wHAT CLASH?

Antionette Rodriguez

Professor Metcalf

 

            Before I took Professor Metcalf’s course, I would have ignorantly agreed that there are fundamental differences between the “West” and “East” that does not allow for co-existence. Like many “Westerners,” I would not have been able to name the main differences but somehow I would have known they were there. However, I owe much gratitude to the multiple videos, documentaries, and assigned readings that have informed and educated my opinion. Granted, I did not come out of the class an “expert” on the Middle East, but I do know, as Socrates said, that I know nothing at all and that fact does not grant me the right to make an opinion or share my expertise on a subject I know nothing about. But I will comment on the question Professor Metcalf proposes: Does the clash resonate?

            The first video Professor showed the class was disturbing because I was clueless about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how explicit the alliance between America and Israel is. After the video, the class discussed how “pro-Palestine” the video was, but even then I felt the video gave voice to an oppressed people. Of course my opinion is biased, but I do not support nations or “races,” rather my alliance lies with truth, justice, and humanity. The problem (which many do not seen as a problem) is how people allow the government not only to engage in inhumane acts, but how we allow them to operate with impunity. And what angers me the most is how Orientalism and construction of the Other dehumanizes people. At the end of reading Rassi El Toufic’s Arab in America I realized that at the end of the day we must remember that “we” are all human and there is no “other.” That conclusion was the most important out of all the discussions in class and “news” reports because it is a fact that people do not even to stop to think about because we are all caught up in a world of differences, intolerance, and hate.

            Edward Said’s book, Orientalism, was the most influential book of the entire course. Said, along with Zachary Lockman’s Contending Visions of the East, both explore how our idea of the Orient has a falsely constructed history and how scholars, intellectuals, and writers continue to promote this 19^th century idea through images, books, and the inescapable media. Said’s work was considered revolutionary because he was a Middle Eastern scholar who challenged years of history and asked why “Orientals” are portrayed in obvious discriminatory ways. Through research, Said precisely learned that scholars imposed their biases and prejudices onto the Middle Eastern people. He challenges other scholars to rethink “Oriental” images and representation in hopes of providing credible, accurate scholarship concerning the Middle East. One of Said’s concerns was to humanize the Middle Eastern people. It is such a basic principal that the most important leaders and elites of the world have forgotten or choose to dismiss.

            My favorite documentary of the course was To Die in Jerusalem. It is so vital to the class because the idea of the Other is so prominent. Some of the class focused on whether or not the suicide bombing was right or wrong, but the real question that no one wants to ask is why Ayat made her decision. The majority of Americans are never going to know what it feels like to live under Israeli occupation, so our opinion and moral judgment about Ayat’s suicide bombing is invalid. Americans can comment on how Others believe in suicide bombings and terrorist acts, but we have no credibility because we do not live under those conditions. The Israeli woman’s opinions in the video directly paralleled a Westerner’s perspective. She refused to listen or understand any other voice but her own. The Israeli woman believed her voice was truth and she made no room for an alternative voice. The Bush Administration enforced this idea of “us” against “them,” “we” believe and “they” believe; there was no alternative, it was either you are with America or the “axis of evil.” Americans have been trained to believe that the Other is so uncivilized and barbaric that we cannot even see similarities. Someone commented on their blog that the image portrayed of her Ayat as a hero was undeserved. There is not much difference from an American soldier going abroad to fight for his country and freedom and killing innocent people (as many news reports have shown) than a Palestinian woman who believes in her country and freedom and willing to fight and kill the enemy (in this case the oppressor). I would argue that Ayat’s decision should especially be merited because she is not acting on the offensive; she is resisting an unjust, illegal occupation and making a political statement. Once again, I am not an expert on the Occupation or on terrorists, but I was simply struck at how people were quick to morally judge the bombing without considering the most important question: why? People’s perception of the Other is so misconstrued and hateful that we refuse to consider similarities and make connections with one another, least of all attempt to live in tolerance.

            Genuine videos such as American East and The Kingdom were great examples of how much of a “clash” there is between “East” and “West.” What I admire about both films was the humanity in the American and Middle Eastern characters. In American East, Mustafa’s family resembled a typical middle-American family with the exception of their daily struggle with America’s anti-Semitism. Each family member had multiple layers and there were plenty of similarities to American family movies with similar themes such as family strength, resolution with rivals, and the struggle for a better life. Plenty of American films stress the importance of family, fathers pressuring daughters to marry a man he has approved of and children rebelling. The unique element in this film was that on top of all that they were Muslims living in America post 9/11. I find The Kingdom to be the best example of two nations working together for justice. There is no clash of civilizations or clash of cultures; there is an FBI team and a Saudi Police team working together to capture Muslim extremists. At first there is some difference between the Western and Eastern characters, but what is rare is how they realize despite differences in religion, region, and culture they are both officers of the law working for the same ultimate goal: justice. Through dialogue and cooperation they establish tolerance and even become friends with one another. Does the clash resonate is not even worth debating, the real question people should ask is how “we” (humans) can learn to co-exist on peaceful terms. I believe the first step is for leaders to engage in an honest, open dialogue with each other.