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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to my former colleagues at theInstitute for Asian and African Studies at the University of Helsinki(Finland), especially Professor Tapani Harviainen and Dr BertilTikkanen, and to Professor Daniel Newman of the University ofDurham (England) as well as Professor Benjamin Hoffez of OaklandUniversity (USA). They read the original manuscript and madenumerous valuable comments and suggestions for its improvement. Inaddition I should also like to thank the anonymous reviewers appointedby Routledge for their constructive criticism and advice.I also acknowledge the generous financial support of the Ministryof Education of Finland, the University of Helsinki, Alfred KordelinFoundation, Jenni and Antti Wihuri Foundation, and the FinnishAssociation of Non-Fiction Writers.Faruk Abu-ChacraHelsinki, Finland, 2007