Having read Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World earlier this month, I am all the more interested in the Middle Eastern conflict. These days we often hear news of the Syrian conflict which now resulted to the loss of approximately 100,000 lives (see link to be in the know as to how the civil war erupted in Syria). Living in a third-world country with its own problems and crises to pay attention to, we are not much concerned about the chaos happening in the Middle East. One thing is certain though, sooner or later, we will feel its impact since other countries (US, Iran, Russia, etc) have stepped in and have taken sides.
A few years back, I bought the book The Body and the Blood with the goal of educating myself on what lies in the Middle East. As we all know, world history is mostly centered on Western Europe which undoubtedly produced great advances in both the sciences and the arts. But I wouldn't want to believe that other nations are mere consumers of Western-led culture, I adhere to the belief that all cultures have their own strengths and weaknesses, and that their respective peoples are interesting in their own way. Also, I'd like to see through other people's eyes how Muslims are since more often than not, they are equated to terrorists, a very unfair idea since I hold the belief that there are both evil and good in every culture.
Going back to the book, Sennet, the bureau chief of the Boston Globe in the Middle East, attempts to investigate the dwindling population of Christians in the Middle East, that region in the world where the three great faiths originated and which now are in conflict with each other--- Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The Israel-Palestinian conflict over land territories bore a huge impact on the lives of not only Muslims and Jews, but also of the Christian minority who, as Sennet finds, is caught in the middle and suffers from the hands of the clashing giants.
What started as a pilgrimage to trace the path Jesus followed during his life turned into a mission to record the lives of the already diminishing Christians. In that respect, Sennet vividly describes the build up of tensions between the Israeli military and the Muslims, as well as the gradually growing aggression and persecution against the Christians. The Body and the Blood records cases of injustice and inhumanity and one particular chapter stands out which makes one question how other people see other people's life.
In chapter VII titled "Egypt: The Flight", Sennet describes Egypt as the place "where people, especially the lower classes, love in fear of the police force" (p.175). And they have cause to fear, especially when the police is known to grab any family and torture them for the alleged crimes they know nothing of. Also in the same chapter, the author narrates how a riot resulted in the death of 20 Christians and 1 Muslim and yet half of the arrested were Christians. This grave injustice caused many Christians to flee.
In this book, Sennet does a wonderful research on the current conditions of life in the Middle East and traces it to history and the current economy. He speculates on the impact of low employment rate and the correlation between financial success and aggression. Ultimately, he sees the ruling elite and religious leaders, their greed for power and wealth, as the factors that play a major role in the destiny of the region.
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