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Arab civil society exists, and is sustained through, an interactive relationship with its surrounding socioeconomic and political environment. An attempt to identify the changes in and interaction of Arab civil society and developments in the Arab region reveals several important issues. The relationship between civil society and the state is characterized by varying levels of distrust, conflict, and tension. Civil society organizations are naturally part and parcel of society at large. A study of Arab civil society indicates important changes in terms of the players, not only from the perspective of global civil society, as some contemporary studies tend to consider, but also from a national perspective, at the level of each Arab country and, from a local perspective, within each country.

This chapter examines the presence of Palestinian women in the local and national arenas. While Palestinian women have grown more aware and focused on their right and abilities to take part of political decision making in Israel, this attention has not yet resulted in gains at the national or local ballot boxes. The focus of this chapter is on four main factors that underlie the inability of Palestinian women to thrive politically in Israel. First, they confront an Israeli political culture that does not encourage any woman to engage in politics. Second, they contend with the alienation of Palestinians from national politics; the predominantly male competition for local elections makes it extremely difficult for women to be elected. Third, they face the patriarchal thinking and practices as well as the double standards in Arab society. Fourth, they face their own reluctance to continue fighting in a difficult political arena.

This chapter focuses on the concept of government prevalent in the Middle East during the eve of modern times. The basic principle was that effective government was essential for the stability and proper functioning of the community. Revolt and rebellion occurred in the history of Islam. According to the system, expressing a view on state or public matters was an official function. It is easy to see why journalistic initiative was inconsistent with such precepts. The appearance of newspapers posed a threat to the old principles. The encounter between government and press turned into an open conflict. There was censorship and licensing procedure. Still, freedom of expression was an important issue for journalists. But there was abuse when it came to its use and the Arab society was no different from the others. Misuse and abuse were natural aspects of acclimatizing to a fundamental change in basic values.

This chapter gives a brief background on Arabic press and the European prototype. During the pre-twentieth century Muslim Middle East there was already an effective communications system that was in harmony with society's needs and facilitated the existence of a cohesive political, social and cultural order. Its aim is to shed light on the evolution of the Arab press in itself as a modern institution shaped by the region's political, social, economic and cultural realities. It examines the Arabic press during its formative first hundred years, a period of great change in Arab society materially, culturally and in relations with other societies. The press will be seen as both reflecting and contributing to these changes, a mirror and a beacon at once.

This chapter shifts the focus away from specific spaces for discourse in the Middle East and more to the overall effect: How do the various spaces intersect? How do they conflict, interpenetrate, and interlock? It also considers two less-than-fully-public spaces for political arguments about religion: one of specialist discourse and one of state administration. The first involves scholars and religious officials and spaces where they speak to their followers. The second involves areas in which state officials and institutions set their determination about how religious matters are to be governed or inform the manner of governing. The chapter begins by examining the growing permeability of the divisions among the separate spheres for argument. It then looks at the political effects of this porousness and the way that authority operates (and is modified) when arguments are moved across spheres. Finally, it traces the evolution of the republic of arguments.

This chapter details the development and functions of Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s national commission of inquiry. This commission, chaired by Supreme Court Justice Theodor Or, was created to investigate the causes of the riots of Israeli Arabs during the second Palestinian Intifada and the way the police responded to these riots. The Or Commission submitted its report to the government in August 2003, and criticized Barak for taking insufficient action to prevent the use of deadly force by the police or to limit it. The commission recommended that Shlomo Ben-Ami, the minister of internal security at the time of the riots, should not be allowed to serve in this post in the future. It also made rulings regarding figures in the police force, and recommended that the Police Investigations Department investigate several incidents with the purpose of preparing criminal charges against some of the policemen involved in the deaths. The commission also examined the actions of several leaders of the Arab public, but refrained from making personal recommendations in their regard. Beyond this, it made general recommendations regarding the state’s, and in particular the police force’s, treatment of the Arab population.