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The publication of Edward Said’s controversial book, Orientalism, was followed by heated debates surrounding the nature of Western attitudes towards the Middle East. However, the ideas he expressed are still applicable to the modern world, with the widespread stereotypes surrounding Arab people still mostly intact. Therefore, to promote cultural dialogue and fight hostility, both politicians and regular individuals in the West should question their biases regarding the Middle East.
To better understand the roots of modern manifestations of Orientalism, it is important to address its history. Said argues in his book that it started in the early nineteenth century with British and French imperialism and was mostly connected to India and the Biblical lands (Said, 2003). The notions developed at that time romanticized the Middle East formulating the ideas that are still persistent today: that Arab men are overly sensual and easily become angry, females are beautiful and submissive, and the region itself is mysterious, exotic, and lives in the past relying on centuries-old dogmas.
After World War II, Britain and France’s dominance in the Middle East came to an end, giving way to American influence. Said suggests that Orientalism can be clearly seen in Western scholarly publications dedicated to the Middle East where it is regarded merely as an object of study, “non-active” and “non-autonomous”, seen through the lenses of historical subjectivity (Said, 2003, p. 97). He claims that it resulted in some consensus of what appropriate statements and ideas concerning the Middle East are (Said, 2003). He sees Orientalism as the result of certain political efforts creating unified and convenient representation (Said, 2003). The negative views were later strengthened by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with the stereotypes becoming even more influential.
These notions continue to play an important role these days. For instance, the idea that Middle Eastern people are violent leads to many Europeans opposing immigration from Arab countries and supporting racial profiling against Arabs and Muslims (Wintour, 2017). There are also more subtle ways in which Orientalism presents itself: media often relies on stereotypes while depicting Arab characters, showing them as barbaric, terrorists, or “oil-rich sheiks” (Nittle, 2019). Therefore, Orientalism, as a patronizing, hostile, or romanticizing attitude towards Middle Easter people, is still widespread today, identifying the need for reevaluation of these common notions.
References
Said, E. W. (2003). Orientalism: Western conceptions of the Orient. Penguin Modern Classics.
Wintour, P. (2017). Survey reveals scale of hostility towards Arabs in Britain. The Guardian. Web.
Nittle, N. K. (2020). Common Muslim and Arab stereotypes in TV and film. Thought Co. Web.
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