"War," "United Nations," "Death," "God rest their soul."
These were only a few of the words that comprised my first textbook for Arabic, Al-Kitaab. Where other language learners in French, German, and other non "critical languages" begin their first semesters in those courses building vocabularies of food, greetings, colors, and the like, our Arabic textbook--indeed, the general Arabic curriculum in the US--had other, far more nefarious pedagogies and ethics (Critical Language Scholarship). It would take me to the end of my second year in Arabic to learn more than eight colors and more foods than just chicken, bread, rice, and varied beverages. Now, this is not to say that we didn't learn useful and expressive things in the course like one would in a romance language, for instance, but the reality was that for all of the time reading and studying these words, it painted the Middle East as a region prone to violence, intervention, and displacement.
Before even beginning my first Arabic course during my Freshmen year of undergrad, my interest in working with forced migrant populations from the Middle East had been cemented. I had spent my middle and high school years working with Iraqi refugees in Knoxville; these experiences inspired my work and activism for forced migrants while allowing me an opportunity to commune and learn with/from people from the region. These continue to be some of my most fond memories; however, the disconnect between those past experiences and the vocabulary/interpretation I gleaned from the University of Tennessee and the general Arabic textbook of Al-Kitaab could not have been farther from reality.
Al-Kitaab, the standard Arabic instruction materials for English speakers in the US, was created by Georgetown University. It has been utilized as the primary textbook for the State Department's language instruction for officers, for study abroad programs like the Critical Language Scholarship and the School for International Training, and for classrooms at universities across the nation. Georgetown, a major academic/theoretical player in the world of foreign policy and international relations, has churned out thinkers and leaders of our nation including the likes of President Bill Clinton; however, given the interventionist policies and subjugation of the Middle East to US occupation and neocolonial endeavors in Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria, it is abundantly clear that the utilization of this textbook and its presentation is meant to create and instill ideas of brutality, danger, and fear in those US citizens seeking to learn Arabic. When one fears a community, the Other, it becomes easier to maim, torture, neglect, rape, and subjugate those same peoples. This has and is the work being done via Al-Kitaab and the systems that support it.
These moments of reflexivity continue to offer points of growth and reflection, though it does raise grave concerns with lived consequences for many peoples--indeed, racialized and marginalized peoples--around the globe. Are these the same materials that US State Department officials use to learn the language? How do these presentations of the language impact those same officers' views and choices in their official capacities? When academics pursue area studies and language studies explicitly supported by these kinds of texts, how does this change their ability to engage with and learn from populations that share that language? These questions, and a host of others, are but some of the primary questions one must reflexively dive into. Knowing that my education in Arabic was part of a greater system aiming to reproduce orientalist ideas of the Middle East, it is now my responsibility--and all those who come from the dominant group--to share the experiences, fieldwork, and stories that refute the brutal image painted by Al-Kitaab and the broader system of domination it represents. Where the vast majority of the US will never attempt to learn Arabic, it is the responsibility of the privileged few who study it academically to use their place in various communities (gender group, religious group, living community, etc.) to dispel these atrocious and unfounded perceptions. Where it is easy to consume another marginalized group's language, history, and culture from the dominant group, reciprocity must be the primary motivator for addressing injustices like these within the US.
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