A Comprehensive History of the Middle East: Cyprus Volume

Author: Peng Shuzhi He Zhilong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: A Comprehensive History of the Middle East is a 12-volume series covering the national histories of the Middle East. Each volume focuses on one country or group of countries, exploring both their past and present. Ethnic and religious interactions have long been a core aspect of the history of Middle Eastern civilization. Ethnic and religious conflicts are the primary internal reasons for the instability in the Middle East today. The prominence and persistence of these conflicts in the contemporary Middle East are also due to its role as a focal point for the world's various contradictions and a region where different civilizations converge and diverge. The complexity of ethnic and religious conflicts in the Middle East, from an internal perspective, is primarily manifested in the intricate interweaving of five major ethnic groups and three major religions. The four major ethnic groups—the Arab, Turkish, Persian, and Kurdish—adhere to Islam. However, Islam is characterized by its numerous sects, and the Kurds, who are located adjacent to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria, also involve social and international factors. Although the Jewish people, who adhere to Judaism, are not a numerically dominant group, the establishment of Israel has made them a powerful ethnic group. The Greek Cypriots and the Coptic Egyptians in Egypt, though not large ethnic groups, hold significant positions in their respective countries, with the former being particularly pivotal in Cyprus. The escalation of ethnic and religious conflicts in the Middle East into outright conflicts can be broadly categorized into three types: , interactions between different ethnic groups and different religions. Some of these interactions have become central to Middle Eastern issues, such as the long-standing conflict between the Arab and Jewish Israeli ethnic groups. Others have remained unresolved, like the dispute between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The second type involves interactions between different ethnic groups sharing the same religion. Notable and influential events in this category include the widespread and prolonged conflicts between the Kurds and the Arab, Turkish, and Persian ethnic groups before the Palestinian issue arose; as well as disputes between the Arab and Persian ethnic groups, which even led to war between Iraq and Iran. The third type involves interactions between the same ethnic group with the same religious beliefs. Multiple conflicts and reconciliations among Arab countries all fall under this category. The various contradictions and conflicts arising from ethnic and religious interactions in the Middle East have historical roots, including numerous negative legacies from past interactions. However, the most important and direct external factor is the fallout from the "divide and rule" policy of Western colonialism. This colonial policy has either exacerbated, triggered, or created ethnic and religious tensions, serving as a means for Western powers to maintain their hegemony in the Middle East. Between the 1950s and 1960s, the Middle Eastern system of independent nations was established on the ruins of the Western colonial system. This was a golden opportunity for the Middle East to move toward revival and development. Unfortunately, the nationalism that once played a pioneering and driving role in establishing the Middle Eastern system of independent nations later evolved into ethnic majoritarianism, narrow nationalism, and regional hegemonism. This irrational extremism also spread among religious sects and combined with ethnic conflicts, manifesting as a strong political affinity of religious value systems. The selfish and exclusive pursuit of the interests of one's own ethnic group, along with the emotional, reckless, and fanatical aspects of ethnic and religious negativity, were exploited by political groups or external interference from major powers, leading to the complexity and internationalization of the issues. The newly established Middle Eastern system of independent nations, due to the interplay of internal and external factors, especially in the context of globalization, has become an unstable and fragile system with frequent political shifts. Cyprus, as a member of this system, exhibits both commonalities and uniqueness in the interactions of independent nations with ethnic and religious dynamics. To understand the Cyprus issue, one must view it within the broader context described above to find its place. Its characteristics are historical, international, and long-term. The fundamental and intrinsic tragedy lies in the escalation of nationalism to an extreme due to the lack of a Cypriot national identity. To delve deeply into the ethnic and religious interactions of Cyprus, one must explore the connections and changes in terms of time, space, and human civilization—the three fundamental conditions of civilizational interaction.