ured successful strategy with regard to the Arab and Muslim region. Reading these pages points both to the need to recognize the justified passing of the democratic nation-state ideal in the region and the possibilities for multi-religious tolerance there, however remote. - Eden Naby, cultural historian and author of The Assyrians of the Middle East: The History and Culture ... Read moreof a Minority Christian Community This excellent work examines a wide range of subjects to help general readers understand the complexities of the Middle East. The vision the author offers shows his in-depth acquaintance with general Semitic studies, which allows him to provide the reader with a historical, social, and cultural perspective, thus converting this contribution into a highly rich guidebook for Western readers. - Efrem Yildiz, Professor of Hebrew and Aramaic Studies, University of Salamanca, Spain Utilizing a superb systematic approach of material culture and drawing on personal experience, Tomass weaves a well framed and engaging narrative of the Syrian conflict through a multi-disciplinary lens. His theory and analysis of religious/sectarian identity and its role and usage by communities and elites, internally and externally, and throughout the historical continuum of Syrian history, finally elucidates a feasible alternative to the overly simplistic and romanticized assumption of laying the blame solely at the foot of external actors. He grants the people of Syria themselves the agency of possibility but also culpability in the current state of unrest. - Sargon Donabed, Associate Professor of History, Roger Williams University, USA Show Less