内容简介
The Middle East is the birthplace of ancient civilizations,but most of the modern states that occupy its territory today areof recent origin, as are many key concepts of communal andindividual identity and loyalty that the peoples of the region nowconfront. In The Multiple Identities of the Middle East, eminentMiddle East historian Bernard Lewis elucidates the critical role ofidentity in the domestic, regional, and international tensions andconflicts of the Middle East today.
Examining religion, race and language, country, nation, andstate, Lewis traces the rapid evolution of the identities of theMiddle Eastern peoples, from the collapse of the centuries-oldOttoman Empire in 1918 to today's clash of old and new allegiances.He shows how, during the twentieth century, imported Western ideassuch as liberalism, fascism, socialism, patriotism, and nationalismhave transformed Middle Easterners' ancient notions of community,their self-perceptions, and their aspirations.＝
Examining religion, race and language, country, nation, andstate, Lewis traces the rapid evolution of the identities of theMiddle Eastern peoples, from the collapse of the centuries-oldOttoman Empire in 1918 to today's clash of old and new allegiances.He shows how, during the twentieth century, imported Western ideassuch as liberalism, fascism, socialism, patriotism, and nationalismhave transformed Middle Easterners' ancient notions of community,their self-perceptions, and their aspirations.＝