As researchers focused on the Middle East, we watch with concern the lack of objective flow of information in the west concerning this complex area of the world. The fast paced developments unfolding in the Middle East can be overwhelming to understand. The incoherent policies of our governments also helped with this confusion: How can they ask for one dictatorship to go while they turn a blind eye to another? Residents of the western world often find themselves entangled in a web of facts and counter-facts which would lead an academic to confusion, not to mention the average Joe. We believe that the driving force behind this confusion has roots in what is called Orientalism.
Orientalism is a term that dates to the 18th and 19th century that was reinvented by the Palestinian-American intellectual Edward Said (1935-2003) in the seventies to describe a systematic distorted western depiction of the East (Mainly Asia, including the Middle East) that has roots in colonialism. Orientalism depicts those societies as undeveloped and static as opposed to the “dynamic” and “civilized” West. The sense of superiority resulting from this world view leads to erroneous policies, wars, hatred, and bigotry; All of which are manifesting themselves on daily basis in our present time.
We believe that the orientalist narrative and discourse are predominant in the west on many levels including political, academic, and the media. This project aims at adding to the counter-narrative by bringing you native information flow and analysis from Middle East experts and researchers familiar with the entrapments of Orientalist thinking. With the contribution of many guest writers, partner blogs and websites, and media material, you can get acquainted with many of today’s hottest topics without the need to google for hours. Expert advice will be brought to you by writers and researchers that are familiar with the region inside and out.
February 13, 2019
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In October 2018, prominent Muslim-British journalist, Editor-in Chief of 5Pillars, Roshan Muhammed Salih (RMS) has compiled a subjective list of the most powerful countries in the Muslim world. He judged them on nine criteria – the strength of their economies, internal cohesion, their political systems, levels of corruption, natural resources, human resources, the strength of their militaries, international alliances, ... Read More »
July 27, 2018
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Anyone who has traveled to cosmopolitan cities like London, Toronto, Beirut, Istanbul or Qum, will immediately realize that these cities do not represent the entirety of the countries in which they are located. They are usually a universe of their own. The cosmopolitan urban centers named above have their distinct character and are supranational. Why? Because these cities are ... Read More »
July 17, 2018
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While many people are bewildered that a character like Donald Trump is the president of a powerful country like the United States of America, many hope that he will be a one term president, but we tend to disagree with this. In fact, at the moment Trump’s re-election chances look pretty high, as his modus operandi and the way ... Read More »
July 3, 2018
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This column has been contributed by a PhD student of Economics exclusively for Anti-Orientalist.com who chose to remain anonymous. Imagine, you have a good business idea, and that you need money to fund it. Where would you go? You would go to the nearest bank. Another option is to attract some investors. If you are very desperate, you would go ... Read More »
June 7, 2017
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As the media hype created around the presidential elections which took place in the Islamic Republic of Iran is dying down, our blog will attempt to deconstruct the event within an anti-orientalist framework. Prior to analyzing the repercussions of the election results, we will begin by looking at a key inconsistency surrounding the narrative peddled by the corporate media when ... Read More »
April 2, 2017
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As most things in life, the age of information comes with its positives and negatives. The negative aspect is an information overload, constantly combined with a sophisticated spin which creates a great deal of confusion about the world around us. If you are a person who wants to de-fog the confusion created by the corporate media, Confessions of a ... Read More »
January 25, 2017
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When Kevin O’Leary, the businessman-turned-reality-TV-star, announced that he is aiming to become Canada’s next Prime Minister, it was clear that due to the election of Donald Trump (DT) many accidental, wealthy and brash people in the West will be entering politics in the next few years. However, it’s not the personality aspect one needs to focus on, but the trend ... Read More »
October 24, 2016
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In August 2016, Dr. Hosam Mattar published an article in the journal of Contemporary Arab Affairs titled, Limits of US Soft Power in the Arab World. While Dr.Mattar’s paper does an excellent job in theoretically framing the application of soft-power in the Arab world, due to space and topical limit, it had to leave out the practical aspects. Therefore, this ... Read More »
September 27, 2016
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Daniel Haqiqatjou, a prominent Muslim-American blogger and intellectual, in his widely read column Why Trump Is Surprisingly Good for Muslims, published in August 2016, Haqiqatjou makes a well-researched argument that “if trump wins the presidency the US political cast identifying itself as Democrat will likely latch on to the Muslim cause like never before. We saw shades of this during ... Read More »
September 15, 2016
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“Soft Power” refers to strategies by Western countries to affect change in other countries prioritizing non-violence, but not excluding violent means. The term has come to prominence in 2003 when Joseph Nye discussed it in a paper aiming at presenting alternatives to US Government to affect change in other countries without having to primarily rely upon hard or military power. While ... Read More »
Anti-Orientalist Rewriting Orientalist Narrative
