Culture Exposed

This evening I quite a challenging conversation with a young woman who was born and raised in Egypt but is half Lebanese. Our discussion was challenging in that it made me question why I care about the Arab culture, what I find attractive in it, and how (in a slightly accusative sense) can I pledge my support for it. She began by asking me why I wanted to study Arabic. I replied, "Because I love the culture." Then she asked me why I loved it, and, with as honest a voice as they come, she began to criticize her own culture as being aggressive, manipulative, naive, ignorant, and unreasonable. As I listened to her testimony, I could concur with her observations and assumptions, but I also looked past them.


I looked past the harsh nature of the culture bred from a history of waring and an unrelenting environment. I looked past the stigmatizing communal ideas of "each man for himself" and "blood is thicker than water" acting concurrently. I looked past the seemingly squelching social standards which can produce a virulent, nescient adherence to command. I saw the individuals: the woman behind the veil who watched her baby take his first steps today, than man in the galabaya who rushed home with excitement after an enlightening sermon at the mosque on Friday. Every people group has its flaws, as does every individual person, but every individual has his/her own story as well. Each one of them is worth the attention of God. Are they not also worth my attention and your attention?


I told her that I loved the Arab culture, especially the parts that make me laugh (which are many). I love how very different it is from what I've ever known. I love the history which is ever present in it. I love the intensity of its emotions and interactions. I simply love the people, and I can't always explain why.


Upon her mention of the negative aspects of her culture, I mentioned some of the positive aspects; the freedom women have in comparison to the assumed lack there of; the beauty and wealth in riches, goods, art, language, food, and music which the culture has produced; the spectacular infrastructures which, though not as congealed as the West in many areas, are quite advanced. She told me that I need to see the "real" Egypt. I need to go south to some of the cities which have not been touched by the West. There I can find the real Arab culture, and then I can know what it is really like. "Though," she said, "more than 70% of the people there are illiterate." "Than I need to know the language," was my reply.


Already I admire the culture that I see, because I see the people through the eyes of compassion and understanding. I am certain that in the future I will grow in admiration toward the culture that I cannot yet see. This is not because I have taken it upon myself to expose and analyze the flaws, but it is because I simply love the people. They are beautiful, and I want to know them through their own words.