Awash in the unfiltered glut of information on the Middle East from the commercial television networks — “the more you watch, the less you know”, — do you sometimes feel overwhelmed? Are your dreams haunted by hybrid, mutant “Pakistinians?” Don’t know the Haram al-Sharif from Omar Sharif? Embarrassed to say that you’ve reached adulthood and still don’t know a “fatwa” from a “mufti?” Do you think that Iran is just Iraq with a typo? Not at all, you might say. Iranians are Persians and Iraqis are Arabs. Well, except for the Kurds, — who are neither Arabs nor Persians, — though they live in both Iraq and Iran, — and in Turkey, too, — though the Turks aren’t Arabs or Persians or Kurds. But at least they’re all Muslims, right? Well, except for that Sunni/ Shia thing. Now, to be honest, the average American couldn’t tell a Sunni from a Shia if his life depended on it. The thing is, one day, it just might.

We’re told that, in war, we should know our enemy. I would add that, in war, we should also know our friends, as well as ourselves. In today’s Middle East, we have both friends and enemies. Among the latter, some are mortal threats, some lesser threats and some who are no more than blustering nuisances. Among the friends, some in fact embrace our national ideals, though we often alienate them with misguided policies. While some other “friends” fervently embrace our money but are daily using it to undermine our ideals. In these anxious times, we can’t afford not to know who is who.

Copiah-Lincoln Community College is here to help. We will be offering two non-credit, special interest classes designed to lift the fog a bit. First, “A Historical Overview of Islam” (Tuesdays, 6 to 7 p.m., Aug. 28-Sept. 25) will attempt an objective look at the origins and development of the Muslim faith within its appropriate historical and comparative context.

Among the many points to be covered, did you know that veiling for women is not mandated in the Quran, and in most Muslim countries is not a legal requirement? That historically, anti-Jewish persecution was far worse in the Christian world than in the Islamic. That, however, in present day Saudi Arabia (our “friend”) eighth-grade textbooks teach that “the apes are the Jews, while the swine are the Christians?” That, though, recent polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Muslims endorse the doctrine of defensive jihad as spelled out in the Quran, but condemn terrorist attacks on civilians as contrary to that teaching? And so, in sum, did you know that despite the propaganda distributed and the genuine horrors committed by an extremist minority, there is no boogeyman named “Islam” scheming to devour our children?

But, you might ask, why then is the Islamic heartland in such turmoil today, and why are we the focus of so much of its anger? The second class, “The History of the Modern Middle East” (Tuesdays, 6 to 7 p.m., Oct. 2-Dec. 4) will try to explain, concentrating on the last century of events and their role in fostering the present discontent. As you’d expect, we will cover the transgressions of the region’s bountiful collection of demagogues and criminals — from Nasser to bin Laden. But we’ll look at the substantial and deeply resented legacy of European imperialism, too. How, for instance, after World War I, Winston Churchill played Dr. Frankenstein in creating the unnatural “monster” of a country to be called Iraq. We’ll also examine the ever-increasing role of the U.S. over the past 60 years. How in 1953, for example, Teddy Roosevelt’s grandson’s actions helped to create the backlash that would eventually give rise to today’s fervently anti-American Islamic Republic of Iran.

From the A in Ataturk to the Z in Zionism. From the lifetime of Mohammed to this morning in Baghdad, Tehran, Jerusalem and Beirut. But with no tests, no grades, no pressure. Just good information, good discussion and the sophisticated swagger that will come from never confusing your mufti with your fatwa ever again.

For more information, check the Co-Lin Special Interest Class schedule in the Sunday Natchez Democrat, or contact Beth Richard, 601-446-1103, beth.richard@colin.edu.

James Wiggins is an instructor of History at Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus.