Developing World Focus

Why Study in the Middle East?

Learning With Your Own Eyes, Heart, and Mind

By Dr. Thomas M. Ricks

For most of us, the Middle East remains a dark and dangerous place, filled with religious fanaticism, cruelty, and wars. Media images of Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, and Persian peoples are usually unflattering and invariably misleading. Works of fiction portray crafty merchants, wily bedouins, and tyrannical rulers. These caricatures trivialize and distort the many rich cultures of this historic region. The Middle East is, like all other ancient regions, an intricate overlay of conflict and harmony, created by many people over many centuries. It is also today a vital, often intellectually sophisticated, and always fascinating place.

The 22 Arab states plus Israel, Turkey, and Iran have had close ties with U.S. academic institutions for over 130 years. Indeed, the American Univ. of Beirut and the American Univ. in Cairo were founded in the 19th century by American Presbyterian missionaries. A number of U.S. universities now have affiliation agreements with North African and Middle Eastern universities.

What and Where Is the Middle East? Roughly the same size as the contiguous territory of the U.S., the Middle East is smaller in population, poorer in natural and industrial resources, but perhaps richer in its historical and cultural multiplicity. It is the center of the world's three major monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the site of the oldest continuous university (Al-Azhar), the birthplace of medical studies, and the origin of a range of mathematical, geographical, and mechanical inventions from the windmill and algebra to the astrolabe and the lateen rig.

Geographically, the Middle East extends from North Africa to the Nile River basin, into the Fertile Crescent across the Arabia Peninsula, and into the Iranian plateau and Persian Gulf. The region is about 40 percent arid land, 40 percent mountains, with only about 15 percent fertile enough for agricultural use.

Lacking plentiful water, but containing nearly 60 percent of the world's hydrocarbon minerals, the Middle East is both very poor and very wealthy. Date palm plantations on the coasts contrast with the mulberry trees of the Caspian and the orange and olive groves of the Eastern Mediterranean. However, unquestionably the richest resource of the Middle East is the variety of peoples, languages, cultures, and societies. Cairo, Damascus, Istanbul, Jerusalem, and Tehran are all cosmopolitan cities that attract increasing numbers of former village dwellers. Pastoral nomads have virtually disappeared.

Contemporary Realities. Current notions that the peoples of the Middle East are anti-U.S. are largely unfounded and historically misleading. Americans have served Iran's commercial, financial, and industrial sectors before, during, and after the Iranian Revolution. Egypt's President Gamal Nasser was the first Third World leader to request the services of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in 1961 (although the first Peace Corps group went to Ghana instead). Israelis frequently hold dual citizenship with the U.S.

Study Opportunities. It is easier than ever to spend a summer, semester, or year studying in the Middle East. Indeed, the academic ties between the Middle East and the U.S. have never been stronger. It is possible to attend intensive language institutes in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Istanbul, and Jerusalem during the summer or semester. Students interested in religious studies or peace and conflict studies can take advantage of the excellent facilities in Jerusalem or Cairo. You can work during the summer months with Syrian, Palestinian, or Turkish specialists on archaeological digs, or study soil and water conservation with Israeli or Jordanian scientists. The Center for Arabic Study Abroad [CASA] at the American Univ. in Cairo works intensely with U.S. students at all levels in Arabic, while Hebrew Univ. offers students a variety of summer and semester academic programs in English or Hebrew.

Health and Safety. Normal precautions in eating fresh vegetables, fruit, and fresh dairy products need to be followed. Drinking bottled water or soft drinks is recommended. But all major cities have good sanitary facilities, drinking water, and health services.

Most Americans report feeling quite safe on both urban streets and in rural villages. Indeed, it is easy to get a false sense of security in Middle Eastern cities, towns, and villages because of the low level of Western-style violence. At rare times and in limited areas, political violence can erupt; U.S. students are advised to remain in constant touch with each other and with local faculty and families. Normally, students need only be sensible in their activities and movements. It is always best to travel with a partner and keep others advised of one's travel plans. Language skills and overseas living experiences will be an aid, particularly in such times of emergency. This sort of counsel, however, is not much different from what might apply for foreign visitors to Europe or even North America. Most often, the risks of danger are quite low.

Housing. Hotels and boarding houses are easily found in major cities and towns throughout the Middle East. It is more practical, however, to utilize the university housing or university-leased apartments which all institutions welcoming foreign visitors make available. University housing offices take considerable care in finding the appropriate housing for overseas students, particularly females. Homestays can also often be arranged. Living on the social and linguistic terms of a local family greatly increases language learning and cultural assimilation. Students who live with families will find an unusually high level of personal care, hospitality, and attention bestowed on them.

There are, therefore, many reasons why Americans should consider the many study opportunities now available in the Middle East. One is to challenge the many negative images of the region's peoples, histories, and religions. Often international peace and understanding depend upon such individual breakthroughs. For anyone considering a career in international business, trade, diplomacy, or technology, a first-hand exposure to the microcosm of Middle Eastern history, culture, and contemporary life would seem indispensable. Discovering how those in a region of the world usually portrayed as "other" truly live, by learning with ones own eyes, heart, and mind what they value, will inevitably lead to bonds of knowledge that unite our common humanity.