Expert: Le Anne Clausen - 10/23/2006

Question
Anne - I have been twice declined this question by Arab experts and I am about to give up on it. It would be interesting to know too whether the answer is contraversial, or simply obscure.
Here is the question: Where was pure Arab history and culture first manifest, and what early architectural remains still exist.
I already realise that in the west we tend to improperly lump Chaldean, Assyrian, Babylonian, Syriac etc. culture and history in with the Arabic (though the Arabs themselves seem not to object to this), but I am thinking here of the earliest flowering of what might be termed 'pure' Arabic culture. Were the Nabateans of Petra an Arabic people - I am unclear about this?
Is it known how old the fortress of al-Jawf (Qasr
Marid)is? Are any attempts being made to preserve this ancient fortress from further decay?
Thanks
Tony

Answer
Hi Tony, thanks for your question.  I'll try to answer what I can.  I think if your question is controversial, it's because it sounds similar to some rhetoric used by the Israeli settlement movement that Arabs have no real ties to the area, and so on.  So, it's perhaps sensitive, but I'm not really sure why they might have declined.

For a helpful overview, you may enjoy Wikipedia's entry on Arabs, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab#History  It gels with much of what I've learned, and I would add that Muhammed is often described as 'the unifier of the tribes.' I think it may cover your question about the Nabateans as well.

An interesting article on al-Jawf was published by Saudi Aramco World magazine (which I subscribe to and highly recommend) http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199802/unsung.crossroads.htm

Incidentally, Baghdad strikes me as the epitome of Arab culture, having been founded in the 7th century in the 'golden age' of Islam as a center of government and learning; when I was there in 2002-2004, many of these ancient sites were still carefully preserved.  I haven't been able to keep track since.

I think that what you're saying with the Arabs not objecting to the lumping together of multiple Middle Eastern cultures comes from the pan-Arabism movement of the early 20th century in response to Ottoman, British, and continuing forms of Western colonialism: unite together under threat.  However, it also is understandable that today's Assyrians, Syriacs, Chaldeans, etc. would like to differentiate themselves.  This I have experienced more among the Christians in these groups, who still preserve their cultural traditions through their respectively-named branches of the Orthodox church.  Then, the tendency I observe with these groups is to generalize all 'Arabs' as Muslims--even though there are still several thousand Arab Christians and even Jews and other religions, etc.

Let me know more about your particular interests, and I'll see what I can do to help steer you in the right direction.

peace,

Le Anne