Sami Zubaida je emeritný profesor politológie a sociológie. Jeho práca sa hlboko ponára do náboženstva, kultúry, politiky a práva Blízkeho východu, so zvláštnym zameraním na Egypt, Irán, Irak a Turecko. Ďalšou oblasťou jeho záujmu je história a kultúra jedla, kde komparatívne skúma Európu, Blízky východ a Indiu. Jeho dielo skúma zložité vzťahy medzi islamom, štátom a spoločnosťou a ponúka nový pohľad na politické myslenie a hnutia v regióne, ako aj na kulinárske tradície, ktoré formovali identitu v priebehu stáročí.
Draws on a distinguished career's worth of experience trying to understand the region to address the fundamental question in Middle East studies: what is the Middle East? This work offers us an alternative view of the region, its historic cosmpolitanism, its religious and cultural diversity, and its rapid adoption of various media cultures.
This pioneering book considers the culinary cultures of the Middle East in a variety of contexts. The contributors discuss various aspects of historical and contemporary processes, including likely origins and diffusions on ingredients and dishes, changes in food production and eating habits, contemporary revivals of traditional cooking, literary representations of food and drink, and the class, gender, and communal dimensions to food. Written by scholars from different disciplines, it covers a wide geographical area, from Central Asia to Morocco.