Khalid Yahya Blankinship: US Decline, Syria After Assad & the Middle East's New Order | EP 146

SUPPORT THE SHOWbuymeacoffee.com/tafhimkianzAmerican historian Professor Khalid Yahya Blankinship returns to the Kianistan Podcast for Episode 146 — a wide-ranging conversation connecting Islamic history to today's headlines across the Middle East and South Asia.Professor Blankinship, a specialist in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, draws on his research into the fall of the Umayyad dynasty to examine American imperial overreach today, before moving through Syria's post-Assad transition under Ahmad al-Sharaa, the roots of the Sunni-Shia divide, the history of Zionism and Palestine, and the shifting alliances between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and India.This is a previous guest of the show — if you haven't already, check out our earlier conversation with Professor Blankinship on his journey to Islam : https://youtu.be/6ReLJGMBAvACHAPTERS00:00 – Introduction & Welcoming Back Professor Blankinship01:40 – Greetings & Catching Up02:01 – US Imperial Overreach: Parallels With the Umayyad Collapse08:00 – Sunni vs Shia Religious Scholarship & Political Power15:57 – Syria After Assad: Jolani, Ahmad al-Sharaa & the New Leadership21:10 – Reunifying Syria: Rojava, the Druze & the Alawite Question26:51 – Israel, Hezbollah & the Weakening of the Resistance Axis32:02 – The Historical Roots of the Sunni-Shia Divide37:37 – Zionism, the British Empire & the Making of Palestine40:07 – The Palestinian Expulsion & the Founding of Israel48:45 – Russia, China & the Israel-Iran Standoff49:42 – Erdogan, Turkey & Neo-Ottomanism51:25 – Pakistan, India, Kashmir & Regional Tensions54:16 – Nuclear Arsenals: Pakistan and India Compared1:02:00 – Israel's Regional Ambitions & Closing ThoughtsABOUT THE GUESTKhalid Yahya Blankinship is an American historian specializing in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, and a professor at Temple University. His research includes the history of the early Islamic caliphates, including The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham and the Collapse of the Umayyads.CONNECT & LEARN MORElamppostedu.org/hijabliberalarts.temple.edu/directory/khalid-ay-blankinshipSubscribe to the Kianistan Podcast for long-form conversations on history, geopolitics, religion, and global affairs.#KhalidBlankinship #IslamicHistory #MiddleEast #Syria #Palestine #Pakistan #KianistanPodcast #Geopolitics #SunniShia #InternationalRelationsKhalid Yahya Blankinship, Khalid Blankinship, Blankinship historian, Islamic history, Islamic historian, Middle Eastern studies, Temple University historian, Umayyad dynasty, Umayyad collapse, Jihad State book, US imperial decline, American empire, Syria after Assad, Ahmad al-Sharaa, Jolani, Syria news, Rojava Kurds, Alawites Syria, Druze Syria, Sunni Shia divide, Sunni Shia history, Islamic sects, Zionism history, Palestine history, Israel Palestine conflict, British Mandate Palestine, Hezbollah, Israel Iran, Turkey Erdogan, neo-Ottomanism, Saudi Arabia foreign policy, Pakistan India relations, Kashmir conflict, Pakistan nuclear program, India Pakistan nuclear, Modi Pakistan, Islamic caliphate history, geopolitics podcast, history podcast, Kianistan Podcast, Tafhim Kiani, West Asia politics, Muslim world politics