The Middle East, specifically Iraq and the surrounding region has long been referred to as the cradle of civilization for it was here, that due to agricultural abundance and fertile alluvial soil, the first ever urban centers began to form. This is where human civilization as we know it, emerged.
However contrary to how this region should have evolved, owing to its rich history and vast politico-economic potential it remains to date, one of the most disputed and hence unstable regions in the world. In the course of the last century especially, its trajectory has been a dwindling one with numerous wars, interference by non-state actors and foreign powers, propping of Islamist Militia, and worst of all mass civilian displacements and killings. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to call this region, the cradle of conflicts. To understand its unstable past and proposedly similar future it is important to look at the geostrategic location of the region for it is here that the answers to the aforementioned question lie.
The region of the Middle East lies at the junction of three continents namely Europe in the North West, Africa in the South West, and Asia in the East. It thereby provides access to over half of the world and for this reason, even historically it has remained an attraction for many invaders, rulers, and empires. Before the Americas was discovered by Columbus, the Middle East provided vast land and Naval Trade routes that connected the West to the East. The ancient Silk Road of the 15th century ran through present-day Syria to Iraq, all the way to Samarkand (modern-day Uzbekistan), and eventually to Kashgar and culminated in China’s eastern provinces. Ships from ports of East Africa traveled through the Red Sea and the Gulf to reach the shore of the Indian Subcontinent. The vibrancy of the Muslim urban commercial centers like Baghdad and Kufa (Iraq) under the 8th century Abbasid Rule outshone that of the world, making this region a busy thoroughfare for trade cargos and Naval fleets.
Until 1258, the region of the Middle East enjoyed a significant political, economic, and social position in the international arena but it was after the fall of Baghdad in 1258, at the hands of the then rising Mongols that its importance began to crumble. By the early 16th century The Ottomans, who are claimed by some historians to be linked to Mongol bloodlines, had conquered and consolidated Anatolia and set the stage for an Ottoman Turkey. At the peak of their rule, the Ottomans reached Persia, and present-day Iran with the rule extending over much of the Middle East including Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. This was a time of relative stability for the region of the Middle East as the Ottomans had extended a security umbrella to the entire region including Palestine. However, it was not the same as the Middle East under the Abbasid rule, since the core of power had now shifted from Iraq to Constantinople (Istanbul) which had become the torch bearer of the Muslim World.
By the 19th century, the rising power of the British saw the Ottoman Empire’s locus as an obstruction on the way to their largest and most resource-abundant colony, the Indian Subcontinent. To protect trade routes between Britain and India, the British began acquiring safety allegiance from proximal countries including U. A. E and Bahrain. The Suez Canal passing through Egypt also served as a route to the subcontinent. Seeing the Middle East fall into the expanding influence of the British, the Ottomans joined the Central powers in the First World War against the British, a move that proved to lead to its ultimate demise. The defeat of the Central Powers in WW1 also spelled the virtual end for the future of the Middle East which was annexed by the French and British. Under the Sykes-Picot agreement, regions surrounding Palestine were divided among the French and the British, and Palestine itself, carrying immense religious and historical importance was placed under unspecified international administration and it may not be a coincidence that a year after the agreement, in 1917 the British published the Balfour Declaration, calling for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the heart of the Muslim World, Palestine. One may ponder over whether there is a link between Palestine being left unattended under the Sykes-Picot agreement and the Balfour Declaration being announced the following year.
It was around the same time, in 1908 that oil was first discovered in the region. With this development in swing, the long-vested interest of Britain and America found permanent ground in the region and any shred of Muslim Nationalism in the region was simply threatening and hence suppressed. The region was bound to become a playground for the West’s economic and trade-related interests.
Like clockwork, starting from the U.S. Invasion of Iraq, the entire belt of Muslim countries extending from Iraq in the East to Palestine in the West and Libya in the South was plunged into armed conflict. Moreover, the bitter rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia for expanding their regional dominance led to their funding of over 15 jihadist militia groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, a move that exacerbated the security situation in the region as it invited international players to jump into the already complex scenario.
In his book, the Clash of Civilizations, Hunter P. Samuelson writes about the Muslim world not having powerful core states to anchor the Muslim World’s unity like the European Union where countries like France and Germany form the central powerful states that set the political, economic and social precedent for most of the EU. The absence of such a dynamic in the Muslim World is the reason for its disunity and disintegration. But it is important to note that the existence of a Muslim stronghold in the Middle East would prove to be a cul de sac for the Western presence in the region with all their vested economic interests, as it was for much of history.
The geostrategic location and the vast oil reserves of the Middle East serve as the prime reasons for the region’s instability. Not only do these factors attract foreign players but also lead to internal wrangling in the region. While Gaza continues to be pounded by the relentless Israeli bombardment, the region echoes cries of misfortune that have struck it for decades and yearns for the long-lost peace that remains buried under the graves of the people of Gaza.
Noor Humair
The writer is an undergraduate student at the Forman Christian Collage University in Lahore. She is majoring in Economics.