For starters, there is no such thing as what the Western media is fond of calling the “Islamic World,” Kia said to an overflow crowd in a lecture hall at UM's Gallagher Building.
There is no easy, catchall name by which to group the complex and ancient cultures of the diverse groups of people who have for the past 14 centuries - and longer - inhabited the region the modern world knows as Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
“They are as different as countries can get in terms of culture, literature, politics and religion.”
Thanks to the West's infatuation with ancient Greece, all things European, a cultural penchant for stereotypes and television media that loves to perpetuate stereotypes, Americans are left with simplistic, misrepresentative images of this part of the globe, Kia said.
Most Americans consider the “Middle East” - which is also a misnomer - as a place of vast deserts, where fanatics live, where camels roam, where people wear towel-like headgear, where there is lots of oil, where tyrants live, where a death culture thrives.
Few Westerners are aware of the gorgeous costal stretches or the mountain ranges; few can name a poet, a writer, philosopher, scientist or musician from any one of the many countries in the region. Even more disturbing, Kia said, few people know about the sophisticated cultures that were at their zenith just as Europe was evolving and wrestling with the Dark Ages during the 14th century.
Few people know, for instance, that inventions that have changed the world such as the concept of algebra was invented by Arabic speaking mathematicians, and that an Arab is not always a Muslim, but is a person who speaks the Arabic language and could also be a Muslim, Christian, Jewish, or a member of any other religion.
“We live in this world of total misunderstanding,” Kia said. “I have to express my deep skepticism to give this talk when Fox, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, ABC - and all the rest - are polluting the minds of average Americans with disinformation and perpetuating stereotypes.”
Yet, as an educator, he said, it is his duty to share knowledge and inspire others to find truths beyond their remote controls.
To understand why the West is hated, don't look to the Quran as many Americans did in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks - look at the map of the region and delve into its history.
“You will find more answers there, where the lines tell a thousand stories and will tell you that the name ‘Middle East' is itself a fallacy.
“If you were in Kabul, you would never call yourself a Middle Easterner, you'd say middle of which East?,” Kia said. “Why? Because it's a British-French concept.”
None of the countries of the region existed until 1920, when the Ottoman Empire fell and European nations moved in and partitioned off the region according to the outsiders' geopolitical interests - not out of cultural respect.
It would be as sudden and tumultuous if one day Missoula residents drove down Higgins Avenue and found soldiers in distinctly different uniforms standing at either ends of the bridge, who said Canada and Mexico now occupy Missoula, and demanded the residents show passports in order to cross over, Kia said. Those who live in the South Hills would be heretofore called “South Higginsans” who would be ruled by a king from Argentina and those who live on the north side of the river would be called Missoulians, who would be ruled by a king from Honduras.
As far-fetched as the example may seem, Kia said, that's how the British created Iraq - they combined a couple of countries filled with different cultures, customs and religions - including Muslims, Armenians, Arabs, Syrians - and came up with a new name for the new country, brought a king from Mecca and called it Iraq.
To add further insult to that part of the world, Western policymakers, educators and citizens have since done little to understand the ancient cultures and people.
Few schools have programs that teach the native languages of those countries, teach the history of the region, or have become familiar with the rich traditions of food, music, hospitality and community life.
Kia said he finds it embarrassing and appalling that the European/Western academic tradition long excluded the Persian world, even despite the fact that the region was instrumental in developing modern liberal arts academic canon.
“We are inheriting a tradition that insists on remaining ignorant of this part of the world,” Kia said.
Change will only happen through meaningful conversations, through educational exchanges, by travelling and exploring those regions intellectually and on foot, by learning the languages and venturing into the cultures' culinary delights and cultural gifts.
Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com
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