First off, there is no greater saving grace of technology than that of air conditioning. Because when the temperature routinely hits 30+ degrees Celcius (no Farenheit love here), there’s no place like right under it. But aside from the heat, all is indeed well.
Secondly, let me give you what may, depending on publication time, be a belated welcome to the new Inside Pulse version 2.0, and more specifically the Culture Channel. Chances are that you’re actually reading this on the website before I do, since I’m currently in northern Syria! However, before I return to the States (and because internet access is somewhat scarce here), I’d like to welcome you all to my new “fortnightly” column on everything about the Middle East- history, politics, culture, sociological forces, psychological attitudes, linguistics, and maybe even recipies, entitled Under the Tarboush. But before I delve into what this column aims to do and set out for, let me spend a paragraph detailing my previous work with IP.
Some of you may know me from my work during the early 411 Mania days in the Games section as well in IP’s own Games Channel with my column entitled “The Gamer’s Conscience,” which aimed to go beyond the pale of mainstream video game writing in order to find a substance which was deeper and which transcended traditional expectations. I hoped to offer something that you wouldn’t expect to find in your average written video game piece. In most cases, those who read it got the idea and, hopefully, it contributed significanly to the discussion, if not only offering poor/dated and partially humorous music allusions. But times and callings change, and so do those who keep track of time and note what is called.
So you might be asking yourself something along the lines of this:
“Hmmm… OK… So this guy used to write elitest “new games journalism” columns before there was even such a designation. Now he thinks he can write about a region that no two people or Western news networks see in an equal light. I mean, I can accept straightforward things like China’s rapid industrialization and the legal affairs of the European Union, but this is crazy! I’ve got faith, but can he really write about the Iranian Revolution as effectively as ranting about a not getting a new Legacy of Kain game?”
In short, I’m damn confident I can. I graduated from UCLA with a double major in Political Science and Arabic, so I’ve been immersed academically. I also have family in the region, which helps lend a humanistic element to the subject matter when it may seem cold and distant. But the important thing to remember is this: when looking at the Middle East as a whole, you’ve have to be as meticulous as you can. As tempting as it may seem, quick judgements and decisions won’t bring you any closer to a deeper understanding. Such an understanding can only be found through examining the facts and the circumstances that led up to the subject in question. When looking at the whole, the Mid-East region’s sum is indeed greater than the sum of it’s parts. I know these parts a bit better than most. And when you know the parts in detail, you can begin to make sense of the big picture. The Tarboush, in a sense, will attempt to serve as an ‘unorientalized’ and objective lens with which you can look at the many parts that make up the mosiac.
The Tarboush will also serve as a forum for discussion of notable current events from the region, with a degree of analysis that will serve to clarify what that current event means for us now, and what effect it could have in the future. Everything from as south as Saudi Arabia and Mauritania to as north of Turkey, to as east as Pakistan will fall under the bredth of the Tarboush, as well as stories concerning any outside actors (other state governments, non-governmental organizations, trade organizations, etc). I’ll do my best to cover the relevant stuff, while keeping the human interest stuff to a minimum. There may be some academic terms and unfamilliar acronyms present, but I’ll do my best to clarify them when they occur with links and detailed explanations.
Aside from bringing information and analysis, I also hope to put the content presented here into a wider, more personal perspective. This might appear to contradict the pursuit of objectivity for some, but it allows a dimension of empathy to form which makes for a much better understanding than solely raw logic. It is possible to argue a point on purely logical grounds, but oftentimes the basis of the conflict is anything but logical. This is the type of understanding I hope to maintain here at the Tarboush.
Under the threat of a failing (read: dangerously internally smoldering) 220-110 Step Down Converter and draining battery on it’s last leg, this will have to serve as a relatively short invitation. However, before I run, I would like to know something from you, the reader.
Because of the bredth of material that this column will cover – essentially everything Middle Eastern – I would like to know what interests you the most. Have a question on the Balfour Declaration or the Treaty of Severes? Let me know. Want to know what kind of Olive Oil you should use when preparing hummus? I’m at your service. E-mail me at
In fact, by the time I return to the States, I’ll be ready to prepare the articles as I can, as internet access here is spotty and sporadic at my current location. Until then, rock it easy and read Orientalism by Edward Said.
So for now, that’s what’s Under the Tarboush.
