1
00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:08,010
Hello and welcome to Armagnac. The Oxford Middle East podcast. My name sputters Focus, and today I'm joined by the whole team.

2
00:00:08,010 --> 00:00:15,030
Discuss what are moments of note in 2020 were what we're looking at for in 2021 and our favourite book on the Middle East.

3
00:00:15,030 --> 00:00:20,490
This episode was recorded in late November and was meant to be published before New Year's, but unfortunately got quite delayed.

4
00:00:20,490 --> 00:00:28,690
However, everything was does remain. So hello and welcome, everyone, to the Almanack Christmas episode.

5
00:00:28,690 --> 00:00:31,750
What's going to happen for this episode that this is that each of the eight

6
00:00:31,750 --> 00:00:37,000
people that have shown up says what their big event of 2020 was and after that,

7
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:45,040
what they're looking for in the Middle East and 2021. And then finally, what their favourite book of books about the Middle East is.

8
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,470
Felix, do you want to start? Yes, sure.

9
00:00:47,470 --> 00:00:55,990
According to me, the most important event during 2020 or issue basically is the Eastern Mediterranean resource crisis.

10
00:00:55,990 --> 00:01:02,320
It has been going on for a couple of years, but I feel like 2020 was quite a crucial year in that issue.

11
00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:10,420
So basically there was a discovery of large resources of oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean basins.

12
00:01:10,420 --> 00:01:14,950
And this concerns not only Turkey and Greece.

13
00:01:14,950 --> 00:01:22,420
And to hear a lot about in the news, but basically all the countries that have a coastline in the eastern Mediterranean.

14
00:01:22,420 --> 00:01:30,460
So, you know, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Turkey, Greece, Italy is getting involved.

15
00:01:30,460 --> 00:01:37,960
France is also trying to get involved through some sort, through some local actors and then the UAE as well, and Gulf countries in America.

16
00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:46,310
So it is basically an important issue because it brings a lot of people together and it has the potential of basically.

17
00:01:46,310 --> 00:01:52,040
Going past diplomatic conflict and perhaps feuding a military conflict at some point.

18
00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,880
Because what we're talking about is billions of dollars of resources.

19
00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:00,470
It's evolved to a point of very high tension, especially between Turkey and Greece.

20
00:02:00,470 --> 00:02:06,350
This leads to my fiance to to the second question, which is when I'm watching out for in the Middle East at 20, 21,

21
00:02:06,350 --> 00:02:15,500
which is basically the Libyan civil war, because this eastern Mediterranean crisis, despite currently only being a diplomatic showdown,

22
00:02:15,500 --> 00:02:22,790
it is being the diplomatic conflict is basically being played out in sort of proxy conflicts in Libya,

23
00:02:22,790 --> 00:02:29,570
for example, because the sides that are opposed in the east of Midrand crisis are opposed in the Libyan civil war.

24
00:02:29,570 --> 00:02:36,140
And a good example to illustrate this point is the fact that Turkey having basically nearly

25
00:02:36,140 --> 00:02:42,260
no allies in their claims to the resources in the Middle East and in the Mediterranean,

26
00:02:42,260 --> 00:02:47,190
decided to, in January 2020, help the living,

27
00:02:47,190 --> 00:02:57,800
the internationally recognised government of Libya to fight against the renegade dictator or General Haftar.

28
00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:03,680
And basically the deal was, we'll help you militarily and you will support our claim in the Mediterranean.

29
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,460
And on the other side, the exact same thing. Exact same thing is happening.

30
00:03:07,460 --> 00:03:11,990
And I think that this means that these these civil wars are basically going to be the

31
00:03:11,990 --> 00:03:17,060
deciding or one of the deciding factors in the larger eastern Mediterranean resource crisis.

32
00:03:17,060 --> 00:03:21,800
And that's what I'll be watching out for in 2021.

33
00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:30,230
And finally, my favourite book about the Middle East would be Karen Armstrong's Mohammed The Biography of the Prophet.

34
00:03:30,230 --> 00:03:37,000
So it may not be a very current. But because this is more about, you know, early Islamic history,

35
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:47,000
it was published in 2006 by a former Roman Catholic religious sister who worked in a rabbinical school teaching comparative comparative religion.

36
00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:56,270
And I basically find it a very interesting book, because not only does it all about and teaches you a lot about Islam,

37
00:03:56,270 --> 00:04:04,580
but it also teaches a lot about the Middle East in general and on the West like historical and current view on and relationship with the region.

38
00:04:04,580 --> 00:04:14,360
And the rest of the Western world deconstructs many myths and stereotypes surrounding the life of the prophet and Islam that we hold in the West.

39
00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:21,640
And it gives you a good grounding in pre Islamic and early Islamic history, but also really helps you.

40
00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:29,230
I understand where a lot of the current issues stem from or whether they're what they are, you know,

41
00:04:29,230 --> 00:04:37,390
ideologically based on, and I think because it sounds quite big, it's not too big, actually.

42
00:04:37,390 --> 00:04:42,610
And it's it's she's managed to take a complicated topic.

43
00:04:42,610 --> 00:04:53,770
And basically, once, you know, any person to be able to read it, you don't need any grounding in in Middle Eastern or Islamic history or theology.

44
00:04:53,770 --> 00:05:02,920
And B, her mission behind it, her life mission in general, is to try and create interfaith dialogue and tries to insist on the interdependence

45
00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:08,620
between the West and the Mideast and the Arab and Islamic world in general,

46
00:05:08,620 --> 00:05:12,730
and the importance of compassion between countries, religions and individuals.

47
00:05:12,730 --> 00:05:21,670
And she really wants to work against those both deeply rooted in an ancient Western conceptions of the Middle East, of the Arabs and of Islam,

48
00:05:21,670 --> 00:05:28,530
which have and continue to participate in the rise of xenophobia today or the

49
00:05:28,530 --> 00:05:32,020
discriminating domestic policies that we have within our own countries in the West,

50
00:05:32,020 --> 00:05:40,480
or the detrimental foreign policies and unfair targeting that with me, you know, do in the Middle East.

51
00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:45,940
I'm going to stop you there because I was just going to take a look. Okay.

52
00:05:45,940 --> 00:05:55,900
Next one. Michael, the event that I would say was very important this year is one that just happened recently,

53
00:05:55,900 --> 00:06:03,100
the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mossen, that is out there.

54
00:06:03,100 --> 00:06:10,660
It shows a lot of issues at play, not just this year, but going forward.

55
00:06:10,660 --> 00:06:21,310
One of them is this problem of discourse that we have in the West, in newspapers that covered the event alone,

56
00:06:21,310 --> 00:06:27,160
described him as the top nuclear scientist that helped Iran's nuclear weapons programme.

57
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:41,980
And so, again, scholars have repeatedly criticised this this portrayal of Iran's nuclear programme as necessarily being a nuclear weapons programme,

58
00:06:41,980 --> 00:06:49,240
especially as there's been a shift pre 2003 and post 2003 and its nuclear programme.

59
00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:53,320
So there's this dialectic issue at play here.

60
00:06:53,320 --> 00:07:04,420
But more importantly, it shows the impediments of diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran, both past and future,

61
00:07:04,420 --> 00:07:15,100
obviously tying in with Trump's maximum pressure campaign and the struggles that Iran has had to face as a result of them.

62
00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:22,330
Interestingly enough, nobody has claimed this attack. If it were a non-state actor who committed this attack.

63
00:07:22,330 --> 00:07:29,890
They would have every motivation to want to claim it because of propaganda for prestige.

64
00:07:29,890 --> 00:07:36,400
That indicates that this was. A state sponsored assassination.

65
00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:46,120
And the state, at least in the region that has the most experience assassinating members of the national

66
00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:51,700
security apparatus of other regional states is Israel and its intelligence service,

67
00:07:51,700 --> 00:08:01,960
Mossad. And it's unfathomable to think that such an assassination happened without the at least implicit endorsement of America,

68
00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:12,230
which would be unsurprising given the Trump administration's policies towards the Middle East and Iran, particularly this event.

69
00:08:12,230 --> 00:08:18,520
It's also important because it shows that there are a lot of actors that are still

70
00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:24,640
committed to preventive diplomacy and normalisation between Iran and the US.

71
00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:30,490
And this ties to the events that I'm looking forward to in 2021,

72
00:08:30,490 --> 00:08:40,330
which are how does the by the administration approach Iran and the negotiations over re-entering the JCP play,

73
00:08:40,330 --> 00:08:48,370
particularly because there is a lot of uncertainty about the strategy that the bottom administration will take.

74
00:08:48,370 --> 00:08:53,540
Will it just re-enter the JCP or a.

75
00:08:53,540 --> 00:09:00,590
In exchange for Iran also re-entering the JCP or I should say re-entering the JCU p0.

76
00:09:00,590 --> 00:09:07,910
But. Going into compliance with it again after it was so patient.

77
00:09:07,910 --> 00:09:15,410
But then eventually became non-compliant. We thought we would see that.

78
00:09:15,410 --> 00:09:21,470
That's. Well, that's the question, because it's also tied with other developments,

79
00:09:21,470 --> 00:09:27,740
which is the presidential election coming up in Iran because of the failure of the JCP

80
00:09:27,740 --> 00:09:38,180
away to really manifest the economic and financial promises inherent in the agreement.

81
00:09:38,180 --> 00:09:48,590
Mostly because of U.S. non-compliance and maximum pressure, hardliners have the upper edge.

82
00:09:48,590 --> 00:09:52,390
And it seems like they are going to take the presidency.

83
00:09:52,390 --> 00:10:02,150
So this just creates another impediment to diplomacy in terms of how willing they are to negotiate with the Biden administration.

84
00:10:02,150 --> 00:10:04,460
There is a lot of things up in the air right now.

85
00:10:04,460 --> 00:10:15,620
And whether or not the Biden administration also tack on, you know, Iran's ballistic missile programmes or its regional activity,

86
00:10:15,620 --> 00:10:22,040
there's a lot of pressure coming from Republicans as well as some more centrist

87
00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:29,570
Democrats to tack on these additional issues with nuclear negotiations,

88
00:10:29,570 --> 00:10:35,960
which is extremely problematic. And for Iranians is a non-starter.

89
00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:42,440
So we'll just have to see in terms of my favourite book.

90
00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:52,880
I'm going to have to say the let's see sub Alton's and social protest history from below in the Middle East and North Africa,

91
00:10:52,880 --> 00:11:00,350
edited by Stephanie Cronon. And this is actually a book that I read for a tutorial that I recently took.

92
00:11:00,350 --> 00:11:07,190
What I enjoyed about it is the method of analysing history.

93
00:11:07,190 --> 00:11:16,460
It upturns traditional historiography on its head and rather than analysing historical events and movements from above.

94
00:11:16,460 --> 00:11:22,010
It reassigns agency to non elite social groups.

95
00:11:22,010 --> 00:11:33,200
And really highlights their ability to influence historical events within their own countries.

96
00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:38,090
One chapter talks about the role of women in Iran's constitutional movement.

97
00:11:38,090 --> 00:11:42,920
Other chapters talk about role of gypsys in the Ottoman Empire and the agencies

98
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:48,140
that they had in terms of implementing the so-called weapons of the weak.

99
00:11:48,140 --> 00:11:55,260
So it's a very interesting book to sort of analyse the region from a different perspective.

100
00:11:55,260 --> 00:12:03,150
Freddy, you're next. So the event that I think was most important in the Middle East in 2020 was the

101
00:12:03,150 --> 00:12:08,490
normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE and Israel and Bahrain.

102
00:12:08,490 --> 00:12:18,930
And then just a few days ago, we then have the secret talks in neon between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which I like partially confirmed.

103
00:12:18,930 --> 00:12:25,080
And so that is that is a situation that is still unfolding. And so what I'm I mean,

104
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:30,930
what I'm really watching out for for 2021 is therefore how the normalisation of relations

105
00:12:30,930 --> 00:12:36,420
between Israel and Arab states will continue and especially what role Biden will have in this.

106
00:12:36,420 --> 00:12:42,480
Will Biden push for more? Because obviously the U.S. has been a key player in these mobilisations.

107
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,900
Will there be a slight reversal of relations?

108
00:12:45,900 --> 00:12:52,170
Is 2021 going to see the normalisation of relations between Saudi and Israel, who, of course, had relations since the 90s?

109
00:12:52,170 --> 00:12:56,880
But will it become official? So I.

110
00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:01,760
I wish I had any answers, but I just have a lot of questions actually on this topic.

111
00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:05,690
And so, yeah, that's what I'll be watching closely.

112
00:13:05,690 --> 00:13:14,030
And 2021. And then my favourite book about the Middle East was actually published in 1988,

113
00:13:14,030 --> 00:13:21,710
and it's colonising Egypt by Timothy Mitchell, and he it's some people love it.

114
00:13:21,710 --> 00:13:25,580
Some people hate it. People seem to have very strong opinions about it no matter what.

115
00:13:25,580 --> 00:13:27,680
But I'm someone who absolutely loves this book.

116
00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:32,960
It's one of those books were written where you read it and you think, damn, I wish I came up with this.

117
00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,290
I think it's genius.

118
00:13:36,290 --> 00:13:44,180
So Mitchell combines sort of deconstructed theory with history and politics of the colonies, the history of colonisation of Egypt.

119
00:13:44,180 --> 00:13:50,910
And I think that this book is valuable for historians, anthropologists, politics, students, linguists and military.

120
00:13:50,910 --> 00:14:00,890
Anyone interested in the Middle East. I can't do the book Justice in just a few minutes because it's so complex and it takes linguistics,

121
00:14:00,890 --> 00:14:03,710
architecture, literature, pedagogy, urban planning,

122
00:14:03,710 --> 00:14:14,000
politics and anthropology and art to sort of illustrate the sinister ways in which colonisation transformed Egypt and the Egyptians itself.

123
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,800
And while it was published in nineteen eighty eight, I think, you know,

124
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:28,310
I read it for the first time last year, I think, and I just it could have been published last year.

125
00:14:28,310 --> 00:14:35,520
Mitchell shows the ways in which colonisation, technology and Western ideas of truth and order work together.

126
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:44,690
It's Mitchell's book is really interesting and like a really interesting explanation of the Middle East as a representation,

127
00:14:44,690 --> 00:14:49,580
which is something the Middle East is something that people know before having set foot there,

128
00:14:49,580 --> 00:14:54,900
which is something that I'm sure everyone who reads the news about the Middle East recognises that,

129
00:14:54,900 --> 00:14:59,330
you know, everyone seems to have an opinion about the Middle East and everyone seems to be somehow an expert,

130
00:14:59,330 --> 00:15:06,510
even if they've, you know, Victor Cruz on the Nile and somehow they know everything there is to know about the Middle East.

131
00:15:06,510 --> 00:15:12,350
Although he explores the idea of of the eye of the people represent the Middle East as a chaotic place,

132
00:15:12,350 --> 00:15:15,200
something that needs intervention to be ordered.

133
00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:23,270
This is also, I think, a very persistent Orientalist trope that I see in the news in literature TV series.

134
00:15:23,270 --> 00:15:28,010
The idea that that the Middle East is really chaotic, mysterious place that we cannot understand.

135
00:15:28,010 --> 00:15:36,020
But we need to help them, you know, order and end and create a system.

136
00:15:36,020 --> 00:15:41,120
I also think that the book is really important for anyone interesting and decolonising curriculum,

137
00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:47,540
which is a movement that we've seen in a number of universities, including occiput, but also UCL and a couple of others.

138
00:15:47,540 --> 00:15:57,040
And because Mitchell discusses the colonisation of the mind after colonisation of Kerlan colonising the body.

139
00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:06,070
And then lastly, what what I found super interesting is that he explains how education moved from something that was personalised and organic,

140
00:16:06,070 --> 00:16:14,530
which was the traditional form of education in the Middle East to something that was separate from life, something institutionalised and structured.

141
00:16:14,530 --> 00:16:18,450
And therefore, like colonising Egypt. Let me read another.

142
00:16:18,450 --> 00:16:21,490
A lot of other books about Occulus centrism,

143
00:16:21,490 --> 00:16:30,970
which is the privileging of vision over the other senses and the way that Colin colonisation changed teaching in the Middle East.

144
00:16:30,970 --> 00:16:35,980
And I don't know, I just think that this book is a gateway to so many interesting issues in the Middle East.

145
00:16:35,980 --> 00:16:41,900
And so I think that, yeah, I'll stop my rant. I think that everyone should read it, therefore.

146
00:16:41,900 --> 00:16:48,190
Yeah. I think that was by far the most enthusiastic book review.

147
00:16:48,190 --> 00:16:52,840
I don't understand, like the teacher who actually recommended it to me. Walter Armbrust.

148
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:56,320
He said that he really disliked it. He was like, I is important.

149
00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,120
You got to read it. And I came back to the editorial saying, like, how do you not enjoy this?

150
00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:05,700
This was the best book I've read in ages. I am the next person on my list.

151
00:17:05,700 --> 00:17:11,380
And the sort of my at my events is a series of events, because in starting in June,

152
00:17:11,380 --> 00:17:17,800
there was a major explosion at a military complex analytical position, which is close to term.

153
00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:25,030
And at the same time, there was a power shortage in the city of Shiraz, which has major military facilities.

154
00:17:25,030 --> 00:17:30,040
And then in July, there were a series of explosions of five in total.

155
00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:39,400
I think. Wage all targeted either nuclear facilities, suspected nuclear facilities or military complexes.

156
00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:45,820
And basically the you know, the most reasonable assumption is that this has been done by Israel to put more

157
00:17:45,820 --> 00:17:52,840
pressure on Iran and to undermine the Iran nuclear deal as much as they can before.

158
00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:58,390
Biden would get into office. Israel has not.

159
00:17:58,390 --> 00:18:04,000
Claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but it would you know, it's unlikely it is anyone else.

160
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:10,990
Let's put it that way. And similarly, in August, all sorts that high ranking al-Qaeda members who was killed in Iran,

161
00:18:10,990 --> 00:18:14,140
presumably by an Israeli or Israeli supported hit squad.

162
00:18:14,140 --> 00:18:19,600
And, of course, as Michael mentioned earlier, in nuclear scientists was killed in in November.

163
00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:28,030
And this, you know, it shows the Israeli desire primarily to undermine the Iranian Iranian nuclear ambitions,

164
00:18:28,030 --> 00:18:32,020
which as these nuclear plant scare Israel a lot.

165
00:18:32,020 --> 00:18:41,590
And equally so is with the Gulf Arabs. It's presumably also to be aggressive before the Biden administration entered into the White House.

166
00:18:41,590 --> 00:18:50,260
The irony of this is, of course, that they undermine diplomacy, which ensure that Iran will not be willing to return to the JCP away.

167
00:18:50,260 --> 00:18:57,220
And I don't understand this logic at all because they want to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

168
00:18:57,220 --> 00:19:03,180
And their diplomatic approach has what was by far the most effective way to do that.

169
00:19:03,180 --> 00:19:07,480
And it's the only way to safely guarantee that Iran won't get a nuclear weapon.

170
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:16,480
But by putting this much pressure, using assassinations against Iran and the Iranian scientists and installations,

171
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:21,780
I the only thing they do is make diplomacy less likely, which.

172
00:19:21,780 --> 00:19:25,690
You know, makes war more likely, and that is deeply, deeply problematic.

173
00:19:25,690 --> 00:19:31,150
My big event in twenty, twenty one, which I'm looking at for, is the death of the king of Saudi Arabia.

174
00:19:31,150 --> 00:19:36,730
And it's not that I want it to happen, but I'm just very curious on know what is going to change within the country,

175
00:19:36,730 --> 00:19:40,970
because he is from a very different generation from his son.

176
00:19:40,970 --> 00:19:46,480
So there have been reports that he is the one who has stopped Saudi Arabia from

177
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:51,820
recognising Israel because of his allegiance to the old way of doing things about,

178
00:19:51,820 --> 00:19:54,340
for example, they are abusing the peace initiative.

179
00:19:54,340 --> 00:20:00,760
So it is possible that once he dies, Saudi Arabia will recognise Israel, and that would, of course, be a very big deal.

180
00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:05,450
So it's interesting to see if he is sort of limiting focus on it.

181
00:20:05,450 --> 00:20:11,400
And, yes, his worst instincts or if the reforms in Saudi Arabia can accelerate once the king goes.

182
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:18,670
I know if if he knows, we're going to see potentially some very big changes in the foreign and domestic policy of Saudi Arabia.

183
00:20:18,670 --> 00:20:24,900
And maybe a power struggle, as well as a number of people in the royal family are quite unhappy with us.

184
00:20:24,900 --> 00:20:28,750
And then on to my favourite book, which was released last year by David Kirkpatrick,

185
00:20:28,750 --> 00:20:35,610
who was the Cairo bureau chief for The New York Times from 2011 till 2015.

186
00:20:35,610 --> 00:20:37,870
And the book is called Into the Hands of Soldiers.

187
00:20:37,870 --> 00:20:44,530
It is the best book I've read on the Middle East and most also because of my intense love for Egypt that I enjoyed it so much.

188
00:20:44,530 --> 00:20:50,500
But it does a very good job of explaining the revolution in 2011, the revolution in 2013,

189
00:20:50,500 --> 00:20:58,160
and how impenetrable and how complex the situation was amongst the civil society within the country at the time.

190
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:03,880
And I do recommend anyone who takes it to to read because you can do it within a few days.

191
00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:14,950
The next one is Howzat. So my my event of the year actually happened about two weeks ago in Morocco, in Western Sahara.

192
00:21:14,950 --> 00:21:24,780
So Morocco launched formally a military operation in the West as a whole that is represented by the Polisario Front, a witness to harm women.

193
00:21:24,780 --> 00:21:29,470
And this was apparently due to peaceful protests at the border.

194
00:21:29,470 --> 00:21:35,680
So this is peaceful Western Sahara and protesters who are protesting for their independence.

195
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:40,390
And apparently, according to Moroccan reports, they blocked a popular border crossing, creating,

196
00:21:40,390 --> 00:21:48,340
creating traffic and creating like, would you call it, a blockade of over 100 trucks.

197
00:21:48,340 --> 00:21:53,080
Both sides exchanged fire, but no deaths were recorded. And so the reason why this is really,

198
00:21:53,080 --> 00:22:02,380
really important is that actually marks the end of a three decade truce between Morocco and the Western Sahara or the Polisario movement.

199
00:22:02,380 --> 00:22:07,810
And this was this was introduced, I think, in the late 1980s, approximately.

200
00:22:07,810 --> 00:22:13,900
And it's actually caused a lot of problems in Morocco in the past few years in the sense that Morocco has very,

201
00:22:13,900 --> 00:22:22,660
very tense relations with Algeria directly because of the Western Sahara and because of their colonial occupation of the Western Sahara.

202
00:22:22,660 --> 00:22:34,150
And even the UN has been involved for over 30 years with many Western Sahara is moving to Spain, seeking refuge there and also neighbouring Algeria.

203
00:22:34,150 --> 00:22:40,450
And for many people, the Western Sahara is considered the last remaining colony in Africa as Morocco controls over

204
00:22:40,450 --> 00:22:45,760
80 percent of the territory and limits the rights of the indigenous Western Sahara community.

205
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,480
So that's why when my book is my favourite book.

206
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:54,640
I think what once the event for next year. Oh, do I have to do that now if I can?

207
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,870
Well, actually, my event for next year is directly related to this because three days ago,

208
00:22:58,870 --> 00:23:05,260
Bahrain set up a consulate in Moroccan controlled Western Sahara,

209
00:23:05,260 --> 00:23:12,820
which suggests that actually they're taking a greater interest in the situation there.

210
00:23:12,820 --> 00:23:20,890
It suggests that the Arab states are essentially choosing a side and have decided that it's actually time to come down on the side of Morocco,

211
00:23:20,890 --> 00:23:26,080
meaning that the future for the Western Sahara is looking bleaker and bleaker.

212
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:31,960
And actually, it's a lot less likely that they're going to get the independence and autonomy that they deserve.

213
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,020
But I think as the events have occurred so recently,

214
00:23:35,020 --> 00:23:40,030
I think it'll be really interesting to see how they escalate and to see how foreign bodies step in,

215
00:23:40,030 --> 00:23:44,680
because actually quite a few foreign bodies have direct interests in the Western Sahara.

216
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:50,080
And my favourite book or a book that basically anyone with an interest in

217
00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,310
gender in the Middle East should read is Sex and the Citadel by Syrian effect.

218
00:23:54,310 --> 00:23:58,180
She's a British Egyptian journalist and immunologist, actually,

219
00:23:58,180 --> 00:24:05,590
and she spent five years researching every facet of sex possible in the Middle East or primarily Egypt.

220
00:24:05,590 --> 00:24:13,760
Your favourite place to go to. And she spent time sort of like discussing sexual attitudes, discussing the transforming face of marriage,

221
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:21,320
the increased pressure on young men to get married at a certain age, despite the sort of [INAUDIBLE] economy that's in place.

222
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,300
Things like masturbation, things like sex before marriage.

223
00:24:23,300 --> 00:24:30,980
Things that haven't previously been discussed in a sort of clear and measured and unbiased manner.

224
00:24:30,980 --> 00:24:34,910
She spends a lot of time like interviewing Islamic clerics and she runs a lot of

225
00:24:34,910 --> 00:24:39,560
time interviewing loads of body positive and sex positive Middle East activists,

226
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,100
something I think which gets or brushed under the carpet quite a bit.

227
00:24:43,100 --> 00:24:49,460
I don't think people are very interested in actually hearing what the communities they study have to say about these things.

228
00:24:49,460 --> 00:24:57,950
So I think that's what she does very, very well. And she actually asks a large range of Egyptian women their opinions and attitudes.

229
00:24:57,950 --> 00:25:02,930
And I think it's just such a great book to sort of like start your own personal research

230
00:25:02,930 --> 00:25:08,390
and personal interests off and kickstart them and like push them in the right direction.

231
00:25:08,390 --> 00:25:10,220
I think she does that very, very well.

232
00:25:10,220 --> 00:25:19,920
And she gives a great foundation for people to make their own judgements, whereas I think a lot of sex and gender focussed books.

233
00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:28,890
About the Middle East tend to make the judgements for you, Rose. My moment of note this year is the death of Mama Shajarian in Iran.

234
00:25:28,890 --> 00:25:34,050
Iran is in a year with so many different moments of mourning and death.

235
00:25:34,050 --> 00:25:39,280
But this is like a this is a cultural loss. And it is market.

236
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:46,410
It is a remarkable woman because it brought together people from lots of different school and social backgrounds.

237
00:25:46,410 --> 00:25:52,020
And yet it's a moment that reminded people of that shared cultural history rather than

238
00:25:52,020 --> 00:25:57,390
just the modern divisions that divide the often come from cultural features as well.

239
00:25:57,390 --> 00:26:06,360
He died on the 8th of October. And for a number of days, the streets were full of people all over the country singing,

240
00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:11,210
holding candlelight vigils and just uniting and mourning in a way that was so deep.

241
00:26:11,210 --> 00:26:17,250
I don't think I've seen that in any other country. He also won to UNESCO awards for music.

242
00:26:17,250 --> 00:26:21,270
You should listen to him. He's brilliant. He's on Spotify. Yeah.

243
00:26:21,270 --> 00:26:28,650
So he's a classical musician and he's most known for making classical music popular amongst the younger generations

244
00:26:28,650 --> 00:26:36,270
and kind of bringing that very traditional art into the modern cultural scene and making it at the forefront of it.

245
00:26:36,270 --> 00:26:45,570
He also gained some notoriety in 2009 during the protests. He sided with the people against the government, which was quite a bold move of him.

246
00:26:45,570 --> 00:26:49,800
And then so I think for what I'm looking for, for next year,

247
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:55,050
I think we've already been talking about Iran calling it kind of underpins everything that's going to happen.

248
00:26:55,050 --> 00:27:00,650
I mean, they've just. Iran has had the most unbelievable year. The assassination of President Sulimani.

249
00:27:00,650 --> 00:27:04,590
And then she shot down the passenger plane protests all over the country.

250
00:27:04,590 --> 00:27:15,000
They had a terrible experience of covered. That was the execution of the wrestler Steph Curry as this new assassination of a nuclear scientist.

251
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,360
So, I mean, it's just been you can't believe what the country's going through.

252
00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:23,160
And the economy is completely in taxes and inflation is through the roof.

253
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:28,440
And people just can't afford basic amenities like meat. So it is just the most unbelievable year.

254
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:35,520
And so, I mean, as Michael said, we're just looking to see what's going to happen with sanctions and the nuclear deal and just really

255
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:41,610
hoping that that's all going to that the economy will improve and people's quality of life will recover.

256
00:27:41,610 --> 00:27:43,410
That is what is what is important here.

257
00:27:43,410 --> 00:27:52,460
And also, there's the presidential elections coming up in June, which is also something to think and worry about.

258
00:27:52,460 --> 00:27:57,380
And as my book, I thought I'd go for a piece of fiction because I mean,

259
00:27:57,380 --> 00:28:05,330
Iranian literature and then modern art like cinema and the poetry is just some of the greatest in the world.

260
00:28:05,330 --> 00:28:10,240
And so I thought this is a modern book, though. This is published, I think maybe two years ago.

261
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:16,520
And it's been shortlisted for the international Booker Prise 20/20 and long listed for the National Book Award 20/20.

262
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,360
It's called the Enlightenment of the Green Gauge Tree or in Cousin Ashoka.

263
00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:24,620
That after Jessup's you can get copies in both languages pretty easily.

264
00:28:24,620 --> 00:28:34,790
And it's a story of a family in the aftermath of the revolution, kind of coming to terms with the execution of the son in the family.

265
00:28:34,790 --> 00:28:40,170
And it's written with that magical realist style. And that's just very entertaining.

266
00:28:40,170 --> 00:28:43,040
And it's filled with lots of kind of troops from classical literature,

267
00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:50,000
but also lots of anecdotes from what daily modern life, at least in the 80s, was like in Iran.

268
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:54,530
And it's just it's it's brilliant and it's fast paced and it's upsetting.

269
00:28:54,530 --> 00:29:03,290
Well, just so I recommend it. Fantastic. Max, before Rose goes, if she is talking about show Geryon.

270
00:29:03,290 --> 00:29:08,260
It might be fun for her to talk to everybody a little bit about how we used to learn the sitar.

271
00:29:08,260 --> 00:29:16,740
Well, specifically, Rose's skills of playing the sitar in Iran. Before I then go on to talk a little bit about what I'm saying.

272
00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:20,850
You know, you've got to publicise it. We we were both stars.

273
00:29:20,850 --> 00:29:26,250
And I think it's very sad. Where's yours?

274
00:29:26,250 --> 00:29:30,480
Sorry. Where's yours? I think it's with my.

275
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,090
I think we gave them away before we left. We gave them to money.

276
00:29:34,090 --> 00:29:38,400
Money being a very, very lovely rolling friend because we couldn't take them back.

277
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:43,170
Sings We all got charged. I think probably you got judge nearly five 500 pounds in excess.

278
00:29:43,170 --> 00:29:46,880
And I think that was after stuffing most of my things in Rosett Alfreds bags.

279
00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:50,750
So a sitar wouldn't it wouldn't have cut it, so to say.

280
00:29:50,750 --> 00:29:59,310
Good. We'll do an episode of both of you, please. We will release an album as part of our tools to increase awareness.

281
00:29:59,310 --> 00:30:03,270
I was told that I categorically have no talent at calligraphy and the sitar.

282
00:30:03,270 --> 00:30:07,230
So it goes, on the other hand, was told that she was talented of both.

283
00:30:07,230 --> 00:30:15,840
That's genius. Anyways, you're listening to all of your guises, big events.

284
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:20,580
I sort of went with what what I considered to be a big person, and I think it's more of a personal choice.

285
00:30:20,580 --> 00:30:23,790
Rose briefly mentioned Iranian cinema, and I just too,

286
00:30:23,790 --> 00:30:27,570
I take that first point as an opportunity to promote some of the cinema of a

287
00:30:27,570 --> 00:30:32,190
very famous Iranian contemporary running director called Ibrahim Hot Mikio.

288
00:30:32,190 --> 00:30:41,970
He's not particularly well-known to the West just because his films are so Iran centric, but also just that much more tailored for a Iranian audience.

289
00:30:41,970 --> 00:30:48,090
But I would recommend them to anybody interested in learning a little bit more about Iran, especially in the aftermath of the revolution,

290
00:30:48,090 --> 00:30:57,330
and looking toward looking at, say, watching some films about how the Iran-Iraq war specifically was represented by this director, Hatemi Kyar.

291
00:30:57,330 --> 00:30:58,350
He's still producing films.

292
00:30:58,350 --> 00:31:03,450
I think he produced one from Cool Bodyguard, which is more of a sort of Iranian mission impossible, from what I could tell.

293
00:31:03,450 --> 00:31:10,860
But he's also produced some unbelievably four provoking films, such as The Sense of Yusoff Coat and then no one calls hard care to tolerate.

294
00:31:10,860 --> 00:31:17,370
And so from high ticket to the Rhine, which just looks at the lives of Iran, Iraq war veterans and their PTSD,

295
00:31:17,370 --> 00:31:23,220
and even if it wouldn't have been categorised in such a way and I just think that his films and I've been

296
00:31:23,220 --> 00:31:29,130
making my way through so many of his recently and I'm hoping to maybe write upon my thesis on his cinema.

297
00:31:29,130 --> 00:31:38,230
So it's been a big personal event, I guess, in light of being stuck at home with nothing but my laptop for quite a while, a bit like everybody else.

298
00:31:38,230 --> 00:31:40,560
I'm looking I mean, I'm looking forward to it.

299
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:49,970
I'm watching out definitely for the outcome of the Iranian presidential elections, even in light of Biden being elected.

300
00:31:49,970 --> 00:31:54,600
And I think Trump has accepted this. I'm not particularly hopeful in that.

301
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,760
I think even if Biden were Speedy Gonzalez,

302
00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:03,360
I think it's mostly impossible for him to even have got to even get rid hypothetically of all of the sanctions were he to want to do so.

303
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:11,010
And then, as we've already mentioned, try and sort of re-enter some sort of negotiation or agreement, such as the GCP away.

304
00:32:11,010 --> 00:32:14,490
That being said, there's always some sort of reason to be hopeful,

305
00:32:14,490 --> 00:32:20,670
even if I think it is looking particularly at the hardliners will be elected or hardline will be elected.

306
00:32:20,670 --> 00:32:26,070
But that being said, that is what I am definitely looking watching out for in the next year.

307
00:32:26,070 --> 00:32:29,520
I wouldn't necessarily say it's my favourite book, but it's a book that I've enjoyed recently,

308
00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:34,200
probably in some part due to how difficult it was to read and reading in Persian.

309
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:39,720
And it's AB's at EGI by General Ahmad. There is an English translation out there for people who'd be interested in reading it.

310
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:45,900
But as a general matter, Akhmad is Iran's most prolific 20th century fiction and non-fiction writers.

311
00:32:45,900 --> 00:32:47,730
And this particular work,

312
00:32:47,730 --> 00:32:56,610
which would translate very literally as W struck CNIs often translated as a West toxification and I think Occidental ism as well,

313
00:32:56,610 --> 00:33:00,480
essentially maps out in a particularly creative way.

314
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:09,000
I'd almost describe it as a sort of particularly acutely sensitive historian type figure, but it essentially looks at.

315
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:13,980
The ways in which the West and all of its enormous assets as a whole has contributed to

316
00:33:13,980 --> 00:33:18,720
Iranians to an Iranian loss of cultural identity because their adoption and imitation of love,

317
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:23,430
Western models and education, the arts and political and economic institutions.

318
00:33:23,430 --> 00:33:29,490
But I guess you can read lots of books like that, and you could probably pick up most books about contemporary Iranian politics to

319
00:33:29,490 --> 00:33:33,420
look at the ways in which the West have intervened and usually to no benefit.

320
00:33:33,420 --> 00:33:36,800
But I guess what really struck me was so stark, like so,

321
00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:43,850
so striking and amazing about this book was just the way in which he wrote it and his strong sense of voice and the ways in which,

322
00:33:43,850 --> 00:33:48,270
especially in the first opening chapters, when he maps out this disease, which he quite literally called the disease.

323
00:33:48,270 --> 00:33:51,750
He outlines it in the sort of similar way that a doctor would diagnose a particular disease.

324
00:33:51,750 --> 00:33:59,060
And he undergo he travels so widely in Iran and he interviewed somebody from people and he talks.

325
00:33:59,060 --> 00:34:00,050
I think just so honestly,

326
00:34:00,050 --> 00:34:07,880
insensitively about these issues and I think about the lives of people in villages who are struggling and a lot of industrialisation, urbanisation,

327
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:12,360
and I just think that it's for anyone looking to sort of understand the Iranian psyche in the 20th century

328
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:17,130
and to look at what was influencing their literature and was influencing various political movements.

329
00:34:17,130 --> 00:34:21,510
I just think it's this sort of must read, even if it will seem a little bit alien when reading it,

330
00:34:21,510 --> 00:34:24,960
because I think the English translations aren't always the best.

331
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:32,070
But then everyone planning and reading it could also take it up, take up trying to learn Farsi, because you know you're ready, sir.

332
00:34:32,070 --> 00:34:39,420
The event that I wanted to talk a little bit about was the Bayridge explosion of 4th of August.

333
00:34:39,420 --> 00:34:44,940
And just as a reminder, I feel like pretty much everyone knows what happens in Beirut.

334
00:34:44,940 --> 00:34:51,170
But as a reminder, for those who may have forgotten, lustfully killed over 200 people,

335
00:34:51,170 --> 00:34:58,790
the injured number was put at around five thousand, roughly three hundred thousand people made homeless as a consequence.

336
00:34:58,790 --> 00:35:04,230
And the damage was in the ballpark of 10 to 15 billion U.S. dollars.

337
00:35:04,230 --> 00:35:07,740
So it was a pretty tragic, horrific event.

338
00:35:07,740 --> 00:35:16,350
But I think why really want to talk about is how the Beirut explosion is really kind of the culmination or.

339
00:35:16,350 --> 00:35:20,460
The embodiment of everything that's been happening in Lebanon really in the last year.

340
00:35:20,460 --> 00:35:25,980
So quite fortuitously, I guess we're recording this podcast.

341
00:35:25,980 --> 00:35:30,470
Nearly a year exactly after the beginning of the Lebanese protests last year.

342
00:35:30,470 --> 00:35:37,350
So they began on October 17th, 2019.

343
00:35:37,350 --> 00:35:42,520
Record Leanness and 30th of October on twenty ninth of October last year.

344
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:51,210
Not October. November. Sorry, my bad. So a month after the protest and since then, Lebanon has just been through the wringer.

345
00:35:51,210 --> 00:35:53,750
So not only has I had to deal with coverage.

346
00:35:53,750 --> 00:36:02,700
Not only has I had to deal with massive economic strife and mass protest, the biggest protest the country has ever seen.

347
00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:05,260
But then this explosion came in August.

348
00:36:05,260 --> 00:36:13,080
And not only was it a horrible event, but it was a completely avoidable event had it not been for the negligence of the government.

349
00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,430
As we learnt after so effectively,

350
00:36:17,430 --> 00:36:25,410
the reason the explosion happened was that was an extremely unsafe amount of ammonium nitrate being stored in the ports,

351
00:36:25,410 --> 00:36:32,640
which the government knew about and knew was being stored without proper precautions in place.

352
00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:38,490
And ammonium nitrate, which is just like the most flammable stuff ever, just went off.

353
00:36:38,490 --> 00:36:42,960
So all those people who died and all those people made homeless could have been avoided.

354
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:44,210
Basically.

355
00:36:44,210 --> 00:36:52,080
You know, it's interesting because the explosion really caught the attention of the global media not long after Emmanuel Macron came to visit.

356
00:36:52,080 --> 00:37:00,240
And that caused a big press media storm in Lebanon. And this really grabbed the Western press and in particular, its attention.

357
00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:09,850
I think as horrific as it was the. The thing about is, is that this was not necessarily as horrific and as tragic, as traumatic as it was,

358
00:37:09,850 --> 00:37:19,840
this was not surprising to the Lebanese people that this negligence and that this could happen was something that very much made sense to Lebanon,

359
00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:23,530
which is why I think this explosion is important to talk about.

360
00:37:23,530 --> 00:37:31,400
And I think for me, tacking onto that, what I'm fighting for, hopeful for, is that in twenty twenty one,

361
00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:37,020
given everything that's happened in Lebanon and everything that the Lebanese have suffered in the last year,

362
00:37:37,020 --> 00:37:45,100
that this is an opportunity for a new wave of political organisation and political activism and that this

363
00:37:45,100 --> 00:37:52,480
provides an opportunity for the next generation to provide other options in response to this massive tragedy.

364
00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:57,970
I'm not saying those guarantees. I think it's anything but guaranteed.

365
00:37:57,970 --> 00:38:04,360
But that's why I'm hopeful in 2021. So that's why I'm keeping my eye on that.

366
00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:10,600
And in terms of my favourite book, I do want to say it's my favourite book in the Middle East of all time.

367
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:18,910
I think that's too difficult for me to choose. But my favourite book of 20 20 is All Women on the Grounds.

368
00:38:18,910 --> 00:38:27,700
It's an anthology of essays or written by our female journalists, edited by Zora Kid.

369
00:38:27,700 --> 00:38:33,260
It's not like the most perfect book if you're looking for something that's totally representative of the Middle East.

370
00:38:33,260 --> 00:38:38,380
It is very much based on experiences in the lavonne.

371
00:38:38,380 --> 00:38:46,300
There are a few exceptions to that, but it is largely Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian women.

372
00:38:46,300 --> 00:38:47,380
There are exceptions.

373
00:38:47,380 --> 00:38:56,860
I think the reason why this book is so amazing is not only is the writing pretty consistently fantastic across the book by all these different women,

374
00:38:56,860 --> 00:39:00,640
but it shows a real variety of storytelling.

375
00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:12,550
And I think we're often talking about the need for non-white non Western female perspectives and stories as if they aren't out there.

376
00:39:12,550 --> 00:39:16,690
But this book very much proves that those stories are out there. But you just go looking for them.

377
00:39:16,690 --> 00:39:27,040
And so if anyone's interested in reading stories from perspectives of Arab women working in the field of journalism in charge of their own narratives,

378
00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:37,890
I think this book is a great place. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Oxford Middle East podcast.

379
00:39:37,890 --> 00:39:44,180
Join us next time. We'll examine the reasons behind Lebanon's ongoing political and economic.

380
00:39:44,180 --> 00:39:48,380
Element anchors a student for an initiative ultimately sent Indians both to.

381
00:39:48,380 --> 00:39:55,430
The opinions expressed in the podcast are not in any way represent the official opulence of the University of the Middle East.

382
00:39:55,430 --> 00:40:01,610
Editors, and so we'll just focus. Lily Felix Walker.

383
00:40:01,610 --> 00:40:05,680
Michael Murray Hauser. Max Randall.

384
00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:13,700
Frederico Brookover. Rose Johnson. Helena Murphy.