8. Intercultural Communication: The Middle East

From Bahrain to Beirut, the Middle East spans from Asia to Africa, consists of 22 countries (who are also part of the Arab League), is also the historical origin of three of the world’s major religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and represents a myriad of cultures, languages, history, art and architecture. Though always considered strategically, economically, geopolitically, culturally, religiously and historically significant, the Middle East exploded into mainstream news media (and also into our vernacular) after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the invasion of Afghanistan shortly after, and Iraq in 2003. With all these political developments and attention being paid to the region (kudos also to the oil industry), the Middle East has become a "hot" topic of discussion, and unfortunately, the people too are not spared.

Though on good terms with the West, do their differences reflect a "clash of civilizations"? In this blog entry, I will be doing a case study of the Middle East and intend to debunk stereotypes of the their people, culture, values and religion, as I feel that these stereotypes act as attitudinal barriers to intercultural communication, and do not promote proper dialogue and cross-cultural understanding.

Since September 11, people from the Middle East have been stereotyped in the mass media (specifically in the West), and this has exacerbated the prevalence of negative social attitudes
towards Arabs and people of Middle Eastern origin. Here are some common stereotypes:

Stereotype #1: The Middle East is one big sandy desert with lots of camels, populated by men in turbans and long white robes, women in black with their faces covered, men waving long curved swords, etc.

Debunked: Air-conditioned super-malls, designer labels, shiny new Hummers, valet parking and trendy nightclubs are part of living in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait and Israel. Though, deserts are common due to the arid weather, areas with inhabitants are equipped with the necessary living essentials.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Stereotype #2: "Arab" and "Muslim" refer to the same people.

Debunked: Arabs are people who speak Arabic as a native language and identify themselves as Arabs; Muslims are those who practice the religion of Islam.
Many Arabs are not Muslims, and not all Muslims are Arabs. More than a billion people in the world are Muslims, but fewer than 15 percent of Muslims are Arabs. The Middle East is very diverse in terms of religion, as close to half of Lebanon's population includes Christian Maronites, Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants and large Christian communities also exist in Egypt, Syria, and Israel. Judaism (Israel) and Zoroastrianism (Iran) are also practiced in the region.

The women of the Middle East

Popular Lebanese Singer, Haifa Wehbe

Benazir Bhutto

Stereotype #3:

Women are oppressed and all of them have to wear the veil.

Debunked:

In Amman (Jordan), women hold important government jobs, drive, vote, and study. In many Middle Eastern countries, laws allow women to vote, work outside the home, and even run for office. Though, in some countries, custom and practice may not always be as liberal as the law allows. It all depends on the role and interpretation of religion in society and government, and to what extent theocracy plays a role in day to day life. In countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, the veil (burqa or hijab) is enforced, though not in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and Israel.

Queen Rania of Jordan (Pictured above and below)

These stereotypes have been perpetuated by the media, and can be seen in Hollywood films, and also in a lot of Western news media. Coupled with 9/11 tensions, Arabs and others who hail from the Middle East (or those who look Middle Eastern, but are not of Middle Eastern descent, in terms of ethnicity or nationality) have been targeted, harassed and discriminated against in the United States and other parts of the world. This has led to poorer relations between the United States and countries in the Middle East, and with little cultural knowledge and understanding of the Arab region, it is hard to avoid miscommunication. Furthermore, in the highly collectivist Middle East, cultural norms and values differ from country to country.

1. Stereotypes: Perception or Reality?

In this increasingly globalized, inter-connected, ever-changing world, time has become a priceless commodity, that we are constantly trying to find new ways, gadgets, etc, to minimise and save time. Personally, I feel that we have become so obsessed with saving time, that we apply the same strategies we use when doing our work or school assignments, to when meeting or judging people. With wireless, home-delivery, Speedpost, MSN, SMS, MMS, credit card bookings, and the countless number of technological innovations that are available out there to give us what we want, and when we want it, we have become a "me" generation. And with that, the exacerbation of stereotypes.

In this first entry, I decided to write a personal reflection, as I felt that the content regarding perception and communication that was covered last week is very relevant to countless of my personal experiences. I will also be looking at stereotypes in Singapore from a social constructionist perspective. I realized that in Singapore, we are extremely judgemental and stereotypical, which is ironic, considering the fact that we represent an amalgamation of cultures, influences, languages and views. With such diversity, you would expect less stereotypical perceptions and categorization. However, with the country working by the second, time is precious. This is reflected by the people who shove on the trains, and are constantly on the look-out for a seat, and by those who are constantly running for buses, taxis, etc.

In Singapore, the mass media, our society and our education system contributes to our influences of selection. All these form our social network, and thus contributes to our preferences, beliefs, value systems, and stereotypes. As a result, the conversations I have had with people have given me insights to their perceptions and stereotypes, and in many instances, even I was the subject of controversy:

A: Your name is Steve Andre? Are you Catholic?
S: Hmmmm, no.
A: But you have a middle name?
S: You can have a middle name and not be Catholic or Christian right?

J: Are you Singaporean?
S: Yes.
J: But you don't sound like one...?
S: Ermmm... how is a Singaporean supposed to sound?
J: I don't know... you have an accent..
S: Oh... you mean, I don't speak in Singlish!

R: What are you?
S: Erm.. human?
R: No, what's your race?
S: Human race?
R: Seriously la.. are you Malay, Chinese or Indian?
S: Oh.. you mean ethnic group or heritage? Well, I have Indian and Chinese heritage..
R: Oh... Do you have a Chinese name?
S: No....

D: Oh, are you fasting?
S: No. Why would I?
D: I don't know.. all my other Muslim friends are fasting..
S: I'm not Muslim..
D: Oh.. I thought you are Malay...

Those are just snippets of conversations I have had with people in Singapore. I realized that we have become so accustomed to categorizing people into the categories of Malay, Chinese, Indian or Others, that we immediately associate people to a particular ethnic group if we see any resemblance, in terms of outward appearance or behaviour in reference to our preconceived notion of the individual ethnic groups. From a name, people like to see what ethnic group you belong to, and from there, religion, and then; economic background. From the way you talk, people here also draw conclusions on whether you are a Singaporean, or judge your level of Singaporean-ness. If you speak proper English, chances are; you are not a Singaporean. I find that absurd, that we think so little of ourselves, that we assume that our people can only be Singaporean, when they stutter in Singlish. Not like I have any objection towards Singlish, I myself switch from proper English to Singlish time to time, but people tend to view speaking proper English as a foreign 'thing'. Let's give our schools and English teachers more credit, please?

With a population of approximately 4.84 million people, at least 1 million people in Singapore are non-Singaporean born residents. These 1 million people constitute of immigrants, PR-status holders and new citizens. Thus, how would we classify them? We have thousands of Japanese, Indonesian, Thai and Filipino expatriates working and living in Singapore. Additionally, 9 million tourists visit Singapore annually. At such crossroads of cultural fusion and interaction, I would think Singaporeans would try to keep an open mind and move with the changing times. Not only is Singapore getting smaller, the whole world itself is shrinking, kudos to new communication technologies and globalization. Singapore is reminiscent of any other cosmopolitan city such as, New York, London, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.

(At my best friend, Adrianna's 21st birthday bash - multi-cultural/ethnic Singapore)

Looking at this issue from a social constructionist perspective, I feel that Singaporeans use the tools provided by their culture to create collective representations of their reality. That is why, they tend to have the perception that if you're Malay, you're supposed to think a certain way, and if you're Indian, you're supposed to look a particular way. Plus, Singaporeans are guilty of not experiencing the world directly, and constructing their world of communication by what they learn in school, experience around them, and hear from other people.