I’m always asked: “Why the Middle East?” And the answer is as multifaceted as the region itself. 

Growing up in a Christian household, I always felt like I had a connection to what is called the Holy Land, since my religion originated from there. Being born in 2000, the September 11, 2001 attacks have followed me throughout history class in school. Since then—and even before 9/11—the U.S. media has been reporting on the Middle East as the “War on Terror” has ravished the region. Over the past few years, I have often wondered if Americans truly know the implications of the involvement of the U.S. in the Middle East, as well as just how complicated everything is within the region when the U.S. isn’t involving itself. 

And the answer? They don’t. At least, a large percentage don’t. The Middle East is often painted as a homogeneous piece of land that is backwards in its ways when compared to the U.S.—which couldn’t be further from the truth. The religion of Islam that dominates the region is demonized and perverted into something that is false. These reasons alone are enough to make me want to study the Middle East. Nothing irks me more than when people try to talk about things of which they have no real knowledge of. 

High School: 2018-2019

Fall 2018 was the beginning of my senior year of high school. Since I went to a private Christian school, I was required to take several religion classes. Seniors were allowed to take a semester-long elective, so I picked the Israel in the World class that my principal taught. Heading up a small class of twelve students, Dr. Nick gave us a crash course in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before we dove into the history of Judaism and Islam. He taught with two books: The Source by James A. Michener and Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour. 

The Source is a historical epic novel that follows the history of the Jewish people, starting from prehistoric days and leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel. Blood Brothers is a memoir written by a Palestinian Christian, and it chronicles his life as he lives through the Palestinian Diaspora and becomes an adult. Using these two texts, Dr. Nick taught us not just about Judaism and Islam but about religion before there was religion as we know it today. It was more than a religion class: it was a history class and a philosophy class, too. 

For our final project, the class was divided into groups of three. Our goal? To create a peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Each person in the group was assigned a perspective: Israeli, Palestinian, or American. The peace plans covered the issues of borders/territory, settlements, the city of Jerusalem, water, and the right of return. At the end of the semester, each group presented their peace plan at a faux Rose Garden Press Conference with the other students representing reporters who asked questions. 

I am forever grateful for Dr. Nick’s class, since it is the reason why I chose to major in political science and it helped me have a better understanding of just one issue within the turbulent region. Due to his class and a connection through a mentor of mine, my interest in the Middle East grew exponentially and followed me to college. 

College: 2019-2023

Fall 2019 was the beginning of my freshman year at Hofstra University. I gleefully signed up for a class that focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For the first half of the semester, the class focused solely on the history of the conflict, starting in the late 1800s with the rise of Zionism. The second half of the semester was spent looking at different facets of the conflict, such as the relationship between Israel and the U.S., the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and how NGOs foster relationships between Israelis and Palestinians. 

For our final paper, each student took a different topic to research extensively. Then at the end of the semester, we presented our research and had one last discussion so we would be able to bring in the research that everyone had done. My paper focused on the history of the two state solution and how by looking at past peace processes, there could still be a possible future for two states. (However, since writing that paper—and even beforehand—I am more in favor of a one state solution due to just how intertwined Israel proper and the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are in their economics, culture, et cetera.) I learned a tremendous amount during that class, and it also opened the door a little bit for me to peek at the overall intricacies of Middle Eastern politics. 

Throughout the fall semester of my first year at Hofstra, I wavered between whether or not I should add a minor in Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies to my workload. I only would need to take an introduction class for the minor, since my political science courses about the Middle East could cover the other requirements, but there was a catch: my foreign language would need to be a language that is from the Middle East. So that narrowed me down to Arabic, Hebrew, and Farsi. I never wanted to learn Arabic before because I knew it would be difficult, but I bit the bullet and added the minor to my studies. 

In Spring 2020, I took the intro class to my minor, where we covered the Middle Eastern and Central Asian region starting from the 600s CE and the rise of Islam and ending with the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1920s. While we didn’t dive deep into any particular topic, it was a great overview of the region’s history. I also learned a lot more about the Islamic Golden Age, and I can confidently say that if I ever wanted to go back in time, it would be to Baghdad in the 9th century. 

The hardest classes of my college career began in Fall 2020 as I started my three semesters of Arabic. It was difficult, and it pushed me academically like no class had before. I loved learning about the language, but I realized that I wasn’t as motivated as I thought I would be. Therefore, after my required three semesters, I decided to move on. I’m forever grateful for the experience of learning a new language, but I believe you need discipline and motivation to keep at it, and I simply didn’t have it. 

During Fall 2020 I also took a class called Women and Politics in the Middle East. It was a great class to take because it broke down many misconceptions I had about women in the MENA region. My research focused on Palestinian women and the healthcare system in occupied Palestine, and how healthcare access and quality differs between the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Spoiler alert: the cruelty of occupation knows no bounds. 

While I took no classes whose sole topic was the MENA region in the 2021 calendar year, a few classes did allow me to focus on a few specific countries. In the spring, I took my required Comparative Politics class, and we spent a good amount of time on Iran’s history and political systems (we even got to read a graphic novel as our main text!). And in the fall during my International Politics class, I grew to have a better understanding of how international politics work and how that affects the world. For my paper, I wrote on the political relationship between the U.S. and Egypt. 

However, I really broadened my horizons in Spring 2022, where I took a class on the general politics of the Middle East. We focused on six countries: Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Wanting to go beyond Palestine, I focused on my research on Saudi Arabia and its history of attempting to become a modernized country, since it was a country that I was not very familiar with and I thought it would make for an interesting paper topic. Needless to say, this class made me very angry (though not surprised) at some of the actions the U.S. took in the region (especially with Iraq and the War on Terror). At some point I plan on reading the rest of my textbook because it gives a great overview of each country’s modern day history and the current political institutions of each country. 

During the Fall 2022 semester, I took my first and only history class called The Modern Middle East. Admittedly, I had several issues with the class, but I was very excited for my final project. I wrote a paper on the Palestinian keffiyeh, exploring its history and significance. I also was required to give a presentation on my topic, and it went amazing. That same semester, I took American Foreign Policy. While we didn’t talk much about the Middle East (most of our discussion focused on China and Russia), it helped me think in a more broader sense of the U.S. and its relationships with other countries.

My last semester of college: Spring 2023. I took no classes focused on the MENA region, but I did take a religion class and a special United Nations class. In my religion class, we talked about various major religions, including Islam. For my final paper, I wrote about different architectural styles of mosques, and I may expand upon my essay in the future. My UN class consisted of diplomats from various countries and NGOs coming to speak with us for 90 minutes twice a week. We heard from several MENA countries, as well as organizations that do extensive work in the region. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to listen to these people talk about their work. It is these people that keep the world going.

On May 21, 2023, I graduated from Hofstra University with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies. I don’t know where life will take me regarding my interest in the Middle East, but I hope someday to visit the region, learn more about its history, and indulge in the diverse culture. For now, I will continue to read, watch, and listen to various educational (and sometime fictional) material both about and set in this gorgeous region.

In the end when people ask me, “Why the Middle East?” I just smile and ask them, “Do you have time for that conversation?”

To view and read the aforementioned papers and presentations, click the Middle East tab at the top or bottom of this page, and it will take you to a list of my works.

Updated July 9, 2023.