The Middle East On Social Media

The Middle East is a region centered on Western Asia and Egypt the region has generally been a major center of world affairs as the major religions of Islam and Christianity and Judaism were also established within the region. The region is made up of 18 countries and has vast reserves of crude oil. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.

Nevertheless, we actually do not have contact with the Middle East people and we may even never talk with them. It is too subjective to judge that the country and the people are dangerous. All these kind of inherent perceptions and misunderstandings lead to the miscommunication nowadays.

As I begin to type this essay, I cannot help but feel an oquet barcode over my head. This barcode, having been with me since birth, contains all of the terms used to describe me: Muslim, Brown skinned, Arab American. These terms, a result of the natural human characteristic to categorize what we see, are fallible, inaccurate, and potentially dangerous. For example, because of these terms entire groups of people can become labeled to certain attributes. As an Arab American, people assume many things about before I even speak with them.It is hard to have a different view of people when all you see or hear of them are from indirect sources such as the media, whose priority object is to make profit, even if it requires the creation of a twisted

While we deal with our own feelings of fear and anger regarding the violence perpetrated against us, both physical and non-physical, it’s important to remember that we aren’t the only ones who feel victimized in the conflict. Perhaps it is true that the Middle East, for the most part, distains the West, but not for nothing and not even

Some explain how the Arab world fell behind the West in economic and social expansion, but the primary reason is due to the American intervention in the Middle East prior to 9/11. Throughout the Middle East, “America is perceived as a swaggering superpower that defends it interests (oil in the Persian Gulf) while ignoring its cultural impact” (Steinbrink and Cook 285). Widespread resentment against America results when the U.S. uses weapons against the Middle Eastern population in order to protect its own interests, while disregarding any possible effects that this may cause (Steinbrink and Cook 285). There are many different ways that the media can manipulate a story to make it pro-America and anti-Terrorist, thus it is very difficult to make sure whether the information being given is telling the actual story and not one that was manufactured to fit into propaganda of any

In recent years we have seen drastic changes occur in our country. Since the terrorist attack on the twin towers we have seen many changes take place in everyday situations. Homeland Security was established. There are security checks at airports; a tedious procedure ensuring everyone’s safety at airports and safety during traveling. The minds of American citizens have turned a cold shoulder to Muslims or anyone who bears a turban. Fear, prejudice and intolerance has spread through our country since the 9/11 attacks. Wars spread like wild fire in the Middle East, the United States entered a war on terror. The budget on defense spending has risen immensely and some economists debate that this large spending had some effect on the recent recession America has faced. Citizens also feel the effects of the Patriot Act and other legislation that allow government intrusions, reducing our civil rights and such ideals as “a personal life”. As citizens and even the government blame Muslims for the attack and the Middle East in general. However, what has America or even the West done that has influenced the Middle East? Present news is surrounded, engulfed in issues of the Middle East and how it affects the Western part of the world—nations like the United States of America, France and the United Kingdom. It is pretty obvious when we live it, how much we are influenced by the events of the “Middle East” or what we define as the Middle East.

Imagine families fleeing on boats. children frightened. Imagine mothers trying to soothe them. Imagine fathers whispering to their children about the amusement parks they will go to and the delicious ice cream they will have once they land. The scene you are imagining in your mind, is an actual scene currently happening to millions of people in the Middle East.

Being an Arab-Muslim child of immigrants and brother to a sister who dons a hijab (headscarf); having a mother that runs an non-profit organization that works with Syrian refugee resettlement; and being fairly active in Muslim civil rights campaigns and initiatives, I know that minorities are stigmatized by how we are presented in society through various avenues of popular culture, political leaders, and the media. Muslims are always depicted as the terrorists and never the superheroes. Arabic culture is romanticized with belly-dancers, sand dunes, and camels. Syrian refugees/Immigrants (and refugees in general) are depicted by the media and political leaders as ISIS sympathizing, dangerous individuals. Race, religion, and ethnicity are very significant in today’s world and when individuals such as myself (writing from my own thoughts and experiences) are stigmatized, a struggle between self and society metabolizes, giving rise to social

Lets face it, it can be very difficult today growing up as a Middle Easterner in today’s society,  I can personally recall a time where I went out with a few of my muslim friends; during this outing a white male bumped into a couple of my muslim friends and yelled “Watch out, don’t bomb me!”  Seeing the anger that this caused for my friends led me to realize that middle easterners are just like any other minority and maybe even worse.  Today, Arab Americans often have to question themselves who they truly are.  In the book Rethinking the Color Line article 18 by Moustafa Bayoumi, mentions that muslims face a mixture of suspicion, misunderstanding and fear. (Bayoumi 134) Ever since 9/11 occurred, society has had a negative assumption of all

The news report I selected was produced by Michael Pearson, who is not an expert on the Middle East. When I searched to find out more about Mr. Pearson I found out the fact that he was only a part time journalist for CNN and his main career is photography. Additionally most of the articles I discovered that Michael Pearson authored did not pertain to what is happening in the Middle East but was about the Ferguson case and a story about a Batman related shooting. This persuades me to believe that Mr. Pearson does not have all the facts in this area since he has no other articles dealing with the Middle East. The author of the article should not be trustworthy since Michael Pearson does not have a solid foundation for what is truly happening.

This book was written by a few professors from a university press which increases its credibility. I plan on using much of this source to inform my audience of the wrongful acts that society has done against Middle Eastern-Americans and prove that there are solutions; Americans just don’t want to see

I did not come from an area that had a sizeable community of Muslims but from an area that was rather uneducated about Muslims. My first memory of realizing this was in my freshman year of high school, when students in my World Studies history class frequently confused “Islam” with “Muslim.” Instead of practicing “Islam,” they practiced “Muslim.” I kept quiet and experienced incredibly ease that it was not me making that mistake in front of the class because, I will admit it, I confused the two as well. As time went on, we of course earned the proper usage of the two words, but also a new situation arose that made it more complicated - the rekindling of the Israel-Palestine conflict. I preferred to stay out of these discussions because I was hyperaware of the fact that I knew too little about the conflict to contribute any sort of educated comment. Additionally, there was some sentiment of Islamophobia circulating the student population. I distinctly remember talking to one of my older brother’s friends about this Jordanian boy in our Spanish class. This girl, who was Jewish, which is important to note, said to me, after me remarking how nice he is, “Oh, I can’t be friends with him because he is anti-Israel.” She had not spoken more than ten words to this boy, but came to this conclusion simply based on the fact that he is Middle Eastern. Her saying this to me blew my mind. I had grown up with this

Even though I am a normal fourteen year old boy with Syrian lineage, but many people from my middle school beg to differ. People in my history class back at Egan had figured out that I was Syrian, and wanted to make me feel miserable. People only decided to look at me through the image filter of being from an Arabic country, and not look at me as an individual person. They grouped me into something that I do not want to be related with at all: terrorism.

The press has presented Islam within a certain emotional frame, and it has made the violence in the Middle East seem like the main interaction between the West and Middle East.

The Middle East is far from monumental and homogenous. Its differences have been a source of both strength and inspiration. The most visible, most pervasive, and the least recognized aspects of