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Orientalism Revisited and Occidentalism Redefined in Post 9/11 Era

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Orientalism Revisited and Occidentalism Redefined in Post 9/11 Era Who Defines Me: Orientalism Revisited and Occidentalism Redefined in Post 9/11 Era By Eid Ahmed Abdelwahab Mohamed B.A. in English, June 1998, Al-Azhar University M.A. in English, August 2005, Minia University M.A. in American Studies, May 2011, The George Washington University A Dissertation submitted to The Faculty of Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 31, 2011 Dissertation directed by Melani McAlister Associate Professor of American Studies, International Affairs, and Media and Public Affairs i The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University certifies that Eid Ahmed Abdelwahab Mohamed has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of July 28, 2011. This is the final and approved form of the dissertation. Who Defines Me: Orientalism Revisited and Occidentalism Revisited in Post 9/11 Era Eid Ahmed Abdelwahab Mohamed Dissertation Research Committee: Melani McAlister, Associate Professor of American Studies, International Affairs, and Media and Public Affairs Dissertation Director James Miller, Professor of English and American Studies Committee Member Amr Hamzawy, Research Director and Senior Associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center, Professor of Political Science, Cairo University Committee Member ii © Copyright 2011 by Eid Mohamed All rights reserved iii Dedication For my parents And Adam, Noah and Mona iv Acknowledgments Acknowledgments can never be made to all who have nourished one's intellectual life. I owe an especially heavy debt of gratitude to my advisor Melani McAlister who read the dissertation with meticulous care, called attention to matters that needed correction or revision, and made thoughtful suggestions that resulted in an improved treatment. In addition, her continuing investment of time and effort was fundamental to the success of the dissertation process. Melani provided counsel and encouragement that can only come from a true teacher and educator. I am also so grateful to James Miller for his generous help and his comments that were penetrating and relevant. From across the Atlantic, I owe thanks to Amr Hamzawy at Carnegie Middle East for his invaluable ongoing assistance. I also appreciate the efforts of Dalia Mogahed at Gallup Organization. I am grateful to Abderrahman Beggar at Wilfred Laurier University for his interest in the topic and investment of time and effort. My thanks go to Sandra Heard and Rami Fawaz for their willingness to sit down and provide me with their support, encouragement, and interest. I am particularly impressed by the incredible spirit, wisdom, and strength of the Egyptian people who made the January 25th Revolution that changed a lot of concepts held by Westerners about Arabs. I am indebted to those young people who came together, demanding the personal freedoms and rights that Egyptians have so long been denied. Their message of peace and hope was easily delivered to the rest of the world through their cheering, singing, praying for their freedom in Tahrir Square. Among those who have given me sustenance, I cannot fail to mention my colleagues at Faculty of Languages and Translation, Al-Azhar University for their friendly v spiritual support. My heart-felt thanks to all those unnamed others, too many to be named personally, who encouraged me to continue, who supplied ideas, and took the time to carry on useful discussions, thereby helping me through the completion of this dissertation. My parents, my brother Abdelwahab, my wife Mona, and my two sons Adam and Noah gave me confidence to soar beyond my expectations. Finally, all praise be to God through His Blessings all good deeds are completed. vi Abstract of Dissertation Who Defines Me: Orientalism Revisited and Occidentalism Redefined in Post 9/11 Era This dissertation explores how Arab media, cinema and fiction especially after the election of President Barack Obama, assert the value of America as a potential source of ‗change‘ while attempting to renegotiate the Arab and Muslim worlds‘ positions in the international system. Unlike many previous studies, my dissertation presents a full-fledged comparative perspective on the field. My work focuses on those works, mostly Egyptian, that manage to ask pointed questions about how cultural stereotypes produce new forms of political "sight" and thus create the binary of ‗us‘ and ‗them.‘ This dissertation proposes a contrapuntal perspective, to borrow a Saidian term, by examining Egyptian/Arab cultural representations of the US and its foreign policy. My reading of Egyptian/Arab fiction, for example, argues that contemporary Egyptian/Arab writers put forward a fictional counter- telling and a complex understanding of US-Arab encounters. Moreover, what Arab novelists convey in their works about Arab societies is still part and parcel of the discourse about the East-West encounter. This is evident in the way Arab novels convey details of Arabs‘ daily lives that assert the superficial differences between ―us‖ and ―them,‖ yet remind us ultimately of our deep similarities. The dissertation also analyzes Egyptian/Arab filmic representations of the US which explores how Egyptian/Arab cinema is and has always been under the impact of vii Hollywood. Arabs, who are enamored of American cinema-making, are at odds with American foreign policy. Moreover, this dissertation indicates how fast news media have increasingly contributed in an instant communication among peoples and nations all over the world. Arabs and Americans are forcefully directed and shaped by the powerful impact of mass media. It deals with selected incidents that have occupied the Arab intellectual climate in the post-9/11 era, and contributed to a cultural encounter between US and Middle East. These incidents that may seem small or isolated are able to reflect the whole intellectual climate in the Arab world within a historical and political context often neglected, misunderstood, or ignored by proponents of ―clash of civilizations‖ argument. This dissertation also demonstrates Arab-Americans‘ cultural response to 9/11 and their forced move from invisibility to being visible. Historically, negative images of Arabs and Muslims trot out whenever Middle East crises emerge. Arab-Americans who already suffer from double identity face double burden of feeling sorrow for their country‘s catastrophe and attempting to disprove the stereotypes about their Arab heritage. viii Table of Contents Dedication…………………………………………………………………….iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................... v Abstract of Dissertation .................................................................................... vii Table of Contents……………………………………………………………..ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................... .x Introduction:......................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: US in Post 9/11 Arab Fiction ......................................................... 25 Chapter 2: US in Post 9/11 Arab Media and Intellectual Life ........................ 71 Chapter 3: US in Post 9/11 Arab Cinema ...................................................... 127 Chapter 4: Arab American Cultural Response to 9/11 ................................. 178 Conclusion………………………………………………………………….221 Bibliography .................................................................................................... 228 ix List of Figures Figure 1………………………………………………………………………………….87 Figure 2………………………………………………………………………………….89 Figure 3………………………………………………………………………………….90 Figure 4………………………………………………………………………………….92 Figure 5………………………………………………………………………………….92 Figure 6………………………………………………………………………………….93 Figure 7………………………………………………………………………………….95 Figure 8………………………………………………………………………………….96 Figure 9………………………………………………………………………………….97 Figure 10..……………………………………………………………………………….98 Figure 11..……………………………………………………………………………….108 Figure 12..……………………………………………………………………………….109 Figure 13..……………………………………………………………………………….111 Figure 14..……………………………………………………………………………….114 Figure 15…..…………………………………………………………………………….144 Figure 16…..…………………………………………………………………………….157 Figure 17…..…………………………………………………………………………….161 Figure 18…..…………………………………………………………………………….163 Figure 19…..…………………………………………………………………………….168 Figure 20…..…………………………………………………………………………….170 x Figure 21…..…………………………………………………………………………….171 xi INTRODUCTION I. Overview This dissertation investigates post-9/11 U.S.-Middle East encounters in order to map out how they balance conflicting pressures—internal dissent and outward threats. My project specifically explores how Arab, especially Egyptian, culture asserts the value of America as a potential model, especially after Barack Obama‘s election, of ―change‖ while attempting to renegotiate the Arab and Muslim worlds‘ positions in the international system. This project fills a niche because it is an attempt to understand the relationship between the Obama era in the U.S. and the social/political change movements throughout the ―Arab Spring‖, crowned with Tunisia‘s most recent ―Jasmine Revolution,‖ Egypt‘s ―Lotus Revolution,‖ and other pro-democracy movements in Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. However, I would like to stress the fact that this study ends before the ―Arab Spring,‖ and I think the material here can help explain the multiple
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