The Days of Salem and Al-Jazeera

A day of being sick means playing lots of Solitaire on the ipod and thinking about what I want to write about in the blog ; ) So many things! One of my biggest goals for the blog has always been the grand and idealistic hope that we can learn more about this region and re-examine some of the prevalent stereotypes of the Middle East and Middle Eastern Policy, or at least think more critically, for I find that even in things I have studied I'm at such a loss to explain them. Who knows if I will accomplish anything that I aim for, but I do hope to both share the things I love and feel are misrepresented as well as not be afraid to analyze and criticize some of the negative things that I see around me in Egypt. Don't worry- there is definately some silly "Helenness" in the first paragraph to look forward to, it isn't all heavy I promise!

Last night our Egyptian friend, Aie, (sounds like A-ya) with whom Jayanthi and I are exchanging Arabic-English time with, came over with her friend Shayma and Shayma's brother Mohammed, and we were talking about everything from what our favorite names were to the weekend's plans and so forth. I had fun explaining my recent obsession with the girl's name Providence, saying things like "My name is very old and was popular during the time of my great-grandmother, but Providence was popular in the time of her great-grandmother in the 1800s. It means something like "In Sha Allah (God Willing)." I think I read too much Anne of Green Gables and Puritan literature when I was a kid. Pretty soon I'll be wanting kids named Chastity and Prudence. : ) Maybe I'm a Biblical hippie? I mean, if you think about it, Tree and Sun and Rain are value-laden names just as much as Faith and Hope, etc. But enought about that! Towards the end of our name conversation Aie asked why the United States supported Israel, and what Americans thought about Egyptians and/or Middle Easterners. Talk about some tough questions! Jayanthi and I tried to explain the historical relationship between Britain and the United States and American uproar over neglect of the Jews during the beginning of the Holocaust, and how the government considered them an important ally in the region, along with other things we could say in simple English, but it came out sounding all wrong. Jayanthi and I were both a little puzzled as to how to explain something that we don't particularly agree with or understand completely, but that could at least be a start to helping Aie understand at least a little bit more about the complex relationship. It's certainly embarrasing that most Americans, certainly including myself, have so little understanding of the affects of our policies and even the reasoning behind them.

The question about Egyptians and Middle Easterners was pretty tricky as well because it involves admitting that most people associate Egypt with Pharonic culture and lump everyone in the Middle East together. It takes an entire class on Orientalism to begin to explain the average American outlook on the Middle East! A little bit of Aladdin with some terrorists and veiled women thrown in standing in front of the pyramid? I know I'm being cheeky and exaggerating a little, and everyone I know who is reading this is much too educated and wonderful to think such things, but it is out there.


Another question they brought up was talking about how much the mass media influences their understanding of America, and how does the mass media affect American understanding of the Middle East? We didn't get time to talk about this, but Jayanthi made a quip to me later about people thinking Al Jazeera and Al Qaeda were the same thing because we always hear about Al Jazeera showing the lastest beheading video or address by Osama. I have to say that as far as news coverage goes in the Middle East, Al Jazeera is pretty wonderful. It's international coverage could only be rivaled by the BBC, and it is the most-independent news source in the Middle East ( it does have connections with Qatar that I don't exactly understand) . They take pride in being hated by both conservative Arabs and the US, claiming they must be doing "something right." While it is certainly true that they are not always objective in covering US stories, I would have to say that any anti-US bias is at least equaled by anti-Middle Eastern bias on American channels. They have also changed a lot of their rhetoric that brought them under fire in the past few years, particularly from the US, for example, they used to refer to the US forces in Iraq as the "occupying force" but now call them the U.S. army. It hasn't completely changed, but I feel like it has lessened. It's a shame that I know far more about what is happening in the world, in U.S. policy in the states and in Iraq from watching Al-Jazeera than from watching CNN or Fox or hours of people yelling at each other pretending to 'debate.' Uh oh Helen, you're beginning to sound a little hostile! When it comes down to it, all news media, whether in the United States or abroad, is biased, more interested in ratings than getting both sides of the story out, and increasingly turning to quick segments over more in-depth analysis. That being said, I really look forward to the English Al-Jazeera that is being planned for 2006, because they do a lot of thought-provoking segments on issues around the world and don't hesitate to fire up people in the Middle East or in America, all the while providing some really good Middle Eastern and international coverage. Anything is better than news that shows nothing but interviews or appearances of Mubarak! I will admit that my ability to understand Arabic puts some obvious caveats to what I've said, particularly regarding the linguistic subtleties of bias, but I definately think Al-Jazeera's reputation in America is not an accurate reflection.

P.S. My mommy has tickets to come visit me!!! She will definately have to "guest blog." I've got to start making a list of things for her to bring... Hugs and Triscuits are at the top : ) Daylight Savings Time for me tonight- I don't understand the whole energy bill/DST changing in the US, but for awhile we'll be only 6 hours apart. (Insert your appreciation for me not saying anything else about the energy bill : ) I'm in a feisty mood tonight from being cooped up all day! : ) )

I love you all and thank you for putting up with my rambling and commentary that you certainly don't have to agree with. I think I'm going to go do a search for the popularity of Providence and let my mind wander to "The Crucible."