Redrawing the Middle East

The Armed Forces Journal has this to say about redrawing the boundaries of the Middle East. American armchair ethnology. Look into it.

Nobody in their right mind could believe that redrawing International Boundaries in modern times could be anything but bloody. It does, however, reinterate just how fluid national (and individual) identities can be. The creation of National myths seeks to reinforce the collective identity, and gives citizens something to believe. For example, during the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi government hired actors to grant 'visions' of the Twelfth Imam to troops, boosting morale. Soldiers on both sides were Shia.

Wahhabi Islam emanating from Saudi Arabia is changing traditional muslim identities the world over. Hajjis returning to their homelands bring with them ideas and concepts from the Holy Lands, acting as 'memetic fountains'. Traditional Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia is gradually being eroded by Meccan Islam. In Pakistan and India, Sufism is being denounced as too soft and theologically shaky, and the swift adoption of Wahabism. In Kashmir, where the purdah was restricted to upper class urban muslims AND hindus, the hijab has made swift inroads.

Petro dollars will do that to you.

Addendum: Steve Pinkler of Harvard on the evolutionary psychology of religion. Gene Expression also has something to say on the matter.

The Silence of the Lambs Genes

Gene Silencers get something to shout about! RNA Silencing has won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Medicine!!

The discovery of the RNAi machinery has been revolutionary in the field of genetics, and was expected to win a Nobel soon. For an overview of the RNAi mechanism, read this post on one of my favourite blogs, Gene Expression.
For an animated tour of the RNAi mechanism, see here.
A documentary on the world of RNA silencing can be seen here.

P.S: Jyoti, if you're reading this.... TREAT TREAT!!