- After reading the article “Arab and Other Middle Eastern Americans”, I was surprised to learn about the religious background of Middle Eastern Americans. I’ve always thought the majority was Muslim, but turns out it’s way more diverse, with Christianity being the main religion. As seen in the article, “According to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) up to 63 per cent of Arab Americans are Christians (35
percent Roman Catholic, 10 percent Protestant and 18 percent Eastern Orthodox) and around 24 percent are Muslims.” Only 24% are muslim, which is a very interesting fact I didn’t know. Another thing I found surprising is that there were 3 big immigration waves that brought lots of people from Middle Eastern countries to America. The author states, “The first, between 1890 and 1920, brought over 250,000 people from what was then Greater Syria and other regions; these arrivals were mostly Christian peasants seeking economic opportunity. The second wave came after the Second World War and the creation of Israel, when tens of thousands of Palestinians emigrated to the US. After 1965, when prejudicial immigration laws were reformed, there was a third wave of Arab immigrants, numbering about 250,000.” - After watching “Misconception of Middle Eastern Culture and Religion” by Melika Rahmani I learned that a huge percentage of American population has a very wrong perception of the Middle East. I was shocked to learn so many people think Middle East is full of terrorists due to negative representation in modern media. I’ve always known that wasn’t true, however, one thing I found surprising is that there are more women than men in the STEM field in Iran.
- When reading “Literacy Reform in the Middle East” by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, I was surprised to learn how poor the literacy rate for some Middle Eastern countries is. Tens of millions of people don’t have a chance to get basic level education, therefore not being able to learn to read and write. As seen in the article, “At the other end of the spectrum are Yemen. Mauritania and Morocco, where female adult literacy rates are an abysmal 29, 31, and 38 percent, respectively. Total adult literacy in these countries is not much better
49 percent in men and 41 in Mauritania) In a country of 30 million people — and an economic and political darling of the West — the adult literacy rate is only 51 percent. In fact, in Morocco, Sudan, and Algeria combined — each home to at least 30 million people, and together
accounting for 32 percent of the Arab world — there are as many as 37 million illiterate adults.” The numbers and percentages put into perspective how huge the problem truly is, especially in underdeveloped countries. It’s good to see measures being taken and hopefully things will start looking up for those who didn’t get a chance to receive proper education. - https://medium.com/modern-middle-east-history-2021/why-are-educated-women-less-likely-to-enter-the-workforce-in-the-middle-east-bbeeaac06883
This is an article about how illiteracy in Middle Eastern countries affects women. I selected this source because the article “Literacy Reform in the Middle East” mentioned that illiteracy rates are higher for women compared to men. I wanted to learn more about the problems women face when it comes to literacy in those countries, and how it affects their lives
