Readings by Dr. Salim Tamari

The first article I read was about the nearly forgotten writer Isaq Shami.  This article brings to light a topic not really discussed in the Armstrong book; that the words “Jew” and “Arab” are not exactly mutually exclusive.  In fact, it seems that the use of these terms to designate two distinct ethnic identities is a relatively new phenomenon.  When, where, and how this changed seems a bit contested, but the post- WWII Zionist movement was a major contributor as to how this would play out.  Shami’s work must be appreciated within the context in which he wrote: a world in which Jews and Arabs were one and the same people, not merely two peoples with a common ancestor.

The reading entitled “Lepers, Lunatics, and Saints” taught us about another important person of that past that we have not likely heard of: Dr. Tawfiq Canaan.   In the years after the Palestinians were expelled from the newly-founded Israel, Dr. Canaan proved to be more than a leprosy doctor.  It was interesting to see how he and his contemporaries sought to document as much Arab/ Palestinian culture as possible, but even more interesting to see how they sought to legitimize their way of life and belief systems for the Western world.  Zionist groups had the advantage here; they could establish a religious connection with the Christian West by portraying for them a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  Canaan’s work, on the other hand, had the challenge of trying to show the ingenuity of a culture that was beginning to be undermined by modern Western ways of life.  The things that Canaan an others like him have accomplished is impressive, and I am surprised I have not heard his name before.