The Middle East for Dummies (Paperback)

Unfortunately, Islamic militancy has impacted the West and has dominated the media, much in the same way that violence and conflict fills history books. Other issues, often filled with controversy, also fill the headlines.

Art, architecture, and history

Five millennia of art and architecture telling the region's history saturate the Middle East. Egypt's pyramids, royal tombs, and ancient relics, like mummies, sarcophagi, and statues, and the Holy Land's countless sites held sacred by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, like the Wailing Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and Dome of the Rock are just glimpses into the Middle East's treasure chest of art, architecture, and history (for more, see Chapter 23). You're probably also aware the region's art has suffered setbacks recently. In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the 50-meter tall Buddhist statues that had endured two millennia in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. During the wars in Iraq in 1991 and 2003, looters decimated holdings, most notably in Iraq's National Museum of Antiquities.

Gender and human rights

Gender in the Middle East is a complex topic. Turkey, Israel, and Pakistan can boast having elected female prime ministers. The highly publicized activities of educated, visible Jordanian queens Nur and Rania represent the more progressive elements in Middle Eastern society. An increase in women-run businesses and improved education for girls in several countries signals a shift in traditional attitudes. Yet women continue to suffer in the region.

The Taliban became the most recent regime in the Middle East to emerge as poster boys for human rights abuses. The most commonly cited infraction was their treatment of women. In many parts of Afghanistan, women were forbidden to work in most jobs and travel outside the home alone or without chador (type of veil). Furthermore, in many areas, girls and women were denied access to education. Women also weren't allowed to drive cars. When found in violation of these Islamic regulations, a special religious police under the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and the Promotion of Virtue would beat or arrest the perpetrators.

The Taliban didn't create all these practices; many they borrowed from Saudi Arabia. The issue of forbidding women to drive, for instance, came to a head in Saudi Arabia in November 1990 with the arrival of 500,000 Americans to the country for the Gulf War. Hoping to draw international sympathy for their cause (women's rights), 45 Saudi women drove automobiles to downtown Riyadh defying the ban. The Saudi Commission for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue arrested the women. The most vociferous of the religious police labeled the women "communist whores." Some of the women lost their jobs. More controversial yet was the incident in March 2002, when religious police blocked an exit of a burning school, preventing the girls from fleeing the fire because the girls weren't wearing the appropriate Islamic attire presentable for the public. Even though 15 girls lie inside dying in the fire, out-side the religious police dutifully busied themselves with beating young girls for not wearing the abaya (black robe and headdress).

Oil and economy

Because most of the world's oil reserves lie in the Middle East, the global economy hinges on the unimpeded production and flow of that oil. Disturbances of any type-war, rumors of war, or militancy-upset the delicate balance of he global economy and can affect countries for a variety of reasons. For example, since the USS Cole bombing in 2000, Yemen's already ailing economy has been reeling. After a wave of tribal kidnappings, bombings, and other violence, estimates indicate a loss of $7.6 million a month, which is substantial for a small developing nation of 18 million people. The bombing of two Bali nightclubs in October 2002 has had a devastating impact on Indonesia's economy, which relies heavily on tourism. The Jakarta Stock Exchange plunged 10 percent immediately after the bombings because investors worried that the violence may convince foreign firms to pull out.

Ecology and environment

On October 6, 2002, a suicide bomber attacked the French oil tanker Limburg off the coast of Yemen, killing one Bulgarian crewmember and spilling 90 million barrels of oil. The oil spill has caused serious ecological damage to coral reefs, fish, birds, and other marine life. This spill is dwarfed by the destruction wreaked in the eight-year Iran-Iraq War when offshore oil platforms and oil tankers served as military targets. A recent U.N. report found that 25 years of war, drought, and famine have devastated Afghanistan's environment. Deforestation, desertification, water contamination, oil dumps, and soil erosion are among the country's most prominent environmental problems. And you probably remember that Saddam Hussein's soldiers set 1,164 Kuwaiti oil wells ablaze as they were withdrawing in 1991.

Humanitarian issues

Take Lebanon, for instance, where an estimated 100,000 Lebanese were killed, 250,000 maimed or injured, and more than 1 million forced to flee their homes during the civil war. In the Iran-Iraq War, some 500,000 were killed. After 25 years of war, Afghanistan's soil is saturated with land mines, infesting an estimated 344 million square meters of territory. More than 150 people a month, frequently children, fall victim to mines. In 1992, a growing humanitarian crisis in Somalia, brought on by the century's worst drought and exacerbated by civil war, left 300,000 dead. Tribal warlords demanded loyalty from the starving population in return for access to food. Rival factions used military force to strangle U.N. supply routes, raid and hoard food supplies, and extort money from relief agencies. U.S. and U.N. peacekeepers stepped in to lend stability to the suffering Somalis.

Judeo-Christian tradition

If you live in the West, you're a product of Judeo-Christian tradition, which itself was born in the ancient Middle East. The Bible's origins, for instance, lie in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan. The notion of hell that has played an important role in Western religion, culture, and literature, not to mention a central theme in so many Hollywood movies, originated in the Middle East (see Chapter 4). Ever wonder why you get Sunday off? It's a religious day of rest. Christmas, Easter, and Hanukkah are all holidays embedded in our society.

The Middle Eastern story of infant Moses floating down the River Nile or concepts like sacrifice and the golden rule are so ingrained in our culture that imagining life without them is difficult.

Apart from these few reasons why the Middle East is relevant, I could name many more. Approximately 1.2 billion Muslims populate the globe. Islam is America's fastest-growing religion; an estimated 5 million Muslims live in the United States. If you pay taxes, then you support military and economic aid to both Israel and Egypt, as well as Turkey and many other countries in the region. You probably have friends or family members who have recently served in the military in Afghanistan or Iraq or who have been stationed in the Near East. Middle Eastern work, travel, trade, food, and other elements are woven into the very fabric of our Western society. Our destiny is intertwined with that of the Middle East. The first step in beginning to understand the Middle East is meeting it halfway.

Meeting the Middle East halfway

The issues that I mention in previous sections dominate the headlines, and you've probably already run across many of them. Just as history books and headlines are generally filled with wars and invasions and other brutalities of which humanity is capable, The Middle East For Dummies discusses the Middle East's historical and political developments. This political history requires an accounting of revolts, revolutions, wars, torture, invasions, and yes, Islamic militancy. In order to understand the current "mess" that you read about or watch on TV, you have to face some tough issues.

The Middle East 's greatest asset

The Middle East's greatest asset-its people along with their customs-is the main reason the Middle East should interest you. Daily life for most people in the Middle East is pretty routine. Parents raise their children, kids go to school and do homework (yuck), and families attend functions, such as weddings and parties. People sing, dance, write poetry, create art, joke and laugh, cook fantastic food, work long hours, pay their bills, have kids, grow old, and do most of the things you do. I have, therefore, reserved a considerable portion of the book to capture various dimensions of Middle Eastern life. The chapters on food, literature, ethnicity, customs, and art provide a window into the Middle East's rich and diverse culture.

Although Islamic militancy and religious and ethnic violence currently snatch the lion's share of headlines, most of the world's Middle Easterners have never participated in any act of violence, nor have they even picked up a firearm or even seen an explosive device in real life. Most have never conspired against any nation, burned effigies of a U.S. president, or shouted "Death to America." By and large, Middle Easterners are among the kindest, most tolerant, and most hospitable people on earth. Although the vast majority of Middle Eastern people don't actively participate in violence, they still may harbor ill will against the West or sympathize with suicide bombers or people the West labels as "terrorists."

If you're truly going to understand why Islamic militants hate the West and how some Muslims (and Christians) could possibly sympathize with Islamic militants, you need to release the old biases and stereotypes and attempt to look at various Middle Eastern worldviews.

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