Arab-Iranian Relations

Haseeb, Khair el-Din (ed.). Arab-Iranian Relations. Beirut, Lebanon: Center for Arab Unity Studies, 1998. 564 pp.

Arab-Iranian Relations is a comprehensive work edited by Professor Khair el-Din Haseeb, the Director-General of the Center for Arab Unity Studies (CAUS). This book is a collection of the papers presented at the CAUS-organized seminar on "Arab-Iranian Relations: Present Trends and Future Prospects" held in Doha (Qatar 11-14 September 1995) and hosted by the University of Qatar.

This book examines the economic, political, educational, and strategic dimensions of Arab-Iranian ties. Twenty-seven Arab and Iranian scholars discussed thirteen major topics: historical ties, current situation and prospects for development, mutual awareness between the two nations, the political and media message of governments and elites and their impact on their relations, their images of each other in their school textbooks, the status of women, border and territorial disputes, the Kurdish question, the Palestinian question, comparative study of civil society, their relations in context of international relations, the Middle East political order, and the place of Arab-Iranian ties in the Islamic world framework.

This anthology surveys the dynamic Arab-Iranian ties through a number of significant events in the last two decades, including the Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, the demise of the USSR, the Gulf War, the diminishing oil revenues, and the growing domestic discontent within these states against the traditional economic and political fabric of the society. These events led such states, mostly rich in oil, to prioritize their budget expenditures for the first time. Since most regional states cannot afford both an expensive arms race along with growing social expenditures, they have arrived at the conclusion that cooperation is a mutually advantageous policy option. Thus, the combination of national and international factors has led to the shift in the regional political environment towards more cooperation. This shift requires a better understanding of the Arab-Iranian ties in terms of theory and policy areas, which this text addresses.

Moreover, this work is significant not only due to the quality of essays completed by a variety of well-qualified Arab and Iranian scholars, but also since its publication coincides with a turning point in the Arab-Iranian relations, which requires studies that can put in perspective the general context of such a relationship. An extraordinary event in Arab-Iranian relations occurred in May 1999, when President Khatami became the first Revolutionary Iran's head of state to make an official tour of Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. This reviewer personally experienced the changing tide in the Arab-Iranian political environment in the Gulf during a residency at the Arab Research Center in Kuwait last summer. The Arab media was closely and enthusiastically following Khatami's visit in detail. The Arab media coverage contrasted sharply with that of the Western media, which barely covered this event and has often emphasized a rather distorted perception of Arab-Iranian ties based mainly on a historical rivalry. On the whole, Arab media presented a positive picture for at least two reasons. First of all, Arabs were impressed with Khatami's fluency in Arabic, which he used to communicate with his hosts. From the Arab perspective, this was a break with the past since previous Iranian leaders had conducted their communication in Persian or English. Secondly, Khatami charmed his hosts with accommodating speeches, which promoted regional cooperation and portrayed Arab-Iran ties as special.

Likewise, most book contributors treat the Arab-Iranian ties as a distinct one since beyond the geographic proximity and common interests, there is an Islamic civilization which bonds them together and to which both Arabs and Iranians have made major contributions throughout history. Thus, one strength of this work is that it deals with a significant issue-Arab-Iranian relations-that requires new thinking in the post-Cold War and Gulf War eras. Another strength is that it entails contributions by a range of scholars who enriched this work by presenting diverse perspectives that complement one another in addition to providing a contrast. This leads to another strength, which is an overall balanced perspective; the editor has done an excellent job of dividing the book into thirteen parts based on major topics, each of which is covered by essays from both Arab and Iranian experts. Finally, the essays are easy to read, indicating a professional editing job. However, no work is flawless and can certainly be improved. The one major weakness is the lack of a section (e.g., introduction) where a comparison and contrast among the contributions are made and that puts each contribution in a general theoretical or methodological framework to provide the reader with the big picture before he/she is bombarded by detailed analysis of each contributor. In sum, I recommend this work, despite such a shortcoming because it is a comprehensive and timely publication, which fills a gap in the literature in the English language.