Peace Be Upon You
by Zachary Karabell
Published by Knopf
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Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali
Subtitled: Fourteen Centuries of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Coexistence in the Middle East
Peace Be Upon You surveys Muslim history from the seventh century to the present day. As the title suggests, Karabell focuses on those historical episodes, and where pluralistic society is highlighted, there is peaceful co-existence among people of different religions, and genuine religious tolerance. Woven into the narrative is Karabell’s interpretation of the events and the reader is reminded to view these events not from the twenty-first century perspective, but from the perspective of the period.
In the introduction, Karabell states that “… the pages that follow present stories of both conflict and corporation.” As a survey, it is necessary to focus only on the highlights of the era. The issue becomes deciding which events merit representing that era and here seeps the narrator’s bias. Karabell’s bias minimizes the role of religious doctrine as a driver for violence, and this view may be regarded as understating the rational for conflict in some eras.
The work explores primarily Muslim societies for examples of co-existence. This may be due to its scope. Examples are non-Muslim societies, where religious tolerance was the norm, are not given much exposure. Hence, the Norman king Roger II is not given a lot of exposure.
Civil society is composed of non-governmental organizations. These organizations have molded their respective society’s outlook and in turn shaped official policies. In understanding religious tolerance, this aspect needs to be more fully explored. While there are some examples (such as the Order of Cluny), the influence of the Ottoman guilds or contemporary NGOs (such as AKDN) is not thoroughly explored.
Peace Be Upon You seems to have two objectives. The first is to convey the message that we need to live in peace with other societies that are difference from our own. The second is that history is complex and contains examples of peace as well as conflict. How we choose to look at it defines our present attitude, and shapes future events. In achieving these objectives, Karabell does an excellent job. In his words: “Peace is woven in our collective past; it is there to be seen in our messy present; and it will be there in or shared future.”
Armchair Interviews says: Peace be upon you.