What I’ve learned so far about nation-building in the Middle East

Middle East map by MapCharts.net, under CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED license.

What I’ve learned so far about nation-building in the Middle East:

I’ve often wondered why history is so important to Middle Easterners. To be sure, here in the U.S. as well as in Europe history is also appreciated and studied. But obsession with history takes on several additional layers of importance for Middle East peoples, governments, and…