Blog Prompt:
For this assignment, which can have a different title than the one suggested, reflect on how the differences between where you grew up or where you live now and where Middle Easterners live might act as barriers to understanding. What resources will help you overcome such barriers? The key factors to consider here are the universal and the particular, environment and culture.
As I sit here and reflect upon this post, I struggle with the thoughts of understanding not only now but quite frequently. This is now my third class on the Middle East and I question every time if I am understanding their life and the material correctly. Their way of being and living is so drastically different than the way I grew up. I have only ever grown up in small towns, granted I have lived in several of them but they are all remotely the same. I come from a conservative Christian household where there was not much room for understanding or respect for other religions. I am thankful to have grown up from small town thinking and have a greater appreciation and respect for all other cultures and religions. However there is still sometimes a barrier of my original upbringings that has a tendency to contort my understanding of the Middle East. I do share the same barriers as the Middle Easterners though, they too have strong religious backgrounds that have a tendency to cloud judgment and understanding. I do feel as though I am generalizing though and saying all Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are Arabs, that is not in fact how I see things. Given the circumstances, I do believe that Muslim faith AND Christian faith act as barriers for understanding one another.
Not only is faith a prime barrier in understanding but I would also be willing to bet the gap in technologies and the freedoms that come along with advance technology is also a contributor. I am able to get on the internet and google virtually anything and within seconds links will pop up, however many countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia have government censorship on the internet. This censorship takes away so much knowledge and leaves Saudi's blind and have a misunderstanding of issues and controversies in the United States.
Culturally there are huge differences that create misunderstandings as well. Women's rights are the issues that pop into my mind. Why do women in Saudi Arabia not have the right to drive, why must they wear the Burka at all times? These questions have my mind perplexed and in a sense make me frustrated as I study this area. It seems to make logical sense to allow women these simple rights but yet they still remain denied.
I think as I continue to study I will develop answers to these questions and I believe with all the different opinions of this class and first hand accounts I will continue to improve my knowledge and help break down these barriers. With this being said I believe it is time to close out my blog for the evening.
