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Has anyone ever noticed how it's becoming widely spread that many people of our region do not look “Khaleeji,” whether it's with the way they dress, talk or even their choice of food. Generally these types of individuals are found in malls, private schools and on the weekends roaming the streets. They look very “American” with the way they act however they very much have Arabian features. Those are in my opinion the Americanized Arabs.
In 1790, President George Washington adopted the notion of Americanization. He wanted to transform all the American culture to the Anglo-American culture, also known as Western or European cultures. The aim of that was to make indigenous people learn the European American culture, customs, and values. Ever since then Americanization as we known it initiated, which leaves us with this question did ever end? Not it did not, it expanded beyond its limits to the foreign lands and into the Arabian Peninsula. Yet I believe it should have stayed within the U.S. continent and never exceed beyond the borders of the United States.
The issue here and the funny matter is, here in the Gulf region most of those who imitate what they see on the American media blindly is that they mistake between Americanization and Globalization. Although the Americanization idea derived from globalization, there is a big difference between the two, the truth of the matter is it’s a complete joke when people think they’re modernized when the follow the latest of global hypes and social development. Globalization in brief is a free mind movement of commodities, capital, people, information, and knowledge across national borders.
Unfortunately, some people in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf have a misunderstanding of the two notions and blindly mimic and follow the American manners. It is all because of the strong American influence in the region, especially after the liberation of Kuwait. Mostly, people here in the region follow the American attitude by observing them and how they perform in movies, television and on the Internet, basically the media. The Americans are not to be blamed for our shenanigans, we are. We should blame those who absorb all the negative manners, mostly the youth and small categories of elders and parents, and schools; mostly the private ones.
Religion, tradition, principles, and values are the major factors that shape up the standards and basics of society, and mold the history of a nation. Actually they are the pillars of our existence and how we coexist with others. When out standards are being influenced by an outsider or a foreign society it leaves our foundation of customs vulnerable and may cause these customs to alter
and changed, eventually leading to a threat in the future of that certain society.
There is no harm with multicultural societies. Multi-culturalists must adopt the idea of coordinating any attitudes favorable towards their nation and culture. Globalism is also needed, because there is a need of integration of economic, political, and cultural systems across the globe, in order to unify people of the world into a single society and function together. But Americanism by itself is refused.
Some Kuwaiti and Khaleeji youth nowadays abandoned their national dress. It's fine to wear casual clothes in order to have easier movement and be fashionable, but there are lines we should respect like the religion, social values and traditions. Have a tour in our malls and universities and take a look at the appearance of the young girls and boys. What's unfortunate is that they have a poor command of the Arabic language, which means our own language is being threatened when simple words cannot be understood. They even changed the habit and type of eating. All these factors and evidence should alert the decision makers of this coming threat.
Each nation must stick to its own culture, tradition and history. A unified ideology is needed most of the time in any society. In another words “nationality is identity."
– Khaled Al-Bannay
