Other
Kim Ghattas
{
"authors": [
"Kim Ghattas"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
The Muslim World’s Question: ‘What Happened to Us?’
Without an understanding of what was lost and how it happened—and why the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran played such a crucial role in this unraveling—a better future for the Middle East will remain elusive, and the world’s understanding of the region will remain incomplete.
By Kim Ghattas
Published on Jan 28, 2020
Source: Atlantic
What happened to us? The question haunts us in the Arab and Muslim world. We repeat it like a mantra. You will hear it from Iran to Syria, from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, and in my own country, Lebanon. For us, the past is a different country, one not mired in the horrors of sectarian killings. It is a more vibrant place, without the crushing intolerance of religious zealots and seemingly endless, amorphous wars.
Though the past had coups and wars too, they were contained in time and space, and the future still held much promise. What happened to us? The question may not occur to those too young to remember a different world, whose parents did not tell them of a youth spent reciting poetry in Peshawar, debating Marxism in the bars of Beirut, or riding bicycles on the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad. The question may surprise those in the West who assume that the extremism and bloodletting of today have always been the norm.
About the Author
Kim Ghattas
Author of Black Wave and FT contributing editor
Kim Ghattas is an Author of Black Wave and FT contributing editor.
- How Saudi Arabia And Iran Weaponized Religion
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
- The Twilight of Oil in an Age of Uncertainty: From a Vicious to a Virtuous CyclePaper
The global hydrocarbon order is changing. Economic diversification and developing productive economies have become essential for Middle Eastern and North African states, requiring them to address social and political challenges and rethink domestic, regional, and global settlements.
- +1
Nur Arafeh, Ishac Diwan, Hamza Meddeb, …
- Young and Restless in the Middle EastCommentary
In an interview, Mayssoun Sukarieh discusses youths in the region, and how they are being defined and reshaped.
Yasmine Zarhloule
- Three Ruptures and the End of Pax Americana in the Middle EastCommentary
As the U.S. stumbles in its war with Iran, we are likely to see an acceleration of its disengagement from the region.
Michael Young
- The Mecca Agreement UnpackedCommentary
The accord represents a pivotal moment in the region to avert a security vacuum in the Gulf.
Azeema Cheema, Mohanad Hage Ali
- Years of FireCommentary
In an interview, Jason Burke discusses his sweeping account of the “revolutionists” who so shaped the 1970s and early 1980s.
Michael Young
