FINAL REFLECTION

This is it.      !!!الحمد لله 

Time to prepare for the final and reflect on how the year went, the beginning of the ends is here it seems.

It has been an amazing class which really supplemented learning Arabic and vice-versa, I now want to visit a country in which I can truly immerse myself in the Arabic culture. I've tried to involve myself in Arabic culture outside of the class when possible even performing at this years Taste of Arabia cultural dinner, I danced.

Debkha Dance Team



The class really helps you learn a lot about about Arabic culture and touches base on most major subjects you could think of. Food, Language, Religion, the Arts and many more topics were covered. The class notifies you of cultural events that are happening around campus and lets you participate.


I really want to take another class covering these topics and wish there was a wider selection of courses involving the Arabic world, it is a small department though.

General John Abizaid

A Lebanese American, Abizaid was born in northern California in 1951. His grandparents had immigrated to California from southern Lebanon during the late 19th century. His father, was in the Navy during World War II and raised him after Abizaid’s mother died of cancer.

Abizaid received his commission as Second Lieutenant of Infantry upon graduating from the West Point in 1973. After this he served in the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment followed by: 82nd Airborne, the 1st & 2nd Ranger Battalions.




During the invasion of Grenada the decisions he made as a Captain would later be featured in the film Heartbreak Ridge by Clint Eastwood.

He was a U.S. Central Command(CENTCOM) commander, overseeing American military operations in a 27-country region.


Abizaid has had a glowing career in the military, having retired from the military on May 1, 2007 after 34 years of service as a four star General.

During his keynote at the Northern Ohio Lebanese American Association (NOLAA) Lebanese Heritage Ball with some thoughts on what it means to be Lebanese.

Abizaid was highly decorated even for a Flag Officer



Leahy Lecture

"Why do they hate us?"

US/Israel Relationship

The relationship the US has with Israel is a key factor in a lot of the issues surrounding the topic and one of the main reasons for large amounts of dissent toward the US by countries in the region.


For example, 40% of all US aid goes to Israel, that is over 3.5 billion dollars annually.

The accords divided the West Bank into 3 sections

• Big Cities where the Palestinians have full control Area A
• AREA B where Israel would be in charge of security
• Area C covers 2/3rds of west bank (where the Israeli settlements are)

Protocols were signed in 1994 between Palestine and Israel which covered economic relations, taxes and import export relations, but not upheld by Israel which led to the 2nd Intifada in 2000 along with a few other reasons.

Even after this the US did not try to help keep Israel accountable, these issues build up.



https://history.state.gov/milestones/1993-2000/oslo

Supporting Dictators

• The support for autocrats in the region with weapons, training, and diplomatic support.
• The ongoing sanctions against Iraq that were killing innocents there.
  
• Toppling governments which lead to hardliners gaining power.

Self Interest

• Broken promises of self-determination after WWII, neo-imperialism of the United States.
• Oil grabbing
• Economic policies which hurt the regions as opposed to helping the people leading to massive cuts in social services.
• Invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan which allowed Iran to expand its power in the regions and extremists to gain as well.
• Absence of WMDs and Guantanamo scandals

"The USA and the Arab World"

The Arabic World and the US

It seems as though most people in the Arabic world don't dislike the US people, but our politics. According to surveys.

Below is a link to a survey held by the Arab American Institute on November 30, 2017. It surveyed about 8,000 adults throughout the Arabic world and focuses on the attitudes towards conflicts throughout the Arabic world and various other developments.


http://www.aaiusa.org/sir_bani_yas_poll_public_opin


Some topics included are;
Role in Syria
Role in Iraq
Concern for Yemen
U.S. Policies Under Trump
Israel/Palestine
Iran Deal
and more.


You can find a variety of polls covering different topics on this website.
http://www.aaiusa.org/opinion-polls

Some of the reoccurring themes seem to be the Israel/Palestine issue and whether the US is more concerned about its own interests, such as acquiring oil and footholds across the middle east. The US can at times also be a bit hypocritical in its policies. Instilling dictators/funding them and getting rid of democracies if a power that the US does not approve of is elected.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

http://publicradiotulsa.org

I think it is needless to say the facts in the matter are heavily disputed. Much of this topic depends on who you ask and where they come from.


Let's take a step back and look at the history of it all. Beginning with WWI, during this period the British made a lot of promises.
They promised the area to the Arabs.
They promised the area to the Jews.
And they promised to split it up and rule it with the French.
Of course the promise they kept was to rule it themselves as a "protectorate."

Both the Jews and the Arabs (there were no "Palestinians" yet)  were unhappy with this. After which both Jewish and Arab terrorist coups formed. The British clamped down on Jewish migration, incidentally dooming a lot of Jews during WWII, but a small amount of illegal immigration continued to take place.

By the end of WWII the British decided they weren't going to hold on to the area. Mainly since it caused more trouble than it was worth.

The area east of the Jordan river was spun off as Trans-Jordan. There were very few Jews and so it was clear that would be Arab regardless. But dividing the area west of the Jordan was a mess. And there was even a question of whether it should even be divided at all. After a few years the British tossed the problem to the UN.

In 1948 the UN came up with a plan. About 60% would go to the Arabs in Palestine, 40% would go to the Jews, and Jerusalem would become an "international" city. It wasn't clear exactly how that last part would work out. Largely the Jews said absolutely, we accept. And largely the Arabs said, we don't accept. And the British left.

The day the British left, the Jews declared the formation of the state of Israel. And the Arab nations all declared war on Israel. I the end when the fighting was over, Israel had most of Palestine. Egypt had Gaza.

After this Israel and the Arab states fought other additional wars. They gave the Sinai back to Egypt for a peace treaty. But neither Egypt or Jordan wanted Palestine back. And the Palestinians didn't have anyone willing and capable of negotiating with Israel.

Sometime after these wars the Israelis got the bright idea that settling in the occupied territories would both make them more secure and induce the Palestinians to the table. That didn't exactly work. Israeli extremists view them as a chance to grab more or even all of Palestine and create a Greater Israel.

So right now the two parties are disagreeing on most everything. The extremists on both sides would love to see the others driven "into the sea." And even the moderates can't agree on where borders should be, if Arabs should be allowed to return to their old lands in Israel, who gets Jerusalem... and which parts. Both sides regularly kill innocents on the other side, making it harder to compromise and the whole thing is just a mess.

Personally I do not see a solution and am not willing to propose one, no matter what someone in the conflict will feel like they are getting the worse deal. Especially, since each group thinks they have claims to the land.

theodysseyonline.com

Radical Islamist Groups and the Conflicts that Surround Them

 Many Moving Parts 

 

Many of the current conflicts in the middle east are quite complicated. With ideas that have conflicted for hundreds of years, superpowers in proxy wars and leaders who will not compromise there is a lot to talk about.

There is no way I will be able to give you the full overview of what is actually going on here, but I will try to give a decent summary of some major topics.

 Conflicts and Players

• Irael/Palestine - A very long-standing conflict over territory, as both groups have seemingly legitimate claims to land and the deeply religious territory on that land. This conflict has continuously become more and more heated over the past 100 years. Both sides have done wrong to each other and it really is personal opinion on who is right. The West is generally supportive of Israel, which leads to many other issues.
• Pakistan - With a highly corrupt government and deep-seeded tribal conflict in the Western regions/extremism. Mixed relations with the West. Also in a very tense conflict with India ranging back years.
• Russia - Russia is closely allied with the current Syrian government and getting increasingly involved. Russia's near-broke and the involvement has really stepped up in the past few years. Russia's involvement in the Middle East goes back quite far and I suggest anyone to read up on it.
• Afghanistan - Constant conflict in the region for the past 40 years. Russian invaded in the 80s, but fended off by the US sponsored militant groups (Mujaheddin), which included groups that Osama Bin Laden was involved with to help battle the Soviets. Eventually the US became more involved in the Middle East which led to 9/11 to which the US and western coalition responded by running in and fighting back. One of the big issues is that the country is very poor, illiterate and very tribal, many of the people in the remote regions of Afghanistan do not know much about the outside world.
• Syria - Been in a state of civil war for a while with rebels backed by the US fighting the Assad government which is backed by Russia. Extremist religious groups (ISIS) have taken a hold as well in many of the more remote regions of Syria.
• Iraq - After the major troop declines with the US pulling out, ISIS has taken over many north areas as it borders Syria.
• Iran - Not immediately involved in the current conflicts, but has been at odds with the west since the revolution in 1979. The government is very publicly anti-US and anti-Israel. They've been wanting to develop nuclear power, but the west doesn't like that, hence the recent talks and agreement. They generally keep to themselves. The country was very progressive, modern, and west-like in the 60's and 70's so many of the people within the country are not very radical themselves.

With this list I am honestly just scratching the tip of the iceberg on the various conflicts. I suggest you do your own research on these conflicts as use a multitude of sources to avoid bias. 

Osama bin Laden

Arabic Music on the Hill

Ramzi Aburedwan and his Dal'Ouna Ensemble

 

Ramzi's music was amazing in my own personal opinion, it was different, but very enjoyable. I loved the mixture of instrumental and vocal music they had. The guest singer Lina Sleibi had an absolutely gorgeous voice. Granted I could only understand a few words here and there, but that does not mean I was withheld the opportunity to enjoy the amazing melodies and the emotions within her voice.

 

The concert did highlight some of the major differences in a lot of the popular music of the west, interestingly I found a lot of similarities to local music from the area in Germany in which I was born. One thing often not done in Western music is the inclusion of the audience, but in more traditional music like this both clapping and singing along is highly encouraged!

Here is a video of the group. This was posted and recorder by Dr. Mohamed Esa of McDaniel College. I don't think he will mind me using it since he will be reading this blog anyway! 

Below is another example of the vocalist, Lina Sleibi, whose amazing voice brought the concert to life for many people!