Here’s an interesting essay from the German website Qantara.de. The writer wonders just what there is in ‘Arabism’ that needs so much protection that it rejects so many aspects of modernity. He suggests that before getting hot and bothered about a ‘clash of civilizations’, it might be useful to resolve the ‘clash within civilizations’ to understand what might be worth keeping. Do read the whole thing.
The well-known writer and media expert Khaled Hroub is critical of those who champion “cultural particularism” in the Arab world. He sees this way of thinking as being nothing more than a method of defending Arab despotism and the backwardness of the region
“Globalisation threatens our cultural particularism: the danger that our culture, language and religion will be wiped out must be firmly confronted!” One often hears such statements in discussions on the relationship between Muslim Arab societies and globalisation. The confrontation is spoken about as if it were a kind of “traditional obligation.”
Two issues require analysis: firstly, what does one understand by cultural particularism, and secondly, what effects does globalisation have on the cultures of the world.
Cultural particularism can mean a variety of things: tradition and religion, conscious and unconscious social conventions, values which regulate behaviour, attitudes towards beauty and ugliness together with the forms of political domination and social conformity which result from them.
What is cultural particularism?
Usually, “cultural particularism” is brought into play from a defensive position, but in fact cultural particularism is a facet of identity – and vice versa. The essence of both cultural particularism and identity can only be grasped when one draws comparisons with the cultural particularism and the identity of others.
Those among the Arab elites who champion the concept of cultural particularism are inclined to assume an inner unity within this particularism. But, in practice, this unity is lacking within any existing cultural system.
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December:30:2008 - 16:03
A document well worth reading.
There is an odd irony that ulemaa supporters often espouse the view that our religion is threatened, while simultaneously holding a triumphalist view that eventually all other religions will wither in the face of our religion’s truths.
Islam and Arab culture are quite strong, with no signs of any quantitative decline.
Indeed, the threats to each stem from their success.
December:31:2008 - 04:54
I agree that cultural particularism can mean a lot of things. I think there are so many other “cultural particularisms” that are far more under threat than those of the Arabs or whatever ones are identified with Islam. Absolutely Arab despots use this “threat to cultural particularism” to get pan-Arabism fired up and focused away from their own problems. I just don’t believe any of these particularisms are under threat by anyone but the Arabs themselves, unless beating your wife into submission or selling your eight year old girl in sexual and child-rearing slavery to an old pervert for profit are also cultural particularisms. Then I guess they are indeed under threat, as they undeniably should be.
That said: they choose to change themselves. They buy pirated DVDs of “24″ and they eat at McDonald’s. Nobody is forcing them to get diabetes.
December:31:2008 - 06:12
Piracy is relativly related to censorship mind you. I’d happily get a digital scan of Eden: It’s an Endless world, than never get the print because the Media ministry confiscated it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_(manga)
The younger generation appreciate uncensored media from Film to video games.. The Mc Donalds fad.. well.. MCds have a very successful cultural penetration experince.. I see that their best selling items in my town is actually the Ice cream.
Health and fitness is a huge issue, there is a huge focus on it recently. If you see Al Ahsa region changes in the last 3 years. You will find that proper parks, walking areas have been established even in village areas.. the focus to create more of them is really impressing that its becoming convinent to just walk from your home to those sidewalks.
Everybody has their own version of the Saudi Arabia story.. it doesn’t mean that the Saudis should dance to whatever tune others pick for them. Many Muslims have their own view on how the Saudi should run Mecca as well.. I personally wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the Saudi think tanks. I do have to say that lately they shown some progression.