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Being Arab
Being Arab is a brilliant exploration of the current political and intellectual stagnation of the Arab world, by one of its most prominent journalists.
In explaining how the region arrived at this point, Kassir turns to the past, revisiting the Arab “golden age,” the extraordinary nineteenth-century flowering of cultural expression that continued into the twentieth as, from Cairo to Baghdad and from Beirut to Casablanca, painters, poets, musicians, playwrights and novelists came together to create a new, living Arab culture. Considering the huge impact of modernity on the region, and the accompanying shockwaves that turned society upside-down, Kassir states that the current crisis in Arab identity lies in the failure to come to terms with modernity, turning instead to false solutions such as pan-Arabism and Islamism.
Being Arab is a clarion call, urging Arabs to embrace their own history, to reject Western double standards and Islamism alike, and to take the future of the region into their own hands.
In explaining how the region arrived at this point, Kassir turns to the past, revisiting the Arab “golden age,” the extraordinary nineteenth-century flowering of cultural expression that continued into the twentieth as, from Cairo to Baghdad and from Beirut to Casablanca, painters, poets, musicians, playwrights and novelists came together to create a new, living Arab culture. Considering the huge impact of modernity on the region, and the accompanying shockwaves that turned society upside-down, Kassir states that the current crisis in Arab identity lies in the failure to come to terms with modernity, turning instead to false solutions such as pan-Arabism and Islamism.
Being Arab is a clarion call, urging Arabs to embrace their own history, to reject Western double standards and Islamism alike, and to take the future of the region into their own hands.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
39 people are currently reading
785 people want to read
About the author
Samir Kassir
11 books30 followersSamir Kassir was Lebanese professor of history at Saint-Joseph University and journalist.Born to a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother.Kassir received his degree in philosophy and political philosophy in 1984, in 1990, Kassir earned his PhD in Modern History also from the University of Sorbonne.He held both Lebanese and French nationality. A prominent left-wing activist, he was a strong advocate of freedom for the Palestinians, democracy in Lebanon and Syria and a vocal critic of the Syrian presence in Lebanon. He was assassinated on 2 June 2005 and his murderers remain unknown. A French investigation is currently underway but its results have yet to be released. Kassir was a keen advocate of secular democracy in the Middle east.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
June 5, 2012
I first read this short but powerful evaluation of the Arab world in the 21st century in the summer of 2010 and have assigned it for my Middle Eastern history courses ever since. Kassir, a journalist and historian of Palestinian extraction who lived in Lebanon until his assassination in 2005, urges his fellow Arabs to rethink their conception of their own history as a consisting of a glorious past, a long decline, a failed revival (the nahda – rebirth – in the 19th century), and an inescapable malaise in the present.
He offers a new narrative instead, one in which the political and military failures of the 19th and 20th century are at least somewhat offset by the real participation by Arabs in the Enlightenment and modern culture. Rather than criticizing the impacts of modern, secular European thought, as many Islamists of different stripes have, Kassir praises Arab appropriation of these ideas, seeing them not as Western but as “universal.” Europeans might have gotten there first, one might say, but the values of democracy, science, and modernity are for all to participate in. “The universal” also includes post-World War II Third Worldist thought.
Kassir has no patience for Islamists, whom he likens to fascists, or for those who promote the idea of Arabs as the worst victims of the West’s aggression. At the same time, he bemoans the dominance of the United States and Israel in the region as well as Arab impotence in the face of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and he believes that Palestinian resistance to Israel is a bright spot for Arabs since World War II. He doesn’t support terrorism, but he doesn’t define the line between legitimate resistance and terrorism.
Kassir ends on an optimistic note, believing that an Arab culture that transcends political boundaries has developed and that Arabs are participating in globalized culture. The sad end to Kassir’s story is that he was killed by a car bomb in 2005, probably by Syrian security forces for his criticism of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon.
I really enjoyed Kassir’s book not because I agreed with it – I don’t think that secular humanism is the long term solution to the Middle East’s problems; the gospel is – but because it’s powerfully and passionately written and it’s unlike anything I’ve read about the Middle East before.
He offers a new narrative instead, one in which the political and military failures of the 19th and 20th century are at least somewhat offset by the real participation by Arabs in the Enlightenment and modern culture. Rather than criticizing the impacts of modern, secular European thought, as many Islamists of different stripes have, Kassir praises Arab appropriation of these ideas, seeing them not as Western but as “universal.” Europeans might have gotten there first, one might say, but the values of democracy, science, and modernity are for all to participate in. “The universal” also includes post-World War II Third Worldist thought.
Kassir has no patience for Islamists, whom he likens to fascists, or for those who promote the idea of Arabs as the worst victims of the West’s aggression. At the same time, he bemoans the dominance of the United States and Israel in the region as well as Arab impotence in the face of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and he believes that Palestinian resistance to Israel is a bright spot for Arabs since World War II. He doesn’t support terrorism, but he doesn’t define the line between legitimate resistance and terrorism.
Kassir ends on an optimistic note, believing that an Arab culture that transcends political boundaries has developed and that Arabs are participating in globalized culture. The sad end to Kassir’s story is that he was killed by a car bomb in 2005, probably by Syrian security forces for his criticism of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon.
I really enjoyed Kassir’s book not because I agreed with it – I don’t think that secular humanism is the long term solution to the Middle East’s problems; the gospel is – but because it’s powerfully and passionately written and it’s unlike anything I’ve read about the Middle East before.
July 12, 2021
I realized I share a lot of Kassirs thoughts and hopes after reading this book. It's a short, but sweeping read about what it means to be Arab in the 21st Century, what it meant before and hopefully what it'll mean in the near future. I highly recommend it, it's one flights worth of reading time, so consider it next time you're flying.
December 4, 2021
Short, passionate, captivating, and straight to the point, offering a new and very interesting perspective on the topic. I highly recommend this book. I feel this book is even more relevant today than when it was written in 2005. I just wish Samir Kassir was able to have lived through the last decade (Arab spring and post, Gulf countries further globalization including that of KSA, Leb revolution…) and have written this book today and see if that would have changed his argument or in fact supplemented it (which on my opinion is the case ). Whether you agree with his arguments or not, this book is definitely worth a read.
February 28, 2019
Waste of paper, ink, my time and money. Fisk's intro is just as lazy as the book itself. A book filled with generalizations, over simplifications and the word malaise in every other sentence. (How about some synonyms!) Its insane how he thinks he can describe the situation in every Arab country in 2 or 3 sentences. Its not an easy task to be more ignorant about Arabs than many westerners are, but that seems to be his only achievement in this book. If you want to learn anything about Arabs, first step is not to read this book.
May 5, 2016
Interesting insights and valid arguments backed by highlights of history, sociology, religion and culture. I was recommended this book by a Syrian friend of mine and I am really happy I read it. I am sure I will read it again in the future. It's a shame that Kassir was murdered in 2005; he had so much to offer the world. Then again that was likely the reason for targeting him- his intelligence and talent were a threat to the status quo.
November 14, 2008
This book is answering so many questions about the Arab state of mind for me--the feeling of ennui, the the intolerance, the inferiority complex. Kassir manages to address all of these things in this little book.
February 23, 2009
Very interesting book on the current situation of the Arab world and Arab identity; a call for reflection and examination
A quick read, compelling, and very relevant. It contains an introduction by Robert Fisk with the title, "Who killed Samir Kassir?" Kassir was assassinated on June 2, 2005, presumably for his work as a journalist. He died outside his home as a result of a car bomb.
Kassir argues in this book that the Arab world is neither static and unchanging nor regressing towards fanaticism. Not only was there the Islamic civilization's flourishing between the 7th and 11th centuries that was one of the richest periods in human history, but that in more modern times the Arab world has continued to contribute to humanity in ways that should be celebrated, and that this occurred while the Arab world was also changing, adapting, and modernizing.
His book calls on the West to stop controlling and subjugating the Arab region (echoing the period of colonialism/imperialism) and on Arabs to give up a sense of victimhood and/or impending doom and instead "finally see our real history, so that we can then be true to it" (p.92). Kassir writes, "The despairing view of Arab thought and culture as permanently ensnared in conservatism and fanaticism has obscured several phenomena that could prepare a way out of the crisis" (p.87). I think he does a very good job of fairly and accurately portraying the difficulties that have led to the present situation.
Kassir has written a "call to arms" - but in this case, it is a call for thought and examination - on Arab identity: "It is not just the West that needs to re-examine its stance. The Arab world in particular needs to make a profound effort to eradicate the ambiguities that encourage a logic of cultural confrontation" (p.86).
A good quote: "We must not confuse terrorism with resistance, as the West confuses resistance with terrorism" (p.86)
A quick read, compelling, and very relevant. It contains an introduction by Robert Fisk with the title, "Who killed Samir Kassir?" Kassir was assassinated on June 2, 2005, presumably for his work as a journalist. He died outside his home as a result of a car bomb.
Kassir argues in this book that the Arab world is neither static and unchanging nor regressing towards fanaticism. Not only was there the Islamic civilization's flourishing between the 7th and 11th centuries that was one of the richest periods in human history, but that in more modern times the Arab world has continued to contribute to humanity in ways that should be celebrated, and that this occurred while the Arab world was also changing, adapting, and modernizing.
His book calls on the West to stop controlling and subjugating the Arab region (echoing the period of colonialism/imperialism) and on Arabs to give up a sense of victimhood and/or impending doom and instead "finally see our real history, so that we can then be true to it" (p.92). Kassir writes, "The despairing view of Arab thought and culture as permanently ensnared in conservatism and fanaticism has obscured several phenomena that could prepare a way out of the crisis" (p.87). I think he does a very good job of fairly and accurately portraying the difficulties that have led to the present situation.
Kassir has written a "call to arms" - but in this case, it is a call for thought and examination - on Arab identity: "It is not just the West that needs to re-examine its stance. The Arab world in particular needs to make a profound effort to eradicate the ambiguities that encourage a logic of cultural confrontation" (p.86).
A good quote: "We must not confuse terrorism with resistance, as the West confuses resistance with terrorism" (p.86)
August 6, 2017
I wish Samir Kassir had lived to see the wretchedness of Arabs melt away, even if for a very short period, when the Arab Spring exploded in the very streets he described in this book which was written in 2005 assuming no hope existing and none to come.
Alas, Kassir was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut, most think by the Syrian regime that didn't tolerate dissent very well as was shown a few short years later in their brutal response to the dissidents who took to the streets calling for democracy in the Spring of 2011.
Other than that one point which he got wrong, thinking that the Arabs had no earth shattering change to look forward to, the description of the state of affairs is striking and accurate. I have never read about how I FELT better than in these pages and I thank him.
Kassir talks of our wretchedness, about our history and our denial of history, and about our geography. The text, as grim as it is, shows many examples of how things were and can be again good. It tells us of instances in our recent history where we were not bent in despair and not dumb subjects of dictators or religious fanatics. Kassir, the sun of a Palestinian and a Syrian, urges us to remember our Nahda (renaissance for lack of a better word in english) and Tanweer (enlightenment) when Arabs took the best of all worlds, West and East, and drew a picture of how they could have been that was much more beautiful than the dictators and fanatics forced it to become.
Being Arab is a long prose poem, we can't help but have music in our words, that is a vigorously rational yet emotional manifesto of what was and what should be. It touches too many raw nerves only to tell us how they may heal.
I wish Kassir had the chance to live the Arab Spring, at least the bright beautiful days in its beginning when things seemed to be going in a genuinely democratic direction pushed by the people in the streets, before the military and the fanatics and the Mukhabaraat drove it to become a series of civil wars and new dictatorship. I wish I could read what he would have written had he been there.
Alas, Kassir was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut, most think by the Syrian regime that didn't tolerate dissent very well as was shown a few short years later in their brutal response to the dissidents who took to the streets calling for democracy in the Spring of 2011.
Other than that one point which he got wrong, thinking that the Arabs had no earth shattering change to look forward to, the description of the state of affairs is striking and accurate. I have never read about how I FELT better than in these pages and I thank him.
Kassir talks of our wretchedness, about our history and our denial of history, and about our geography. The text, as grim as it is, shows many examples of how things were and can be again good. It tells us of instances in our recent history where we were not bent in despair and not dumb subjects of dictators or religious fanatics. Kassir, the sun of a Palestinian and a Syrian, urges us to remember our Nahda (renaissance for lack of a better word in english) and Tanweer (enlightenment) when Arabs took the best of all worlds, West and East, and drew a picture of how they could have been that was much more beautiful than the dictators and fanatics forced it to become.
Being Arab is a long prose poem, we can't help but have music in our words, that is a vigorously rational yet emotional manifesto of what was and what should be. It touches too many raw nerves only to tell us how they may heal.
I wish Kassir had the chance to live the Arab Spring, at least the bright beautiful days in its beginning when things seemed to be going in a genuinely democratic direction pushed by the people in the streets, before the military and the fanatics and the Mukhabaraat drove it to become a series of civil wars and new dictatorship. I wish I could read what he would have written had he been there.
September 8, 2013
A very profound essay on what the author calls the 'Arab malaise', ie the sense across the Arab world that Arabs are not able to determine their own history. The author, who was assassinated by the Syrian secret police for his role in the March 14th coalition - a coalition that mobilised the Lebanese people against the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.
In support of his thesis Kassir gives a very interesting and accessible summary of Arab cultural and political history within it's geo-political context.
It's one of those books that makes me wants to meet the author - tragically in this case it will never happen.
In support of his thesis Kassir gives a very interesting and accessible summary of Arab cultural and political history within it's geo-political context.
It's one of those books that makes me wants to meet the author - tragically in this case it will never happen.
February 12, 2024
Un libro-manifesto, un grido di libertà e democrazia con la forza di un testamento e la forza visionaria di un inizio.
"Bisogna essersi trovati per una volta con le proprie inquietudini di fronte alle certezze dell'Altro, le sue certezze su di te, per avere la misura di quanto ha di paralizzante uno sguardo del genere."
Consigliato a chi: vuole conoscere, approfondire e urlare la necessità di libertà.
"Bisogna essersi trovati per una volta con le proprie inquietudini di fronte alle certezze dell'Altro, le sue certezze su di te, per avere la misura di quanto ha di paralizzante uno sguardo del genere."
Consigliato a chi: vuole conoscere, approfondire e urlare la necessità di libertà.
January 21, 2024
This took me an unusually long amount of time to read for such a short work, and I think I got about 10% of what I should have out of it. I simply don't have enough background on the historical and political landscape of the region to know what Samir was talking about in much of this book. His observations were interesting, but also confusing for me. I suspect this is a fabulous read for someone more familiar with the topic.
August 4, 2023
Reading this book in 2023, two decades after it was initially published, was a little surreal. It was clearly written with the context of early-2000s Middle East in mind, a book entrenched in the present (of that time). It made me feel like a time traveler from the future, updating Kassir about everything that has happened since 2003, a future he would never be able to see. What have you missed, Kassir? The end of the Iraq war, the Yemen-Saudi War, the Syrian Civil War, the Sudanese Civil War, the Arab Spring, the Lebanese political-economic crisis, the War of 2006, further expansion of settlements into Palestine, the opening up of the Gulf, ISIS. The list is never-ending.
I had conversations with Kassir in my head and in the margins of my copy of the book, disagreeing and agreeing with his sentiments, confirming or rejecting his predictions. Unfortunately for the Arab Malaise, I found the book to be very relatable, even now.
This is the first book for which I immediately felt the inclination to annotate. Kassir’s book switches between more philosophical and topical discussions, and historical scene-setting and context. The sources cited are plentiful, and there are many that piqued my interest and I will pursue further. Kassir’s writing is academic but accesible, getting to the point without too flowery of language, but descriptive enough that even some purportedly intangible ideas and feelings are made clear.
Although very informative, what will really last with me about this book is how it made me feel, and reflect.
Firstly, I have a very unique perspective on the Arab World due to my upbringing. Hearing Kassir vocalize and agree with my feelings and thoughts about the Arab World was very validating, as someone who has always felt a little on the outs, not fully imbued in the Arab World.
Secondly, the main topic of the book (reflected in the title of the chapters) is the “Arab Malaise”. Understandably, Kassir’s perspective of the state and conscious of Arabs in 2003 was very negative and pessimistic. He described feeling stuck, in an inescapable situation. I agreed. But throughout the book, Kassir slowly builds up the feeling of slight optimism, even hope, that things may change. He references the region’s progressive historical eras in the past (specifically emphasizing those AFTER the “Golden Age of Islam”). He draws on those times to encourage the possibility that we can progress again. As he references the qualms and hopes he had for the Arab people retaking their own destiny and changing their victim mentality, I couldn’t help but think of the Arab Spring. I would’ve loved to hear his perspective on on it, in real time. The Arab Spring seemed to be exactly what Kassir was begging for — it was wonderful seeing Kassir referencing all these dictators that I knew in retrospect were deposed of during that time. But we are now in a post-Arab Spring world. And I now know that it was not enough. The Arab Malaise is still alive and well, and the impacts of the Arab Spring have faded. And to see Kassir’s perspective on the Arab mentality of 2003, to truly absorb what mental, cultural, societal barriers we had to overcome to even be able to achieve the Arab Spring, and to see it that it was not enough? It was a very disheartening realization. I don’t know the next time we’ll be able to organize like that en masse again.
And finally, it’s impossible to read any part of this book now without being acutely aware of the fate of its author, assassinated by a car bomb two years after the book was published. It gives every point of optimism in the book a depressing undertone, one that didn’t allow me as a reader to take any optimism seriously. That is not the fault of Kassir. It’s just a somber thought that he was yet another casualty of all the problems he wrote about.
I had conversations with Kassir in my head and in the margins of my copy of the book, disagreeing and agreeing with his sentiments, confirming or rejecting his predictions. Unfortunately for the Arab Malaise, I found the book to be very relatable, even now.
This is the first book for which I immediately felt the inclination to annotate. Kassir’s book switches between more philosophical and topical discussions, and historical scene-setting and context. The sources cited are plentiful, and there are many that piqued my interest and I will pursue further. Kassir’s writing is academic but accesible, getting to the point without too flowery of language, but descriptive enough that even some purportedly intangible ideas and feelings are made clear.
Although very informative, what will really last with me about this book is how it made me feel, and reflect.
Firstly, I have a very unique perspective on the Arab World due to my upbringing. Hearing Kassir vocalize and agree with my feelings and thoughts about the Arab World was very validating, as someone who has always felt a little on the outs, not fully imbued in the Arab World.
Secondly, the main topic of the book (reflected in the title of the chapters) is the “Arab Malaise”. Understandably, Kassir’s perspective of the state and conscious of Arabs in 2003 was very negative and pessimistic. He described feeling stuck, in an inescapable situation. I agreed. But throughout the book, Kassir slowly builds up the feeling of slight optimism, even hope, that things may change. He references the region’s progressive historical eras in the past (specifically emphasizing those AFTER the “Golden Age of Islam”). He draws on those times to encourage the possibility that we can progress again. As he references the qualms and hopes he had for the Arab people retaking their own destiny and changing their victim mentality, I couldn’t help but think of the Arab Spring. I would’ve loved to hear his perspective on on it, in real time. The Arab Spring seemed to be exactly what Kassir was begging for — it was wonderful seeing Kassir referencing all these dictators that I knew in retrospect were deposed of during that time. But we are now in a post-Arab Spring world. And I now know that it was not enough. The Arab Malaise is still alive and well, and the impacts of the Arab Spring have faded. And to see Kassir’s perspective on the Arab mentality of 2003, to truly absorb what mental, cultural, societal barriers we had to overcome to even be able to achieve the Arab Spring, and to see it that it was not enough? It was a very disheartening realization. I don’t know the next time we’ll be able to organize like that en masse again.
And finally, it’s impossible to read any part of this book now without being acutely aware of the fate of its author, assassinated by a car bomb two years after the book was published. It gives every point of optimism in the book a depressing undertone, one that didn’t allow me as a reader to take any optimism seriously. That is not the fault of Kassir. It’s just a somber thought that he was yet another casualty of all the problems he wrote about.
October 18, 2021
It’s alright. A little too conservative for me and I definitely think he was victim to a little bit too much euro-sympathy. I just feel like he lacked the resistance mindset that I think is necessary to really penetrate the colonial mindset and inferiority that is placed on Arab and other colonial peoples.
Decent but too conservative. It reads like a westerner writing about an Other, rather than a post-colonial Arab fighting back against colonialism. Which is disappointing because we need more authentic and angry voices from the post-colonies that don’t make apologies to the west.
His political philosophy is much like Albert Camus, and in the same way as Camus, his humanism and prioritising means over ends runs the risk of keeping the oppressed subjugated by the oppressors.
It’s a dangerous balance, humanism but also the need for liberation, and when non-violent means don’t create the equal and liberated ends I’m not convinced that Kassir’s philosophy will actually hold much weight and be able to actually free Arab people from the yoke of Western domination.
And the whole repetition of malaise was ridiculous and I also just disagree with its premise. Just seems a little colonial and victim-blaming that it’s Arab people’s fault for the situation they are in which I disagree with. I think the fault sits more with the Europeans.
Also the title is very poor, but others have suggested that this is just a bad translation. It should definitely have a different English title though because the book has nothing to do with being an Arab, and instead analyses the Arab ‘malaise’. It focuses on why the Arab world is seemingly so undemocratic and authoritarian.
The introduction by Fisk was poor as well. It really offered nothing.
The book does get better as it goes on after a shaky start.
Decent but too conservative. It reads like a westerner writing about an Other, rather than a post-colonial Arab fighting back against colonialism. Which is disappointing because we need more authentic and angry voices from the post-colonies that don’t make apologies to the west.
His political philosophy is much like Albert Camus, and in the same way as Camus, his humanism and prioritising means over ends runs the risk of keeping the oppressed subjugated by the oppressors.
It’s a dangerous balance, humanism but also the need for liberation, and when non-violent means don’t create the equal and liberated ends I’m not convinced that Kassir’s philosophy will actually hold much weight and be able to actually free Arab people from the yoke of Western domination.
And the whole repetition of malaise was ridiculous and I also just disagree with its premise. Just seems a little colonial and victim-blaming that it’s Arab people’s fault for the situation they are in which I disagree with. I think the fault sits more with the Europeans.
Also the title is very poor, but others have suggested that this is just a bad translation. It should definitely have a different English title though because the book has nothing to do with being an Arab, and instead analyses the Arab ‘malaise’. It focuses on why the Arab world is seemingly so undemocratic and authoritarian.
The introduction by Fisk was poor as well. It really offered nothing.
The book does get better as it goes on after a shaky start.
August 19, 2025
(2.25-2.5) Felt as though Kassir was writing with a Western audience in mind rather than an Arab one. It could be a good intro into the feeling of "malaise" Arabs feel given their geo-political circumstance but, as an Arab, Kassir's description of "malaise" felt very pessimistic and left me dejected about the future of the Arab identity. For a Western audience, it could be an eye-opening read as it confronts how harmful, prolonged Western interference in the Middle East has ultimately led to said feelings of "malaise." Still, the Arab audience is generally aware of their negative feeling stemming from the aforementioned, so it felt a little like beating a dying horse. What I will give Kassir credit for is his discussion of the Nahda (Renaissance) not being an isolated period and his discussion of its compatibility with Islam. Nevertheless, if he had further discussed the possibility of reviving the Nahda into popular thought, he would have aided in shifting the tone from utter hopelessness to optimism.
December 3, 2017
Saw this book in the library and picked up since one of the Greatest journalists name was on the front cover - Samir Kassir.
Some expressions from the book to digest:
" Lack of democracy may not be a specifically Arab problem, but the Arab world is still the only region where virtually every country suffers in this regard".
"The Arab world is the only region on earth where the West has continually acted as if it were the master - and still does today, either directly or through Israel. But this doesn't change the fact that recognizing the threat to the Arab world is not the same as condoning Arab victimhood. None of the major figures of renaissance showed any signs of indulging such a cult, nor the ideologues or practitioners of nationalism. Victims par excellence, the Palestinians avoided it in the past, and continue in a very large degree to do so, even if their situation fosters a propensity among those who helplessly look on to claim such a status".
Some expressions from the book to digest:
" Lack of democracy may not be a specifically Arab problem, but the Arab world is still the only region where virtually every country suffers in this regard".
"The Arab world is the only region on earth where the West has continually acted as if it were the master - and still does today, either directly or through Israel. But this doesn't change the fact that recognizing the threat to the Arab world is not the same as condoning Arab victimhood. None of the major figures of renaissance showed any signs of indulging such a cult, nor the ideologues or practitioners of nationalism. Victims par excellence, the Palestinians avoided it in the past, and continue in a very large degree to do so, even if their situation fosters a propensity among those who helplessly look on to claim such a status".
April 6, 2020
As Hamid Dabashi and most probably many others have also mentioned, the original title of this book may have been more suitable for it to sustain a powerful delivery of the key ideas it initially sought to assert. Samir Kassir writes about the Arab Malaise or le Malaise Arabe - how the "arab" sense of self has come to be reduced to powerlessness, and to being "a lonely pawn on the global chessboard even as the game is being played in your backyard."
If one were to put aside aside Kassir's intellectual background, the book reflects an over-use of essentialising terms that overlook the multiple realities in which a so-called-arab-world exist. While, I can picture such similar writings being produced in Arabic, to speak of a much larger and common reality, that of colonialism and the aftermaths of empire, I would hesitate to take it at face value. With that being said, I think the book is worth a read, critically, with open and curious eyes.
If one were to put aside aside Kassir's intellectual background, the book reflects an over-use of essentialising terms that overlook the multiple realities in which a so-called-arab-world exist. While, I can picture such similar writings being produced in Arabic, to speak of a much larger and common reality, that of colonialism and the aftermaths of empire, I would hesitate to take it at face value. With that being said, I think the book is worth a read, critically, with open and curious eyes.
November 10, 2020
The author’s use of extreme vocabulary makes it difficult to not look at at least 5 words in the dictionary per page. Sometimes you feel like he is really overusing some of the words such as “malaise”and “impasse”. This book really didn’t teach me much. It focuses mainly on all negative aspects of being an arab and how radical Islam and national teleology must be “refuted” in order for us arabs to see better days. It is much easier said than done. Plus the book was written in 2005, so much happened in the ME since that time which unfortunately the author didn’t live to see. The book would’ve been significantly more interesting had the author used simpler choices of words. Even for native english speakers and fluent english speakers, the book is a tough read due to its choice of vocabulary.
July 17, 2024
It's eerie reading this 20 years later... I enjoyed reading it, gives essential context to understand Arab society, which often mirrors my experience of the Balkans (including the overwhelming powerlessness). Rises the question of modernization vs westernization, emphasizing the importance to not default to labeling as imperial dominance the rich cultural and intellectual spread of the european ideas in late ottoman empire and arab world, even though it was an exchange in one direction only.
It also helps explain the positions of progressive arabs who continue to fight against the domination of islamist politics, which can understandably appear strange to some people in the palestine solidarity movement in the west for whom such stances sound too similar to the condescending imperial narrative given by the Zionists and western political elite.
It also helps explain the positions of progressive arabs who continue to fight against the domination of islamist politics, which can understandably appear strange to some people in the palestine solidarity movement in the west for whom such stances sound too similar to the condescending imperial narrative given by the Zionists and western political elite.
April 29, 2022
The author, who has since been assassinated in a car bomb in front of his home, does not mince words in this book, describing the current, sordid state of affairs in each and every Arab nation. He is critical, yet hopeful.
One key takeaway was how in the early twentieth century, many Arab civilizations, mainly in Egypt and the Levant, experienced a form of a renaissance as exposure to works of art from Europe and abroad inspired Arab artists and writers to create works that still stand today as classics, including plays, novels, and paintings. This awakening, as the author calls it, is largely ignored by Arabs today, who spend their time fantasizing about the golden days of the Islamic empire, instead of working to get themselves out of this malaise and into the future.
One key takeaway was how in the early twentieth century, many Arab civilizations, mainly in Egypt and the Levant, experienced a form of a renaissance as exposure to works of art from Europe and abroad inspired Arab artists and writers to create works that still stand today as classics, including plays, novels, and paintings. This awakening, as the author calls it, is largely ignored by Arabs today, who spend their time fantasizing about the golden days of the Islamic empire, instead of working to get themselves out of this malaise and into the future.
July 13, 2025
Ce livre a rejoint des idées qui se sont développées en moi en lisant d'autres livres sur l'histoire du Moyen-Orient au XXème siècle, notamment sur la place de la Nahda et sur la généalogie de la montée du Jihadisme, des idées dont je n'avais pas conscience avant de vraiment m'intéresser à l'histoire de cette région.
Le livre est court et dense. Samir Kassir aborde beaucoup de sujets et mentionne très vite des conclusions qui pourraient mettre beaucoup de temps et de lectures complémentaires à mûrir dans l'esprit du lecteur. Ça laisse sur sa faim le lecteur avide de sources et d'exactitude, mais la qualité de la synthèse et sa pertinence semblent pour moi en valoir la peine.
Le livre est court et dense. Samir Kassir aborde beaucoup de sujets et mentionne très vite des conclusions qui pourraient mettre beaucoup de temps et de lectures complémentaires à mûrir dans l'esprit du lecteur. Ça laisse sur sa faim le lecteur avide de sources et d'exactitude, mais la qualité de la synthèse et sa pertinence semblent pour moi en valoir la peine.
December 25, 2019
"Not only can the current regimes not give, or restore to, their states the ability to take initiative in international affairs; they also forbid their citizens any license - if not to change these regimes, then at least to breathe new life into them through popular participation, or at the very least create a popular solidarity that could defuse any external threat as it arose."
March 30, 2020
Although it is quite short for the immense generalizations made, in no way could I refute against his arguments. I wish it wasn't as short, and definitely wish it was in Arabic as he is addressing the Arabs own self image and understanding of their history, culture, politics and more. Definitely a worth read. Opens more questions than gives answers.
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October 24, 2019Papirbok. Engelsk. Samir Kassir går lettlest, men likevel grundig gjennom arabisk identitet og historie. Veldig bra!
Printed edition. English. Samir Kassir writes easi-to-read, but still thoroughly about Arab identity and history. Very good!
Printed edition. English. Samir Kassir writes easi-to-read, but still thoroughly about Arab identity and history. Very good!
April 18, 2021
Ensaio interessante de um intelectual árabe sobre a fase menos boa que atualmente os povos árabes atravessam. A visão de conjunto não é bonita, mas Samir Kassir termina a sua análise com uma mensagem de esperança.
January 11, 2023
In Being Arab, a thought-provoking assessment of Arab identity, Kassir calls on the people of the Middle East to reject both Western double standards and Islamism in order to take the future into their own hands.
November 30, 2020
Nice book, informative but brief. Made me embarrassed at how shallow my knowledge of history is, but I suppose we can't know everything.
July 28, 2024
Reading the World: Lebanon
May 21, 2023
" Di fatto, il comportamento sociale dei movimenti islamisti, una volta tolto il manto religioso che li riveste, mostra molte analogie con le dittature fasciste"
Le ragioni principali ragioni dell'infelicità araba sono:
- il mancato processo di modernizzazione
- geografica come punti strategici per il commercio x mare inizialmente e per il petrolio poi.
Le ragioni principali ragioni dell'infelicità araba sono:
- il mancato processo di modernizzazione
- geografica come punti strategici per il commercio x mare inizialmente e per il petrolio poi.
October 27, 2020
I thought that Kassir was going to revel greatly in deploring his people's abysmal malaise. But once he said how bad things are, he launched into a passionate review of the whole Arab past, and I was surprised how much hope he has in the power of memory. Kassir argues that the malaise of impotence and rage in Arab society stems from an impoverished self-story. In that truncated tale, the Arab Islamic "nation" was once the light of the world, as its founding fathers established a society of true greatness. Since then, however, it's been downhill all the way to the present state of weakness and depravity. The only way to make the "nation" great again is a complete return to the original practices of Islam's founding fathers, rejecting all innovations that have led the people astray. Does this sound familiar?
In response to this popular tale of moralistic self-loathing, Kassir calls for a bigger story that includes the whole range of accomplishments and setbacks down the centuries under all Arab or Islamic states. He argues that the past efforts in art, literature, republic-building and internationalization have not been failed experiments, but learning experiments. Kassir sees a vast wealth experience to be learned from rather than trashed. His answer to despair is not to dump history, but recall it more fully.
In response to this popular tale of moralistic self-loathing, Kassir calls for a bigger story that includes the whole range of accomplishments and setbacks down the centuries under all Arab or Islamic states. He argues that the past efforts in art, literature, republic-building and internationalization have not been failed experiments, but learning experiments. Kassir sees a vast wealth experience to be learned from rather than trashed. His answer to despair is not to dump history, but recall it more fully.
October 29, 2017
All too often I see westerners like myself on television programmes broadcasting from the cushioned comfort of recording studios in London, New York, Ottawa, Paris or any other of the western capitals. People who pompously pontificate about what 'The West' should do in Palestine, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and other Arab societies. We speak as if we are somehow best placed to lecture Arabs about how their societies should behave while our governments, for the most part, persistently support and prop up the dictators, emirs, princes and kings - those with the whip hand over the majority of Arabs - in the most shameful and hypocritical fashion.
The majority of these people who dare to proclaim about what should be done in the Arab world and, I suspect, the majority of the chattering classes, speak, for the most part, from positions of great ignorance. While some of them may have something of a grasp of Arab history and will present themselves as 'experts' to be consulted, I am fairly sure that they, and indeed I, cannot hope to come close to approximating what it is to be an Arab, What it is to live as an Arab every day without the many comforts we westerners take for granted, without a guarantee of freedom and all too often under the heel of some imperialist boot.
Before we chatterers open our mouths again to wax lyrical about Arab culture or modern developments in the Arab world we should read this book and as many others like it as we can find. And before any of our government spokesmen or official dignitaries dare to lecture Arab societies on how to behave they should zip their lips immediately and learn to listen rather than speak.
The majority of these people who dare to proclaim about what should be done in the Arab world and, I suspect, the majority of the chattering classes, speak, for the most part, from positions of great ignorance. While some of them may have something of a grasp of Arab history and will present themselves as 'experts' to be consulted, I am fairly sure that they, and indeed I, cannot hope to come close to approximating what it is to be an Arab, What it is to live as an Arab every day without the many comforts we westerners take for granted, without a guarantee of freedom and all too often under the heel of some imperialist boot.
Before we chatterers open our mouths again to wax lyrical about Arab culture or modern developments in the Arab world we should read this book and as many others like it as we can find. And before any of our government spokesmen or official dignitaries dare to lecture Arab societies on how to behave they should zip their lips immediately and learn to listen rather than speak.
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