Modern World Of The Islamic And Arabic World : A Bit Of A Hero Complex Essay

Things move so far and so fast in the Middle East that some of the pieces here already seem like distant history just a year or two after happening and being written. If Iran, in 2013, ‘felt that the economic pressure and the credible threat of military intervention were to threaten its very survival, it might, just as Assad did with the chemical weapons, go as far as give up the entire nuclear program altogether.’ Before 2014 started was a relatively peaceful time. But of course, we know now that the West will never make such a threat, that the mullahs will have their way, and that the Americans are in retreat amidst the confused ruins of their policies as the Russians move in.

Often called “The Crossroads of the World”, the Middle East stands between three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. Over thousands of years, migrating traders and conquerors crossed this region and spread the ideas, inventions, and achievements of many civilizations. It is an incredibly important part of the world with rich history, important resources, and deep religious and cultural traditions. However, in the past decades up to today, the Middle East has been consumed by conflict and chaos. Although different circumstances surround each issue, religion, terrorism, disputes over the control of natural resources, and weak governance primarily allow conflict to persist in the Middle East.

Wherever you go, you leave a footprint, whether or not it is physical or emotional. In James L Gelvin’s book, The Modern Middle East, he not only refers to this absolutism but also furthers it by using it in a historical construct. Gelvin replaces individuals with the collective and the collective here is nations. As human beings, we cannot neglect this absolute truth. Hence we cannot deny that the occurrence of one country occupying another, that country leaves its’ “footprint” on the other. Thusly, Gelvin’s crux is to challenge the reader’s notions of the Middle East by focusing on the dialectic between the history of the Middle East recounted by the Middle East and the history of the Middle East narrated by Western Powers (i.e. Britain, France, and the U.S.). Through a globalized lens of Middle Eastern history, the region opens up to assessment in identical means as any other country, allowing the reader to comprehend that the Middle East is not an isolated sector but as an organ interconnected and interdependent on global occurrences, for instance, the economy, equivalent to its counterparts.

This direct linkage between modernization and westernization is, in fact, historically inaccurate. The history of technology development has actually indicated that the ideology or culture doesn’t really influence the modernization. When adopting modernisation, countries, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, doesn’t necessarily need to change its own culture. While most Muslim-majority countries are still undeveloped countries, the driving force is not their culture, but instead the clash of civilization itself. The fault line wars characterised by Huntington in fact have majorly taken place in the Middle East, including the war on terror and the Arab–Israeli War. This clash of civilisation characterised by fault line wars, in fact, leads to the chaos and poverty there. The appearance of this pre-modern image of those Muslim Countries is not the justification for the westernisation but the result of the clash of civilizations. Therefore, the inverted causality is inaccurate, and shall be corrected, as the clash of civilization can, in fact, hardly help those

While we deal with our own feelings of fear and anger regarding the violence perpetrated against us, both physical and non-physical, it’s important to remember that we aren’t the only ones who feel victimized in the conflict. Perhaps it is true that the Middle East, for the most part, distains the West, but not for nothing and not even

This research paper will stop short of blaming Christian and Muslim relations entirely on the Crusades. But the research presented definitely suggests that this could have played a major role in that theory. By studying the resulting impact of the Crusades, we can better understand why stability in the Middle East remains fragile. The similarities between the Crusades and the situations unfolding in many of the same territories currently, cannot be

According to Amin Maalouf, “It seems clear that the Arab East still sees the West as a natural enemy. Against that enemy, any hostile action-be it political, military, or based on oil-is considered no more than legitimate vengeance. And there can be no doubt that the schism between these two worlds dates from the Crusades, deeply felt by the Arabs, even today, as an act of rape” (Amin Maalouf). When reflecting on The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, this quote always sticks out as the most powerful piece of Maalouf’s work. As a growing college student this quote brings harsh reality to the world I live in. I believe as you grow through life, you become more and more aware of the world around you through education. In order to

According to Amin Maalouf, “It seems clear that the Arab East still sees the West as a natural enemy. Against that enemy, any hostile action-be it political, military, or based on oil-is considered no more than legitimate vengeance. And there can be no doubt that the schism between these two worlds dates from the Crusades, deeply felt by the Arabs, even today, as an act of rape” (Amin Maalouf). When reflecting on The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, this quote always sticks out as the most powerful piece of Maalouf’s work. As a growing college student this quote brings harsh reality to the world I live in. I believe as you grow through life, you become more and more aware of the world around you through education. In order to be aware you must

Greeks such as Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Hippocrates have left concepts still used in modern science and mathematics. Their ideas laid a basis for future European thoughts and studies in the fields. Their contributions such as the creating the Pythagorean theory, the writing a comprehensive classification of species and the systematizing of medical knowledge would influence the way Europeans thought and studied the world. Hippocrates’ Oath is still sworn by all medical practitioners. The contributions of the Ancient Greeks in science and math built a foundation upon which future Europeans would build and lead to the development of modern

While the aftermath of World War II is often referred to as one of the primary creators of deep rooted turmoil in the Middle East region, the effects of the Cold War and the United States often over-zealous battle against communism is just as much a contributor if not more. The Arab world and the Middle East region were clearly going through quite an extraordinary period throughout World War II and its conclusion, primarily with the creation of most of the states we recognize today and struggling with the continuation of colonialism. These factors set the stage for the emergence of strong nationalist sentiments and Pan-Arab movements across the Middle East. Unfortunately, and much to the detriment of the region, the leaders of these young

The Middle East is far from monumental and homogenous. Its differences have been a source of both strength and inspiration. The most visible, most pervasive, and the least recognized aspects of

Middle East considers one of the most studied areas in the world due to its rich history of politics, social, economic, and its culture and civilization. Its borders are still arguable geographically, generally in the west it starts from morocco until Iran in the east, however, many scholars don’t agree on including Turkey either as a Middle Eastern or as a European country (Milton-Edwards, 2006. P: 4). The origin of the name was invented by the colonies as a necessity to describe the place geographically, which was the era of bringing “Middle East” the language of academic writings and political scientists. Changes, innovations, and new ideologies create gaps between the transformations of any perspectives to a different

Many of the problems in the Middle East today are a direct result of actions undertaken in the region 's colonial past. I will argue that both imperialist ineptitude, deliberate meddling and outright deceit by colonial powers have sown seeds of distrust that linger in the Middle East today towards the West. I will claim that artificial boundaries, government structures and societal schisms created in colonial times have entrenched animosities and created internal structural instabilities in the area that are still being resolved. The imposition of Israel into Palestine, I will argue, remains an unresolved product of colonial rule. I will discuss how the discovery of oil and the regions importance as a trade route caused the World Powers to remain engaged in the area and oppressive in their demeanour. Finally I will argue that perhaps the greatest ongoing legacy of colonialism in the Middle east is an imperialist attitude by the west which continues to this day.

The history of the Islamic world has been one of weak state institutions and state underperformance, coupled with a high prevalence of violence, both by the state and by individuals. A major reason for these negative trends has been the role of political Islam in privileging homogeneity over diversity, in stifling dissent in public and private life, and the societal stagnation that follows such rigid controls. Malaysia and Indonesia have been notable exceptions to the underperformance of Islamic cultures.

The Greeks made an enormous jump. It was the rebirth of Ancient learning, the Renaissance, which provided the base of today’s science and technology. It was the rediscovery of Hellenic thought, from Aquinas to the Humanists, which recovered and changed our civilization. The Greeks had demoted fantasy, escaped from arrogance, and were never tempted by blind faith. They wanted reasons; they