As the analytical concept of youth' gained importance, and was generally accepted as a period with its own cultural values and norms, social scientists began to analyse how social change was linked to youth. In the Middle East, a new concept of youth already began to find its way into the region in the late 19th century, and played a role in the anti-colonialist struggle. The same concept still plays a leading role today in the way young people act in relation to traditional values, political systems, and the West. In the Arab world in general, some 50% of the total population is 18 years of age or below, which means that youth' as a social group is of growing importance in the area. This also means that for decades to come Middle Eastern governments will be challenged as their young citizens demand work, a place to live, and access to enjoyable and challenging activities for the ever-expanding leisure time embedded in a modern way of life.
Drawing on extensive research, which covers a wide geographical area, this volume includes, among others, articles on: Youth, History and Change in the Modern Arab World; The Discovery of Adolescence in the Middle East; Discovering the Other: "Arab/Jewish" Youth Encounters in Arab Films; Youth, Moral and Islamism: Spending Leisure Time with Hamas in Palestine; The Construction of "Youth" in Public Discourse in Turkey; and, Youth Culture and Official State Discourse in Iran. This is a comprehensive work which describes and analyses the forms of youth culture presently being exposed throughout the contemporary Middle East. It will appeal not only to scholars, but also to those with a general interest in Middle Eastern culture.