I remember reading the article "Lebanon and its Inheritors". I was young, right after college, and knew even less about Lebanon than I do today. In the same volume of "Foreign Affairs", Amin Gemayel also had an article that I read first. As I went through Ajami's, it became clearer and clearer that the president's was an assembly of cliches and completely unrealistic. Your professor's article and his "The Vanished Imam" were an eye opener, helping me read better contemporary Lebanon as I came to know it somewhat. He remains my favorite interpreter of Lebanon though he could not be always right as you pointed out. A Shiite, his rejection by established Middle East Studies experts is ironic in my view: their holier than thou sanctimony embraces Edouard Said whose brilliance, from my perspective, reflects Sunna interpretation of the Region and their hegemony. No wonder that powerful members of the establishment dismiss a most gifted writer, a most articulate and tolerant Shiah world view. They turn a Shiite into an outcast once again. But the irony is lost on our virtuous and learned friends.
I remember reading Ajami's The Arab Predicament during my own postgraduate study without really understanding his background. I had been wanting to pick it up again in view of the current situation and will read it with a lot more insight thanks to this article. I will also look into his memoirs with interest. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
He was leading a group of scholars to set up a constitution to Irak after Saddam as I recall from press. What happened later I never knew. I always sought he was Iraqi. Never knew he's Lebanese, since I am myself, and should have recognized his origin by his family name.
I remember reading the article "Lebanon and its Inheritors". I was young, right after college, and knew even less about Lebanon than I do today. In the same volume of "Foreign Affairs", Amin Gemayel also had an article that I read first. As I went through Ajami's, it became clearer and clearer that the president's was an assembly of cliches and completely unrealistic. Your professor's article and his "The Vanished Imam" were an eye opener, helping me read better contemporary Lebanon as I came to know it somewhat. He remains my favorite interpreter of Lebanon though he could not be always right as you pointed out. A Shiite, his rejection by established Middle East Studies experts is ironic in my view: their holier than thou sanctimony embraces Edouard Said whose brilliance, from my perspective, reflects Sunna interpretation of the Region and their hegemony. No wonder that powerful members of the establishment dismiss a most gifted writer, a most articulate and tolerant Shiah world view. They turn a Shiite into an outcast once again. But the irony is lost on our virtuous and learned friends.
Thanks. Brilliant book. A complex personality.
Indeed. Thanks for your comment.
I remember reading Ajami's The Arab Predicament during my own postgraduate study without really understanding his background. I had been wanting to pick it up again in view of the current situation and will read it with a lot more insight thanks to this article. I will also look into his memoirs with interest. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Many thanks for your comment Rana, and all the best.
Great piece. I will definitely be reading the memoir.
He was leading a group of scholars to set up a constitution to Irak after Saddam as I recall from press. What happened later I never knew. I always sought he was Iraqi. Never knew he's Lebanese, since I am myself, and should have recognized his origin by his family name.