3 Things To Understand About The Near East

1. Think in centuries, not decades

The indigenous cultures of the Near East emphasize historical continuity and cultural memory. In the Hebraic context specifically, the famines, feuds, and miracles of past millennia are remembered viscerally and often reenacted with physical reminders.

A hundred years is not a “long time” in this context. As Americans, it isn’t uncommon to come across a bakery or church older than your country. So, to understand the region, lengthen your timelines.

2. Understand ideas about community

In the Near East, an attitude of the collective over the individual generally prevails. If you meet someone in Jerusalem or Beirut, it isn’t uncommon for them to introduce themselves by their family relationships. This happens most obviously in Arabic with naming conventions like “Ibn Khaldun” (son of Khaldun) or “Umm Mohamad” (mother of Mohammad). This affects the way people think about honor and shame as well. A disgrace or trauma to one’s community, or a grievance against another’s, takes on a personal nature.

3. Understand religion as cultural identity

In the West, people generally think of labels such as “Christian,” “Muslim,” or “Jewish” as labels denoting intellectual beliefs or service attendance. In the Near East, however, these labels take on a broader cultural dimension.

When you travel to the region, you’ll often meet people who introduce themselves as “Christians” or “Muslims” and then tell you they don’t believe in God. These labels are intimately related to both cultural and familial identity and persist even if one ceases to practice the religion.

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