I remain unconvinced of my topic. The following is a list of some more I recently thought of. I hope to flesh out an outline for each in the coming days. And if that outline is sparse, then that’s a sign that I need to move on.
- Globalization and immigration – The movement of farmers into crowded cities and of slum-dwellers to Western capitals. How globalization is setting worker against worker, fueling xenophobia around the world, forcing developed countries to close their borders and letting corporations get away with anything. Explore Adam Smith’s ideas on mobility of labor.
- The future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – How long can this go on given the renewed turmoil in the Middle East (like that’s actually new)? Explore the rise of Hizbullah and Iran, the collapse of Iraq and the obstinacy of Hamas to do what the West wants.
- The rise of radical Islam – Is it really a radical ideology that is fueling senseless violence and unrest or is it being utilized in the tradition of liberation theology to bring change in countries where people have no voice. Explore Palestine, Iraq, Algeria and of course, the future of Al Qaeda.
I’ve been frustrated with the lack of progress I’ve made in recent weeks trying to come up with an original and coherent topic to write about for my research paper. I think I may have found one over the weekend while watching a lecture given by Robert Fisk at MIT a year back for his book, The Great War for Civilization.
In the lecture, Fisk began by recalling how, after finishing his 1300+ page magnum opus, the thing that amazed him the most was “how much restraint the Muslims have shown toward the West.” I proceeded to watch the remaining hour and a half long lecture captivated by his masterful grasp of history and its lessons, and wondered, if his statement was worth exploring further. After all, wasn’t his book about how the Muslims have always fought back and then turned on one another?
Fisk’s book is about the history of the post-WWI Middle East. If you want to understand the Algerian revolution; the genocide of Turkish Armenians; the origins of the sheikdoms of the Middle East – his book is simply the best. The part it leaves out, is connecting that history to the rise of nationalist/indigenous/religious movements that are behind the surge in radicalism that has turned the West upside down in recent years.
Has the Muslim world run out of patience?
I think this topic is in great need of research. Because while there are individuals out there who have stressed the need to ask why this is all happening, the discourse has largely remained confined to a handful of issues like, the US presence in the Middle East and its unwavering support for Israel – on the Left, and – the evil, backward ideology of Islam and the grand plans of Al Qaeda to impose Shar’ia law on the whole world – on the Right. (Of course, some of these are simply stupid – can you guess which ones – while others are severely neglected issues that deserve all the air time they can get.)
Ultimately, my hope is to answer the big question above and in the process, gain a better understanding of the movements myself and perhaps shed some light on a topic, I feel, has largely gone unnoticed.
