i'm not from mid east :P but that's the music i've studied.. i'm actually translating few master classes on the subject from arabic to english ..i'll be posting them soon here. 'cause even the tuning of the occidental instruments (chello, violin...) is different from the western standers if you are working on keys like "Bayati" ,"Mhayar Sikah" or "Hijaz"
you can find a nice and clean introduction on the subject here: http://www.maqamworld.com/maqamat.html