The Middle East Islamic culture, identity and a clash of civilizations
Israel and the Palestine region are sometimes included in the map of the Middle East, but in differing with the case of Turkey, Israel is left out of the map for political reasons, and Palestine is not included since the state has no territorial boundaries. Along with the former Soviet republics, Afghanistan is often included in the map of the Middle East. Some differ not only in the countries to include in the map, but the term on to exactly term the region. Some call the region from The Near East, Western Asia, South west Asia to The Arabic World (Baumler, 2010).
In the many years of debate, often heated and mordant, and though the region has gained the status of a major power in world affairs. The term Middle East does not command a widely accepted connotation in a universal sense, even the term Mid east is only a loose abbreviation. The use of the term arose in the early part of this century with regards to defining the region surrounding the Persian Gulf. In the course of the Second World War, military bases and groups located around the Gulf expanded exponentially, and the Term Middle East , rather than ascribing a second unit, was extended according to the tidings of the conflict (William Bayne Fisher, 1978, 7th, p.1).
The locating of significant military resources in the region gave rise to the need to reorganize the lives of the people affected by these activities, both in the political and economic arenas. This was done to address the changing circumstances in the conflict. A Minister of State was appointed to over see the regional political issues, and the Middle East Supply Centre was established to monitor the economic issue in the region. The territorial delegation soon became the accepted standard of reference for the Middle East , acquiring the corresponding sanctions and the official term used in the publication of various reports on the topics of surveys, economic development papers and political instances (Fisher, 1978, P.3).
Since that time, the Middle Eastern region has become the centre of global attention, more than any geographical area on the planet. With the extension of the area with the inclusion of Libya and Iran, and the areas inclusive of the countries of Turkey and the Sudan, it would be possible to propose on the level of geography to the existence of a region that will comprise the Middle East. One, if not the most outstanding feature of the area is the climate of the region. Since it is considered as a significant determinant in the way of life of the people in the region, climate is seen as a factor in the responses and activities of the people in the region. Though the unity in the region is only considered as a partial one, and that criteria is open to discussion but the elements of the environment and societal structure are resilient enough to treat the Middle East as a society (Fisher, 1978, p.4).
Climate
The temperatures and level of dryness increment as one crosses from the north to the south of the region. Altitude also plays a factor in the climate of the area , since the mountainous, giving rise to the presence of decreased temperatures and higher levels of rain is to be expected in the region. As such, winter temperatures and times of snow fall are to expected in countries such as Turkey and Iran, but is not expected in the lower countries such as Saudi Arabia. The system is altered by the influence of the Mediterranean Sea, and to lesser confines to the influence of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Coming to coast lines of the region, the extremities of temperature are altered as there an increment in the level of humidity (Ewan Anderson, William Fisher, 2000, p.32).
The Arabs A History
Though the focus of the paper is on the diverse Arab speaking peoples found in the Middle East, a thorough examination of the history of the Arabs will not be complete without looking at the origins of the people and that of whom is considered as the original Arab, the Bedouin nomads. Bedouin nomads cannot be portrayed as aimless wanderers, as they are the primary evidence of the human adapting to the changing conditions in the desert. They search for pasture land to feed their flocks. The practice of nomadism that the Nufud will allow them can be compared to the trait of industrialism in Detroit in the United States or in Manchester in the United Kingdom (Philip Khuri Hitti, 2000, p.9).
The land surface of the Arabian peninsula is dotted with three sides that faces the sea and a fourth side that is covered by sand. In spite of the sheer size of the peninsula, the population remains small, reaching an approximate seven to eight million inhabitants. Geologists aver that the peninsula once formed the land bridge between the Arabian peninsula and the Sahara desert, now separated by the rift valley of the Nile Valley and the great crevice of the Red Sea and the sand laden area that travels through the central Asian region, cutting through central Persia and the Gobi Desert. Even if the area is located between two seas on the east and west, they are too small to change the continuous rainless spell prevalent on the African Asian continent (Hitti, 2000, p.10).
The Influence of Islam on the Arabian peninsula
The dominant religion in the Middle East, Islam, penetrate more than the spiritual and theological concerns of the people of the Middle East. The practice of their religion affects the daily conduct of the lives of the people in the Middle East, concerning politics, economic life, interpersonal as well as intra-personal relations, even touching on the conduct and practice of eating. To cite an example, Islam saturates a sense of loyalty in terms of politics contradictory to the tenets of nationalism that emanates from the West, as it also affects the view of an outsider towards the conduct of the Middle Eastern peoples. But perhaps the most significant factor that beguiles those on the outside desiring to understand the tenets of the religion is that of the fundamentalist initiative (Daniel Pipes, 1988).
Unlike the application of the religion by the more conservative and moderate amongst the Muslims, fundamentalists desire to strictly, even rigidly, apply all the tenets of the Islamic religion to every facet of their lives. Of the more popular fundamentalists, none has reached the stature than that of the former Iranian leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose way of living the Islamic religion has either attracted or made Muslims feel a sense of nausea since coming to power in 1979. In his aversion towards the United States, he sees that, apart from the military might and American financial power, the values that are identified with the American culture are what he deems as the most significant threat to his drive to instil his radical Islamic vision for his country. In the field of clothes and food, even Marxism that is rooted in the United States, Khomeini looks upon these things with utter contempt (Pipes, 1988).
Pipes (1988) agrees with the fears that the former radical Iranian leader has about the problems akin to the American cultural system. For the last two hundred years, Muslims have absorbed a great deal from Europe, and although at first Muslims only learned to adore and use what they can utilize for themselves, some, to their detriment, have absorbed more than what they can, or must, absorb. Inclusive of these abnormalities is the attitude of Christians towards the Jews. At first, these concerns gave rise to insignificant, almost non existent, threats to the ways of the peoples in the Middle East, in the past century and onto the present times, these have caused serious concern from the Arabs (Pipes, 1988).
These feelings of anti-Semitism gained a new definition with the creation of the state of Israel and the defeat at the hands of the Jews in their attempt to drive the Israelis out of the Arab homeland. During that time, the Arabs were awakened to the call of the Demon theorists of the Israelites that were rampantly moving around the European continent and over time, these were altered to suit the needs of the Arabs in their quest against the Israeli state (Pipes, 1988).
Western recognition of Islamic power
The insurrection in Iran resulted in many Western observers to recognise the latent power in the Islamic religion. So that the West will not be caught off guard again and to compensate for their lack of attention these past times, they over affirmed the importance of the events. Thus, when the conflict broke out between Iran and Iraq in 1980, many, instead of pointing out the dispute between the states, turned the angle on the conflict between the Sunni and the Shiite separat6ion and thus parleyed the war into what would amount to the Islamic Republic challenging the Iraqi nation (Pipes, 1988).
In addition to the Islamic dominance in the region, another important factor in the treatment of the Arabs is the presence of huge deposits of oil. Regardless of the attention that has been heaped to concerns on the oil supply after the oil embargo in 1973, an important element was conveniently left out of the equation, the consumption and spending paragon of the exporters of the precious commodity in the Middle East. The assumption was that the exporters were awash with money and that state would remain for an indefinite period of time. This premise is contrary to conventional human nature as time passed, the exporters began the familiar act of spending more than they can generate. When the supply of oil in the early 80s began to exceed the demand, price began to spiral downward, affecting the economies of the exporting countries (Pipes, 1988).
The countries that benefited the most from the increased oil prices were also the ones that suffered the most economic damage with the glut in supply in the 80s. But the most glaring anomaly in the situation was the state of the countries masses in the course of the high oil prices. Though the countries raked in huge profits with their oil sales, many of the people in these countries still hugged or fell below the poverty line. Due to their dearth in modern proficiency, they have considerable power in terms of economics but are completely helpless to external influences. (Pipes, 1988).
Globalization and Democracy Views from the Arabian Peninsula
Globalization
There are a number of terms that have been used in more frequency and widely quoted but is less than clearly used than the term of globalization. In the beginning of the middle of the 1980s, the volume of books and articles written on the idea of globalization has increased dramatically. The definitions of the term do not have a single standard terminology, ranging from the definition of Martin Albrow (1990), which states that globalization refers to the sum total of all processes that mould the peoples of the world into a single global society, or that of Roland Robertson (1987) stating that globalization can be considered as the accumulation of the entire world as a single place. Apart from definitions, the term globalization also deviate on the emphasis of the term, with regards to the political, technological, sociocultural and economic aspects of society (Sheila Croucher, 2004, p.10).
According to some scholars, the primary engine of globalization is economics,
citing the case of the actions of the multinational business organizations, whose role in the global production scheme is bridging the outer reaches of the globe. But the mechanism of economies do not engage in a political vortex, as nations still conduct themselves ans regulators and often times challengers of the event of globalization, as is the case with a growing number of global governmental and non governmental groups. But the action of globalization is the interdependence of nations in the economic and political arena, and these actions can only be achieved with the appropriate changes in technological background (Croucher, 2004, p.11).
As earlier stated, the central arena of globalization is the aspect of economics, hence the focus on the operation of the tenets of capitalism and the operation of the marketplace as the main engines and the cardinal barometer with which to measure global interconnectivity. In the 1997 definition laid down by the European Commission, it defined globalization as the process that markets and production means located in various countries are incrementally becoming ancillary as a result of the mechanics of trade in goods and the flow of finances and technology. In a more recent attempt at defining globalization, the Institute for National Strategic Studies stated that globalization is the process of flows across borders that tend to draw countries and regions in a closer circle, resulting in the creation of growing ties to each other (Croucher, 2004, p.13).
Globalization in the Arab World
The subject of globalization has been the topic of discussion among members of business and the academe for quite some time. Though to reiterate an earlier statement that to date, there is no accepted single definition of globalization, many Islamic movements view globalization as a hindrance to the creation of an Islamic regime at the least, or to greater extent, the existence of a conspiracy against the creation of such a regime, a view that is shared by both conservative and radical factions of Muslims. Many see the acceptance of the tenets of globalization as an acceptance into the Mid east scheme of Israel and a rejection of the Arab society (Mohammed Abed al-Jabri).
The accepted operation of the term globalization, in the context of Arabs, is to make a commodity or ideology into a global product, changing something with a limited scope and market and making that into something without boundaries. The product here being altered to fit onto the global scheme is the nation state, it with the rigid controls over it borders and the flow of goods in and out of the entity. As is, nation states guard themselves against any form of external interposition or threats, be it in the form of economic, social or political meddling. The unlimited entity is the global society, and with the two commodities defined, globalization will mean that the nation state must remove all economic level and the allowance of global market forces to operate in the country (Abed al-Jabri).
As the term became popular in the United States with a sense for the expansion of the American ideals and culture, Arabs as well as other peoples tend to view it as nothing more than a model of governance and life patterned after that which is being practised in the United States. A such, Arab members of the academe and political analysts equate the acceptance of globalization as yielding to the whims and models of society in the United States. In other words, does the action of globalization be connoted to the actions of another wave of colonialism that is being espoused by the linkages in markets and technological advances (Abed al-Jabri)
Cultural Globalization
When globalization is introduced in the realm of culture, the action will mean that all culture will, or must, fall under one standard of acceptable culture -a Westernisation of all cultures to be acceptable to all, all being elements in the West. Globalization has indeed fostered greater avenues for communication of different cultures, resulting in the creation of transnational communities and composite identities. But the action of globalization has also created aversion against the act of globalization by different identities. The hostility against globalization has been espoused by religious fundamentalist movements, that desire to create the traditional ways, inclusive of the patriarchal ways of life, in opposition to the globalist trend in the West (Valentine Moghadam, 2002, p.2).
The worldwide action against terrorism has placed the Middle East squarely in the sights of the United States and the West. Americans are the daily recipients of anti American feelings, but former American leaders have been highly active in the region, underlying the significance of the region to national policy makers. The significance of the Middle East lies not only in its geographical location, but also in the abundance of its most valuable resource, oil. More than 30 percent of the oil produced in 2005 came from Middle Eastern well, and approximately 60 percent of the worlds oil reserves lie underneath the Middle Eastern sands (Howard Wiarda, 2007, p. 194).
Modern military machines run on oil, and the access to these resources determined the outcomes of the two global conflicts. Should the United States and its allies be denied access to that resource, then the impact on the military aspect will just as large as the economic impact on America. But even with the critical importance of the region, it is not exempt from the instability in the political and economic areas in the region. Due to the influence of the United States in the region in the era of the Cold War, the region has been falling behind other regions in the world and is sorely lacking in the process of integration in the globalist trend (Wiarda, 2007, p. 195).
Comparing the Middle Eastern and the North African (MENA) regions, it can be said that the bloc is sorely lagging in the aspect of assimilating its trade and finance mechanisms to that of the global trading market. This is maybe due that the region is seen only as a major trader of oil rather than a destination of direct foreign financial inflows. For the women, they are, as a sector, have fewer numbers that hold down jobs than other women in the world, and their participation in the economic activity is less than their Western counterparts (Moghadam, 2003).
The Identity Politics and globalisation The birth of a new culture
In general, Arabs do nor outright reject the acceptance of other cultures, assimilating them into their own and appreciating the differences of each. The rejection among the peoples of the Middle East is connected with the era of globalization is the encumbrance of accepting that the Western values and norms of society be deemed as universally acceptable. Islamic fundamentalist radicals reject this homogenization on the basis that the acceptance of the Western values go against their desire to establish their own brand of globalization based on the tenets of the Islamic religion. Moderate Arab scholars call for the acceptance of globalization as a process of compliance with the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights, stating that all nations have a right to be sovereign and independent bereft of political or cultural interference (Mohamed El-shibiny, 2005, p.15).
But what is common to all Arab scholars, be they moderate, conservative or radical, is the repudiation of encumbrance of a single universal set of values and norms on all Arab communities. The aspect of cultural universalism is the unethical imposition of values and ways of life upon another people, with the intent of replacing those values, religious pursuits, customs and traditions and way of life, similar to the actions practised in the earlier period of colonial activity in the last 400 years. Arab scholars repudiate the call from some the West to unilaterally impose some from of the culture that is present in the West to acquiesce the Middle East with the practices that is alien to their culture. The solution to the dilemma is not hegemony, the imposition of what the values are called as acceptable, but synergy, working with the alternative cultures to strengthen one and the other (El-shibiny, 2005,p.15).
If the process of globalization includes factors of expansion and subjugation, the effects on the countries that have yet to completely liberate themselves from the binds of colonial pasts have still to be adduced (Abed al- Jabri). Until recenty, the term globalization was unheard of, becoming more used in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and its allied states, thus heralding the demise of the communist dogma. That void was filled by the doctrines of Western capitalism as the indisputable political, economic and military power in the world, also a factor in the plan to found a New World paradigm that seeks to advocate a liberal global economic emporium tethered to the establishment of a global culture, democracy, human rights and integration (El-shibiny, 2005, p. 16).
But the democracy that we seek to establish is in the context of the Arab world, and not on the Western principles that the rest of the modern world seeks to impose. In the opinion of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, the concept of democracy in the Middle East has been growing in part to the thrust of globalization. According to Siniora, the growth of democracy in the Arab world will not only benefit the Middle East, but the rest of the world. But he added that the peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Arabs and the Muslims is key to the continued growth of democracy in the region (Strategic Foresight Group, 2007).
The Birth of the Modern Middle East Culture
In the book of Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism (1994), Said states that in all national cultures, there is an desire to be sovereign, one that can influence and dominate. This is true in the cultures of the Japanese, French, British and Indian cultures (Edward Said, 1994, p.16). Ilan Pappe (2005) cites Said in his book , The modern Middle East, as giving two definitions of culture, one that is expanded and the other as being limited. In the expanded version, culture covers all aspects of life, while the definition of culture in the limited sense points to the conduct of the practices, such as descriptive art, representation and communication that is separated from the social, political and economic elements of life, whose primary purpose is the attainment of pleasure (Ilan Pappe, 2005, p.163).
Many of the stories that portray the cultural aspects of the Middle East has been narrate mostly by outsiders. Outsiders slanted the story, either deliberately or unconsciously, to possess the people of the culture. In the last three decades, Muslim scholars, many based outside of the Middle East, have been critical of the narration as essayed by outsiders, reconstructed the story and gave other versions of the cultural history of the peoples. But even with the efforts of these scholars, the Western definition and understanding of Middle Eastern culture still pervaded the hay that society looks upon the Middle East and the cultures of the people (Pappe, 2005, p.163).
The era of globalization will continue to saturate various societies across the globe. As this fact will continue into the long term future, the discussion will now centre on the need for the societies to assert themselves, recognize their own cultural value and new definitions of life apart from their traditional beliefs and norms. Critical to this definition of culture in the context of a world that is on the path toward globalization is the need for others to recognize their culture and the attendant action of learning to coexist with the other cultures seeking recognition and acceptance. Islamic cultures, identities and interests are to considered dynamic and developing, with the sector of reform minded Muslims having proven their capability to develop hybrids string enough to dispute with existing regimes (Mahmood Monshipouri, 2009, p. vii).
But the sector of the radical or militant Muslims have outright rejected or disputed any form of intermarriage or exposure to foreign cultures. The defiant stance on the acceptance of foreign cultures has been linked to the relentless war America has waged against terrorism. Shiism, with its strict adherence on the practice of Islamic beliefs, the right of declaring a holy war or Jihad, and the virtue of sacrifice, has engendered a pan-Islamic identity of defiance and hostility that is spreading in the Middle Eastern region. The era of globalization had developed both restraints and avenues for cultural politics in the Middle East. In the ideology of the West, globalization has centred on the design to acquiesce non Western societies to Western social norms and values (Monshipouri, 2009, p. 1).
As opposed to the desired saturation of these non Western traits and traditions with the more acceptable western notions of culture, the targeted non Western nations view the globalization trend, and the imposition of the Western culture, the non Westernised states view globalization as a form of domination, a new form of colonialism being thrust upon them. Many in the West see the era of globalization as the superior set of values and policy structure, the non Western societies see globalization as a flawed form of universalism. This is the main reason that the mention of the term globalization has called for the reactions of others to segregate themselves into a particular aggregation, especially in terms of religion and nationhood (Monshipouri, 2009, p.1).
With more than a billion followers scattered across the globe, Islam is the most credible challenge to the cultural mores of the Western concept of the factor of culture. The practice of the Islamic religion is giving other nations an option of another political and moral viewpoint to that which is being forced upon them by the Western powers. The discontinuing action of European Muslims of unbundling religion and culture have desired a new avenue of community building as a subset of umma- a globalist Islamic religion created through transnational identities of Muslims and networks (Monshipouri, 2009, p. 240).
The approach is seen to the contribution to the accruing Westernisation in Muslim immigrants, as many of the European Muslims display overlapping and multiple identities. This is to say that a Muslim follower can be devout in hisher religion and a devoted citizen in a European country, as many Muslims tend to be assimilationist to cultures around them. At present, Muslims utilize the concepts of human rights and minority rights to enhance their values and to essay them in a Westernised manner. For example, Muslim women that are discriminated in educational opportunities and employment rights or to wear the hijab file legal actions to claim anti discrimination law protection. A revival in Islamic traditions can thus be experienced in the context of modern and Western practices of societal and employment conduct while internalizing such modern concepts (Monshipouri, 2009, p.240).
In examining the approaches of studying the Islamic interpretations, there are two means to study the interpretations of the Islamic religion Jihadi and Ijihatdi. The former espouses a strict following of the Islamic religion as stated in the written pages of the Islamic holy book , the Quran. The Jihadi presentation of the
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment