I read quite a few books about life in the Middle East and its history by western writers; I read the same number of books about life in the west and its history and people by Middle Eastern writers.
As a young and untrained reader, I used to say to myself, “things aren’t like that.” I said it quite often while reading those books. It applied to both sides.
They listed the same history found in any textbook and added a bit of writing flare without offering their own unique perspectives on the matter. There was always something missing.
I got older. I did my research; I had my own experiences.
I met the authors of such books in person. I had conversations with them. They had one thing in common.
Their experiences of the other’s world were those of expats; they experienced the other as researchers focused on one aspect and one aspect alone. They didn’t melt into the fabric of those new worlds.
Now that I think about it, most of those books were written by people who failed to see the best in their host countries and failed to see the full picture—at least it is true of any author that vilifies others based on superficial interactions. If anything, the writings reflected and exposed the authors’ ignorance of the nuances that create a culture or society.
The good and bad exist in all things and all people.
“To know means to record in one’s memory; but to understand means to blend with the thing and to assimilate it oneself.” An Ancient Egyptian Proverb.
