He plays down its Middle Eastern origins and he stresses its diverse sources (Shia and Sufi as well as Sunni) as well as its heterodox innovations.

ECONOMIST: Jihadists

And then you have someone like Nabih Bulos who plays with Daniel Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra but originally comes from Amman in Jordan.

CNN: Musicians play for peace to mark WWII anniversary

He divides his time between the Caribbean and New York, where he plays for the Atlantis Cricket Club in the Eastern American Cricket Association, as well as representing the US in limited-overs internationals.

BBC: Cush hopes to cash in on Stanford series

In an opening chapter on how the Middle East plays in American minds, he shows how moments in Middle Eastern history used to be reported in the National Geographic, a popular magazine that at least at one time was a window on the world for millions of middle-class Americans.

ECONOMIST: Arabs and Americans

Puppetry in Fujian Province in south-eastern China has developed a set of characteristic techniques of performance and crafting puppets, as well as a repertoire of plays and music.

UNESCO: Intangible Cultural Heritage