Tabitha Basa-Ong
ILA: Islam, Media, and the West
Helga Tawil-Souri
October 29, 2008
"Typical" Middle Easterners
Until this class, most of the texts I had read were written by professors and experts, and their works are usually full of jargon and ideologies. Reading texts, from comics to blogs, opened a window where we could learn and understand from a “normal” person, living life as “we” do. The graphic novels, short story, and blog we read were manifestations of a personal experience within times of conflict and war. After reading their personal experiences, it was difficult for me to forget them: each had an effect on me, whether it was sympathy, pain, or just knowledge. I felt that these works were meant to show that Palestinians, Iranians, Iraqis, and Muslims are “just like us,” which I find problematic. “Us” assumes that there is one norm, usually the West, and that in it of itself is orientalist. Also, the majority of these texts show a clear East vs West, whether the eastern country is Iran, Iraq, the Palestinian territories, etc. The West, because of recent events and its influence worldwide, is undoubtedly America. I do not think the texts are “clash of civilizationalist.” Each author presents a political conflict, like land or war, not innate, indelible cultural differences. Additionally, each of the authors may or may not be exceptions to what the rest of the public is like in their countries; without further research and information, I do not think we can make assumptions about entire countries just from one person’s account of it.
The orientalist influence in all of these texts were counter-displayed, except for in Arab in America. I believe that the idea of orientalism was most obvious in Arab in America, as el Rassi clearly delineates how he was constantly singled out, and in some cases berated, for being Arab: on page 16, he lights a cigarette for a guy who, at first, assumes he is Spanish, and then assumed he was a terrorist. I was actually sick to my stomach when I read this because a lot of Americans are this ignorant, and it is embarrassing. This to me was a perfect example of orientalism because the West is clearly against the East – without any proof of el Rassi being a terrorist, since he looked similar to the other Arabs on TV, the man made an assumption. Even in describing his experience at college: on page 26, he discusses how another Caucasian student who “came from wealth and privilege” wanted to organize the students again war. She assumed, because he was Arab, that he would immediately side with her, but he found her naïve. This is also orientalist because it seems like she is imposing a superiority over him with her views on war protest. El Rassi acknowledges that a war protest would not make anything easier, but since she is the Caucasian Westerner, she belittles him saying, “Man, Toufic I thought you were smarter!”
In the rest of the works, orientalism was shown through what was said and particular situations. In Persepolis, Satrapi attended a French school, then travels to Austria, both of which are of Western origins. Satrapi compares the West with Iran, and Iran seems to be portrayed as backwards: on page 116, she illustrates a scene when she tells her friends that she has already had sex. They basically call her a whore and perceive her to be a product of Western civilization, even though they wear their hair and clothes in a “western” way. Their disproval of her losing her virginity is a “backwards” way of thinking, and Satrapi clearly disagrees with their reaction. This separation of herself is orientalist because it follows the idea the Iran is so different than a Western country like Austria.
Although there is a common theme of “us” (in these cases, Islam) versus “them” (in these cases, the West), the clash of civilizations that Lewis defined is not really portrayed. Arab in America immediately defies the monolithic definition of Islam versus the West since el Rassi lives just outside of Chicago. Lewis’ clash of civilizations does not acknowledge that there are various races and nationalities within the large worlds of Islam and the West, and el Rassi is an example of an Arab who lives in America. Another example is Salam Pax’s blog. On November 2, 2002, he discusses getting visas to other countries in the Middle East. He lists Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, and Syria, and gives reasons why, as an Iraqi, cannot move to such places (30). Similarly, in the Lebanon-based texts “A Happy Childhood” and “Memory for Forgetfulness,” both of these discuss a conflict between the peoples of Lebanon in Lebanon. Clearly there are clashes within the frames that Lewis defined, whether it is between Middle Eastern nations or in a nation itself. None of these texts attribute their disputes to a historical, innate difference that cannot be changed or solved. Moreover, as Said formerly discussed, each text acknowledges the humanity of such conflicts. A clash of ideas and historical differences should not excuse humans from terrorizing and killing other humans, which I feel is quite obvious in Palestine.
Although these texts opened my eyes to life in Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq, I think it is dangerous to assume that an individual experience can reflect that of an entire nation. Considering the authors of each of these texts, it is difficult to pin them as “typical” Iranians or “atypical Iraqis.” Just as there is no such thing as a “typical” American, since we are all from different places, experience different things, speak different languages, there is really no such thing as a “typical” Lebanese. Even though many of the authors might share similar experiences with other citizens of their country, I think it is too reductionist to make assumptions on an entire country. For instance, Sacco’s representations of many of the Palestinians were the ones who were in jail or have been shot. I am sure that many of them have had this happen, but Sacco was specifically looking out for the Palestinians with violent stories. We should not assume that all Palestinians have been in jailed or have been terrorized by the Shin Bet.
I do believe that it was a benefit to read such firsthand accounts from these “controversial countries.” The one main idea I extrapolated was that I felt the west was wrong. I feel like a hypocrite living in America, loving Israel, and ignoring issues in the Middle East and Iraq. The fact that such works could have such a profound effect on me is incredible. I do not think that el Rassi, Satrapi, Sacco, Darwish, Kerbaj, and Pax should make us see that they are “just like us,” but I believe that these stories should show everyone that they are human. They are people with feelings, who have funny, crazy, and sad stories, and can relate to violence and war because of situations their government (and our government) have put them in. Each have opened my eyes to a world that I never knew much about, and knowing that these were written by people who have been to/are from the countries that they are talking about just gives us a new perspective, and shows what is not being shown in our news media today.
Works Cited
El Rassi, Toufic. Arab in America. San Francisco: Last Gasp, 2007.
Pax, Salam. Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi. New York: Grove Press, 2003.
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004.
Bibliography
Darwish, Mahmoud. Memory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982. Trans. Ibrahim Muhawi. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
Kerbaj, Mazen. “A Happy Childhood.” Words Without Borders: The Online Magazine for International Literature. 12 Oct 2008.
Sacco, Joe. Palestine: The Special Edition. China: Fantagraphics Books, 2007.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1978.