Some in the west struggle to believe in the existence of secular, modern Arab men who do not oppress women
Khaled Diab
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 30 October 2010
".....So, what is behind this almost casual hatred and vilification? Many cite the September 11 attacks in 2001 as an important turning point. While prejudice against Arabs, and Muslims in general, certainly increased after these atrocities, the growing demonisation and the public debate it sparked also, and perhaps ironically, led to more people developing greater understanding and sympathy towards Arabs.
But history did not begin on 9/11, nor did anti-Arab prejudice. It has a long history in the west, dating back to the colonial era and even the earlier, mutual love-hate relationship between "Islam" and "Christendom". While there were some orientalists who were Arabophiles, particularly in their admiration for the "noble and honourable" Bedouin but not for the "wily and cunning" city Arab, orientalism as a whole lent a respectable academic veneer, as Edward Said so convincingly demonstrated, to crude racism.
In this view, the Arab is indistinguishable as an individual, unchanging, backward, passive, deceitful, ruled by lust and sexuality, and "in all the centuries has bought no wisdom from experience", as Gertrude Bell, who played a crucial role in creating modern-day Iraq and Jordan, once put it."
Khaled Diab
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 30 October 2010
".....So, what is behind this almost casual hatred and vilification? Many cite the September 11 attacks in 2001 as an important turning point. While prejudice against Arabs, and Muslims in general, certainly increased after these atrocities, the growing demonisation and the public debate it sparked also, and perhaps ironically, led to more people developing greater understanding and sympathy towards Arabs.
But history did not begin on 9/11, nor did anti-Arab prejudice. It has a long history in the west, dating back to the colonial era and even the earlier, mutual love-hate relationship between "Islam" and "Christendom". While there were some orientalists who were Arabophiles, particularly in their admiration for the "noble and honourable" Bedouin but not for the "wily and cunning" city Arab, orientalism as a whole lent a respectable academic veneer, as Edward Said so convincingly demonstrated, to crude racism.
In this view, the Arab is indistinguishable as an individual, unchanging, backward, passive, deceitful, ruled by lust and sexuality, and "in all the centuries has bought no wisdom from experience", as Gertrude Bell, who played a crucial role in creating modern-day Iraq and Jordan, once put it."
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