Arabian Gulf Cities and the Global Identity - Report Example

Arabian Gulf Cities and the Global Identity

Introduction

The Gulf identity has been popular due to the rich culture and heritage that has been enhanced by the Arabs and the Islamic cultures and traditions heritage. The gulf maintains local traditional values that need to be protected from the consequences of globalization (Bisley2007). Majority of the individuals at the Gulf tend to believe that globalization pose a great danger in regards to the national identity especially where the issues of languages is concerned. In this connection, majority of immigrants have adopted to speak English instead of their original Arabic language (Al-Shehhi 2011).This paper will discuss the impact of globalization on the gulf identity and how ways the Gulf citizens perceive it.

Section 1

The tern globalization is used to indicate the progressive movement of social, of social, economic and political affiliations across many states around the world. The concept behind globalization is to promote integration of the world and calls for the removal of social, cultural, political and economic barriers among the communities and countries involved (Al Dabbagh2005).Globalization promotes the transfer of knowledge, education and other values and has been accepted by many countries. However, for other cultures such as the Gulf identity, the concept of globalization tends to be criticized by the virtue that it erodes the cultural values of the people and the community. Globalization has brought about western liberal values that have mixed with the Gulf identity values, hence forcing some Gulf citizens to change and engage the new cultures such as the English language, western civilization and education among other values (Al Dabbagh2005).

There are various elements of the Gulf identity which include language, cultural heritage and creed. The world is becoming increasingly global and is constantly being integrated into the various cultures from various cultural backgrounds. People and nations have become increasingly connected thanks to the increased technological advancements especially through the use of telecommunication. Globalization encompasses a lot, not just the removal of barriers that lead to the movement of people form one country to another. The Gulf’s history and it’s recent is undergoing a lot of changes making the issue of cultural identity relevant and urgent in this exacting part of the globe (Bisley2007). The Gulf region is believed to be rich in oil production especially in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, and this has attracted a lot of expatriates from other countries (Onley &Khalaf, 2006).Workers from Western English-speaking countries have been imported so as to assist in not only in the field of oil production but also in other fields such as teaching, medicine and business. This trend has increased to an extent that these expatriates outnumber the Gulf nationals. This trend has been rebuked by many nationals who believe that the use the Gulf language should never be compromised (Anoushiravan, 2007).The globalization of English language has been increasing due to the fact that English plays a leading role across the world in terms of communication, cultural and social relations as well as in international business.

Developments in technology such as tele-communication, internet, mass media and social networking are the main instruments and methods of globalization. These methods and instruments form the main driving force of the process of globalization (Anoushiravan, 2007). Digital technologies such as the ability to communicate and share ideas and process among people in different countries have opened the way towards global networks, hence the increased globalization witnessed in the Gulf region. Through these global networks, individuals as well as groups of people are able to share and exchange knowledge and cultures. For instance, nowadays people are able to efficiently use social media to reach one another irrespective of the geographical difference (Sayyid Hamid 2002). The internet and e-commerce are the best terms that can be used to justify the recent approach to techno-globalism which has led to the increased levels of globalization not only in the Gulf region but also across the globe. Another aspect that has led to increased globalization is the fact that companies are being formed as transnational companies which allow the use of expatriate knowledge. For instance, a multinational company located in the UAE may require the services of certain skills which cannot be obtained locally and this means that he Company’s management would definitely look for experts from other countries hence leading to globalization (Sayyid Hamid 2002).

Urbanization, globalization and modernization are concepts that have become very significant in the world. Globalization refers to the free movement and the exchange of varying cultures, traditions, trade and investments across the world (Arab News 2008). On the other hand, urbanization is the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas. Whereas globalization involves the exchange among countries, urbanization just takes place within the same country whereby people move from the rural areas to urban areas in search of employment and education leading to the growth of cities, hence the term urbanization (Anoushiravan2007). Modernization refers to the transformation of a society from the traditional, rural and agrarian way of doing things to a society that is more secure, urbanized and industrialized. Modernization is what societies are going through as a result of industrialization, technological advancements, increased educational capabilities as well as developments in various technical fields such as medicine and engineering. All these aspects make the society grow fast and hence the use of the word modernization. Modernization leads to urbanization and globalization, for instance modernization has led to the growth or industrialization that forms the main thing why people move from the rural areas to urban areas as well as the reason why people move from one country to another (The National 2010).

Section 2

Understanding the Gulf identity in terms of cultural identity, individual identity, cultural identity, national identity and societal identity is very crucial as it helps the Gulf region protect their culture and traditions despite the increased globalization that has been termed as a risk to the culture. Cultural identity refers to the feeling that a person belongs to a particular group. It is termed as part of an individual’s self-perception and self-conception and is related to other aspects such as nationality, religion, social class, ethnicity and locality (Sayyid Hamid 2002).National identity is related to cultural identity and refers to the sense of a nation or a culture as a cohesive whole as represented by unique traditions, language, culture and politics. The Gulf region has been considered as region that values and promotes its culture especially its language. However, the rate at which globalization has been increasing makes the region much vulnerable to the loss of cultural identity, national identity, individual identity and national identity across the region. The main factors that contribute to the increased weakening of cultural identity across the Gulf region are globalization, political conflicts and consumerism (Tomlinson 2003).

In the Gulf region, most countries such as Saudi Arabia and the entire Middle East have been experiencing a lot of problems with their national identity. These states have not been in a good position to succeed in creating a national identity that reflects their cultural heritage and identity. Most of the Middle East states consist of various cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and this means that these nations have not been in a position to agree on one culture that they can work towards promoting its identity (Arab News 2008). Having numerous cultures within one country becomes a problem of integrating them into one culture. In such cases, addressing the issue of national identity and cultural identity has been a problem with some cases even leading to tensions within the Gulf region.

There are even some states in the Gulf region that have never obtained their nationhood and they tend to undertake various means aimed at solving the problem of national identity and cultural identity. There are many states in the Gulf region that do not look to support their cultures and this makes them prone to cultural disintegration. The Gulf nations ought to work together as a team so as to ensure that they protect the Gulf identity National and cultural identity in the Gulf is just like a political issue as most of these states are preoccupied with the idea that they want to protect and preserve their cultural autonomy and maintain the Islamic and Arabic national character (Tomlinson 2003).

The aspect of weakening of the Gulf identity is most apparent among the youthful population because of the increased use of technological advancements such as the social media. New generations suffer much from duality since they are different attitudes towards different topics all the way from education to fashion. The Gulf region has nowadays adopted various educational, social and economic approaches that differ with the region’s Arabic and Islamic cultural identity. The youth are believed to be much attached to TV shows, books as well as the media and this has resulted into a shift in the Gulf identity in terms of concepts and values (Silicon Valley 2010). As a result, cultural organizations and educational institutions such as schools, colleges and museums within the Gulf region have been urged to integrate and work together so as to ensure that the Gulf identity is protected from being extinct by other cultures especially the western culture that has been rampant. Governmental and non-governmental organizations within the Gulf region have urged people to understand their role towards tackling these challenges and ensure that the Gulf identity is protected (Pothukuchi 2002 et al).

Globalization has negative implications on the national values and identity of the Gulf region in terms of language, traditions and values, morals and cultural heritage. Many cultural trustees of the Arab world have been condemning the influence of globalization on their culture. Globalization has led to increased cultural heritage loss as most advocates advocate that the Arab and Islamic culture can still remain dominant despite the increased adoption of the Western culture (Sayyid Hamid 2002). However, critics of globalization argue that the adoption of the Western culture will definitely lead to the disintegration of Gulf identity as well as the spirit of culture. The disintegration of the Gulf culture has been associated to enhanced communication especially due to increased technological advancements such as the social media. Global media networks and satellite communication technologies have been magnified and this has enabled various dominant powers to have a global reach.

One nation in the Gulf region that is under the effect of globalization is Qatar which is expected to be the first Asian country to host the World cup in 2022. The World cup is a global event that hosts national teams from across the World, their supporters as well as other stakeholders and dignitaries and this has meant that the Qatar government works to ensure that they are prepared for the event (Sayyid Hamid 2002). Many expatriates from across all continents have been invited to help make various policies pertaining the event and this has led to the integration of various cultures and languages within Qatar as well as the entire Gulf region. In addition to the issue of the World cup, the Qatar government came up with the Qatar National Vision 2030 based on five main pillars which include the modernization of the country, work towards achieving sustainable development for both the current and the future generations, maintenance of the Qatar national heritage that works to promote Islamic and Arab values (Onley &Khalaf 2006).

Another factor that leads to the deprivation of Qatar national values and the cultural heritage is the fact the Qatar is has the financial center role for transnational companies. The Qatar Financial center gives foreign investors and other stakeholders the chance to access the local market and this means that new cultures are slowly being introduced into the state (Sayyid Hamid 2002). In addition, tourism within the Gulf regions has led to increased concerns regarding the future of Arabic and Islamic local culture (Onley &Khalaf, 2006). It has been noted that if something is not done, the issue of globalization will lead to extreme cases where the Gulf identity is lost completely. Scholar have also warned of the dangers of domination Western culture especially the use of the English language which is lowly replacing the Arabic language that has for long been used in the Gulf region (Onley &Khalaf, 2006).

There are various strategies that have been put in place to reduce the effects of globalization on the Gulf identity. Various scholars have recommended that the Gulf regions can adapt the English language in schools but ensure that it is changed into Arabic and this will ensure that despite the use of the English language, the Arabic language is also not forgotten and that it goes hand in hand with use of the English language. In recent years, there have been various notable initiatives aimed at resisting the effects of global cultures such as the English language. One of the most obvious example of such initiatives is the UAE Government’s Emiratization initiative that works to encourage the UAE nationals to join the workforce and help reduce the number of foreign workers is reduced.

The UAE government promotes this through the introduction of Educational and training initiatives aimed at creating skilled experts especially in technical areas such as engineering, medicine and architecture (UAE Department of Tourism 2016).In 2008, the UAE Government named Arabic as the official language for all federal authorities and at the same year, it was terms as the year of nationwide identity and this tend to point out the need of other states within the Gulf areas to formulate ways and measures that are aimed at bolstering the Gulf identity in relation to national cultures and language (Bisley 2007). In addition to these initiatives, there are various conferences that have been organized within the Gulf region to discuss ways of protecting the Gulf identity, for example, the 2012 conference that was held at the Qatar University on the main theme of Arabic and culture identity. Furthermore there has been the Sharjah conference its main theme being the “role of Museums and Cultural Institutions in strengthening identity”. .

Conclusion:

In conclusion, People and nations within the Gulf have become increasingly connected thanks to the increased technological advancements especially through the use of telecommunication. Globalization encompasses a lot, not just the removal of barriers that lead to the movement of people form one country to another. This paper has highlighted the various aspects and ways in which globalization has affected and continues to affect the Gulf identity. The Gulf region has integrated various initiatives aimed at protecting the Gulf cultures and identity as discussed in the paper. Finally Individuals within these nations should come up with strong measures that will enhance both the inclusion of globalization and maintenance of their values that define them as the original habitats. They should also be ready to tap majorly the positive side of globalization and move together with other nations.