Misperceptions about Middle East, Libya, Egypt & the Arab World; Prejudice Changing to Admiration
Posted: Saturday, March 05, 2011
by Jennifer Stewart
Stepping out of History
I’ve never known very much about Arab cultures and individuals. Mostly by reason of having no real information – certainly very little firsthand – of people living today who are from the Middle East. All I’ve seen and heard have been opinions, when some terrible crime against humanity has been committed. And of course for me it started with 9/11, as I fear it did for so much of the western world.
I didn’t buy the Bush government’s story. I could see that a lot of the mutual antagonism was about fundamentalism versus democracy, and the massive PR that comes from both sides in defense of their position. I also knew that Muslim fundamentalism appeared to be at the root the violent atrocities – but that the machinations of the military industrial complex probably played a huge rule also. My abhorrence of the terrorist atrocities wasn’t just about fundamentalist Muslims, because I don’t like fundamentalists of any sort. They thrive on repressed anger, neurotic control and distorted truth in my opinion. Add to the mix that I know Muslims are not violent in nature and nor is the religion.
But none of that gave me any idea of what it was like for people living in the Middle East, or what their daily lives were about. And, without realizing it, since 9/11 I’ve been influenced by the perspective of much of the west and the media representations I’ve been exposed to which have massively distorted the image of Arabs. I’ve rarely seen stories about them in their daily lives, their dreams and aspirations, how they go about trying to accomplish them, their everyday struggles, challenges - and triumphs.
I can’t blame it all on the press, though, much as I’d like to. I didn’t go looking, either. Until recently, that is, with all the exposure the Middle East has got, particularly so far Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Tunisia caught my attention, but Egypt touched my soul. I’ve been glued to my TV ever since Egyptians started protesting. Now it’s Libya. I’ve wanted to know – and I still do - what’s happening all the time. I channel hop like crazy between BBC, CNN and SkyNews to get everything I can.
What’s so great is that for the first time in my life I’m seeing the truth about Egyptians, Libyans, and others who are protesting in the region. Real people, not just general statistics, and not fundamentalists. I’m seeing beautiful, passionate, courageous, non-violent people by the hundreds of thousands protesting against repressive regimes, willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom – for the people who have died, they did so for the freedom of those who will follow. That’s an incredible sacrifice.
I’ve seen people I can relate to and admire, regardless of the cultural and religious differences between us. Women and men, young and old, from every sector of society. Businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, workers. United in their desire for peace, and to be respected. None of the protesting has been motivated by fundamentalism or even religion. It’s just sane people wanting freedom.
What’s not to respect? The other night I saw a report on Radio Free Libya, in Benghazi. This was originally the national state radio, totally controlled by Gaddafi and his regime. When Benghazi fell to the opposition, much of the station was destroyed, but what remained has been turned into Radio Free Libya – by ordinary people, professionals and business people who have no desire to be in politics, but just want to contribute to putting the country back together again. None of them are getting any money for it. It was incredibly moving to watch. It wasn’t about power. It was about love and respect.
I’ve heard so many comments about Egypt and Libya that are mistrustful of Egyptians and Libyans and their capacity to create change that will really be about democracy. There’s a lot of skepticism and voicing of negative opinion. It’s as if people in the west just can’t bring themselves to be positive about the Middle East. Can’t even let themselves say “I believe something good – something great - will come out of this.” It’s a pity. Because something great is already coming out of it. The naysayers and skeptics are missing out in participating positively in the miracle of the century. Why do we always have to predict the worst?
Something that’s been remarkably absent from the uprisings and the media exposure has been news of Al Qaeda and Fundamentalist Muslims. What a pleasure. Some have tried to leverage the uprisings by suggesting they’re Islamic-led, but the idea hasn’t taken root, and even the media has avoided capitalizing on it. Perhaps because the truth is so clear. Everybody knows the uprisings are secular, and are about the power of the people taking down tyrants and claiming freedom. It’s been so wonderful to be free of all the hype and distortion around “the war on terror”.
In the west we’ve had a pretty one-dimensional view of the Middle East, and haven’t realized the majority of people living in the region want democracy very badly. Probably have for a long time. We haven’t realized that millions of people who we’ve never been able to relate to have the same dreams and aspirations as ourselves.
I believe that these Middle East uprisings could prove to be the biggest unifying force the world has ever known. And the gift will have come from people we knew nothing about. People who we thought were in opposition to our own dreams and aspirations. How wrong can you get. For my part I’ve been humbled.
But none of that gave me any idea of what it was like for people living in the Middle East, or what their daily lives were about. And, without realizing it, since 9/11 I’ve been influenced by the perspective of much of the west and the media representations I’ve been exposed to which have massively distorted the image of Arabs. I’ve rarely seen stories about them in their daily lives, their dreams and aspirations, how they go about trying to accomplish them, their everyday struggles, challenges - and triumphs.
I can’t blame it all on the press, though, much as I’d like to. I didn’t go looking, either. Until recently, that is, with all the exposure the Middle East has got, particularly so far Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Tunisia caught my attention, but Egypt touched my soul. I’ve been glued to my TV ever since Egyptians started protesting. Now it’s Libya. I’ve wanted to know – and I still do - what’s happening all the time. I channel hop like crazy between BBC, CNN and SkyNews to get everything I can.
What’s so great is that for the first time in my life I’m seeing the truth about Egyptians, Libyans, and others who are protesting in the region. Real people, not just general statistics, and not fundamentalists. I’m seeing beautiful, passionate, courageous, non-violent people by the hundreds of thousands protesting against repressive regimes, willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom – for the people who have died, they did so for the freedom of those who will follow. That’s an incredible sacrifice.
I’ve seen people I can relate to and admire, regardless of the cultural and religious differences between us. Women and men, young and old, from every sector of society. Businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, workers. United in their desire for peace, and to be respected. None of the protesting has been motivated by fundamentalism or even religion. It’s just sane people wanting freedom.
What’s not to respect? The other night I saw a report on Radio Free Libya, in Benghazi. This was originally the national state radio, totally controlled by Gaddafi and his regime. When Benghazi fell to the opposition, much of the station was destroyed, but what remained has been turned into Radio Free Libya – by ordinary people, professionals and business people who have no desire to be in politics, but just want to contribute to putting the country back together again. None of them are getting any money for it. It was incredibly moving to watch. It wasn’t about power. It was about love and respect.
I’ve heard so many comments about Egypt and Libya that are mistrustful of Egyptians and Libyans and their capacity to create change that will really be about democracy. There’s a lot of skepticism and voicing of negative opinion. It’s as if people in the west just can’t bring themselves to be positive about the Middle East. Can’t even let themselves say “I believe something good – something great - will come out of this.” It’s a pity. Because something great is already coming out of it. The naysayers and skeptics are missing out in participating positively in the miracle of the century. Why do we always have to predict the worst?
Something that’s been remarkably absent from the uprisings and the media exposure has been news of Al Qaeda and Fundamentalist Muslims. What a pleasure. Some have tried to leverage the uprisings by suggesting they’re Islamic-led, but the idea hasn’t taken root, and even the media has avoided capitalizing on it. Perhaps because the truth is so clear. Everybody knows the uprisings are secular, and are about the power of the people taking down tyrants and claiming freedom. It’s been so wonderful to be free of all the hype and distortion around “the war on terror”.
In the west we’ve had a pretty one-dimensional view of the Middle East, and haven’t realized the majority of people living in the region want democracy very badly. Probably have for a long time. We haven’t realized that millions of people who we’ve never been able to relate to have the same dreams and aspirations as ourselves.
I believe that these Middle East uprisings could prove to be the biggest unifying force the world has ever known. And the gift will have come from people we knew nothing about. People who we thought were in opposition to our own dreams and aspirations. How wrong can you get. For my part I’ve been humbled.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Real people seeking real peace and freedom, I believe they will prevailMe too, David.
Excellent observations Jennifer. I agree with you. The reason I think many are trying to equate what is happening in these secular uprisings is because the fundamentalist extremes of these religions are obviously the ones that show their butts the most and get most of the attention. As you will see when they attempt to put their new governments together the fanatics will come out of the woodwork and attempt to lay claim to the halls of power. Resisting these negative forces will not be easy. Look at the power they wield in such places as Iran, Pakistan, and their influence in many other regions of the world including America. The reason for this is because wealthy interests use this influence to separate the masses on ideological and religious issues so that they have less time to focus on how the corporations/monarchs are raping and robbing their countries wealth. It is a very effective method known as divide and conquer, and until enough people are affected by the economic disparities you do not get the kind of social revolt you are now seeing in many parts of the world today. Hopefully as you suggest we can all look and learn from these current uprisings. Right now my thoughts and my hopes are for a quick end to the bloody resistance of the tyrant Gaddafi in Libya.David, I begin to see you as a shining light. Fundamentalist extremists, are they not worldwide? I,m sure I read of some similar extremists within your country? Are they called the Bee Smarties, or something similar?My hopes are for the same thing, David. Gaddafi's a monster.
Dear Jennifer, thank you for writing this article. It is for me very refreshing to hear someone say, loudly and clearly, Hey these are people, these are human beings just like us. Articles like yours can only help reduce fear and create an understanding that "Islam" is not something that should be feared, but a religion that we should respect and perhaps even try to understand.
Does Osama Bin Laden represent Islam, did the Klu Klux Clan represent America, do ETA represent the Basque region of Spain? Of course they do not, they are each of them extremists, nothing more and nothing less.
Why do we allow ourselves to be mislead so easily, it is something I do not understand. I met a young American travelling within the former USSR, a very articulate young man and asked him do you not worry about travelling within less than friendly countries? This was during the period that the Bush Presidency was at its zenith and America was very unpopular, just about world wide. Do you know what he replied? He told me that most free thinking Americans were a little embarrassed to have a President, with such power at his disposal, that could not even articulate a sentence, his words, not mine.
A few years ago I lived within a muslim country for several months and I learnt much about Islam and its followers. They are a beautiful, open and friendly people, remember I was the westener, the "potential terrorist threat". Was I treated with suspicion, with doubt, or fear? Not at all, the complete opposite. In fact they were very pleased to try and explain and share the beauty of their religion.
In general the Islam faith is alive and strong. This is not a every sunday, maybe religion. This is a five times a day religion, the first, very loud calling being at 5.30 PM....Ouch.
Have we in the the West, with our "superior systems" and huge intellectual capacity forgotten an age old maxim, Divide and rule? We are right, they are wrong, God is on OUR side? I do not understand how a seemingly intelligent and articulate people can be so easily mislead. It is wrong, it is stupid and it is dangerous.
Excuse me for writting such a long comment Jennifer, but your article was for me very inspiring. We have to overcome the divisive and false preconceptions that we seem to so easily assume to be the truth, we have to strike up and find the same bravery and heroics that we are currently witnessing in the Middle East, here in the West, try to at least understand a race of peoples about whom we in fact know very little.
Our future could depend upon it, as we face many very serious problems as a species, like our incredible, but true, systamatic destruction of the very planet that we live upon. What would Darwin have deduced from that?
Beautiful article Jennifer.Your experience with Muslims is very interesting, Terrence. I think in the west we have achieved a lot, and there's still a lot to learn, as is the same with Muslims. I long for a world where we all help each other and learn from each other.
"Add to the mix that I know Muslims are not violent in nature and nor is the religion." - Up to now, I haven't been able to digest the fact that Muslims are not violent in nature, from what I have witnessed in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (at least) all these years. The religion is definitely not violent in nature. For the slightest issue, Muslims at least in India and Pakistan have resorted to violence. Even an issue as simple as - a Hindu boy marrying a Muslim girl. You can consider death for the Hindu boy, if they have been compassionate enough, it's only a bone fracture and distorted face, in many parts of India. This doesn't mean there no liberal Muslims at all. There are, but a huge % are conservative and believe in religious fundamentalism.I know there are countries like Indonesia, and Egypt where Muslims are more liberal and for the first time I was happy to see Muslims be an example of non-violence and they let the world know that Islam is not a violent religion.But you have presented your point very well. :-) I had some very beautiful friends from Iran who came to India to learn yoga, and they even participated in singing Hindu devotional songs and that was very much heart touching. As an Indian Muslim, they would just shut the door on our face.I didn't know fundamentalism has such a strong hold in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, DM. Thanks for enlightening me - although it makes me sad :(
Hi Jennifer,
I wonder how much the Internet--Twitter, Facebook etc and its ease of seeing the freedoms etc in other parts of the world is fueling much of this thirst for what could be....nice article!I think the Internet etc. is fueling a lot, or at least facilitating people waking up to the fact that freedom can be claimed.
Nicely said, Rick!
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