Global Policy Forum

By Bassam Za'za'

Globalisation is making the whole world an open market for global, economic and industrial products without any barriers whatsoever, said an expert on culture. Dr Jassim Asfour, General Secretary of the Cultural Council, Egypt, was speaking at the 'Arab Culture in Globalisation Era' symposium at the Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage.

The Centre organised the symposium as part of the Centre's cultural activities for this year. It was jointly held with the American University in Sharjah (AUS) and the Cultural Office of the Egyptian Embassy in the UAE. The main speakers at the event were Dr Asfour; Dr Abdel Wahhab Al Maseeri, from Ein Shamss University in Saudi Arabia; Dr Muhsin Jassim Al Mousawi, from the AUS, Sharjah; and Dr Jassim Mohammed Jirjees, Assistant Secretary General of the Juma Al Majid Centre.

Dr Jirjees spoke about the Arab culture in the globalisation era.

He noted: "Globalisation is a recent and sensitive issue that touches and affects Arabs and Muslims. I wonder whether globalisation is a bridge of brotherhood among superpowers and other small countries, or is it a trap set for nations who don't understand what globalisation is, or is it a lack of belief in nationalisation, or does it dedicate everything for the good of the U.S."

Dr Asfour said: "Globalisation is another term for capitalism and imperialism and all Arabs and Muslims need to consider it an imminent danger that is endangering our political, social, cultural and economical stability.

"This stability has become greatly affected by all multinational and transnational companies that have spread all over the world markets. These companies are penetrating any country's stability without even taking into consideration the political independence, national integration or national identity."

He emphasised: "Globalisation contains a lot of aspects that are related to the phenomenon of Americanisation. So in order to fight this phenomenon and protect our national identity and revive our Arabic and Islamic culture, we need to protect our culture by understanding what globalisation is and know how to fight it.

For example, the Cultural Council in Egypt started translating many American books that call for globalisation such as Lexus Car Versus the Olive Tree, written by Thomas Freidman, Cocalisation, a name derived from the famous soft drink, Coca-Cola, and Mack Versus Jihad, derived from the famous burger chain, McDonald's. "We need to stand more and depend on our cultural heritage and origin."

Dr Al Maseeri stressed the importance of translating the ideological meaning of globalisation. "We have to translate the meaning of globalisation correctly. We ought to learn more about it and know how to use the exact terms in translating its exact meaning.

Modernity or Darwin globalisation isn't an American culture. It is a new form of culture that knows no boundaries.

"Through the media, the modern world has been transformed into one world and borders have been eliminated. Globalisation has no nationality. This new culture is acting against national identities and causing lots of worry for mass production."

Dr Al Mousawi highlighted the importance of cultured Arab and Islamic personalities. "Educated Arabs and Muslims ought to play an important role in reviving their culture and facing up to globalisation. All Arabic and Muslim leaders need to back up their cultures and educated people if they want to help revive the Islamic and Arabic culture in its war against globalisation."

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.