American Regionalism, Essay Example

I am from the Middle East. Little is known about this place on the map, especially for those of Western Cultures. Under the American’s public knowledge and map, Suez, Cyprus, Algeria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Baghdad, along with other places, are all lumped together under one general label, which is known as “The Middle East” (Davison 13). There is little effort to be made as to learn the differences between these places; the language, the culture and the people are all diverse. Yet, not many seem to want to see my people past what the media portrays of them. There are common beliefs in society nowadays which are fueled by a media, which generalize terrorists to be falling under one category.

According to Dawisha (1999) any person who takes the time in studying Iraq will discover that there is a persistence of tension as well as violence which accounts for the brittleness of Iraqi national identity. This is largely because of the lack of a centralized dictatorship, since the Middle East –  more specifically, Iraq – lacks a broad institutional base, and this brings them the need to be able to mobilize efforts which appeals to the Middle East’s identity as a whole. And, not the identity in which other countries constructs the Middle East to be from their ignorant view points. There is now a large need for confidence building measures for the Middle East and its identity (Ben-Dor and Dewitt null13).

This constructed identity from other spectating nations was brought about by the centralizing and personalized rule of Iraq’s contemporary history. That history which is to blame for all the negative images the media portrays now of the Middle East which grew largely because of the incident last September 11, 2001 (Dawisha). For nations who have been around for thousands and thousands of years, the identity of the Middle East is still very much under the radar. There is a struggle for fixating a positive identity for people who live in this geographical location, and it is very sad. Not only for those people who are stereotyped, but for those who do not even bother to learn anything about the Middle Eastern culture.

This is of a religious category, Muslims in particular. There are two reasons for this, the main reason is basically ignorance of the Islamic religion, and the other is media portrayal of the Middle Easet. There is an impression on a lot of people that terrorism is something to do with religion, or that terrorists are driven and approved by these Islamic laws to part take in the things they do. It is unfair to say that Islamic beliefs promote terrorism because Islam has been around for many centuries, and terrorism is only a recent phenomenon (Asthana, & Nirmal).

Many believe that the Islamic belief of tawhid, the central belief of Muslims in one god, as well as concentration of violence is part of the Islamic religion. This is highly incorrect because the vast majority of the Islamic world does not take this into practice. There are just some extremists who take these beliefs in to literal as well as political perspectives in order to justify their actions as righteous, and a calling from their god. These extremists strongly believe that tawhid means that only god has the right to sovereignty, thus making democracy, liberation, personal freedom or any of those things which fall under sovereignty, wrong. They also feel that they need to correct it. Thus, these extremists, or jihadists, believe that they must rid the world of all this freedom in order to save their Islamic traditions (Perry, & Negrin). This is of course, not the entire population of Muslims who believe tawhid to be taken this way, therefore it is not fair to generalize terrorists to be belonging to only one religion, nor is it fair to believe that all those involved in that religion are terrorists. People are so easy to generalize just because of recent occurrences in terms of the Middle Eastern relations as well as the United States.

Now, living in the United States, it is not easy coming from a place where people tend to generalize you in that sort of way. Firstly, not everyone from the Middle East share those thoughts or beliefs. Secondly, the Middle East is made up of so many diverse peoples and culture that it is not fair to generalize all who come from that geographical location as to one stereotype. Because of this portrayal of all people from that certain geographical location, it is hard to make a move without the feeling of being judged or disliked just because of my ethnic background. Has it not occurred to other people that I do not let those sorts of things define who I am? It is difficult to be proud and to accept my culture in a place that resents it, just because they do not know anything about it.

For numerous years, the United States has tried to push its ways on the Middle East (Davison). This is mostly seen in their attempts of Westernizing the Middle East to mirror a political and jurisdiction system which is that of Europe and America. The “need” for this Westernization comes down to two theories. One is the Utilitarian theory, in which it is believed that the choice to make is the one which will generate happiness for the majority. The United States believes by westernizing the Middle East, not only will it benefit the two countries, yet the surrounding nations will also be affected in a positive way.

The Middle East is believed to play a very decisive role in terms of international affairs in areas such as Asia, Africa and Europe if the westernization is successful. The second belief is said to be motivated by theoretical means. There is a systematic examination of political institutions and the like in westernized countries (Davison). These political institutions are said to have learned from their past experiences and are learning more and more each day on strategies of industry, labor, human rights and the like. To me, these sounds like the westernized countries believe they are superior to the ways of the Middle East, and feel the need to try to “correct” the erroneous ways of those who are in the Middle East.

This may be a bold and very direct statement. However, the Middle East, like all people of all cultures deserves respect. We cannot be generalized, nor stereotyped just because of the lack of information other people have on our culture. It is not fair that other countries judge the Middle East as a country in general for the mistakes of the few. Just because one’s culture is different from your own does not makes yours superior in any way. It is the closed-mindedness of people that needs to be changed, if anything.

Many people overlook the great importance of the Middle East, for its culture and especially for its religions. The Middle East has been an important place from the beginning of the written history of time. In ancient times, many cultures, civilizations and nations have flourished in the Middle East (Peretz 1). These civilizations are namely: Egyptian, Babylonian, Sumerian and the Assyrian civilizations. Also, Judaism, which is the first of the three great monotheistic religions started in the Middle East, this was taken from the three thousand years from the Old Testament era, in today’s Bible (Cleveland 1). From this religion came Islam and Christianity, which were both born in the Middle East (Peretz 1).

The Middle East has a great number of things to offer from its fine history, rich culture and very diverse people. However, it is very unfortunate that when the place “Middle East” is brought up, all people can think about is the war on terror, or things which bring negative images to the Middle East. The Middle East is very prominent throughout history, and offers the world great knowledge from its experience throughout the ancient times. As the commercial for Progressive Insurance states: “…it only gets better with age.” I wish others saw it that way as well.

Works Cited

Adeed Dawisha, “”Identity” and Political Survival in Saddam’s Iraq,” The Middle East Journal 53.4 (1999), Questia, Web, 10 Oct. 2010.

Don Peretz, The Middle East Today (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1963) iii, Questia, Web, 10 Oct. 2010.

N.C. Asthana, & A. Nirmal. Urban terrorism: myths and realities. (Jaipur: Aavishkar Publishers, 2009).

Roderic H. Davison, “2 Where Is the Middle East?,” The Modern Middle East, ed. Richard H. Nolte (New York: Atherton, 1963) 13, Questia, Web, 10 Oct. 2010.

William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East, 2nd ed. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000) null3, Questia, Web, 10 Oct. 2010.

Gabriel Ben-Dor, and David B. Dewitt, eds., Confidence Building Measures in the Middle East (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994) null3, Questia, Web, 10 Oct. 2010.

Perry, & , H.E Negrin. The theory and practices of Islamic terrorism: an anthology. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009).