“Some Arab countries have lost much of their identity as a result of their obsession with the gloss of Western civilization, only to discover they have been chasing a mirage.”
The above is the opinion an education official in a Gulf state, expressed in a recent interview. The official called for “immunization” against cultural invasion while cursing globalization and vowing that no one would dare change his country’s textbooks.
Of course we are used to hearing officials repeat hollow statements whose echo they themselves can’t hear, not even bothering to reflect on what such statements could actually mean. If you ask any one of them what words like cultural invasion, globalization and immunization mean to them, all they offer is a vague elastic explanation.
The statement from the Gulf education official is a stark example of empty talk, meant for local consumption only. Alas, it is utter nonsense and is only good for giving anyone who comes across it a headache.
Where are those Arab countries that have lost their identity? Where are the Arab countries that managed fully to protect their identity?
Lebanon is the cradle of Arab culture, where the most important Arab literature and poetry are published, and the country that offers the best quality of education.
If he meant Jordan, that is the source of these teachers, engineers and accountants that are found in large numbers in the Gulf. If he meant Tunisia, does he know of any other Arab country that is more homogeneous in its development and cultural heritage? Nor do I think he could accuse Egypt of being without identity.
Then there are the Gulf countries, and just because their people wear the traditional dress of thobe and ghoutra is no reason to think that they are holding fast to a proud heritage.
It is true the Gulf is lucky to have wealth and stability, but at the same time it has shortcomings just like any other Arab country. The education official knows that the most responsive and vulnerable to globalization among Arab states are the Gulf countries.
A sea of humanity from 120 countries and diverse cultures now work in the Gulf.
You won’t find that kind of globalization and interaction even in the West. The number of foreign schools found in the Gulf is more than double that found in Lebanon, Jordan or Tunisia. Gulf markets bustle with people and goods coming from every corner of the globe.
Being the largest users in the region of the Internet and e-mail, Gulf states are a melting pot for world cultures.
Cultural interaction is not a disadvantage, although this is what you could be forgiven for concluding from all those vague definitions of globalization.
Economic openness, too, is not a disaster but an expression of trust and an indication of success at the domestic level.
But if the Gulf official feels that living in a cocoon is the ultimate achievement, then perhaps he ought to direct his attention inward, toward terrorism, intellectual weakness, lack of creativity and failure to provide jobs for the people.
Any attempt to justify our backwardness under the pretext of immunizing ourselves against foreign influence is blind to the facts.
If the Gulf is to take pride in itself, it must be for opening up to the outside world and allowing our culture to communicate and interact with other cultures.
The citizens of the Gulf wear the traditional Arab dress, but they speak international languages and travel to different parts of the world more frequently than many others.
