Rethinking Perceptions of the Middle East: Contesting Paradigms and Definitions
Contes
t
ing
Paradigms and Redefining
Per
c
eptions of the Middle East
By:
W
alter
L
orenz
Lecturer
in
Arabic
Pennsylvania
Sta
t
e
Universi
t
y
Purp
o
se
of
Pre
s
en
t
at
i
on
This
pr
e
se
n
tation
will disc
u
ss
the v
a
rio
u
s
co
m
munit
i
es
of
the M
i
ddle
E
ast.
The go
a
l
is
to
re
d
efi
n
e
terms
that ha
v
e
ma
r
k
e
d
the re
g
ion
as
“T
h
e
Arab
Worl
d
,”
a
n
d
“T
h
e
Muslim World”
that
is
q
u
ite
oft
e
n
us
e
d
in political
state
m
e
n
ts
a
n
d
the me
d
ia.
Topi
c
s
to
be
Dis
c
us
s
ed
•
What
is
“M
i
ddle
East
e
rn”
and “The Midd
l
e
East”
•
Dis
c
uss
i
ng
Co
m
m
uni
t
i
e
s:
R
e
li
g
ions
and
Langu
a
ges
•
“
The
Arab World”
and
“The
Muslim
World”
•
Su
m
m
ary
•
Con
c
lusion
Ques
t
io
n
:
What
is
“Mi
d
dle
Easter
n
?”
How
do
we
define
the
Middle
East?
Tradi
t
io
n
al
Defin
i
ti
o
n
of
the
Mid
d
le
E
ast
-
B
e
fo
re
W
W
I
-
"Near
East"
=
Balkans
and
the
Otto
m
an E
m
pi
r
e
-
"Middle
East"
=I
r
an,
A
f
ghanist
a
n,
and Cent
r
al
Asia.
-
In
1
9
5
7,
the
U.
S.
o
f
ficially
u
s
es
Mid
d
le
E
ast
for
th
e regi
o
n
aro
u
nd
th
e
S
u
ez C
a
nal.
Con
t
ro
v
ers
i
al
Bou
n
dar
i
es
Con
t
ro
v
ers
i
al
Bou
n
dar
i
es
Con
t
ro
v
ers
i
al
Bou
n
dar
i
es
Con
t
ro
v
ers
i
al
Bou
n
dar
i
es
Diver
s
e
Commu
nit
i
es:
Lang
u
ages
and
Reli
g
io
n
s
What
are the
lan
g
ua
g
es
and
the
c
o
mm
u
ni
t
ies
that
e
x
ist
in the
re
g
ion?
List
of
La
n
g
u
ages
(Dar
k
Green)
Arabic,
Aramaic,
A
z
erbaijani,
French,
Gree
k
,
Hebre
w
,
Kurdish,
Pers
i
an,
T
u
r
k
ish.
(L
i
gh
t
and
Dar
k
Green)
Arabic,
Armenian,
A
z
erbaijani,
Balochi,
Dari,
French, Gr
e
e
k
,
Georgian,
Hebre
w
, Kurdish,
Pashto,
Pers
i
an,
Pu
n
jabi,
Sind
h
i,
Somali,
T
a
ma
z
igh,
Tigrinya,
T
u
r
k
ish.
Map
of
Lan
g
ua
g
es
Spoken
Maj
or
Reli
g
io
u
s
Commu
n
it
i
es
•
Is
l
am
(Sunni
and Shiite
sects)
•
Christ
i
anity
(nu
m
erous sects
such
as
N
es
t
or
i
an,
Greek
Orthodox,
Ma
r
oni
t
e,
Ar
m
enian,
Coptic,
etc).
•
Juda
i
sm
•
Zoroast
r
ianism
•
Druze
•
Bahá
'
í
Reli
g
io
u
s
Commu
n
it
i
es
Termin
o
lo
g
y
and
the
Media
T
w
o
Co
mm
o
n
ly
Used
T
er
m
s
in
th
e
M
e
dia.
“
The
Arab
Wo
r
ld
”
and
“
The
M
u
s
lim
Wo
r
ld
”
Questi
o
n:
What
are
s
o
m
e
i
m
ages
th
at
co
m
e
to
m
in
d
when
y
o
u
h
e
a
r
these
ter
m
s?
Arabic
S
p
eak
i
ng
Cou
n
trie
s
Arab
League:
“An
Arab is
a person
whose
language
is
Arabic,
who
l
i
ves
in
an
Arabi
c-
speaking
countr
y
,
and
who is in
sy
m
pathy with the
asp
i
rations
of
the
Arabi
c
-speaking
peopl
e
s.”
Many
peoples
of non-Arab
orig
i
ns,
such
as
E
gypt
i
ans
and Phoeni
c
ians,
m
ay or
m
ay
not
ident
i
fy
the
m
se
l
ves
as
Arabs.
Arabic
dialects
di
f
fer regiona
l
l
y
.
What
is
“The
Mu
s
lim
Worl
d
?”
Overa
l
l,
Arabs
m
ake up
l
ess
than
one
quarter
of
the
world
'
s
1.4
bi
l
l
i
on
Mus
l
i
m
s.
How can
w
e define
“The
Mus
l
im
W
or
l
d
?
”
Does
th
i
s
“world”
have
borders
and
how
m
any
worlds
a
re
there?
Summary
•
The
region
defin
e
d
as
the Midd
l
e
East
is
a
controv
e
rsial
boundary
that
i
s
di
f
ficult
to
define
bo
t
h
cul
t
urally
and physi
c
al
l
y
.
•
Mult
i
ple
relig
i
ous
and
lingu
i
stic
co
m
m
unit
i
es
that
are
usua
l
ly
overshadow
e
d
by
a
n
“
Arab or Mus
l
im
Middle
East.”
•
“The
M
usl
i
m
W
orld”
or
“The
Arab
W
orld”
are
proble
m
at
i
c in
that
t
hey
m
a
r
gina
l
ize the
diversi
t
y
of
the
region.
•
The
m
ed
i
a
propag
a
t
e
s
the
p
o
pul
a
r
portray
a
l
of t
h
e
s
e
ide
a
s.
C
a
n
w
e
redefine
the
m
?
Thank
y
o
u!
This presentation by Walter Lorenz aims to challenge traditional perceptions of the Middle East by redefining terms like "The Arab World" and "The Muslim World". Discussions include the diverse communities, languages, religions, and controversial boundaries in the region. The goal is to spark a reconsideration of how we define the Middle East.
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Presentation Transcript
Contesting Paradigms and Redefining Perceptions of the Middle East By: Walter Lorenz Lecturer inArabic Pennsylvania State University
Purpose of Presentation This presentation will discuss the various communities of the Middle East. The goal is to redefine terms that have marked the region as TheArab World, and The Muslim World that is quite often used in political statements and the media.
Topics to be Discussed What is Middle Eastern and The Middle East Discussing Communities: Religions and Languages TheArab World and The Muslim World Summary Conclusion
Question: What is Middle Eastern? How do we define the Middle East?
Traditional Definition of the Middle East - Before WWI - "Near East" = Balkans and the Ottoman Empire - "Middle East" =Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. - In 1957, the U.S. officially uses Middle East for the region around the Suez Canal.
Diverse Communities: Languages and Religions What are the languages and the communities that exist in the region?
List of Languages (Dark Green) Arabic, Aramaic, Azerbaijani, French, Greek, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish. (Light and Dark Green) Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Balochi, Dari, French, Greek, Georgian, Hebrew, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Sindhi, Somali, Tamazigh, Tigrinya, Turkish.
Major Religious Communities Islam (Sunni and Shiite sects) Christianity (numerous sects such as Nestorian, Greek Orthodox, Maronite,Armenian, Coptic, etc). Judaism Zoroastrianism Druze Bah '
Terminology and the Media Two Commonly Used Terms in the Media. TheArab World and The Muslim World Question: What are some images that come to mind when you hear these terms?
Arabic Speaking Countries Arab League: AnArab is a person whose language isArabic, who lives in anArabic-speaking country, and who is in sympathy with the aspirations of theArabic-speaking peoples. Many peoples of non-Arab origins, such as Egyptians and Phoenicians, may or may not identify themselves asArabs. Arabic dialects differ regionally.
What is The Muslim World? Overall,Arabs make up less than one quarter of the world's 1.4 billion Muslims. How can we define The Muslim World? Does this world have borders and how many worlds are there?
Summary The region defined as the Middle East is a controversial boundary that is difficult to define both culturally and physically. Multiple religious and linguistic communities that are usually overshadowed by an Arab or Muslim Middle East. The MuslimWorld or TheArab World are problematic in that they marginalize the diversity of the region. The media propagates the popular portrayal of these ideas. Can we redefine them?
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