Blood and Oil

I learned alot from this movie! And I know this is supposed to be about oil but did you know woman aren't allowed to get medical attention without a male relative present??? That disgusts me! What happens if a woman needs immediate medical attention and her male relative isn't there?? Do they turn her away?!!!
There are many things that I learned in this movie that baffle me. Saudi didn't want U.S. troops to be there guarding them because they were non believers. They didn't want this many non- believers in their country. I think thats crazy because they are turning down protection from others just because of too many people who don't beleive what they believe. I respect their holy grounds and I am sure our soldiers did as well, how can they think we were going to lesson their holy lands just by being in the country.
I also find it crazy that the main reason of the 9/11 attacks was oil. It seems like something so simple as oil should not be causing wars throughout our world. However it is such a widespread necesscity that it has brought us to actually begin wars over it. In the movie there is a soldier that tells the camera crew he was sent to guard the old refinery. Are we sending our men over there to guard potential oil or to find peace in the middle east?? The government has been trying to say this is not why we are fighting in the Middle East, that we are fighting for peace in the middle east but then they command our military men to risk their lives guarding an oil refinery.

Not Just the Typical Terrorist

My group is reading, watching and researching about Middle Easterners living in the United States. This can be a senstive subject to some because of the experiences they have gone through here in America as peoples of middle eastern descent. I read an extremely disturbing article today written by an Iranian living in Southern California. He begins talking about how he is just as disgusted and angry at the terrorist that killed so many people in the twin towers. He talks of how it was completely unacceptable and that he too is at war against these terrorist. In conclusion.."He is on our side!!!" A few days after 9/11 the Iranian living in America tries to go out for a piece of pizza in Southern California. He was met there by two angry men that in every sense are just as much terrorist as the men who drove the plane into the twin towers. It did not escalate far enough, but I am sure these two men would have killed this poor Iranian if no one had stepped in and stopped these men. Those Americans killing the Iranian would be taking a man from his family, just as those men did to so many families on September 11, 2001. After this happened to the Iranian he was scared to leave his house every day after that. Is this what America has come to? Frightening anyone who doesn't look like the "typical" American to stay in their house? I thought this was called "Land of the Free", not "Land of the Free for only those who are typical looking white men." The Iranian got lucky.. there was a less fortunate Sikh wearing a turban that was shot and killed a few days after the 9/11 attack. This poor man, clearly not the terrorist himself or he would have died in the twin towers, was targeted as if he was the one who killed the 3,000 people that were in the plane, twin towers, and surrounding areas that day.
I also stumbled upon a movie that is currently being made called Arab! in America! about a young man who is trying to go back to his home state in America and get a new job. He has many troubles along the way. Thie movie is somewhat making fun of the situation but I feel as though it will show Americans how silly some of their allegations are about many Arabs. Many Americans make a big deal out of something tiny like an Arab having a razor.. as if he is going to kill multiple people with a single facial razor. The movie is made into a comedy but has a major lesson in it.
We really need to realize that some of us are terrorist ourselves by the way we act around arab Americans. This label is no different from a white American or African American. Most Arabs have even lived in America longer than you and I have.

Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery Ch. 3 and 4

The last two chapters of Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery were extremely interesting. It taught me about their relationships, respect, Vendetta System and family roles in the community. What shocked me the most was the part when the parents talk about being imbarrased that their oldest daughter is 20 and still not married off. They talk about how she is the only woman that is 20 and went through school, she is also the only 20 year old not married. They attribute the reason she isn't married to the fact that she went through school. However, there is no question that the narrator, a boy, attends school in full. This custom is extremely different from ours. When a child is born it is not questioned whether or not they will attend school, it is implied that they must attend school. Boys being the only ones going to school help them to become the more dominent sex. This is not true in the United States, as a matter of fact more and more women are getting jobs just as good if not better then men. The second thing that shocked me was the Vendetta system. It is implying it is okay to kill someone as long as it is for revenge. The Vendetta system whether we beleive it or not does happen here in the United States. There was a movie made called V for Vendetta that describes the Vendetta system. It is about one man that has revenge against the entire government. He kills multiple government officials in revenge for making him out to be a criminal which seems ironic.
The book ended up to be a very good book. I believe it portrayed the Middle east in a very powerful way. However this book has all the stereotypes that "Reel Bad Arabs" was trying to say weren't true. In the book the men are barbaric and do kill their family. There also the Outlaws that are said to be dangerous and would kill anyone if they had to. Harbi kills the bey, which is extremely barbaric and ends up getting out of jail. It also shows the stereotype that men overpower their women in the middle east. Just like the stereotype, men have more power than women in the book. When Aunt Safiyya is running her own farm everyone thinks it is wierd because women shouldn't be running farms in their eyes. This fits that stereotype and completely contradicts what the movie "Reel Bad Arabs" was trying to teach us.

Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery Chapters 1 and 2

The first two chapters of Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery are very interesting. I really like the beginning of this book. I am really interested in all of the traditions and beliefs they have. It is weird to me that they wont allow Safiyya to attend school because she is too pretty. This seems like such a silly reason for a girl to not attend school. But school seems less important in their culture as well which is odd because it is extremely important in America and extremely common between girls and boys. However, if she is this pretty the suitors would try and take her, which reminds me of another interesting custom, the way suitors come to ask Safiyya's "father" if they may have her. I beleive this is extremely degrading, but He does allow Safiyya to make the final decision on whether or not to marry the bey. This took me by surprise because I always thought it was 100% the fathers choice. This clarified the stereotype I had about how women were just sold off without their own consent. I don't know if it is only Safiyya's father that makes it her final decision but that is very respectable that he gives her the final decision. I am excited to learn more of their beliefs and traditions throughout the rest of the book.

Reel Bad Arabs

What shocked me the most about the video "reel bad arabs" was the part about Aladdin. I was shocked about the other movies but those were atleast for adults, whom are old enough to establish their own thoughts and opinions. However, Aladdin is for young minds who are not yet old enough to make their own thoughts and opinions. This movie is molding young minds to be stereotypic of the Arabs. I have seen that movie a dozen times and I beleive it molded my mind to have that stereotype about "arabland" and the barbaricness of the arabs. Before watching this video clip I never realized how I too stereotyped all Arabs to be just as those in Aladdin. The other thing that almost imbarrased me, was when the news was talking about the oklahoma bombing and they said the bombing had terrorist like characteristics because it was aiming to kill alot of people. When the bombing turned out to be a white male, this imbarrased me because America so quickly jumped to the conclusion that it was a terrorist attack when in fact it was one of our own people. This disgraces America.