Reflection #4

I was going to post a little bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I felt like I could write about something that is just a tiny more personal. I grew up in a Jewish family with Israeli family members and used to look a bit down on the Muslim world, not because of family influence, but because of my own assumptions about Arabs and Arabic culture and from Westernized movies like Aladdin. Much like Edward Said stated, I had a very biased Westernized perspective of much of the Middle East and didn't really have a full understand  However, for the past several years now I have been studying Arab culture a on my own and for the past few months I have been a student of Arabic language, and I have come to the realization that Jewish (Israeli) culture and Arabic Muslim culture, Hebrew and Arabic are alarmingly similar. I have come to deeply love the Arab and other Middle Eastern cultures and know that I want to forever be a part of the MENA region.

From day one in my Arabic course when I first heard the Arabic alphabet, I was suddenly shocked to hear the first three Arabic letters, "Alif, Baa, Taa". It sounded oddly familiar as I thought about where I had heard these before. "It sounds just like Hebrew!" I thought to myself as I went over the first three letters of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph, Bet, Vet. Going over many different Arabic words as well, I found that they either completely paralleled the Hebrew vocabulary or sounded excruciatingly similar. While the two religious languages matched, I recalled research I did several years ago when I found that Jewish garb and Islamic religious garb and found they look very similar, one of the similarities being that Jewish women have to cover their head with similar looking clothing after marriage while Muslim women have to cover their head with a hijab as well. The Kuffiyeh, the symbol of Arab nationalism and a common clothing trend in MENA, I found was actually worn by both Arab Muslims and Jews at one point, but that the Jews dropped the piece of clothing in the past few centuries.
There are a vast other number of similarities dealing with food, culture, phrases used, daily life, etc. However I could go on forever listing them.

To me, it is a shame that Jews and Muslims have had a feud lasting hundreds of years even predating the Israeli Palestinian conflict. We mirror each other; we are a broken family. I just hope that some day the many Jews and Muslims that have come to dislike each other can one day become enlightened to what I have found the past several years looking at the sibling religions of Judaism and Islam. We can only get so little accomplished in MENA with war between Israelis and Arabic countries.

Reflection 4 - Anjali

This week, I have been thinking a lot less about the world around me. I took a break from looking outward to look inward. After coming to University directly from a gap year, I realized that though there are innumerable positives of a gap year, there are also inevitable negatives. I just spent a year doing exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life - dancing, being actively engaged in the community, and empowering others internationally. So, these past couple of weeks have begged the question: what exactly am I doing here? My brain keeps telling me that I'm here for a reason; but my heart wants to be back in London or India.
I struggled with this idea - and am still struggling with it somewhat - until another idea struck me. What if I could somehow combine all of my passions in an independent activity that could have a tangible outcome by the end of my time in university? Combine dance, empowerment, international travelling. Tell the stories of girls in places abroad, in places like the Middle East, and spread awareness of the culture that gives them less of a place in society. It's just an outline of an idea: a dance showcase telling the story of one girl. Partnering with that girl and the organization that is working to empower her. Travel and visit that organization and have a presence in their lives.
Now, learning in all of my classes seems like research towards that project; everything I'm learning is furthering my future. That's the feeling that I want to continue to feel in University. 

Reflection #4- Hanna

First off- This Saturday I am meeting up with the blogger from The Moor Next Door, so if any of you have questions that you would like me to ask him, just hit me up with that.

Now that I have said that, Here goes my reflection.

I wanted to talk about the film 1/2 Revolution that I went to watch after last Thursday's class. I was not able to stay for the entire film but I was still able to gain a lot from the viewing. If you do not know anything about the uprising in Egypt, then it is good to research before seeing the movie because the movie focuses on the people's emotions and the experience rather than the details of what started this uprising. I was aware and also not aware of what had happened during the uprising in Egypt. I think it is very typical of westerners to view the Middle East as I do. We acknowledge that it is a real place and yet we distance ourselves from the Middle East and from the struggles of the people. We feel a wide range of emotions for the people but we have no empathy for them. It may sound stupid to others who have been more engaged in the Arab Spring, but watching this film was the first time that I had really thought about the struggle that the people had gone through or really felt anything for them. I felt a sense of empathy. Not in the sense that I could relate to them at all, but the thought of my being there and trying to keep my child away from the violence, seeing the people I love injured or killed in the process of fighting for what they believe in, and contemplating if I would be someone who was strong enough to go in the streets and protest. I am inclined to be honest and say that I would be too cowardly to fight, but then again, this is their freedom that they are standing up for...It's hard to grasp the concept of rather dying for a cause than living your life in submission. It is also very easy for us to forget that the US was a supporter of Mubarak....which that idea is still simmering in my head...so I have no other words for that.

Is Democracy always best? Yes, is the immediate answer. When you factor in time and place and how and who the people want, then the answer isn't so cut and dry.
Yay! for Egypt being free!!!...but Oh, they elect someone from the Muslim Brotherhood...right, ummm, yay?
Are we still advocates of democratization when the votes aren't towards people who want to be just like the US?
We can make this same examination of other countries in the Arab Uprising.
From my perspective, I want democracy for all people, but admittedly I want it for them the way that I have it. Their is a difference between the people of these countries and the people who will lead these countries in post-revolution. The people who will lead these countries, most likely, do not like us. Do we still want democracy for these people? Yes, because they are not the people who will lead their country. Does this mean that it is in our interest to try and influence the uprising? Whether or not it is in our interest to intervene...should we?
No....probably not....So we just let these people take control of these countries?
These are not rhetorical questions, as I have said before. I really am looking for some opinions so I can better shape my understanding.

Reflection #4

The recent attack of Malala Yousafzai by the Pakistani Taliban has been upsetting and distressing for me. The ninth grader gained fame in the past for a diary she wrote about the Taliban and the harsh Islamic law it imposed in her city of Mingora until 2009. Malala was shoot yesterday on the school bus on the way home; a Taliban gunman entered the bus asking where she was, and she is now in a hospital in Peshawar. The bullet in her spine has been removed and her condition is improving, and many people are praying for her full recovery.

Though Pakistan is not considered part of the MENA region, I still feel like the incident is relevant to this class and the conflict in the MENA region as a whole. It is distressing to me that a girl of only 14 years would be so brutally attacked. But what is even more disturbing is that most major religious parties and mosque leaders have been silent about the shooting, too fearful of Taliban retribution to come out against the group for such a cruel attack. I understand that these religious groups do not want to provoke the Taliban, because it is a powerful group capable of killing and injury many. However, it is important for religious groups to support the people and condemn the actions of the Taliban. Since religious groups can be considered part of civil society in Pakistan, it is important for them to act as allies to the people. When these groups stay silent about acts like the one on Malala, it could be misconstrued as them sympathizing with the Taliban instead of the victim.

In regards to sympathizing with the Taliban, it is also dangerous for religious groups to stay silent about such attacks because the western media focuses on their silence, which in turn shows religion in Pakistan in a bad light. What with all of the other prejudices and stereotypes westerners make regarding religion in the Middle East, situations like this can only make it worse. 

Structured Response #4

Both articles outline governmental systems of the Middle East. One argues that social movements can produce fast acting change within these states, while the other contends that there is not a strong enough existing state in much of these areas.

Social movements across the Middle East can provide vast opportunities as an avenue of democratic participation. The mobilization of socially and economically disadvantaged groups is both easier done through grass roots movements as well as done more effectively. These groups can organize political participation through lobbying, voter registration, education initiatives and leadership institutes. The structured inequalities of democracy can be countered by these independent movements, which set agendas and prioritize problems. The views of these groups are somewhat all encompassing; they can focus on a wider array of issues and attract supporters with overlapping issue concerns. The work of these movements can create and revitalize civil society and the political representation they create increases trust in the government and diversify the government’s policy. However, before social movements can take shape, gain membership and align themselves with the government, the state needs to have a strong and functional central government.

Anderson’s work brings to light the issue that although the formation of these social movements has brought about change in other areas, some states within the MENA region are not developed enough to produce change. While some MENA states achieved secure administrative power, others did not. Since the development of Middle Eastern states after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the government of states was not the center of social and political structure. Peasant agriculture, close-knit ethnic groups and long distance trade made centralizing the government nearly impossible. There are political units without statehood such as the Palestine Liberation Organization or ethnic groups like the Kurds with no means of political force or governmental outlet to express their views. The idea that a state’s government can be used as a tool for supporting the needs of societal actors does not take into account that the government’s choices are determined by its’ ability to obtain resources. If the government is not strong and functional, no amount of political pressure from societal groups will influence its policies. 

Reflection #4

After a federal judge overruled the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit's request to delay the use of a racially, politically, and religiously charged ad in the metro system, the ads were posted Monday. The ad makes sweeping generalizations about Muslims, referring to them as savages and urging the reader to "Support Israel. Defeat Jihad." The ad, run by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, was delayed but posted under the defense of the first amendment. The DC transit system pushed for the delay of this ad due to the recent and violent reaction to the online video, "Innocence of Muslims." Like so much of the American media, this ad ignores that majority of Muslims who support Jihad non-violently and uses marginal extremist examples to paint the picture of a violent and hateful Middle East. It is yet another factor playing into the growing American prejudice of the MENA region. The ad completely ignores the Muslim teachings of piousness and religious tolerance, but that would be counterproductive wouldn't it? If this ad had been offensive to Christians or Jews, would the response have been the same? There has been some protest in DC, one woman covered the sign with post-it notes that spelled out the sayings "Choose Tolerance" and "If you see something hateful, say something peaceful." The overall message is bigoted and unnecessary, especially in the nation's capital where so many different religions and cultures coexist.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-nyc-subway-ad-post-it-notes-20121009,0,6695941.story

Structured Response 3

History has revealed that social movements in the MENA region have occurred with varying degrees of success. It seems integral to realize the link between these social movements and the states that they have occurred in across the region in order to understand how these movements can function as an avenue for democratic participation in the region. The clearest way to analyze these relationships is to analyze past social movements and their successes with regard to their relationship to the state.

The two most important factors to understand, according to Lisa Anderson, deal with a state’s “construction” and its “form of bureaucracy.” That is to say: are smaller or larger states more conducive to social reform? Is a strong or weak model of bureaucracy more conducive to social reform? Past social movements reveal that the most successful movements leading to democratic participation have occurred in smaller states with a looser form of bureaucracy. This is most likely because the smaller population allows for more of an ease of communication, and a looser bureaucracy implies that there is a weaker central government and therefore more of an ability to effect positive change. 

On the other hand, there are a few challenges that present themselves when viewing social movements as an avenue for democratic participation in the region. One of these is that one social activist group does not necessarily represent the desires of the entire population. This implies that even if a leader of a social movement group comes into power, that does not necessarily mean that the entire country would be happy with this regime change. There is more of a change for a potential civil war to break out, especially because there is no effective central government to keep different parties under control. Another challenge is that since a lot of social movement groups have diverted from the traditional hierarchy and moved to a more spread out leadership system, there may be difficulty trying to choose one leader to take control of the governing party. This indecision in the new government may lead to anarchy or military control of the state, two things that make the formation of another government more difficult to attain. It will be interesting to see how governments in these post-Arab spring states will form and continue to form in the future.