“So what did you discuss on your show?” asked a friend of mine.
“Fairly generic stuff I guess,” I replied. “It was meant to examine the kinds of stereotypes of Saudis that exist in the West. There were polls taken of random people on the streets of Washington asking them what thoughts came to mind when they heard the words “Saudi Arabia”. I was pretty surprised by the innocuous answers that were given.
“Like what?” he probed further.
“Oh you know. Desert, camels, oil. No mention of terrorism, jihadists, fundamentalism etc. The picture was quite different to what I had previously imagined. Which made me wonder whether regular Americans really do dislike us. What do you think?” I asked an American correspondent who was visiting to cover the summit.
“I think that there are some important points that you have to understand about America. Average Americans aren’t really bothered about foreign relations. They would rather not deal with what’s going on in the rest of the world if it doesn’t affect them.
“But do you think that they have any understanding or opinion of Saudis as such?” I questioned.
“As far back as 1973, when the OPEC crisis hit,” he began, “they started caricaturing Saudis. Whether it be through fear or misunderstanding or anger or envy, the Saudis were actually very easy to caricature. I remember a journalist from a top newspaper referring to them as the guys who wear tablecloths with fan belts on their heads.”
“But before that I guess this wasn’t the case?” I asked.
“Well,” he responded, “do you honestly think that a movie like Lawrence of Arabia could have been made post ‘73? It would have been perceived as being too sympathetic to the Arabs and their cause.”
“As a matter of fact,” added my friend, “when I was in Washington during those times, I queued up for hours to fill up at my regular gas station and the guy told me to go and ask King Faisal for gas. He refused to serve me!” “You’re joking!” I said, astounded.
“It’s true. The Americans were deeply resentful of the way in which they were hit hard economically because of the rise in oil price and blamed Saudi Arabia for this. Even now that event affects their reaction toward us.”
“Do you really think that they have such a good long-term memory?” I asked the journalist.
“It’s more of a visceral reaction,” he replied.
“But how is it that they see us now?” I continued.
“Saudi is so different to the States in terms of family values. Those values used to be so important to us a long time ago. But even if you look at the terms to describe the extended family they are mostly quite technical or pejorative. That’s why Americans find it hard to relate to the whole central concept of the family as being a priority whereas for them, individualism is key.”
“That’s a fascinating way of looking at things,” I commented.
“There are other factors such as the concept of the role of women in society. In the West the trend has been toward making huge progress when it comes to increasing the participation of women in the decision-making process. Americans find it hard to understand or relate to the restrictions placed upon women here. I think that they are far better at relating to other countries in the region that are less traditional.”
“There was a recent poll,” interjected my friend, “that stated that 68 percent of all Americans do not have a favorable opinion of Saudis.”
“Sixty-eight percent? I can’t say that I am surprised but nonetheless that’s a depressing figure,” I volunteered feeling rather dejected.
“Yes, but you know I think that’s positive because at least it shows awareness that we exist,” he said sounding rather pleased.
I had dinner with an American lobbyist visiting for the first time last week and when I asked him what his impressions were of the Kingdom, he replied somewhat candidly that although he had traveled extensively within the region he found it “weird”. He disclosed that while other places were far more Westernized, he couldn’t relate to the deeply traditional aspects of our society. “Everywhere else most of the people dress like us,” he noted.
I found that an interesting and telling observation because it reflected an inability to connect with those of us who appeared different. Although perhaps apparently superficial, this factor lies at the root of much of the misconception that exists. As a society we are proud of upholding our traditions. Aspiring to become modern surely does not have to equate with being Westernized?
A Saudi at the table retorted by saying, “The world is beautiful not because of its similarities but because of its differences.”
I think he is right. Irrespective of how things may appear on the surface what should be important is that we share common values of peace, tolerance and understanding.
