For Baki Tezcan, Iraq is a land of ancient wonders that helped shape Western civilization. "The ancient Greek texts and philosophies central in the Western canon were first translated into Arabic in the land we know today as Iraq long before they were recorded in Latin and later English," said Tezcan, an assistant professor of history and religious studies. Tezcan, who specializes in Islam and the Middle East, reminds us that Mesopotamia or the "Fertile Crescent" – the land area between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates now known as modern Iraq – once sparked both the Western and Islamic cultures. In 4,000 BC, long before Egypt, Rome and Greece, the Sumerian culture and successive ones flourished amid a complex agricultural system, developing the first wheel and plow, the earliest form of writing known as "cuneiform," banking practices, the Hammurabi law code, and a mathematical system. Now, Tezcan noted, that legacy seems distant amid the drums of war. In his view, this war with Iraq would not be a good thing. History, he notes, shows that leaders sometimes distract their people from poor economies and other social ills by plunging them into unnecessary wars. "Besides, a war with Iraq will have devastating effects on the prospects of democracy and secularism in the region," he said. For scholars, the violence – past and future – obstructs their research beyond real life-and-death issues. "The bombing that has taken place in Iraq the past 10 years is very unfortunate for scholars who study the ruins and ancient sites, many of which are inaccessible now or even destroyed," he said. "And, of course, it’s been even more unfortunate for the Iraqi people who have suffered greatly in recent years." Tezcan said Iraq in the early 1960s was an Arab society that emphasized education and had social programs for its people. "The country was doing well, but then came Saddam Hussein, the war with Iran, and the Persian Gulf War." If war breaks out, Tezcan said, the Iraqi people may rally around a leader they generally despise. "They may not like Saddam, but if somebody’s invading your country, you’re more likely to defend your family and homeland." A native of Turkey, Tezcan grew up north of Iraq in Istanbul, a cosmopolitan city where East meets West. Tezcan came to UC Davis less than a year ago after completing a doctorate in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His research interests are in medieval and early modern Middle Eastern history. Currently he’s focused on the "Thirty Years War of the Middle East (1618-48), "a period of severe political struggles in the Ottoman Empire," he says. The scholar uses the word "amazing" when talking about UC Davis students. "They feel free to express themselves when you ask a question. This dynamic is great for intellectual exchanges. They have no pretensions and actually do not know what good students they really are." That desire to learn might well be a lesson for all Americans, he said. "So much wealth and power exists in this country, yet some have so little knowledge about the outside world. Sometimes I think Americans are too inward-looking when it comes to the international world." One common misperception among Westerners is that Islamic terrorists like Osama Bin Laden and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein are united together ideologically. Quite the contrary, Tezcan said. "Hussein is a secular Arab nationalist, whereas Bin Laden is an Islamic fundamentalist who is extremely critical of nationalistic Arab regimes like Hussein’s. Bin Laden wants to rule from the Koran – Hussein does not. About the only thing that might unite them is their anti-American attitudes – if they are pushed that way by U.S. foreign policy," he says. Tezcan takes pride in noting that Turkey is the "only secular Muslim-governed democracy." He’s worried, though that a U.S.-Iraqi war might tilt power in Turkey toward the Islamic fundamentalists. "It’s like an experiment in Turkey, and I hope it doesn’t fail," he said. "American intervention in the area will set the tone for the way the secularists and the Islamists will interact with each other on the way to democracy." Though he’s new to campus, Tezcan says UC Davis student interest is rising in Middle and Near Eastern studies. It’s proof that people are trying to understand what some describe as a clash between Western and the Islamic civilizations. He’s teaching a course this term titled, "Holy War in Comparative Perspective: The Interplay Between Crusade and Jihad." "In the future, we’ll be offering many more courses in the Middle East and Islam," he said. Being raised in Istanbul made him curious about history and the differences in Eastern and Western civilizations, he says. He shares this passion with wife Jocelyn Sharlet, an assistant professor in comparative literature interested in Arabic language and literature, Persian literature, Turkish language and Islamic civilization. They have a 9-month old son, Teoman. Having a child changed Tezcan’s life. "I always wanted to quit smoking, but never could," he recalled. "But the day Teoman was born, I quit that night. I know he needs me around." Teoman will grow up in America, a land that Tezcan praises for its upwardly mobile opportunities for immigrants – unlike some European countries, he noted. He describes California as "a nation unto itself" and prefers it to the East Coast. "Out here, everything still gets done, but people are more relaxed. The climate also reminds me of the Mediterranean."