Crisis in the Gulf and Oriental Architecture in the U.S.: Interviews with Toby Jones and Phil Pasquini

In the fall issue of Middle East Report, Professor Toby Jones discusses the impact of revolutionary fervor in the Middle East and North Africa on the Persian Gulf Monarchies. In his article, "Embracing Crisis in the Gulf," he notes, “Typically concerned to hide unrest from view, out of fear of seeming weak or unpopular, the Gulf monarchies now seem disinterested in masking their violent response. In part, the states have lost control; activists can broadcast details of riot police assaults over social media. But the brutality on display is also intentional. The authorities wish to send the message that they can and will crush dissent with impunity.” Shahram Aghamir spoke with Toby Jones, Assistant Professor of Middle East History at Rutgers University about the imprisonment of Bahrani activist, Nabil Rajab and the political crisis in the Gulf.

Award-winning journalist and photographer Phil Pasquini has spent many years traveling across the United States in his quest to visit and record firsthand hundreds of uniquely American buildings. The source material for his book, Domes, Arches and Minarets, is a one-of-a-kind record of this little-explored subject area of American architecture. This unique book traces the history and development of Islamic, Oriental and Moorish architecture in the United States from the earliest Spanish-Moorish buildings constructed in the 1700s to the more contemporary buildings of the twenty-first century. With over one hundred original color photographs accompanied by the history and description of each building, the book also discusses the origins, influences and inspiration for these buildings that have had a profound impact on the American cityscape.