Words and phrases in coverage of Arab Americans, Arab World and Middle East
When critics of Barack Obama tried to ramp up their attacks by pointing to his upbringing in the Muslim World, one phrase they used often was "madrassa."
"Madrassa" sounds so sinister, especially when you put it int he context of today's Islamic extremism, post-Sept. 11, 2001 terrorism and the "War on Terrorism."
Obama attended a "Madrassa," is usually the reference. That's true. He did attend a "Madrassa." That's because anyone who goes to school goes to a "Madrassa" which is in fact little more than the Arabic Word for "School." Every school in the Arab World, and the Islamic World (the majority of which is non-Arab) is called a "Madrassa."
The term has gotten an extended definition in the mainstream media in part because the media has found itself incabable of discerning the diversity in the Arab and Islamic World or understanding the real context in which many of today's headlines originate.
Indonesian schools are called "Madrassas" when they are Islamic. All Islamic schools, without exception. Doesn't matter whether the school teaches poilitics, general curriculum or "hate" as is the insinuation when the term is used in today's mainstream media vernacular.
You wan tto make a case about someone learning "hate," I think the media needs to do more research into the "school" to see what kind of school it was. Who ran it and what did it teach?
In New York City, an Arab Muslim woman wanted to teach Arabic as a major language -- it's a funny thing about the so-called "War on Terrorism," it has sparked a huge interest in learning Arabic. But when critics saw that she had a political background -- she allegedly wore a t-shirt (which she didn't, but that fact doesn't matter) that seemed to champion Palestinian rights, she was lambasted by media fanatics there and she was dropped as director. They even said she would turn the "school" into a "School" -- or "Madrassa."
It sounds so sinister, and sinister sounding words are placeholders for criticisam which is not based on fact.
They then appointed someone who had more of a political agenda behind her and who was not Arab to run the school.
One pattern we see in the mainstream newsmedia is the translation of all the words in a quote except the sinister-sounding words with the political meanings. Mainstream media will translate all of the words except the ones that have a political meaning in order to really juice up their point.
Here are some words that have common meaning that are often taken out of context because they play so well into the agendas of the writers, either intentionally or unintentionally:
Jihad -- means "noble struggle" and has been hijacked by the Islamic extremists and the mainstream "media" extremists, too, to exascerbate the hate dialogue.
Allah -- some people actually think this refers to a Muslim God, but in fact it is just the Arabic translation of the word "God." (My mother who was Christian and attended the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where Jesus was born used the word "Allah" as all Christian Arabs and anyone who speaks Arabic does.)
Shaheed -- is another one of those explosive words -- no pun intended, refering to an individual who commits an act of suicide bombing. Yet the word Shaheed simply means someone who sacrifices for justice. Now certainly, I am sure the brainwashed and the crazy suicide bomber fanatics describe themselves as shaheeds, but the fact is they are not.
Hijab -- this word is commonly used to describe women who are accused of being oppressed in the Arab and Islamic World. In fact, a Hijab is basically a head covering, or, as I might have called in in the 1960s and 1970s growing up on Chicago's ethnically rich Southeast Side, a "babushka." A Hijab is not a berqa, which, in my opinion, is a symbol of the oppression of women in the Arab and Islamic World -- but then again, women are oppressed everywhere, aren't they? Including here in the United States where they recently got the right to vote in the 1920s when the Congress had to pass a special Constitutional Amendment to enforce it! Three Islamic countries have elected Muslim women as heads of state. We're still working on it.
Insha'allah -- is not a declaration of terrorist intent by a Muslim. In fact, again, it is merely a phrase that is both religious and secular. Muslims AND Christians use the term which means "God Willing." Sure when I was a kid, my mom would always respond to my intentions by saying, "Insha'allah honey." Meaning if God wills it, it will happen. There was a time when believing in God was considered noble in America.
Why do we surrender these words to the fanatics? Why not translate them, put them in context and then address the real problem. You cannot defeat the terrorist, you cannot understand terrorism, and you cannot report on terrorism if you can't see past the "ethnic face" of a people or their language.
But we know the ability to blur meanings makes it easier to do our jobs. It doesn't make doing our jobs more successful.
I recently attended an FBI seminar where FBI and Justice officials spoke of the threat of terrorism against the United States, by including Hamas and Hezbollah, two organizations that you can legitimately argue are terrrists but that do not intentionally target Americans. (Intention is a distinction in Middle East coverage isn't it? Or only when it is convenient?)
We lump them all together because it makes for a better presentation, when in fact Hamas and Hezbollah have nothing to do with al-Qaeda in a real world sense, just in a politically-driven agenda.
There is an issue involving the spelling of words from Arabic to English that causes all kinds of headaches. But that's a topic for another post later.
Ray Hanania
www.hanania.com
rayhanania@comcast.net
PS ... if you have other words or phrases to add to the above list, let me know.
NAAJA also has posted a Resource Guide to help journalists navigate through the complexities of the Arab and Islamic World. It is linked at:
http://www.hanania.com/NAAJA-US/resourceguide.doc