Us Shia people are in the news a lot lately. What with the groups and countries that are directly resisting Israel outside of Palestine being Shia, and Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City being Shia as well. And since it's the start of the Islamic Month of Muharram, which is an incredibly important time for us. It's a good time to talk about what that means.
The three month countdown to the book launch officially began two days ago and I wish I had more in the hours in the day to do the novel justice in my marketing efforts. Still it is what it is and Alhamdulillah there is so much that I was able to do in this month.
I was in Saudi Arabia in 1990 when the First Gulf War erupted. While I was never in real danger, I vividly remember, as a 9 year old, crowding into my parent's bedroom and putting on gas masks to ward off any chemical weapons Saddam might have lobbed at Saudi Arabia in retaliation for hosting American bases and troops.
Then, at least, there was a clear justification for the war, Iraq had invaded Kuwait, and the entire world, under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, was united in authorizing the use of force to liberate Kuwait.
In the 35 years since however, the pretexts for wars in West Asia, by the West, have grown increasingly flimsy, and yet the war drums never fail.
The reason why seems obvious to me.
I think it is safe to say that most people who grow up in the West have a negative bias towards Iran. This is neither a good thing or a bad thing. Being biased is just a core part of being human.
The problem comes when we treat our biases as conclusions instead of the first reaction that they actually are
Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park is an incredibly satisfying combination of spy intrigue and rumination on the struggle immigrants face with finding identity and meaning while navigating different cultures.