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Bernard Lewis: The Great Scholar of the Middle East Predicted Its Recent Convulsions

(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Bernard Lewis died Saturday at age 101. Born in London, Lewis served in the British army in World War II. He devoted most of his life to the study of Middle Eastern languages, religion and history, with a particular focus on the interaction of Islam and the West. Moving to Princeton University in 1974, his deep learning helped him to foresee and explain the turmoil that has dominated the Middle East in recent decades. His books were especially valuable after 9/11 in explaining what animated radical jihadists. Though Jewish and a friend to Israel, Lewis was also deeply sympathetic to Arabs who had to live under fanatic or dictatorial rule. By 2010 he was predicting that Turkey under Erdogan would turn to Islamic rule while Iranians would tire of political Islam and embrace secular nationalism. So far he's been right about Turkey.
2018-05-21 00:00:00
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