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"Yasser Abu Elmakarem’s current project focuses on the representation of Arab identity in Aljazeera Net, and the Arab community. Obviously, the issue of identity is one of the most contested and well disputed issues in recent academic agendas. The project seeks to examine the Arab identity in its dynamic change throughout history. When refracted through the lens of Post-Colonialism, Arabness (Arab Identity) appears as a resistant imagined identity. In similar vein, Aljazeera Net plays a significant role in the construction of Arab Identity as postcolonial identity. The outstanding coverage of Aljazeera to conflicts, wars makes Aljazeera a postcolonial event per se. When talking about the Arab community in Canada, Arab identity appear as complex, retained and negotiated identity. The ongoing, in-depth interviews with Arabs, and community leaders in Ottawa, explains that Arab community has become politically mature, yet, marginalized. Representation of Arab identity will indicate the factors that affect the image of Arab identity in the diaspora, and explain how Arabs in Canada negotiate their identity
The project is supervised by Professor David Crowley.
Professor Crowley is Associate Professor, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University. His main aeras of interests include Communications History, theory, and the study of technology. Professor Crowley is the author and the editor of several titles; he is the author of The is the author of : An Introduction to the Victorian Style (November 1990), National Style and the Nation-State : Design in Poland from the Vernacular Revival to the International Style (August 1992), Magazine Covers (October 2003), Warsaw (December 2003),
He the editor of several titles among them :Communication in History : Technology, Culture, Society (November 1998), Communication Theory Today (August 1994).
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How is Arabness perceived, and why is it considered a resistant or postcolonial identity? The attempt to find answers to questions such as these will facilitate a better understanding as to why Arabness can be considered as a form of postcolonial identity. Arab identity is perceived by most scholars to be capable of definition in both ethnic and cultural terms. It is ethnic, because it distinguishes between Arabs as a group and other ethnic groups. It is also cultural, since it stands for shared Arab representations, norms, and practices
The long period of colonialism that the Arab World endured, and the expansion of global capitalism, have helped to reshape Arab identity, reconstructing it as a resistance identity. Far from being a “fake identity that exists in the discourse of minorities, in which the subaltern cultures surrender to mainstream ideologies”. Arab identity can be conceived as a normative and reconstructive identity that reflects certain common features, historical continuity, and the practical ties that bind Arabs together . The resistant identity, as described by Manuel Castells (1997), is generated by those “actors whose positions are devalued or stigmatized by the logic of domination, and who thus build trenches of resistance based on their perceived difference from those permeating the institutions of society” .
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Arabness and Representation |
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Obviously, Arabness as a resistant identity has been reinvigorated in the wake of the attacks of September 11th in 2001, and at present, during the occupation of Iraq, if only to counter the negative images of Arabs portrayed in Western media coverage. Surprisingly, negative images about Arabs have not merely been found in the Western media coverage, but also in travel books targeted at both adults and children. Reminding us of some of the aspersions cast against Arabs outlined in Edward’s Said theory of Orientalism, Greta D. Little’s essay, “Representing Arabs: Reliance on the Past” (1998), sheds light on some of the negative images that frame Arabs, through which Arabs are represented as: (1) ignorant, superstitious, and silly, (2) lazy and dirty, (3) irrational, cruel, and violent, and (4) inclined to hate Christians, mistreat women, and even engage in the slave trade . Wedded to these negatives images of Arabs is the ‘malicious generalization’ about the nature of Islam. As Edward Said (1997) put it: “what is said about Muslim mind, or character, or religion, or the culture as a whole cannot be said in mainstream discussion about Africans, Jews, other Orientals, or Asians” .
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The profile of Arabs in Canada offers comprehensive data about the Arab community, and presents distinctive characteristics and statistics concerning the Arab community. Before moving on to present the third cluster of studies, it is helpful to summarize the essential features of the Arab-Canadian profile: firstly, Arab immigrants are well integrated socially; they proudly define themselves as Arab-Canadians, even though they risk encountering racist responses. Secondly, the Arab community in Canada is a religious community, since religion is perceived by most of the studies as a valid point of reference that inspires Arab ethnic identity, socio-cultural identity, and the fabric of interpersonal relationships. Clearly, religion affects the relationships of family members, informs the cultural traits that families display, and determines the position of women who are perceived to be constrained by severe social and family restrictions compared to men.
Thirdly, Arab Muslims prefer to use the Arab label of identity more than Christians do. However, what is missing in the literature review of Arab studies is the delineation of inter-group conflicts. Although there are religious and ideological differences among Arabs, the Arab community is always represented as if it does not in fact reflect any such differences. This study will attempt to avoid the charge of representing Arab culture as fixed or static, and instead, Arabs will be represented in a manner that reflects both the homogeneity and heterogeneity of the Arab community.
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Is Arab reality reflected or Constructed? |
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This project - while examining the prevailing images of Arab identity, and defining “who Arabs are and who Others are” - seeks to examine the impact of the postcolonial history of Arab identity on the current images that are disseminated in both Ajazeera.net and in the Arab community. Additionally, it will question whether Arab identity is reflected or constructed during the process of representation. Questions such as- Why should Arab identity be negotiated? How do the sources of Arab identity influence our to understanding Arabness? In which How does Aljazeera construct images of the Arab reality? How do leaders of Arab community perceive Aljazeera? How does Aljazeera alter some key issues in news production and representation?- will be examined.
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New Updates (November 20th): Yasser is presenting in the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations in Canada |
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Re-imagining and Re-fashioning: Why we need to re-imagine Arab identity and refashion the Arab-Canadian media (Pilot Research about Arab Newspapers in Canada) |
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Yasser Abu Elmakarem is invited to join the presenters of the national conference of National Council on Canada-Arab Relations. His paper entitled “Re-imagining and Re-fashioning: Why we need to re-imagine Arab identity and refashion the Arab-Canadian media (Pilot Research about Arab Newspapers in Canada) examines the current status of Canadian-Arab newspapers, and their current and missing roles |
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The issue of Arab-Canadian media has not got sufficient attention from Arab scholars and Arab media professionals. The lack of attention is often due to the absence of theoretical base within which one may understand how Arab media in Canada operate. Arab media do not operate in vacuum; rather, they reflect an Arab identity that is both real and imagined. It is real because it is based on strong communal bonds, such as shared heritage, and future aspirations. It is also imagined because it represents an imagined community. Yet, Arab identity should be re-imagined to contain the slippage in the imagination of Arab community. Interestingly, the literature of studies about Arab identity, while aiming to portray a profile of Arab identity that matches reality, is void from discussions about the existing roles of Arab-Canadian media, and the roles they should play.
This paper will shed light on the Diasporic framework, which constitutes the theoretical base for understanding Arab identity. Discussion of the disasporic framework will be followed by an outline for the studies about Arabs in Canada. A pilot research about Arab newspapers in Canada will be conducted, and presented in the third section of the paper to assess the existing roles of Arab newspapers, and highlight the need to refashion them. In general terms, the paper aims to suggest new strategies for Arab-Canadian Organization, such as CAF, and NCCAR, and emphasize the importance of refashioning traditional media modalities.
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