People are always reminded that in order to understand the present and even foresee the future, people must first understand the events in the past. William Cleveland, in his interviewed reiterated this very saying for other people to grasp the development and rise of the Middle Eastern History. In the interview Cleveland shed light on why people are invested into studying the Middle List. He said that events such as the September 11 bombing and the constant news about the Palestinian- Israeli conflict have caught the attention of the students. He again stressed the significance of the historical knowledge on the conflicts to understand the present motives better.
In the interview, it was also mentioned about the difference in perspective on scholarly writings in terms of whether the author is from within the Arab or from an outsiders’ view point. He shared that patriotic approach to the issues can be considered by writers from the region. The interview opened up many contemporary issues surrounding the Islam region, like the border problems, the oil industry, the political turmoil and peace agreement processes in its member countries, but the most striking knowledge is the rise of the Islam religion in the region. He mentioned that it is a new phenomenon, something that can not be traced from the past, that the phenomenon has surfaced other problems such as the unequal distribution of wealth in the region. Social justice is one of the founding principle of the religion appears to be ignored by other nations because of poverty and terrible issues of inequality. The interviewee also acknowledges the complexity of the times similar to how the Taliban’s are creating a non-existent past, this produces yet another complex view of the culture and structure in the region.
References:
Understanding Middle Eastern History: An Interview with William Cleveland (2002)
