The Ugly American In The Arab Mind

The roots of America's image problem in the Middle East

Selected for Arab America's Best Arab American Books of 2020 list. It comes as little surprise that Hollywood films have traditionally stereotyped Arab Americans, but how are Arab Americans portrayed in Arab films, and just as importantly, how are they portrayed in the works of Arab American filmmakers themselves? In this innovative volume, Mahdi offers a comparative analysis of three cinemas, yielding rich insights on the layers of representation and the ways in which those representations are challenged and disrupted. Hollywood films have fostered reductive imagery of Arab Americans since the 1970s as either a national security threat or a foreign policy concern, while Egyptian filmmakers have used polarizing images of Arab Americans since the 1990s to convey their nationalist critiques of the United States. Both portrayals are rooted in anxieties around globalization, migration, and US-Arab geopolitics. In contrast, Arab American cinema provides a more complex, realistic, and fluid representation of Arab American citizenship and the nuances of a transnational identity. Exploring a wide variety of films from each cinematic site, Mahdi traces the competing narratives of Arab American belonging—how and why they vary, and what’s at stake in their circulation.

Untangling the world's love-hate relationship with America

An Egyptian-American journalist living in Egypt witnessed firsthand Hosni Mubarak's fall and Mohamed Morsi's struggle to stay in power. In these pages, he offers a chronicle of, and a revealing look at, the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and its aftermath, and he explains for Americans the confrontation between Islamists and seculars. The author examines how Egyptians have received the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and its progress in the two years that followed Hosni Mubarak's demise, from the moment the revolution erupted on January 25 to late in February of 2013 when protests calling for the downfall of President Mohamed Morsi were mounted in various major Egyptian cities. Since Egypt under Mubarak was America's stalwart ally in the Arab world, throughout the book the text also touches on American-Egyptian relations and whether Egyptians can achieve their dream of establishing a stable democratic state without U.S. economic assistance or 'U.S. meddling' in their country's internal affairs. The material also offers insights to help interpret events unfolding elsewhere in the Middle East and assessing U.S. involvement. While there are other books out there on the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, none of them inclusively covers its aftermath -- two years of events. Furthermore, the author wrote this in-depth work while in Egypt, offering not only the media's opinion on the issue but also conducting many interviews with ordinary Egyptians.

The impact of 9/11 on American politics, the press, and the public mind-set.

Until the attacks of September 11, 2001, few Americans knew anything about Islam, let alone about the distinctions between Sunni and Shi a, the Sufi and Wahhabi, the origins of the Holy Quraan and Shari a law, and the respect that all Muslims, even secular ones, harbor for the prophet Muhammad, his family, and Islamic traditions. In The Sunni-Shi a Divide Robert Betts traces the tortuous history of Islamas sectarian divisions, emphasizing the most important one, the Shi a departure from Sunni orthodoxy.A. Although the majority of Muslims remain faithful to the Sunni sect of Islam, approximately 15 percent subscribe to the Shi a creed. As Americaas involvement in the Middle East drags on, Betts reiterates that policymakers, scholars, and laymen alike must understand the many faces of Islam, the internal forces in the United States that have brought us into these conflicts, and the role of Israel in the regionas escalating tensions. How the increasing hostility between the two main Islamic factions plays out on the world stageas Sunni Turkey, Shi a Iran, and their allies vie for dominanceis of major consequence for everyone, especially financially strapped Europe and the United States.

Table of Contents: Module A: Mediate a Dispute Negotiate an Agreement Communicate through an Interpreter Brief a Supported Commander Establish Linkup with Supported Commander Analyze Propaganda Module A Practical Exercises Mediate a Dispute Negotiate an Agreement Communicate through an Interpreter Brief a Supported Commander Establish Linkup with Supported Commander Analyze Propaganda Module B: Adjustments to Culture Characteristics and Components to Culture Comparison of Types of Culture Cultural Elements of Communication Theory Cultural Literacy and Competency Islamic Culture Islamic History Islamic Religious Divisions Laws and Principles of Human Behavior Radicalization of Islam Tenets of Islam The Qur’an and other Islam Texts Module B Practical Exercises Adjustments to Culture Characteristics and Components to Culture Comparison of Types of Culture Cultural Elements of Communication Theory Cultural Literacy and Competency Islamic Culture Islamic History Islamic Religious Divisions Laws and Principles of Human Behavior Radicalization of Islam Tenets of Islam The Qur’an and other Islam Texts Module C: Introduction to System of Systems Analysis Physical Environment Social System Political System National Security System Economic System Information System Infrastructure and Technology Module C Practical Exercises Introduction to System of Systems Analysis Physical Environment Social System Political System National Security System Economic System Information System Infrastructure and Technology Module D: Gather PSYOP relevant Information Series Development Target Audience Analysis Develop Supporting PSYOP Objective Develop Product Action Concept Ph IV Design Visual Product Prototype Design Audio Product Prototype Design Audio Visual Product Prototype Test Products and Actions Module D Practical Exercises Gather PSYOP relevant Information Series Development Target Audience Analysis Develop Supporting PSYOP Objective Develop Product Action Concept Ph IV Design Visual Product Prototype Design Audio Product Prototype Design Audio Visual Product Prototype Test Products and Actions