MEBlog1

Middle Eastern Blog by Katy Newton February 29, 2008

Ezra, 21 years old, Bahrain, non-practicing Muslim, director of website Mideast Youth, senior in college. Goes to Franklin College in Switzerland.

D.B. Shobrawy, from Egypt, practicing Christian, has own website. Attends a college in Chicago.

What criticisms do you face for running the website? They have been hacked seven times by different people of different nationalities. They get a lot of criticisim from Muslims because they also have Atheists and Jews and others on the website. Ezra was scared at first but is now finding it funny. Divi has a site that is much more civical and is opinionated yet lighthearted, comedic website. He also writes on Mideast Youth. He gets some nasty comments but not hacking such as Ezra's site.

Is there a lot of racism or religious segregation? Yes the number one racist seems to be Turks because they object to Arabs. They are not good at getting along with others because they are nationalists and have historical conflicts. She feels like they are mistaken. Her family is against the website and believes she should take it down. She tries her best to eliminate the racism by having the website and letting different people interact. Nationalism in the country has dissolved yet there are still some such as Iran. Divi is not currently facing racism at his college in Chicago.

Do you think that a lot of the racism has been embedded into the Middle Eastern culture for many years or is it a direct result of western conflict and European involvement in recent years? A lot of it has been due to the involvement by Europeans. Throughtout history it has been against French and British and currently against the U.S. After the creation of Israel, the racism also increased because Arab states did not feel legitimate and like they had to prove themselves. A common misconception is the strange relations between the U.S. is a result of racism and hatred but that is not true. It is simply a matter of politics. Ezra believes it is a media war and a political agenda and a direct result of conflicting politics against Arab states.

Would you ever live in the United States if you were given a chance and why? If Ezra had the oppurtunity, she doesn't think she would be able to live there. She believes there are many more oppurtunities in the Middle East for her website. She has never been there but would love to go. However she does not believe she could live there.

Is your culture as materialistic as ours? In the gulf, yes. They have a lot of rich people. In reality, they also have a lot of poverty as well. Saudi Arabians are extremely materialistic. Globalization is allowing many people from France and the Americas come in and many billboards from America. Many people have a problem with agriculture too. In Egypt, it is very crowded and congested. They cannot afford to be materialistic.

What are Middle Easterners perspective on Americans? What do they view them as? Some people try to talk in American accents. If you go to a small village however, they blame things on American. Such as "Oh I have a stomach ache" that would be an American conspiracy. A lot of young people ran campaigns against the U.S. to say that they should stay out of the country. It all depends on where you go. Before 9/11, there were American teachers at high schools but then after they were being abused by some of the students so they had to leave. The majority of the youth do not have prejudices against the Americans. In general in Egypt, it is usually a positive response to Americans. Where the disagreements are is in the politics between the country. Ezra believes the American media has a biased opinion of the youth in the middle east because they speak out against their policies.

What role does media play in your culture? Does it affect the views of America or other countries? It has a huge affect. Different news stations have different opinions on America and countries. They play it up so that it is exactly want they want to hear. They put pictures of prisoners saying things like 'this is your America'. Ezra believes it is important for Middle Easterners to communicate with the Americans. The media is very corrupt and it is important for websites such as Mideast Youth. Another thing that media will use, is using loud, violent, images to get the audience's attention and force the issues on the people. The media is using rally cries to charge up the people for what they feel is important. They use extreme exaggerations of American reality such as political leaders such as Barack Obama. They change the details of stories such as his, calling him Barack Hussein Obama.

What is your opinion on the war in Iraq? Do you think the situation is moving along smoothly? Ezra believes that the situation is worsening because many are dying from not just killings from the war but also starvation and malnutrition and disease and also the very un-sanitary conditions. She cannot see it getting better anytime soon.

How can we, as a classroom, help Middle Easterners build a better understanding of America and promote the ideals of Mideast Youth? One of the best ways is to just get to know us. Many people overlook these things. Many people endanger themselves by speaking out. Mideast Youth speaks out for people to hear us and get to know our stories. Many Syrians and other countries are risking their lives just to speak out to get countries like America to hear us. Ezra believes we should be very proud to have our freedom of speech. She believes we should help promote the freedom of others such as Mid-East bloggers. We can use our freedom to promote the rights of others. The point of Mideast Youth is to promote dialogue between the two sides of the conflict. It acts as a peacemaker and a mediator. They aim to create dialogue to prevent confusion and misunderstanding. Americans can also join Mideast Youth.