Shereen El Feki rebukes the Clash of Civilisations model propelled by the NYT's Thomas Freidman and Samual P Huntington, author of the book of the same name. Tariq Ali's Clash of Fundamentalisms provided a sound framework for where the conflict that no doubt exists, likely comes from, while El Feki through her description of "cross-cultural hybridization," demonstrates the ways in which the Arab and Western world overlap. For centuries the two worlds have intermingled and influenced one another. The two fundamentalist religious populations have not only been at odds with each other; they have created conflict within their respective cultures. The myopic boxes Huntington forces the Arab and Western worlds into discounts years of history and in some way lacks cultural nuance. Poverty, injustice, lack of education, and dark-ages-patriarchal-constructs seem to fuel radical fundamentalism in both cultures. Examining how our similar radical fundamentalist mindsets come in to popularity is a far more helpful tack. To view our cultures as a whole as at odds with each other leaves us with no where to go but down. El Feki does us a service by turning our attention towards our similarities and our common hopes for a better future.
We have of course seen fashion and popular culture travel around the globe since the beginning of the spice trade. The western business suit has become the de facto attire among most of the world's male business and political class. 19th century's empires left behind their customs and cuisines after their overreach has subsided, with the Bahn Mi sandwich being one of my favorite examples. The Tango is danced all over the world. Michael Jackson, end of story. Not all of these influences are so benign. The western construct of modern warfare has delved many a nation into unrest and suffering. Technologies through out history, such as the gun, as they develop are not sanitized of their cultural origins. Any bit of technology that gains popularity around the world no doubt carries with it on its underbelly the barnacles of the society from whence it came.
Here in the US, one could assert, we are the supreme benefactors of this "cross-cultural hybridization." With our history of immigration, the melting pot of America has the benefit of simmering all our peoples differences till our distinct flavors come together to a savory aroma. The hegemonic stature the US has held for so many years has not only enabled the country to steer the world, good or bad, toward a western dominated culture, but also to usurp attributes that enrich it along the way. When you have recent immigrants contributing to the American Literature, the more intrenched culture gains new insights into themselves through their fresh dialogues. Maxine Hong Kingston, Jose Antonio Vargas, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Geeta Kothari pieces all in subtle and not so subtle ways give us insights into our own lives while bringing the insights of their origins into our subconscious. Whether we see it or not in he hybridization