...Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice, and Discrimination Cultural Diversity June 10, 2011 Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice, and Discrimination The difference between Muslims and Arabs is ethnicity and religion. Arab defines the ethnic group and Muslim defines the religion practiced by an individual devoted to that particular belief. Arab people do not always practice the Muslim religion and not all Muslims are Arab. According to research and news reports within the past 2 years, the only policy I found pertained to racial profiling that announced citizens of countries considered terrorist active countries would undergo additional screening at airports (Voice of America, 2010). President Obama has been involved in discussions with Arab and Muslim American groups, but no true progress has occurred to limit or stop the discrimination. Two characteristics of Orientalism are lumping Arab & Muslim people into the same category with no distinction for the ethnic and religious differences and the general stereotype that Arab and Muslim people are not modern. Orientalism and prejudice contributes to hate crimes against these people because of the misunderstanding of the difference between the distinct differences in the cultures of the ethnic group and the religious beliefs of the ethnic groups. Such a vague definition of people living in the Orient can lead to confusion about the different fanatical religious groups inhabiting land in the Orient. Individuals...
Words: 354 - Pages: 2
...Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice and Discrimination ETH/125 January 24, 2012 Nola Veazie Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice and Discrimination * Explain the difference between Muslims and Arabs. The difference between Muslims and Arabs are that Arabs are an ethnic group coming from Arabic countries that speak Arabic. Muslims are a religious group; Islam is the faith Muslims follow. * Explain the deficit model of ethnic identity found in chapter 11 (Shaefer, 2006). Why are some Arab Americans viewed as less Arabs than other? Explain in your own words. The deficit of ethnic identity means that your ethnic characteristics are lessened depending on your affiliation to your ethnic group, for example, if you speak the language, if you marry someone other than your ethnic background and if you have visited or lived in the country of your background. Some Arab Americans are viewed as less than Arab because of the factors listed above, including the factor of being too Americanized. * List two to three characteristics of Orientalism. How many Orientalism and prejudice contribute to hate crimes against these groups? Some examples of characteristic associated with Orientalism are that the eastern culture is eccentric, backward and their progress with comparison with western culture is inferior and conquerable. This includes the blockage of Mosques being built because of a belief of a foreign threat being posed. The ignorance and myths of the eastern...
Words: 323 - Pages: 2
...Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice, and Discrimination Muslims and Arabs over the years have been placed in each other’s groups, but they are similar, but different. Muslims are a people embracing the religion, Islam, which means Muslims are part of a religious sector. Arabs are people who dwell or own the Arabian or Arab regions. This makes Arabs a nationality, where they speak Arabic and is free to choose whatever faith or religion they plan to follow. Muslims can have a native tongue or speak any language in the world; who knew these two groups were this different. After the terrorist’s attacks of 9/11, the United States placed policies that have targeted Arabs and Muslims. One new policy that was put in place was by the Department of State. The policy mandated that at 20-day hold be placed on all non-immigrant visa applications by men between the ages of 18-45 from 26 countries. All such applicants were subject to special security clearances. Another policy that was put in place was the changes in issuance of visitor’s visas. The policy awarded persons from special registration such as Iran, Iraq, Algeria, etc., visitor’s visas. The date indicates a 39% percent drop for these countries in 2002, and significant decreases for all special registration countries except Eritrea. No recognition of change over time in this groups and power relations are two characteristics of Orientalism. Orientalism and prejudice contribute to hate crimes against these groups because...
Words: 397 - Pages: 2
...Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice, and Discrimination Many people confuse Arab and Muslims. Arabs are an ethnic group and Muslims are a religious group. Muslims are believers of the Islam faith. Most Arabs are not Muslims and most Muslims are not Arabs. Muslims cannot be identified by their nationality alone. Being an Arab does not mean that you are a follower of the Islam religion. An Arab is generally from the countries that are now the Arab world. This area is made up of 22 nations of North Africa and what is called the Middle East. Orientalism is defined by our text as the simplistic view of the people and history of the Orient with no recognition of change over time or the diversity within its many cultures (Schaefer, 2006, p. 284). An example of orientalism is that many people in the United States see a mosque as a foreign threat and not as a sign of religious freedom or diversity. Another example is the suggestion that there is a conflict between Christians and Muslims. After the 9/11 attack, the Department of Justice (DOJ) called in many Arab and Muslim immigrants for questioning. They also started a special registration program that targeted visitors from Arab and Muslim countries. These programs caused much suspicion towards Arabs and Muslims by the American citizens. There was a lot of racial profiling that went on towards Arabs and Muslims because of their ethnicity and religious preferences. They also caused the decline in the number of...
Words: 334 - Pages: 2
...Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice, and Discrimination Checkpoint Muslims and Arabs are two completely different groups of people. Muslims refer to a religion; someone who follows the Islamic faith. Arabs are people who live in the Middle East, like: Africa and Arabia. Even though Arabs are associated with the Islamic faith, all Arabs are not Muslims and all Muslims are not Arabs. For instance, Muslims can be a person of many ethnicities: Americans, Asians, or Africans to name a few. Unfortunately, there were so many Islamic terrorist organizations in the world, where their violent attacks or threats on different nations made a lot of people discriminate against anyone who appeared to be Arab or Muslim. The United States has made many changes since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. The government made it harder for Muslims and Arabs to immigrate to the States, and also made it difficult to apply for citizenship or permanent residence. I agree with the changes that has been made because, I live in West Haven, Ct, which is 15 minutes away from where they found the terrorist group in Bridgeport, Ct in May of this year. It was a little too close for comfort. There was no telling what kind of damage would have happened if they didn’t get caught. If people want to immigrant to this country, it has to be for the right reasons and not for criminal activity. I feel individuals should educate themselves in different faiths and different ethnicities...
Words: 252 - Pages: 2
...Characteristic of Orientalism, Prejudice, and Discrimination March 13, 2011 Explain the difference between Muslims and Arabs? The difference between Muslims and Arabs is that Muslims believe and follow the Islamic religion while Arabs are a group of people united by a single tongue, but are part of different ethnic groups. Muslims are the name give to those who believe in the prophet Mohammed, and follow the Islamic religions and encompass Islamic fundamentals. Arabs are a group of individuals who speak a common language but have no single religion. They are Christian Arabs, Islamic Arabs and even Jews Arabs. The reason why most people intertwine Muslims and Arabs is because most of Arabic territories have large population of Muslims. according to research and news reports within the past 2 years, what are some of the changes the United States has made to policies concerning the treatment of Muslim and Arabic members of society? The United State policy changes in regards to Muslims and Arabs are somewhat controversial. Since 911, the United State have establish policies that would allow the FBI to conduct investigations on any Muslims or Arabs living in the Unite State; if there is a fear that they are tied to terrorist. The policies have put innocent Muslims and Arabs on the FBI watch list and have made Muslims and Arabs a target for suspicion. List two to three characteristics of Orientalism. How may Orientalism and prejudice contribute to hate...
Words: 440 - Pages: 2
...Introduction Southeast Asia is an imagined region comprising eleven independent countries. Although these countries have many distinct patterns and thus defined as one region, they remain differentiated, from their indigenous history background, their environmental and physical differences, their religious tolerance, as well as their current political and economical status. The characteristic of this region can be described as: diversity (K Danielson, 2009). In my research paper, I will draw Indonesia as a representation of the whole Southeast Asia region. The reason for doing so is due to Indonesia’s diverse characteristic, which I believe is very representative of the region as a whole. By analyzing President Barack Obama’s speech: “Indonesia’s Example to the World”, I will discuss how Obama portrays Indonesia as a Southeast Asia country in five areas: environment, people, economic, politics, and religion. Further, I will bring up the ideas of Orientalism and Othering and discuss whether Obama’s speech reveals these two concepts and how these concepts helped illustrate Indonesia as well as the Southeast Asia region. Indonesia in Obama’s Speech In the first place, with regards to the environmental issue, Obama mentioned about the “tsunami and the volcanic eruptions” (B Obama, 2010). Truly, these are the life threatening environmental problems in not only Indonesia, but also the whole Southeast Asia area. I will cite the most recent event, Typhoon Haiyan in Philippine...
Words: 2429 - Pages: 10
...2012 Checkpoint Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice and Discrimination Nicci Eth/125 Cultural Diversity 2012 Checkpoint Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice and Discrimination Nicci Eth/125 Cultural Diversity Let’s think- What is the true difference? This to me is hard; I don’t like to distinguish all the differences between different races- because to me everyone is the same. The true difference between Muslims and Arabs is that Muslims are people who follow Islam, the religion and Arabs are people from Arabia typically. In my own opinion I would say Arabs are the ethnicity or race and Muslim is a religion. In the past 2 years, the policy changes that have occurred would be that the justice department policy change that would allow the FBI to investigate Americans without evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims and Arabs. Under this new guideline the FBI would be permitted to consider race and ethnicity when opening an investigation. This to me sometimes is still unfair and people are judgmental of Arabs and Muslims ever since 9/11. Which to me is sad and unfortunate because not everyone is a terrorist and just because of their religion or culture they are discriminated against more I believe. Two characteristics of Orientalism are Spirituality and its diversity in terms of people. These things create stereotypes amongst different people. Hate crimes stem from ignorance about a different culture...
Words: 424 - Pages: 2
...Film Final Evaluation Essay By Armando Khan Orientalism is something that has shaped the world. It has created the way we see culture. More than that it has placed culture in boxes and has probably led to the awareness of culture. By saying this I mean that the only reason we hold culture in such importance is because of difference. And that difference is caused by the wonder of orientalism. Orientalism is the portrayal off something mostly in a cultural context, in order to show a difference as well as to display something exotic. It overlooks similarities and is used to attract. This attraction comes from the exoticness for we are always attracted to something that seems distant from the mundaneness of our existences. With that being said, what also contributes to the attractiveness of orientalism is that orientalism can be seen by many as an escape. A place where taboos do not exist and one can break free of the shackles of society. Orientalism seemed to be most striking when depicted visually. Whether it be the nubile young boy on the cover of a book. Or a nude Chinese women on a placard , it was a subject of visual intrigue and something ,many in the west could not resist. This is probably why it was used in film which is what I shall get into later. Orientalism first came about with depictions of Arabic and Islamic regions. It became the norm as how this particular culture was to be viewed. This however overlooked the fact that there might have been styles that were...
Words: 2984 - Pages: 12
...religious group.” Other differences’ between the two are that they hail from different geographical and ancestral backgrounds, and they arrived to the United States at different times.” One policy change that has occurred in the past few years (post 9/11) is that there is a close surveillance of Muslims charity organizations. Another change is that it has been a decrease in the number of visas being given to people coming from Muslims countries (Voices of America News.com, 2006). Orientalism is defining by our text as the simplistic view of the people and history of the Orient with no recognition of change over time or the diversity within its many cultures (Schaefer, 2006). A couple of characteristics of orientalism are that it is an outdated way of looking at Muslim and Arab people without taking into account changes over the years and how they live currently. Also it is a blanket concept that does not look at all of the different cultures within these groups (Schaefer, 2006, p. 286). Orientalism is an ignorant concept and ignorance often leads to meaningless violence hence this uneducated state of mind can directly relate to hate crimes. The best way to promote tolerance and reduce prejudice is by educating people to whom and what Arabs and Muslims really are. Usually, prejudice is caused by a fear of something. If that fear is taken away, by learning about Arabs and Muslims, then there will be no need for prejudice. Another way to promote tolerance and prejudice in their...
Words: 329 - Pages: 2
...Orientalism and India Introduction ”Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” (Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West) In his much quoted verse above Rudyard Kipling revealed something of the nucleus of the long-lived tradition of Orientalist thought. According to J. J. Clarke, the ambivalence of the West [1] towards the East is age-old. The ”rich cultures,” ”superior civilizations” and ”ancient wisdom” of the Orient have inspired many Westerners, but on the other hand, the threats of its ”monstrous mysteries” and ”absurd religions” hailing from its ”stagnant past” have abhorred at least as many. For many, the Orient has been a dominion of hordes and despots or spiritual mystics and exotic sensuality. Exaggeration and imagination together with a range of both positive and negative stereotypes connected to popular prejudices have been essential to these views. Encountering the East has been significant for the self-image of the West producing identities ranging from decadent European modernity to concepts of cultural, racial and moral superiority. (Clarke 1997, 3–4. See also Pieterse 1992 and Hottola 1999.) In his highly celebrated but also provoking book Orientalism [2], Edward Said (1935– 2003) embarks on describing a long European tradition ”of coming to terms with the Orient that is based on the Orient’s special place in European Western experience.” This tradition Said calls Orientalism [3]. Said concentrates mainly on...
Words: 8472 - Pages: 34
...an ethnic group and Muslims are a religious group. According to the textbook (Schaefer, 2006) “many Arab Americans are not Muslims, and most Muslim Americans are not Arabs” (p. 285). Arab Americans are immigrants and descendants from Arab countries as well as non-Arab countries. Muslims are people who practice the Islam faith. Though Muslims and Arabs are significantly different, they do share some similarities. Both Arabs and Muslims experience orientalism, which prevents them from obtaining classification as individual groups. There are many characteristics of orientalism such as stereotyping of Islam, religious conflict, and misrepresentation of cultures among Eastern countries. Orientalism can contribute to hate crimes because it promotes prejudice. It does this by fostering the idea that everyone within an ethnic group is to blame for the actions and ideas of only a few. For example, Muslims and Arabs have experienced high levels of hate crimes and discrimination since the attacks of 9/11. This is most likely because orientalism helped foster the idea that all Arabs and Muslims are a threat to the country, just because a few were. There are some recent changes to the United States policies that may affect the treatment of Muslim and Arab Americans. The most recent change comes in the form of verbal support for Muslim Americans by President Obama in his State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011. Another change was the amendment of Oklahoma’s Constitution banning Shariah...
Words: 365 - Pages: 2
...Characteristics of Orientalism, Prejudice, and Discrimination Tammy Johnson-Hall ETH/125 February 23, 2012 Brian Steinberg 2 The terms Muslims and Arabs are two unique demographic identifiers. A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is the Islamic faith, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion that is based on the Qur'an (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim). There are many Muslims who are not Arabs - there are Muslim Indonesians, Muslim Chinese, and Muslim Americans. Arabs are an ethnic group of people who speak the Arabic language, and follow different religions. Many are Muslims, but some are Christians. Arab people are also known as Arabs and primarily live in the Arab World, which is located in Western Asia or North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra- tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_people). In terms of changes to United States policy, The Civil Rights Division holds a bimonthly interagency meeting that brings together top officials from federal agencies and leaders of the Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian communities to address civil rights issues (http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/1253). There have also been some signs of reverse in the backlash that Muslims and Arabs have endured...
Words: 609 - Pages: 3
...Orientalism James Berardino Canon Formation 2B: Orientalism Final Copy Orientalism can be best defined as an ill-conceived notion that befalls the ignorant and misconstrues their perception of most, if not all, people belonging to a race or ethnic group that is different than their own. It does so in a manner that perpetuates the perception of individuals from different races, cultures or ethnicities as grotesque, frightening or somehow inferior in the eyes of individuals who have already completely assimilated themselves culturally into the pre-existing social strata of the region in which they inhabit. In other words, orientalism is a social “virus” that is often perpetuated, or “spread”, by fear of the unknown; a virus which insidiously promotes discrimination and segregation based off differences in both culture and appearance, flourishes amongst the ignorant and is prevalent throughout both America’s distant and recent history, as well as in the archives of world history. A parent to ignorance and the culprit to the divisive vices of racial prejudice of all creeds, a lack of sufficient education, along with blatant disregard for one’s global community, is the underlying reason why Orientalism is a recurring theme in history that has yet to be abolished entirely. However, there exist scholars and filmmakers, such as Le Espiritu, Sucheng Chan, Wakako Yamauchi, etcetera, who give hope to the fight against such ignorance by using their work to inform and...
Words: 3505 - Pages: 15
...Postcolonialism By Patricia Waugh Summarized by Syed Saad Mukhtar M.Phil English Literature 1st Semester The Islamia University of Bahawalpur An academic discipline and theory featuring the methods of intellectual discourse that analyze, explain and respond to legacies of colonialism and imperialism, to the human consequences of controlling a country and establishing settlers for economic exploitation of native people and their land. The term postcolonialism addresses itself to historical, political, cultural and textual branches of colonial encounter between West and Non-West dating from 16th century to present day. Postcolonialism is thus a name for a critical theoretical approach in literary and cultural studies but it also designates a politics of transformational resistance to unjust and unequal forms of political and cultural authority which extends back across 20th century and beyond. The two very different traditions of Postcolonial thinking — the theoretical Post-Structuralist and Practical Political are thus linked in so far as some of the key concepts in postcolonialism. Postcolonialism therefore refers to those theories, texts, political strategies that engage in such questioning that aim to challenge structural inequalities and bring about social justice. It is often helpful to view Postcolonialism in comparative framework alongside political practices, with which it shares key objectives and expressions: Feminism. It is possible broadly speaking to trace three...
Words: 1124 - Pages: 5
