This is a passionate meditation on the current crisis in Arab identity. "Being Arab" is an essential book about what it means to be alienated from one's roots, and how to trace back those lines of history. One of Lebanon's most prominent journalist, Samir Kassir describes the state of Arab malaise in which he finds his generation, and searches to understand how the Arab world arrived at this point of political and intellectual stagnation. Kassir turns to the past, recounting the Arab "golden age," the extraordinary flowering of cultural expression in the nineteenth century that continued into the twentieth as, from Cairo to Baghdad and from Beirut to Casablanca, painters, poets, musicians, playwrights and novelists came together to create a new, living Arab culture. Investigating the huge impact of modernity on the region, and the shockwaves that turned society upside-down, Kassir suggests that the current crisis in Arab identity lies in the failure to come to terms with modernity and embracing false solutions such as pan-Arabism and fundamentalism. "Being Arab" is a clarion call, urging Arabs to closely examine their own history, to reject Western double standards and Islamism, and to take the future of the region into their own hands.
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"One of the leading progressives in the Middle East, and one of its bravest voices: an unflagging advocate of democracy, an opponent of Arab dictatorships and of Western double standards, a champion of Palestinian rights who was also a scathing critic of anti-Semitism." - Adam Shatz, The Nation "One of Lebanon's most prominent journalists and one of the most vociferous and bravest critics of the Syrian regime." - Robert Fisk, Independent
About the Author
Samir Kassir (1960-2005) was one of Lebanon's best-known journalists and historians. A columnist for the daily newspaper An-Nahar, he also wrote regularly for Le Monde Diplomatique, and published a number of important works in French. One of the most prominent voices on the Arab left, Kassir was a strong campaigner for the Palestinian cause, and a vocal critic of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. He was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut on June 2, 2005.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Saed
Format:Hardcover
This is the best short book written about the Arab malaise. Samir Kassir, father of the Cedar Revolution, dissects all the factors that lead to the downfall of the Arab world, and reminds the reader that the good times of the Arabs were not limited to the years under the Islamic dynasties. He asks the Arab intellengtia to look back at the years of the modern Arab Enlightenment (Al-Nahda) and the modernization and reform efforts that followed suit. Samir points out that the true beginning of the Arab demise began in the 80s whereas the years before were still rich in Arts, Literature, Philosophy, and even Political Activitism in the Arab world.
In this book Samir Kassir presents the alternative to both models of the Socialist Arabism which had failed, and the anti-modern Islamism that prevails today.
This book is a brilliant preview into the mind of an Arab intellectual, an assassinated activist, and a journalist that the World will most certainly miss.
In this book Samir Kassir presents the alternative to both models of the Socialist Arabism which had failed, and the anti-modern Islamism that prevails today.
This book is a brilliant preview into the mind of an Arab intellectual, an assassinated activist, and a journalist that the World will most certainly miss.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting book on the current situation of the Arab world and Arab identity; a call for reflection and examination
23 Feb 2009
By J. P.
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A quick read, compelling, and very relevant. It contains an introduction by Robert Fisk with the title, "Who killed Samir Kassir?" Kassir was assassinated on June 2, 2005, presumably for his work as a journalist. He died outside his home as a result of a car bomb.
Kassir argues in this book that the Arab world is neither static and unchanging nor regressing towards fanaticism. Not only was there the Islamic civilization's flourishing between the 7th and 11th centuries that was one of the richest periods in human history, but that in more modern times the Arab world has continued to contribute to humanity in ways that should be celebrated, and that this occurred while the Arab world was also changing, adapting, and modernizing.
His book calls on the West to stop controlling and subjugating the Arab region (echoing the period of colonialism/imperialism) and on Arabs to give up a sense of victimhood and/or impending doom and instead "finally see our real history, so that we can then be true to it" (p.92). Kassir writes, "The despairing view of Arab thought and culture as permanently ensnared in conservatism and fanaticism has obscured several phenomena that could prepare a way out of the crisis" (p.87). I think he does a very good job of fairly and accurately portraying the difficulties that have led to the present situation.
Kassir has written a "call to arms" - but in this case, it is a call for thought and examination - on Arab identity: "It is not just the West that needs to re-examine its stance. The Arab world in particular needs to make a profound effort to eradicate the ambiguities that encourage a logic of cultural confrontation" (p.86).
A good quote: "We must not confuse terrorism with resistance, as the West confuses resistance with terrorism" (p.86)
Kassir argues in this book that the Arab world is neither static and unchanging nor regressing towards fanaticism. Not only was there the Islamic civilization's flourishing between the 7th and 11th centuries that was one of the richest periods in human history, but that in more modern times the Arab world has continued to contribute to humanity in ways that should be celebrated, and that this occurred while the Arab world was also changing, adapting, and modernizing.
His book calls on the West to stop controlling and subjugating the Arab region (echoing the period of colonialism/imperialism) and on Arabs to give up a sense of victimhood and/or impending doom and instead "finally see our real history, so that we can then be true to it" (p.92). Kassir writes, "The despairing view of Arab thought and culture as permanently ensnared in conservatism and fanaticism has obscured several phenomena that could prepare a way out of the crisis" (p.87). I think he does a very good job of fairly and accurately portraying the difficulties that have led to the present situation.
Kassir has written a "call to arms" - but in this case, it is a call for thought and examination - on Arab identity: "It is not just the West that needs to re-examine its stance. The Arab world in particular needs to make a profound effort to eradicate the ambiguities that encourage a logic of cultural confrontation" (p.86).
A good quote: "We must not confuse terrorism with resistance, as the West confuses resistance with terrorism" (p.86)
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing Honesty
3 Jun 2008
By Tarek Fatah
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
A book every Arab should read. Contrary to the Amazon advt., the introduction to the book is by Robert Fisk, not Tariq Ali
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some interesting thoughts
21 May 2007
By Reader
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Although the book by itself is slim there was way too much stuffing. The first and final chapters are the most enlightening.
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3.3 out of 5 stars
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