CIAO DATE: 01/03

Talking With The Islamic World: Is The Message Getting Through?
Session One: U.S. Image in the Islamic World

October 2002

Institute for the Study of Diplomacy
Georgetown University

 

Abstract

Arabs do not view Americans as much as we would like to think they do. We have an initial misconception, which might be termed the Al Jazeera syndrome. We assume that all Arabs watch Al Jazeera, a 24 hour-a-day news service from Qatar, all day. This is no more true than assuming that all Americans watch CNN or Fox news constantly. In fact, most Arabs watch LBC (Lebanese TV) or MBC (Middle East Broadcast TV from London) entertainment. They watch soap operas, movies, and popular entertainment, just as Americans. Like us, they have complex lives; they think of children, their futures, and local issues. They do not compulsively think about America, but are consumed with their daily lives.

Arabs don’t see the U.S. differently from the way those in other regions see us. This was shown by a recent PEW study on how the U.S. is perceived by the rest of the world. Europeans, Asians and Latin Americans have many of the same criticisms of the United States: too unilateralist, too arrogant with power, too supportive of Israel in terms of the overall approach to the Middle East.

When Arabs do think about us, they tend to see us through the same distorted lens through which we see them. All cultures tend to view the deviant behaviors of other cultures as the norm, while viewing their own deviant behavior as exceptional. A few extreme comments might be perceived as symptomatic of the whole. Bad news is big news. We see our own history and flaws in a different way from the way in which others see them. This is particularly true of our attitudes toward women, race, and violence. Other countries question our commitment to our values. There is a difference in the ways in which we see ourselves and others see us.

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