http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200903/default.htm Saudi Aramco, the oil company born as an international enterprise 75 years ago, distributes Saudi Aramco World to increase cross-cultural understanding. The bimonthly magazine's goal is to broaden knowledge of the cultures, history and geography of the Arab and Muslim worlds and their connections with the West. Saudi Aramco World is distributed without charge, upon request, to interested readers worldwide. en-us © 2005 Aramco Services Company. All Rights Reserved. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200903/raising.the.maldives.htm Strung like a necklace of a thousand pearls barely afloat in the Indian Ocean, the coral atolls of the Maldives face the threat of rising seas. Among the steps the government has taken is the creation of a new island, Hulhumalé, which stands two meters above today’s waterline. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200903/i.pillar.of.justice.htm At first, you humans used us rocks for fighting and tool-making. Then I evolved, showing how we can actually mediate your incessant quarrels. In Akkadian cuneiform dictated by Hammurapi, my royal Babylonian collaborator, I formed of my stony flesh not weapons, but words; not tools, but rules. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200903/the.past.is.not.yet.written.htm Spanish historians of the country’s southern region have long trod controversial ground in analyzing what nearly eight centuries of Muslim rule means to the modern nation. A younger generation of scholars is finding that, despite new methods, common ground remains elusive. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200903/bangladesh.s.audacity.of.hope.htm In 1972, a former accountant dedicated his life to his newly independent nation and founded brac, the non-governmental antipoverty organization that has helped more than a hundred million Bangladeshis better their lives—and that is now seen as a global development model. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200903/art.to.heart.htm Give 800 actors, musicians, dancers, poets, writers and artists—from 22 Arab nations—three weeks of full houses at the top us arts center, and attendees might be justified in wondering whether the success of “Arabesque” heralds a new era of cross-cultural appreciation. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT