- From the “Arab and other Middle Easten Americans” article, I learned that the middle eastern communities are always facing discrimination in America and are lumped together as “Arabs”. During the 1991 gulf war there were hundreds of hate fueled arsons, bombings, assaults, and attempted murders towards them. Since the 1970s Arab Americans have had to face continuous harassment at border crossings and are unrightfully viewed as “terrorist supporters”. After the September 11th, 2001 attacks it only got worse. Soon after Trump’s inauguration, he signed an executive order that restricted entry for nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. In 2018, Rashida Tlaib became the first Palestinian American congress member, representing Michigan. She was also the second ever muslim woman to be in congress.
- Melika Rahmani talked about a lot of the misconceptions when it came to middle eastern culture. I learned that there were misrepresentations of Persian culture in the movie 300, including the women being shown as arabic belly dancers, their army dressed in arab attire, and a section of their army was depicted as “creature like”. The middle east contains 18 countries,and 5 major languages. I also learned that the country with the most muslim population is Indonesia, in south east Asia.
- According to the “Literacy Reform in the Middle East”, the literacy rates of the smaller wealthier Arab states were significantly higher than the larger ones in 2004. For adult literacy, Yemen, Mauritania, and Morocco have extremely low literacy rates of 29, 31, and 38. These issues of literacy were directly correlated with other country wide issues. For example, in Yemen the average life expectancy was only 57 years while the literacy rate was 49% in 2002. Literacy reform will not only affect this, but could also create new jobs through the training of teachers and the construction of new schools and libraries in conservative and traditional areas.
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One thought on “Conversation 5”
Hello Marsten, thank you for sharing your ideas. I agree with your insights on the challenges faced by Middle Eastern communities in the United States and the importance of dispelling misconceptions about the region’s diversity and cultures. The disparities in literacy rates in the Middle East are indeed concerning, and literacy reform can play a vital role in addressing these issues and fostering societal development. It’s essential to promote better understanding and support for these communities to combat discrimination and improve their overall well-being.