Middle East History and Religion

Middle East History and Religion

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Introduction

In recent past, the Middle East has become a focal point due to their priorities and concerns regarding their role in international security, economics, and politics. There is urgency in the development of education, gender equality, religious life, modernization, political peace and religious life. Its position globally is important as it serves as the gateway between Europe and Asia as well as it’s the oil market for the world which gives it a critical reason for the interest. There has been literature research that aims at analyzing and developing the solutions for the issues within the area as well as the development of consensus on what needs to be done t accomplish and implement the solutions. According to Bogary, H. (1991), the boyhood life in Mecca has now disappeared. The writer focuses on the life in Mecca before the advent of oil and how he has transformed his knowledge into an art of empathy, understanding of human nature and sense of humor. The writing is focused on Arabia of the first half of 21st century in a graphical and fascinating ways by dealing with various aspects of the Arabian culture such education, clothing styles, slavery, religion and status of the women in the society. As outlined by Idlibi, U. & Clark, P. (1997), Sabrina portrays life in Damascus in the 1920’s. In the fiction, Sabriya journey to self-knowledge accompanied with the rise and eclipse of nationalism and feminist awareness. In the story, national revolt is crushed by the superior foreign power which is personal emancipation is settled by the traditional values of the society. The story focus on a young girl passionate for a nationalistic cause but unable because of the role of the women in the society.

The Middle East is regarded as home to the cradle of civilization; this geographical area has seen some of the world’s oldest cultures and capitalization. The Middle East started from the earliest settlement of human beings will lead to the continuity of several major and post-Islamic empires through the modern collection of the nations that covers Middle East today. The Modern Middle East, the new society has been established by nationalism where the new society is a cosmopolitan commonwealth which is far beyond the theory of nationalism. Unlike old society, in the new society, there is no official language or religion; its members are open to worship in synagogue, mosques, and churches. The new society is a showplace of the highest technology that extends beyond river Jordan to Damascus.

Historical Fiction

Learning Middle East history from fiction often portrays the real historical society, but the main characters in the society tend to be fictional. The writers of the historical fiction stories attempt to capture and address the condition of the society by presenting the times or trend of the events within the story which can be outlined in the genre as well as books, films, theater and another form of media.  The books Damascus Bitter Sweet and The Sheltered Quarter: A Take of Boyhood in Mecca puts people back into the history of the first quarter of 20th century. In the history, the events are presented in a complexity of issues such as the role of the women in the society, religious life, politics as well as economics. Historical fictions help to restore the landscape of the Middle East history, and it promotes multiple perspectives by introducing characters such as boyhood life in Mecca and Sabriya a young girl in Damascus who have different points of views and offers the ways people deal differently with issues in the Middle East. Historical fictions also inform the modern society about the interpretive nature of the history by showing how the authors deal with the historical issues in different ways. Historical fictions encourage the readers to search for the meaning in their past.

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