Political columnist discusses Syria’s 10 wars and the Middle East’s traumas

Political+columnist+discusses+Syria%E2%80%99s+10+wars+and+the+Middle+East%E2%80%99s+traumas

 

Rami Khouri at NU-Q [Photo by Awad Al-Radi]
Rami Khouri at NU-Q [Photo by Awad Al-Radi]
The Northwestern University in Qatar community gathered Sunday to hear columnist Rami Khouri explain why the current Syrian conflict is the greatest proxy war of modern times.

This is not the first time Khouri has visited the NU-Q campus. Khouri was the first graduation speaker for NU-Q in 2012 and has a seat on the university’s joint advisory board. His experiences in journalism include writing for the Boston Globe and the Financial Times, as well as delivering lectures on Middle Eastern issues at conferences and universities worldwide.

Khouri’s talk “The 10 Different Wars in Syria and the Traumas of the Modern Middle East” was moderated by Assistant Professor Zachary Wright. The hour and a half long community meeting was attended by both NU-Q students and faculty.

Khouri began his lecture by describing the Syrian civil war as a result of multiple conflicts coming together in one country, therefore making it one of the largest clashes in the Middle East and even worldwide. For this reason, Khouri said that the conflict will not end easily.

“It [the Syrian conflict] is not going to end until one side wins, or the massive fatigue falls out and everybody decides to find a solution without really resolving the underlying consequences of the conflict,” said Khouri.

Khouri referred to these multiple conflicts as “Syria’s 10 wars,” which he listed during the talk. They include the clashes of militant versus moderate Islamists, Arabs versus global powers, and religious nationalism versus secular nationalism.

These “wars” are related to what Khouri called the “Traumas of the Middle East,” stating that the Syrian conflict is currently the most glaring example of the major issues of the Arab world.

The panel was then opened up for questions. Wright asked Khouri what NU-Q’s Middle Eastern studies program could do for the university’s prospective media professionals.

Khouri replied that because of the many factors involved in Middle Eastern crises like Syria, education on the Middle East is required when reporting on such matters.

“It’s critically important to have Middle Eastern studies programs around the region,” said Khouri.

Jemina Legaspi, a communications senior at NU-Q, said media students should keep Khouri’s words in mind.

“In order to produce content, we should know how such conflicts have come to being and its effects on the nation and globally,” said Legaspi.

Rami Khouri will continue his lectures on the Middle East on Thursday, Oct. 13 with the topic “Understanding the real threat of ISIS: Dysfunctional Arab statehood and millions of desperate people seeking citizenship.”

 

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