Insights into the Middle East
How did we get here? Where could this conflict lead us next?
Host Fr. David Convertino, OFM, welcomes Rev. Elias D. Mallon, SA, STL, PhD to Friar Time.
On March 21, Franciscan TV’s popular discussion show, Friar Time, welcomed Rev. Elias D. Mallon, SA, STL, PhD to get his uniquely informed insights into the Middle East. Rev. Elias is a Catholic priest and member of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement who has been engaged in the Christian-Roman Catholic-Islamic dialogue locally, nationally, and internationally for 40 years. He has published two books and numerous articles on Islam and the Christian-Muslim dialect. Rev. Elias is presently the assistant to the president of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a faith-based humanitarian aid organization, as well as a pontifical organization.
“Elias, welcome,” began Friar Time’s host, Fr. David Convertino, OFM. “So many people think that the Middle East conflict just began recently, but historians often trace today’s tension back to events like the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the drawing of borders after World War I. How much of today’s violence do you see is rooted in those 20th century decisions?”
“Almost all of it,” answered Rev. Elias. “And it’s probably deeper and more complicated and more interjoined than people realize. I remember when I was in college, sometimes we would get called to help with firefighting and with forest fires. One of the things I learned about that I didn’t know is called a root fire. And that’s where the roots are burning and not the tops of the trees. And the flames can pop up anywhere. You think it’s out, but it’s not. The Middle East is like a root fire. That you see something, violence in northwestern or northeastern Iraq, and you see violence in Gaza. And you don’t think they’re connected. They ultimately are.”
“What’s this underlying conflict that is causing all this?” asked Fr. David.
“It’s non-responsive governments all around,” replied Rev. Elias. “It’s repressive governments all around. There is no sense of cohesion, social cohesion, or political cohesion in the countries of the Middle East. They’re all artificial constructs. None of those countries existed before World War I. They don’t have a sense of cohesion. You’re a Sunni, you’re a Shia, you’re a Maronite, you’re a Druze, you’re Syrian or Lebanese—the identities are more parochial. There’s no sense of a national identity except in Iran. In Iran, there is a clear sense of a national identity.”
Read more of Fr. David and Rev. Elias’s conversation about Nationalism in this month’s article, “Franciscan Perspectives: Insights into the Middle East.”