By Phyllis Chesler

Who can understand Balkan history–that cursed region whose fiery nationalisms led to World War One? Not I. East Europeans remember how especially brutal Muslim Nazi- and Arab-empowered soldiers were during World War Two. Yes, there once were some pockets of European-style assimilation and sophistication among Caucasus-based Muslims, Jews, and Christians in the region. Has anyone read the incomparably charming and popular novel, Ali and Nino: A Love Story written by the very Jewish Lev Nuissimbaum whose pen name was Khurbain Said? The romance captured everyone’s longing for operatic harmony between Christians and Muslims. (For the Jews, it was always more complicated). Tom Reiss has written a must-read biography of Nuissembaum titled The Orientalist: Solving The Mystery of A Strange and Dangerous Life. … (Continue reading…)

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© 2008 Phyllis Chesler. This article was originally posted on Chesler Chronicles. You are free to copy, distribute and transmit this work, but you may not alter or transform it. You must attribute this work to the author.

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Related: Islam, Europe, Balkans, Judaism, Christianity, History

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