My Guantanamo Diary

Torture, sadness, and loneliness are three words that can describe the daily thoughts of the Afghan detainees while they were being held in Cuba unjustly. Mahvish Rukhsana Khan explored the detainees’ lives thoroughly and believed that it was absurd that some of those detainees were being treated like animals. The case of the pediatrician, Ali Shah Mosovi, and the eighty-year-old man, Haji Hustrat Khan were incredibly despiteful. Some of these men were driven to commit suicide because of the daily abuse that they went through. Mistaking them for terrorists, the American military made their life impossible.

Even though the book is about the tortured detainees, it describes in great detail some of the Middle Eastern countries that the author visited. It gives a very good description of the amazing views and the cultures that the author learned from. This book can be used as a religious and cultural source. It teaches about the Islamic religion and about many of the Muslims’ values. The author also described in depth the role of women in Islam through the book. It is said that “women are viewed as fragile creatures that need to be protected” (Khan 113), but at the same time, a woman might be killed if she dishonors her family or brings shame to it. Most of them have arranged marriages and marry at a young age. It is interesting how one can compare and contrast Islam and American cultures. One of the detainees was amazed at the fact that Americans drank lots of alcohol and that some people met their spouses online. The American lawyer also seemed to be fascinated about the fact that some Muslims have polygamous relationships. Most men in Afghanistan have multiple wives and that is normal for them. It was entertaining to have read about the Middle Easter cultures from another point of view. The author went in depth explaining her diary entries about what she went through in Afghanistan and how she put her life in danger in order to collect data for her case. Hopefully the American media will not try to cover future cases from Guantanamo Bay. After all, everyone looks out for themselves. That is why is good to hear both sides of the story.

All the Shah's men

All the Shah’s Men is a combination of a history book and a novel. It is quite a thriller full of suspense. It teaches the people who are unaware of the CIA/American intervention in the Middle East Government. The book also teaches a lot about Iranian history. Iran is a country full of stories. Many things happened where jealousy and revenge has been involved. Iran also tends to keep things in the family. As of Reza Shah, he left his unfinished business to his son, Mohammad Reza Shah. Unfortunately, Reza Shah did not exactly follow his father’s footsteps. Reza Shah was copying Ataturk. He wanted a change. This was a bad decision because the people did not agree with his changes. He forced individuals to do unwanted things and the people revolted.

Kinzer did an amazing job writing this book. All The Sha’s Men educates the people who are unaware of these happenings. It is a great way to learn about Iranian history. Kinzer said in an interview once that “there is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know”. When it comes to Iran, oil is the word. Iran had an immense oil wealth, and the nationalization of the oil industry caused Britain’s anger. It is said that Britain involved the United States and the U.S is still paying the price of playing the wrong cards with Iran. The United States and many other countries depend on Iran for oil. The United Stated decided to take the chance to overthrow a government and to get involved with outsiders. Maybe The U.S thought that they could end communism in Iran; or maybe the government wanted to obtain some of the wealth that belonged to Iran.

World War 1

The war to the throne was shot in the Serbian government when Austria declared war with Serbia. World War 1 was truly a world war. The Germans invented the phrase. They understood that the war was being waged among colonial empires. Empires depend on their colonial possessions. World War 1 was the single most important event in the modern Middle East. It brought a political order which has lasted until today.

At the end of the war, the end of the Ottoman Empire came about. There was no longer Arab or Turkey nationalism. As a result of the collapse of the Ottoman nationalism, individual countries formed their own nations. Many things happened after that. Zionism was created and the Jews migrated to Palestine and then the Arab-Israeli conflict began.

Imperialism, nationalism, and reform

Imperialism, nationalism, and reform had different impacts on the Ottoman, Qajar, and Mohammad Ali Pasha’s dynasties during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Nationalism brought drastic changes to the Empire. Nationalism was necessary for the Turkish people. It was a good Idea because it gave the people the sense of importance that they did not have. However, nationalism changed everything for the bad.

When The Ottoman Empire felt weak and wanted to expand, it turned to imperialism. The new era of the Ottoman Empire was about imperialism and about becoming strong and getting things back to the way they were. Midhat Pasha was the chief engineer of the Ottoman intrigue in1876. He along with the educated people did constitutional movements. He formed the committee of union and progress also known as CUP. The leaders of constitutional movements wanted a bigger role. The constitutional movements brought a change in the political culture of the Middle East. Ideology became a foundation for the new era. Mass politics were embodied and spread.

Problems in the empire

There were many problems in the Ottoman Empire in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. One of them was during Mahmet Ali Pasha’s term when Egypt was going through financial problems. Mahmet Ali Pasha wanted to monopolize. He sent his army down south to obtain gold and slaves. His son Ibrahim led an expedition into Syria. During this time, direct taxation was introduced to Egypt. Also the Treaty of Balta Liaman was signed in 1838. This created british monopolies in Persian territories.

Because Egypt was going through a depression, Pasha turned to cash crops. He began developmentalism to strengthen Egypt’s role. In order to do that, he needed a better army, but in order to have it he needed money. In order to get money he turned to cash crops. These were administered by the tax farmers. They were allowed to have land. They could also collect the products from the land, as long as they paid tax to the government. The tax farmers did not want to pay the taxes, and as a consequence Pasha eliminated them. He invited them for dinner at his house and he served them their last and poisonous meal. He killed them all and confiscated their land. Women were forced to work in factories and started to produce cotton. Cotton became both a blessing and a curse.

How Europe impacted the empire

There were various reactions of the peoples of the Middle East to Western incursion. This brought change. Some people agreed with these changes, and some people disagreed. Most were not accepting the changes in the government. People like the citizens, the janissaries, and the government officials reformed; they thought those changes were unfair.

These changes were mostly in the tulip period in 1718.The period was given that name because tulips had become popular in Europe. Turkey was mimicking Europe. They wanted to be like them. Turkey was the primary source of tulips, and the flowers became popular among the elites in the Ottoman Empire. The empire was becoming westernized in the process. Ahmet the third was the sultan at the moment, and he too, loved tulips.

Sultan Ahmet send an ambassador named Mehmet to France to study Europe. He returned with new ideas. He said that France is beautiful and the Ottomans became attracted to Europe because of his comments. The elite became attracted to manners. They learned about the printing press. Muteferrika wrote a book and made 17 copies in a printing press. The books referred to the life in Europe and the elite read them. While some people were experimenting the tulip period, some were becoming too poor.

Napoleon's quest

There were many the difficulties faced by the Middle Eastern empires in adapting to the intellectual, technological, economic, political and social challenges presented by the West in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of them were difficult to overcome, but everything happens for a reason and things worked out for the best. The problems faced by the Middle Eastern empires were caused by the strength and dreams of others.

The Middle Eastern empires had difficulties adapting to the intellectual changes introduced by the West. The one man whose dreams were big enough to cause such controversy and make such big changes was Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was leading an expedition from France to Egypt from 1798 to 1801. The conquest of Egypt was part of the Arab-Islamic expansion.

Napoleon’s objective was to raise the French flag in Egypt and to rule like a king. Unfortunately he met with the Mamelukes and fought the battle of the Pyramids. The Mamelukes were defeated by Napoleon’s Army and that was the fact that convinced the people of Egypt that there would be a new conqueror in the area. The Egyptians were scared, but Napoleon’s conquest brought something more than just stressful days and scary nights to the Egyptians.

Napoleon’s army was made with more than soldiers. The group of people who traveled with him were scholars. He brought engineers, scientists, mathematicians, artists and many more. The purpose of these scholars was to study Egypt. They were there to study the enemy and learn all their techniques so they can conquer them. The scientists studied the pyramids; they considered every monument possible to make their initial plan work. They discovered the Rosetta stone, which has helped to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The scientists also studied the Mummies. Napoleon brought reform to the Egyptian villagers. He took over the education system and made the Egyptians learn French. They had to speak three languages, which were: Arabic, English and now French. His scholars studied Egypt so in depth that when they went back to France, they already had twenty two volumes of big books. They named the book collection The Description de Egypt. The idea of reform came then to Egypt.

Forgotten fire

I loved the Forgotten Fire. It was heartbreaking, interesting and historical. It was shocking to find out about the Armenian genocide. I did not learn about it before.

This book can be used as a source, as a way to always remember the Armenian holocaust, as a way to remember what the Ottoman Empire was about, and as a piece of literature that can never be forgotten. It was such a heart breaking historical fiction. Every word that was said by that Armenian orphan was somewhat inspiring. The author did an excellent job putting this book together. Any book that takes 10 years to be written deserves an applause.

The Janissary Tree

Reading the Janissary tree was quite an adventure. I enjoyed the book very much and I had fun reading it. The book was very entertaining and funny. Jason Goodwin did a great job on this book. There were many things that I liked and some things that I did not like. I liked the style in which the story was written, but I did not like the fact that Mr. Goodwin used too many Turkish terms because someone who is not in a history class would not be able to understand it. I believe the book great source to know about what happened to the Janissaries and what was happening in Istanbul. It is also an easy way to remember important facts about the Ottoman Empire.

I believe that the revolts of the Janissaries could have been avoided. I also believe that the Sultan believed a little too much in his soldiers and that if he had been more careful, the Janissary problem would not have happened. The Sultan should have had a plan B in case something happened. The Tanzimat changed the Ottoman Empire completely. Some call it the decline of the Ottoman Empire , but I call it modernization.

The red apple review

I liked The Red Apple. It was a bit confusing at first , but the information that we learned in class about the Janissaries helped me a lot. The story was very touching and sentimental.The final chapters of the book were frustrating to read because Jonathan Levitan could have made a better ending. He could have talked about what happened to Manuel after the war and what were his plans for the future. He could have also talked about Manuel’s mother or what happened when Mahmut’s wife found out about Mahmut’s death. The book was interesting for the most part. It was interesting to learn about the Janissaries in a less boring way. It was interesting to read about the life of the boy who turned into a man and fought for what he wanted. Even though he fought for what his dreams we cannot be sure that those were actually his dreams and not Manhmut’s dreams. In one of the chapters Mahmut told Ibrahim about the battles that he fought when he was younger. He also told him to focus on the red apple which was Constantinople because it had always been his dream to obtain it. Manny people might say that it was unfair for the young boys to be taken away from their parents and turned into a Janissary, but in Manuel’s case it was not. When Manuel was living with his mother he was very thin; he did not eat much. When he became a Janissary he began to eat fancy foods. He learned Arabic and he became educated. It might sound harsh, but if Manuel had stayed with his mom he would not have any type of education and would not know more than what the other kids in the village knew. In the end, he became the man that he is now because he became a respected Janissary.

Ottoman Empire and Shafavid Empire

First of all I would like to say that I was amazed by the beauty of the Middle East. The beauty of the Topkapi Palace blew my mind. The Ottoman empire from Constantinople and the Safavid empire from Persia have both differences and similarities .Both the Ottoman and the Safavid Empire have great architecture in its buildings. They both share the love for art, music, culture and delicious food. They share a wonderful religion and religious practices. The biggest and most important difference between these two groups is that the Ottomans belong to the Sunni group and the Safavids belong to the Shi’ite group. The Ottomans always worried because the Safavids have excellent fighting skills and they could take power anytime. A series of battles was fought between these groups. They fought over land, territories, authority and prestige. Even though the Sunni and the Shi’ites share a religion they are both very different. The Shi’ites believe that their ruler must be a descendant of Muhammad, but the Sunnis were more open minded and they do not believe that. Today the Sunnis and the Shi’ites have not united and worked together. These two groups can overcome a lot and make Islam better.

Empire of faith and others

It is true that every head is a world and that everyone thinks differently. As I was watching the film Empire of faith I began to think that I would like to visit Mecca one day. It looks beautiful. Islam is not so different from my religion which is Christianity. I liked the fact that the Qur'an remains pure in its original language unlike many religious books that have been translated in many languages and lost their authenticity.Even though I understood the film I did not understand why Muhammad's face was covered in the film. I admire him for being so brave and fighting for his religion. It was very interesting to learn about how the Islamic religion spread. I also liked learning about the Ottoman empire and the Janissaries. I also have been reading The Red Apple and and I have one question: If the Janissaries were not allowed to be the only son of a widow, why was Manuel taken?

My Fist Blog

Hey everyone,

My name is Avril Guzman. I am a freshman at Manhattanville college . I grew up in the Dominican Republic and moved to Yonkers about a year ago. I fell in love with Manhattanville so I decided to study here. This is my first blog for the modern Middle East and North Africa history class. I am very excited to be in this class because I took a class named World religions last semester and I saw the middle east from a different perspective and I want to know more about it. I really liked the way Professor Metcalf teaches.I hope I get to meet everyone soon and see you guys in class!!!