In 1952 in Iran a book was published by Jalal Al-e Ahmed, the son of a cleric, entitled "Occidentosis: A Plague from the West". The term used in Persian was Gharbzadegi, a term coined by Ahmad Fardid at the University of Tehran in the 1940's. Indeed there was a degree of this in the muddled post-colonial mess in the Middle East. In fact we see such sentiments in Iran, when the Pahlavi Hat was instituted by Reza Shah (1925-1941). {More can be read on this transitional period here}. The hat was of western design and had a brim which made it quite difficult to perform the obligatory prayers of Islam. The hat was declared the official hat of all Iranian men in 1927 (see Houchang Chehabi for more).
Another watershed event was the Tanzimat in Turkey (1839-1876) which was a reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, and concluded with the First Constitutional Era. This included financial reorganization based on the French system. However the Turkish contribution to colonial sycophancy did not end here, there was a period of "The Young Turks" which saw further reforms, and the famous Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk). These periods saw the end of the Ottoman empire and the institution of a secular state in what had previously been the seat of the Islamic Caliphate. Indeed there were more than a few instances of this gharbzadegi.
I would like to take this as a point of departure to comment on another "plague" I see, and if I may coin the term, Sharqzadegi (Orientosis). Yes indeed, there is a growing fetish in the western world, particularly in centers of academia, which takes as its raison d'etre, the inversion of perceptions of Islam and the Middle East. The publication of Edward Said's "Orientalism" in 1978, was essentially the start of this self flagellating movement. Said coined the term Orientalism, which was the 'skewed' depiction of Arabs and Muslims in writing and art in the west. {This theory appears to be on its way out as the inestimable Ibn Warraq has published a rebuttal}. And indeed there had long been an obsession with certain things Middle Eastern, many of which was concocted. For instance the 'belly dance', which was taken from some form of traditional dance, and transformed into a night club performance. So alien was this that in Arabic the belly dance is referred to as raqs sharqi (Eastern Dance). The obvious problem here is the Arabs referring to the dance as "eastern" which wouldn't make much sense if it were a cultural practice they themselves created and performed.
Today we see a large crowd of 'academics' and a potpouri of apologists running about telling us how Islam isn't barbaric (which it clearly is) but that it is a light unto the world, a religion that gave us everything from the number zero (a lie) to capri pants. This rehabilitation is an intellectual exercise. And what an exercise for the mental masturbationists... a complete inversion of perceivable reality, take the mephitic cesspools of Islam and dig for diamonds in the rough to show us all we were so wrong to think that a culture that stones women for adultery isn't actually the pinnacle of civilization. {I have commented on this kind of laudatory commentary on Islam HERE}.
The field is littered with these types, one as bad as the next, whether it be Karen Armstrong, who doesn't bother to engage with facts when dealing with the Muslim world issuing idiotic statement after idiotic statement. She has been given a good smack now and again for her obsequious apologetics, but largely continues on, unencumbered by facts. The list continues, John Esposito, Juan Cole, Noah Feldman, ad nauseum (I can't emphasize the 'nauseum' part enough). Needless to say the rehabilitation of a conquesting, Jew hating, violent, misogynistic cult, is not hard to find.
But this Orientosis should not come as a shock, this kind of behavior is quite common amongst the privileged liberals of the west who wish they had never been born. Oh yes, Buddhism was all the rage, with young privileged, middle class children becoming Buddhists. Spending their parents' money for trips to "holy sites" across the globe. And it isn't just the kids, adults have the same problem. Delusion isn't just for children. Disdain for one's own culture has drawn more than a few to Islam, several names come to mind.... John Walker Lindh and Adam Gadahn. Of course when a young man like Lindh becomes a Muslim in Marin, California and jets off to Afghanistan to fight with al-Qaeda, people speculate that he suffers from some mental illness, and rightly so. Why is it that no one makes such speculation when a so-called 'academic' does the intellectual equivalent? Well fear not, Dr. Al is on the case, ready with a diagnosis for the Islamophiles and useful idiots.... Orientosis.
Another watershed event was the Tanzimat in Turkey (1839-1876) which was a reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, and concluded with the First Constitutional Era. This included financial reorganization based on the French system. However the Turkish contribution to colonial sycophancy did not end here, there was a period of "The Young Turks" which saw further reforms, and the famous Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk). These periods saw the end of the Ottoman empire and the institution of a secular state in what had previously been the seat of the Islamic Caliphate. Indeed there were more than a few instances of this gharbzadegi.
I would like to take this as a point of departure to comment on another "plague" I see, and if I may coin the term, Sharqzadegi (Orientosis). Yes indeed, there is a growing fetish in the western world, particularly in centers of academia, which takes as its raison d'etre, the inversion of perceptions of Islam and the Middle East. The publication of Edward Said's "Orientalism" in 1978, was essentially the start of this self flagellating movement. Said coined the term Orientalism, which was the 'skewed' depiction of Arabs and Muslims in writing and art in the west. {This theory appears to be on its way out as the inestimable Ibn Warraq has published a rebuttal}. And indeed there had long been an obsession with certain things Middle Eastern, many of which was concocted. For instance the 'belly dance', which was taken from some form of traditional dance, and transformed into a night club performance. So alien was this that in Arabic the belly dance is referred to as raqs sharqi (Eastern Dance). The obvious problem here is the Arabs referring to the dance as "eastern" which wouldn't make much sense if it were a cultural practice they themselves created and performed.
Today we see a large crowd of 'academics' and a potpouri of apologists running about telling us how Islam isn't barbaric (which it clearly is) but that it is a light unto the world, a religion that gave us everything from the number zero (a lie) to capri pants. This rehabilitation is an intellectual exercise. And what an exercise for the mental masturbationists... a complete inversion of perceivable reality, take the mephitic cesspools of Islam and dig for diamonds in the rough to show us all we were so wrong to think that a culture that stones women for adultery isn't actually the pinnacle of civilization. {I have commented on this kind of laudatory commentary on Islam HERE}.
The field is littered with these types, one as bad as the next, whether it be Karen Armstrong, who doesn't bother to engage with facts when dealing with the Muslim world issuing idiotic statement after idiotic statement. She has been given a good smack now and again for her obsequious apologetics, but largely continues on, unencumbered by facts. The list continues, John Esposito, Juan Cole, Noah Feldman, ad nauseum (I can't emphasize the 'nauseum' part enough). Needless to say the rehabilitation of a conquesting, Jew hating, violent, misogynistic cult, is not hard to find.
But this Orientosis should not come as a shock, this kind of behavior is quite common amongst the privileged liberals of the west who wish they had never been born. Oh yes, Buddhism was all the rage, with young privileged, middle class children becoming Buddhists. Spending their parents' money for trips to "holy sites" across the globe. And it isn't just the kids, adults have the same problem. Delusion isn't just for children. Disdain for one's own culture has drawn more than a few to Islam, several names come to mind.... John Walker Lindh and Adam Gadahn. Of course when a young man like Lindh becomes a Muslim in Marin, California and jets off to Afghanistan to fight with al-Qaeda, people speculate that he suffers from some mental illness, and rightly so. Why is it that no one makes such speculation when a so-called 'academic' does the intellectual equivalent? Well fear not, Dr. Al is on the case, ready with a diagnosis for the Islamophiles and useful idiots.... Orientosis.
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3 comments:
Oooh I have to make a quick comment as I forgot to put this in the post.
During the 1996 World Cup a Columbian defender accidentally kicked the ball into his own goal. Days after returning home, he was shot to death in Bogota. With all the own goals being scored by the western intellectuals it is a wonder there aren't similar reactions.
Soccer is just more important.
You comment about the term "Raqs Sharqi" is absolutely incorrect. The term Raqs Sharqi first came about when Egypt was occupied by foreign powers. "Raqs Sharqi", which actually translates as "Oriental Dance” or “Eastern Dance”, was used to distinguish the dance from European, or western, dances. ("Orient” as opposed to “occident”.)
Are you really sure about that Anonymous? Because from what I've read the real origins of the dance are shrouded in the mists of time and no one really knows the true origin.
And about this Islam admiration from the article, I've seen it in my fellow students. The main problem I think is that they simply don't know any of the things you mentioned. The study of Islam in history classes in middle school is one-sided, focussed on the positive, and, above all, brief.
Since the only things that people generally read outside of their field after middle school are the newspapers and fiction, it is clear to see why the image from history classes persists. After all, the newspapers mostly don't cover the things you mention, since they're either not news, or not local or international but local to a foreign country and thus generally deemed of little interest.
Of course you can try to tell people things and some will listen, but an awful lot of them won't, not even if you can back up everything you say, and I don't know why. And it is rather difficult to tell people things even they are in principle prepared to listen, because you have to actually tell people. Sending someone something textual is useless, it'll get a two-second glance and nothing more, you have to meet these people socially. But then you'll also be confronted with people who are not quite so ready to listen, and who are often prepared to straight out lie to defend the things they learned in school. And in a conversation you have no access to the Internet, or the books you need to prove them wrong. Sorry to be such a downer, but it's hard, and I see no obvious solution.
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