Guest Contributor, review of Arabs: Journeys Beyond the Mirage

Reader Matt K. recently returned from Egypt and agreed to write a book review with insights from his visit.

Arabs: Journey Beyond the mirage
by David Lamb


The best travelers are those who have prepared for a journey by learning about their destination and the people who live there. Read a book, watch a movie, talk to friends, family, acquaintances, do some research; all of these are great ways to prepare for a trip. In the hope of learning about Egypt before my arrival, I read several journal articles, followed the country through the papers and the television news, and upon arrival in early December, I began reading this book: “The Arabs: Journeys Beyond the Mirage” by journalist David Lamb. The book was originally written in 1987 (during a particularly bad time between Israel and Palestine), and was revised and updated in 2002 following the 9/11 attacks. Lamb notes that, in rereading and updating, he is struck by how much remains the same. That was in 2002. I can attest to the fact that its truth remains these 7 years later, even as time lessens the horrors of the latest Arab-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip...

Lamb is a premier journalist (a thorough bio is to be found in the book) and a tremendous writer. His illustration of the Middle East (plus Egypt), and the Arab people and their culture is intimate and informative. He is skeptical while being optimistic, and deeply acquainted with a culture that is so different than ours. Equally helpful is his understanding of the way that many Americans feel about Middle Easterners (not particularly well, to be exact), and his surprising reassurance which goes something along the lines of “hey, these people are actually very much like you and me.” Let’s get into a couple of the discussions that the Lamb’s “Arabs” has to offer.

Lamb starts by speaking of that very problem: two very different cultures caught in an ever-shrinking world more homogenous and material by each passing day. To religiously conservative Arabs, he explains, this is simply not a priority. In truth, it is uncomfortable to them, and threatening to the Godly existence that they seek for themselves and their families. Religiously, Lamb reminds us that, when compared to American societal norms, Arabs are starkly different- women are to remain covered in public, are to avoid eye contact with men, and up until recently have been limited to only certain roles in society. The Koran, says Lamb, describes every activity in life, and prescribes exactly how it should be dealt with or performed. Unfortunately, as one can tell, this often produces problems. In much the same way that a prescriptive religion can turn lives around, it can also spawn groups of individuals who take those principles to an extreme. Forced into a corner through a variety of struggles- troubled childhoods, financial problems, or the need to feel acceptance and righteousness- many youth have turned to extremist groups. Some percentage of these teens are convinced that their lives would be best spent killing infidels.

It is important to dig deeper into this religious/cultural collision, however, and this is exactly what Lamb proceeds to do. How about considering the history of our respective countries and regions? Egypt, for one, is the Nile. That is to say, Egyptian civilization would not exist were it not for the Nile. In fact, 99% of the population lives on 4% of the land (that which is in proximity to the Nile). The population of Egypt is growing so fast that the country is experiencing growing problems, even while maintaining a net export of its people (about 4% of its population leaves every year, I believe). Egypt is in all likelihood the cradle of civilization (despite what they say about the Fertile Crescent). As far as I can tell, the Greeks learned about architecture from the Egyptians, the Romans about warfare. In some areas, ancient Egypt came close to stages of development that modern day “developed” countries have only recently achieved. Considering the history of the Middle East alone, one can understand why the people are so proud of their heritage. If Egyptian civilization as we comprehend it was a blip in the screen of the earth’s history, then American history (post colonization) is imperceptibly small. Even North America’s “ancients” like the Cliff Dwellers, the Mayans, the Aztecs, etc, simply pale in comparison.

This strong sense of identity can explain the guardedness with which the Arabs approach Westernization. When coupled with the unabashed hostility that America has shown over the last century to Arab nations, one can see why some of the more extremist organizations are able to justify escalations of violence. It is a fact- America has often meddled in the dealings of the Middle East, and at a high cost (of money, and life). Lamb discusses a few of these circumstances, many of which will be familiar. In the 70’s, hoping to stem the expansion of the Soviet Union, America supplied weapons to the Afghans. At the same time, Egypt, in dire need of agricultural productivity (just as it remains today), was bidding out a major construction project – the High Dam at Aswan, which was soon to create the vast Lake Nasr. America jousted, while maintaining a “Cold” distance, with the Soviets on these and many other issues. But if one goes back to the end of World War II, probably the most divisive issue is revealed- the creation of Israel. As it is literally carved from within Palestine, the abhorrence of Israel among Middle Easterners is well publicized, and no matter what they say or do, one can assume that “true” Middle Easterner Muslims will always feel betrayed by the US for our support of the Israelis.

Lamb describes it all in detail, and with surprising deftness. US support for Israel has continued to this day. Egypt was the victim in the US-Israeli collaboration in the 1967 Six Days War, referred to by Egyptians as “an-Naksah” (The Setback), when an armed Israel proceeded to obliterate the Egyptian forces on the Sinai Peninsula. Egyptian President Abdul Nasser would publicly hope that America would “choke on its own pride” shortly after the Egyptians were routed from the Sinai Peninsula.

In my travels in Egypt, I spoke with a cabbie who drove a truck in the second war with Israel on October 6, 1973, as Egypt fought to regain the Peninsula in a surprise attack. His mission was to drive a semi truck with a tank on a trailer behind it to the battle front for delivery to Egyptian forces. In a scene that I imagine playing out like something from an Indiana Jones movie, Madi saved his own life by diving from his truck to avoid the bullets of an Israeli jet as they destroyed his vehicle, heroically ran to another truck, pulled a dead compatriot from the driver’s seat, and fulfilled his mission to deliver a tank to the battle front. Americans miss out on these kinds of stories from the eyes of the Arabs.

Luckily, Lamb provides many of them. Whether it be through his description of the vivid sectarian violence between Palestinians during an Israeli invasion, or his sketch of the warring factions of Saudis as a result of oil and its influence, or even his assessment of the dramatic societal upheavals that Arabs are subjected to as a result of violent fluctuations in the oil markets, Lamb’s reader is led into a world that can at once terrify, uplift, reassure, and puzzle. If you have any hope of travelling to the Middle East in the future, or even if you want to develop a mature perspective on the situation, this one should be required reading. Compared to many books on the subject, should you be required to read it, consider yourself blessed. The book, obviously does not cover the post-2002 conflicts in the region. What may or may not surprise readers is how little has changed even since the first iteration of Lamb’s book was written in the late 1980’s.