Iran and the Arab world: two cultures, one civilization

This is quite true in some ways. However, besides the challenge presented by the interaction with Western civilization, we also face some serious questions about our attitude toward our own traditions.

On the other hand, our approach toward the Eastern cultures and civilizations also poses some intellectual questions which require more comprehensive study. Of course, our attitude toward the Arab world is of great significance for a number of reasons.

(1) If the Western or Eastern civilizations are “others” for us, the Arab world is part of “us”. That is to say, unlike our dealings with the West, our relationship with the Arab world is an “intra-group” and “family” relationship.

(2) A deep concept, i.e. the Islamic religion, is the foundation of our relationship with the Arab world.

(3) Iran and the Arab world have a long history of ties, but the Iran–West relationship is not as old.

In addition, several other points should be mentioned.

(A) If we want to interpret the sayings of the existentialist philosophers in accordance with our own concerns, we can say that cultural relations are not a matter of identity but are related to history. That is, one can not accurately define cultural relations without taking history into consideration, and, as said before, Iran–Arab world relations have a long history.

For example, there have been times in history when both Iranian and Arab scholars and scientists made long, arduous voyages to attend scientific or cultural meetings. Members of each nation even learned the other’s language, which is philosophically called the hearth of their being.

Clearly, the current relationship between the Iranian and Arab nations can not be understood without studying history.

One of the main problems identified by the scholars of both cultures is the fact that their intellectuals are not very familiar with their glorious history. Becoming familiarized with this history is the first condition for boosting relations.

(B) Both the Iranian and Arab nations are facing the same questions about how to strike the right balance between the realities of the modern world and the old traditions.

These questions can foster closer ties between these two cultures that are part of a single civilization, Islam. Of course, we can learn some unique cultural points from Eastern civilizations, since we are similar to them and are all part of the Greater Eastern Civilization.

Nevertheless, Iran has more affinities with the Arab world than with the Eastern civilizations. That is to say, if every culture is recognized through some questions and the relevant answers, Iran and the Arab world have many common points. But why?

The Islamic ideology is the foundation of these affinities. Even now, the question of tradition versus modernity is being reflected upon in both cultures and has surprisingly produced nearly identical responses.

(C) The best cultural relations and cooperation are found in the dialogues between the intellectuals of different cultures on common problems. This is also true in the cultural relations between Iranians and Arabs. Yet, one should not neglect the problems this dialogue faces.

Dialogue may seem like a simple process at first glance, yet it is one of the most complicated actions of people. According to many psychologists and anthropologists, there is nothing more complicated than a relationship between two human beings, and the most difficult kind of interaction between two people is dialogue, i.e., verbal communication.

Although Iranians and Arabs have many cultural and social affinities, establishing relations with the “other” is not so easy, even if the “other” is part of “us”, particularly since there have always been some obstacles in this regard, which have their roots in blind prejudices.

Developing a dialogue is ideal, but it requires clear recognition of all the emotional, reactionary, and abstract obstacles. Of course, we must be careful not to mix our love for our country and culture with extremist and illogical jingoistic sentiments.

(D) No optimal cultural relationship is imaginable without a linguistic relationship. Molana Rumi once said that empathy is far better than verbal communication. This is true, but one can not deny that linguistic communication is a necessity for realizing the great goal of empathy.

Therefore, we can not develop Iranian–Arab cultural relations without promoting the Persian language in Arab countries and the Arabic language in the Iranian culture.

We should acknowledge that Iranians have taken measures to achieve this ideal goal, which, although insufficient, are still promising. Now it’s the Arabs’ turn to focus on both the study of the Persian language and the introduction of great Iranian figures to the Arab world.

Achieving cultural empathy definitely requires consensus.

SA/HG

End

MNA