and Southeast Asia.

MER Article

Fischer and Abedi, Debating Muslims

Michael M.J. Fischer and Mehdi Abedi, Debating Muslims: Cultural Dialogues in Postmodernity and Tradition (Wisconsin, 1990). In the older literature on the Middle East and the Muslim world, Islam almost invariably appeared as a religion of fanaticism: austere in its outlook, menacing in its prosely

Vinay Lal • 4 min read

MER Article

Omissi, Air Power and Colonial Control

David Omissi, Air Power and Colonial Control: The Royal Air Force, 1919-1939 (Manchester, 1990). In the recent war with Iraq, US air superiority was crucial in minimizing the US (and other allied) casualties, preparing the ground for a swift advance by land forces. The Middle East, and particularly

Vinay Lal • 3 min read