| English orientalist historian Date of Birth: 25.01.1926 Country: Great Britain |
Elie Kedourie, a British historian of the Middle East, was born in Baghdad, Iraq, to an Iraqi Jewish family. Raised in the Jewish quarter, he attended the École Normale Israélite Orientale (Alliance Israélite Universelle) primary school and later the Baghdad Jewish high school, Shammash. Kedourie went on to pursue his undergraduate studies at the London School of Economics (LSE).
Kedourie's doctoral dissertation, later published as "England and the Middle East," was critical of Britain's role in Iraq. Denied a DPhil from the University of Oxford, it was eventually published in 1956. The dissertation accused British policymakers of supporting Arab nationalism and depicting T.E. Lawrence in an unflattering light. Kedourie's criticism extended to the imposition of an "assertively Arab nationalist regime" on Iraq's diverse population. Despite refusing to make revisions requested by one of the examiners, Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Kedourie displayed "considerable courage," according to American historian Martin Kramer.
Kedourie's personal experiences in Iraq shaped his perspectives. From its first king, Faisal I, to the present, Iraq's identity was defined as Islamic and Arabic, leaving Kedourie, as an Iraqi Jew, feeling alienated. He saw the growth of nationalist movements in the region as a regression towards autocratic tendencies. Kedourie criticized many Western Orientalists for romanticizing the Arab world and portraying it as an innocent victim of Western imperialism.
In 1953, Michael Oakeshott brought Kedourie back to LSE. In 1964, he founded and edited the academic journal Middle East Studies. His 1960 book, "Nationalism," prompted responses from fellow LSE scholar Ernest Gellner in "Thought and Change" (1964) and "Nations and Nationalism" (1983). Kedourie challenged Marxist interpretations of history and nationalism, arguing that nationalism had turned the Middle East into a "jungle of tigers."
In 1970, Kedourie criticized Arnold J. Toynbee in the essay "The Chatham House Version," holding him partly responsible for Britain's abdication of responsibility in the Middle East. Kedourie argued that the British Empire, far from being a negative force, had brought stability and progress. He maintained that the decline of empires had led to chaos and conflict as nationalistic movements competed for dominance. Kedourie saw Toynbee's work as denying the "civilizing role" of the British Empire and whitewashing the violent tendencies of Third World nationalists.
Kedourie viewed nationalism as divisive and argued that its introduction to the Middle East had been disastrous. He challenged Israeli historian Ephraim Karsh's claim that the Ottoman period was characterized by peaceful coexistence, citing examples of violence and unrest.
In his 1976 book, "In the Anglo-Arab Labyrinth: The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence and its Interpreters, 1914-1939," Kedourie argued that the alleged promise of a Middle Eastern empire to Sharif Hussein of Mecca by British High Commissioner in Egypt Sir Henry McMahon was a myth. He asserted that British policymakers in the interwar period had seized upon the Arab nationalist narrative to avoid honoring their written commitments to the French and Zionists.
In a 1977 column in The Times Literary Supplement reviewing Alistair Horne's book "A Savage War of Peace," Kedourie strongly condemned Horne's apologetic stance towards terrorism. Kedourie denounced those Western intellectuals who justified acts of terrorism committed by Third World revolutionaries. He criticized French historian Charles-Robert Ageron for sympathizing with the National Liberation Front (FLN) in Algeria, arguing that the violent and repressive nature of the FLN denied it any moral legitimacy.
Elie Kedourie's work has been influential in shaping historical debates about the Middle East, nationalism, and terrorism. His critical perspective on Arab nationalism, the British Empire, and Western Orientalism has generated significant controversy and has contributed to a more nuanced understanding of the region's history and politics.