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Why Americans Don’t Understand the Arab Culture
By Charlie
I’ve written previously about the roots of why Arabs and Westerners haven’t gotten along. Today, I wanted to do a post on why Americans, in particular, just don’t get the differences between the cultures. This post is geared toward our Arab or Muslim readers (we’ve been linked on ummah.com, I know there’s at least one of you). Anyone familiar with my writing knows that I am sympathetic to the plight of the Arab people- but that sympathy doesn’t translate to supporting terrorism (a hurdle that many seem unable to get over). Having lived in Africa, I feel like I have a handle on the culture of Muslim Arabs, and while I’m certainly no expert, I can combine my experiences with my military and historical knowledge to give you a good bit of analysis on our cultural differences and why they matter.
So here are some opinions I have heard from some Arab folks about various things, and the reaction most Americans have to the ideas.
-Israel is the biggest threat to Peace in the region
-Americans must Respect our Great and Historic culture
-America Must Stop Meddling in our Political and Economic Affairs
Israel is the biggest threat to Peace in the region. This line of thinking reasons that the establishment of Israel has caused most of the problems the Arab world now faces today. On the surface, this is not totally wrong. The three declared, and the many undeclared wars against Israel since its founding have had a massive negative impact on the Arab nations. Wars are expensive, and most of the funding was diverted away from programs and infrastructure that would have aided the people in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. This line of thinking also leads to the nuclear proliferation argument, in which everyone should be allowed to have nuclear weapons in the region because Israel has them, the dangers of which I have already discussed.
Most Americans look at this argument and are confused –Israel is the region’s only democracy, and always seems to be getting attacked by the Arab countries- directly or indirectly. Israel’s establishment hurt the pride of what was once called “Pan-Arab” nationalism. It showed the Arab world was unable to protect one of its holiest places, and it showed their militaries getting defeated by what they viewed as a “lesser” people. It led to many nations declaring “states of emergency” granting the autocrat massive ruling powers that to this day have not been repealed. So in the mindset of many Arabs, Israel is to blame for the root causes of much of the suffering. Americans don’t get this, and instead see a lack of democracy, freedom, open markets, and free _expression as the problem. So when America tells Arab countries they must improve their government, economy, and society –they seem in the minds of many Arabs to be putting the cart before the horse. Israel, they believe, is the reason for their governmental, economic, and social problems, and America supports Israel- so many Arabs view American foreign policy as hypocritical while many Americans view the Arab’s domestic policies as “stuck in the past” and obsessed over things they can’t change.
Americans must Respect our Great and Historic culture: Yes, the Arab culture is great and historical –but America has a phrase: “what have you done for me lately?” The rich history of the Middle East seems to have ground to a halt somewhere between the European Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution (1 &2). The Arab world missed the rise and fall of colonization, mercantilism, democracy, nationalism, communism, and fascism, and therefore became a victim of all of these systems. The Arab world was colonized and its resources surveyed and shipped out by foreigners at the expense of the population but to the enrichment of the elites of most Arab nations (the West began mercantilism around, say, 1600). Most countries in the Middle East rejected colonialism and embraced nationalism after WWII (while the West did this in the 1700’s). This nationalist revolution soon fell into the hands of military juntas or monarchs, who still cling to power. Communism was imposed on the Afghans (not Arab, I know) in the 1980’s, Saddam experimented with fascism in the 1990’s. So yes, the Arab world has a rich history and culture, but it deserves no more respect than any other region of the world. The problem here is that “respect” of my culture seems to translate into “abide by the by-laws” of my culture in the minds of many Arabs. Americans don’t get this.
Multiculturalism “social studies” that Americans learned in grade school taught us that everyone was the same, and we must appreciate the background of everyone. Fine, but when some people demand MORE respect than others, and back that demand up with the threat of violence, our liberal mindset gets very confused. Example: in rural Pennsylvania there are people called the Amish. These people don’t use electricity and farm like people used to 300 years ago. Now, imagine how silly it would be if the Amish started demanding that everyone abide by THEIR laws. No electricity, wear plain clothing and wide-brimmed hats, make a living by farming, and ride a horse wherever you go. Now imagine if that odd set of cultural bylaws were backed up by a threat of force if you did not comply with them. Sounds weird right? Be Amish or we’ll come kill you! But that’s how many Americans view the extremist elements in the Arab world –who demand the right to censor our speech, dress, and food as THEY see appropriate, yet when I travel abroad to an Arab country, I must hide my Bible, and will be thrown in jail if I attempt to spread my religion. Respect for culture goes both ways, and when one demands it but does not reciprocate, Americans see this as wrong.
America Must Stop Meddling in our Political and Economic Affairs: Many Arabs believe that we are only interested in the region because of its huge supply of natural resources, primarily oil. Many Arabs also believe that we support oppressive governments as long as they comply with our economic demands. Is this far from the truth? Not really. After WWII, our policy for the Middle East was to keep the communists out, and the oil pumping –this led to all sorts of unsavory deals with unsavory characters. We still befriend the Saudi government today, despite their nascent support of terrorism and their religious oppression.
Speaking economically, however, American “meddling” may be doing more good than harm. Most countries in the Middle East are “one-market” economies. That means they sell…. One thing: oil. One market economies are inherently unstable because they rely on the supply and demand forces on one product instead of many. Right now, oil is pumped out of the ground in Arab country X for $5 a barrel, and sold for $60, and some want to call that exploitation. Economically, it would be a disaster for many countries in the region if the US started domestic drilling in Alaska and off its coast. Simple economics show that if demand is high and supply is low, then the price is high (this is the current situation, and it is profitable for the region), BUT if demand is the same and the supply suddenly increases from domestic oil production, the price falls. Now that $60 barrel of oil can only be sold for $30, and much less of them can be sold because demand for Mid East oil has dropped because supply of domestic oil in America has risen. Got all that? Shorter and to the point: American participation in the Arab oil economy is a boon to the region of the Middle East, and sudden withdrawal spells economic disaster for the region.
As for political meddling, Many Americans don’t understand why there are so many problems in the Middle East, and many Arabs don’t understand why Americans don’t understand that. A common American Opinion: The Middle East is so violent- can there ever be peace? I don’t think that there can be permanent peace anywhere. This opinion also depends on how one defines “peace”. “Peace” to North Korea’s Kim il Jong is having enough nukes to starve his people forever. “Peace” to one group doesn’t mean the same thing as “peace” to another group. So can there ever be peace in the Mid East? Probably not –there are too many conflicting ideologies that have different ideas about how things should be. Look at Iraq- Peace to the Baathist former regime elements is a restored Iraq under military Sunni fascist command. Peace to the Al Qaeda fighters is the establishment of the Caliphate. Peace to Americans is a consensual democracy, peace to Iran is a “southern Iran” HQ’d in Basra, and peace to Saddam is getting his palaces back. So American “meddling” will continue until the country grows tired of it, or we achieve what we view as success.
Wrapping this up, there are reams of paper that can be filled up with the misunderstandings between our cultures. These are just some I thought of off the top of my head. Understanding this is only useful if your goal is peaceful co-existence. If your goal is “I must kill you because you worship a different god than me” , understanding the culture of those you view as infidels isn’t going to help –learning how to hide behind women and children as you cowardly attempt to fight superior warriors would probably be a better use of a fanatic’s time. For the rest of us, analyzing the root causes of some of these conflicts may give us a better perspective on the future.
Questions/comments? I’d be interested to hear them.
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Comments
I would add that a major disconnect in understanding -- running both ways -- has to do with moral categories. We don't have the same ones, and therefore each of us tends to find the other's behavior inexplicable.
Just to take two examples: (1) The Arab world is tribalist to a degree that not even the American Left, despite its addiction to group-based thought and group-based rights, can imagine. (2) The American moral distinction between combatants and non-combatants does not exist in native Arab thought and is largely incomprehensible to the ordinary Middle Eastern Arab.
You can see these two working together anytime you have Palestinians who can't understand why the U.S. doesn't care that "they" stole "our" land, or when Palestinians counter an American complaint about Palestinian suicide bombers with their own complaint about children killed as collateral damage when Israeli occupying soldiers return fire when attacked. There is a moral chasm between the two in Western thought; there is no difference at all between the two to the typical Arab. It is perfectly legitimate to say that the Arabs are wrong and we are right in our moral analysis, but you do have to remember that an American engaging in suicide bombing would have to be much more of a monster than a Palestinian suicide bomber is, because the Palestinian simply doesn't have culturally available to him the same tools of moral analysis that the American would have. To the Palestinian, the moral distinction he's been trained to make is between "us" and "them," not between "soldier" and "civilian."
It extends beyond that to the very different connotations that Muslim and Western thought have of words like "peace"...very, very difficult.
By the way, where's the "Preview" button?
does the word insane,fit in there somewhere?
The moderate Muslims, will in the very near future, HAVE to take the lead in the Arab world or these common misundrstandings will persist.
Underlying all of this...until the concepts of tolerance, cultural acceptance, assimilation, and peaceful co-existance are embraced throughout the Arab world, there will not only be friction between Arabs and the rest of the world, there will be direct conflict.
They prefer to maifest this conflict in asymmetric attack because it allows them the opportunity to hide (as you point out) behind the skirts of their women, and the bodies of their children, and yet, somehow feel like men and warriors. It is this unresolved bi-polar condition that will, unfortunately keep us in conflict for many years to come. Arab moderates...step up.
You state "It showed the Arab world was unable to protect one of its holiest places, ..."
You have accepted on one the Big Lies.
Look at the photos of the Al Aqsa Mosque taken in 1875 at http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/templemount.html
Weeds grew in the courtyard. The dome was missing tiles. It was clearly not an important place.
The claim for the Al Aqsa mosque is that it is the Furthest Mosque referred to in the passage
"Glory be unto Allah who did take his servant for a journey at night from the Sacred Mosque to the Furthest Mosque."
In 632 When Mohammad died Jerusalem was a Christian city. A Christian church was on the top of Temple Mont. There is no way that Al Aqsa could have been the 'Furthest Mosque' it was not there yet.
Six years after Mohammad's death Jerusalem was captured by Islamic forces. The Dome of the Rock was built in 691 and the Al Asqsa Mosque was built in 711.
Mohammad could not have visited a mosque built 79 years after his death
The Mosque did not become "one of the holiest sites in Islam" until recent times, after the start of the migration of European Jews as part of the Zionist movement.
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"Multiculturalism “social studies” that Americans learned in grade school taught us that everyone was the same, and we must appreciate the background of everyone. Fine, but when some people demand MORE respect than others, and back that demand up with the threat of violence, our liberal mindset gets very confused."
Don't forget that according to the Islamic teaching, Islamic law is given by God and everyone is supposed to follow it. This is not a matter of tolerance it is absolute.
Many religious people in the west believe that God has given the truth in different ways to different peoples and we accept that different religions can be true. Without this belief religions, including Islam, will be misused to support political objectives of false teachers.