...Here and Elsewhere instead employs the term “Arab world,” which gives the impression of a region more homogenous than it actually is. Both phrases are used daily in the media, in universities, and in governments, because people’s understanding of the world changes slowly. Whatever people may tell you, there is little that citizens of Rabat, Morocco, and Aleppo, Syria, share that they don’t also share with people in Tabriz, Istanbul, or even Paris. The term “Arab world” erases minorities and diversity in favor of a hegemony of the majority. Imagine if the phrase “Christian world” or “English world” was used to describe the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, and much of the Caribbean. Arabic is the majority language of many of the countries in the region, but this is only because nationalism and media infiltration have erased the historical polyglotism. Few “Arab world” countries retain their linguistic diversity (Lebanon, Algeria, and Somalia are exceptions); most have given way to unilingual realities. It is curious to note that the term “Arab” is often affixed to the official name of “Arab” countries that have a sense of anxiety over historic or present-day diversity (Syrian Arab Republic, Arab Republic of Egypt, United Arab Emirates)....
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 03:57:12 +0000
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