Globalization and cultural mediation: the construction of Arabia in London

The Arab Gulf’s relationship to London epitomizes the processes of globalization i.e. flows of people, images, ideas and wealth beyond national borders. The rise of oil wealth in the mid–1970s financed the growth of London as a centre of Gulf Cooperation Council–funded Arab cultural production. The British capital’s populations of ex–servicemen, former diplomats and Middle Eastern immigrants serve as ‘third culture’ mediators. Often well educated, well heeled and well connected, these intermediaries possess the social position and cultural know–how to play a central role in the construction and marketing of Gulf Arab local culture and heritage. Romantic notions of Gulf Arab cultural particularism feature prominently in mediators’ products and activities. In the case of Arab London’s mediation industries, globalization results not in cultural homogenization, but rather in the (re)production and commodification of reified notions of cultural difference.     

Social Work,Spirituality, and Diasporic Communities

Abstract

The discourse surrounding the role of spirituality in social work practice has been expanding exponentially in recent years. Similarly, the discourse surrounding the role of spirituality among diasporic communities has expanded in recent times as well. In this paper, we will consider the linkages between social work, spirituality, and diaspora. We will focus our discussion on a particular diasporic spiritual community, the Sathya Sai Baba movement and its social service activities. We will then consider the implications of such spiritual movements for the social work profession. Among the key issues explored in this paper are the change in the social construction of populations that have moved between two countries as 'immigrant communities' to 'diasporic communities' and the implications of these changes for social work. Another critical issue we discuss is how working with spiritual movements may help address the 'spiritual deficit' concern that some social work academics have referred to, and indirectly at least, we begin to address 'the social work crisis' issue that has negatively affected the social work profession over the last few years.     

Sociology of Terrorism and Counterterrorism: A Social Science Understanding of Terrorist Threat

The purpose of this article is to outline a social science understanding of terrorist threat, with special reference to political violence of new terrorist groups, fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations such as Al-Qaeda. Four main terrorism topics will be examined: (i) Definition of terrorism . We will make explicit the political and moral implications of the word 'terrorism' by tracing a brief history of terrorism; at the same time, a definition of terrorism will be proposed based on an overview of terrorism studies. (ii) Typology of terrorism . The topic to be addressed here concerns the classification of terrorist groups, paying special attention to contemporary fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations (particularly after World War II). (iii) Explanation of terrorism. Criticism will be made of psychological explanations of terrorism that try to trace political violence back to specific personal traits or psychopathological profiles of terrorists. We will offer an alternative explanation, focusing on specific social, cultural and religious factors to be considered the root causes of terrorism. Suicide terrorism will be used as a case study. (iv) C ounterterrorism policy . Here, we will discuss some of the limitations and counterproductive effects of the counterterrorism measures adopted by governments after 9/11, including new antiterrorism legislation, the case of special detention at Guantanamo Bay, and the Iraq invasion. Most of such limitations are due to a misunderstanding of the political culture and ideology of Islamic extremism and fundamentalism (Islamism). Some concluding remarks will summarise the findings of the article and underline the most important suggestions for a future research agenda in the sociology of terrorism and counterterrorism.     

圣战观念与当代伊斯兰恐怖主义

伊斯兰的圣战观是一个不断演变的观念。《古兰经》有关圣战的规定反映了先知穆罕默德时期伊斯兰社团的发展,教法中有关圣战的规定又反映了7～10世纪阿拉伯帝国的发展状况。10世纪开始,圣战观总体上处于休眠状态,伊本·泰米叶和瓦哈比派分别在圣战的两个低潮期激活了圣战观。赛义德·库特卜使圣战观念从传统走向现代,并催生了以埃及为中心的第一波伊斯兰恐怖主义;阿卜杜拉·阿泽姆使圣战观国际化,并催生了以本·拉登为代表的第二波伊斯兰恐怖主义。在本质上,当代伊斯兰恐怖主义是对圣战观的曲解和滥用。     

Assimilating to a White Identity: The Case of Arab Americans1

Racial identity is one of the primary means by which immigrants assimilate to the United States. Drawing from the tenets of segmented assimilation, this study examines how the ethnic traits of immigrant status, national origin, religious affiliation, and Arab Americaness contribute to the announcement of a white racial identity using a regionally representative sample of Arab Americans. Results illustrate that those who were Lebanese/Syrian or Christian, and those who felt that the term “Arab American” does not describe them, were more likely to identify as white. In addition, among those who affirmed that the pan‐ethnic term “Arab American” does describe them, results illustrated that strongly held feelings about being Arab American and associated actions were also linked with a higher likelihood of identifying as white. Findings point to different patterns of assimilation among Arab Americans. Some segments of Arab Americans appear to report both strong ethnic and white identities, while others report a strong white identity, yet distance themselves from the pan‐ethnic “Arab American” label.     

The Representation of Arab America in Betty Shamieh’s Roar and The Black Eyed

Abstract

This article gives an analysis of Betty Shamieh’s Roar and The Black Eyed. In these plays, Shamieh presents Arab Americans as victims of Orientalism. She puts Arab Americans within the context of immigrants’ sagas in the United States in an attempt to give their experience validity and identification within larger ethnic experiences. Conversely, Arabs in the two plays are presented as victimizers and politically blamed. This confusion over the representation of the cultural and the political results mainly from Shamieh’s reluctance to offend the wide/white readership market, which is more interested in reading and watching the western stereotype of the Arab. Shamieh’s failure to stage a coherent positive picture of Arab America confirms that Arab Americans are still looking for artistic freedom and that literary censorship is still limiting their productions.     

Homelessness in the 21st Century: The Implications of Spirituality for Muslim Populations

Abstract

Relative to recent immigration trends, Muslim populations in America have emerged as significant among the homeless. Yet the social work manner of attending to homeless Muslim populations has not acknowledged the significance of spirituality proportionate to Muslims in need. Subsequently, homeless shelters must acknowledge the significance of Islamic spirituality vis-à-vis homeless Muslim populations to enable the delivery of services. That consideration should remain constant and viable as a modus operandi for homeless shelters which address homelessness in the 21st century.     

Arab/Muslim image world-wide: A case for introspection,and intervention

My conversations with Professor Dr. Basyouni Ibrahim Hamada, his illustrious paper “Arab Image in the Minds of Western Image-makers”¹, my Pakistani nationality, and my professional interest are, to a great extent, responsible for providing me with the raison d’être to write this precise paper. Our universe, which in this regard is an Arab/Muslim universe, is somehow becoming the centre of controversy. It is equated with violence, boycott, exclusion, terrorism, lack of democracy, unwholesome human rights record, among other facts and allegations. This paper deals with what can be done about it in public relations.     

Quality of Life of Afghan Immigrants in Tehran city

By 2015, there were more than two million Afghan immigrants, both legal and illegal, living in Iran. Although, over the recent years, there has been a growing interest among social scientists, policymakers and national and international institutes in investigation of the quality of life (QoL) of immigrants, research on the QoL of Afghan immigrants in Iran is still in its infancy. The present article aims to study the QoL of Afghan immigrants in Iran and identify its influential dimensions and factors. This study relies on a perception survey of 347 Afghan households in Tehran city. Based on the 5‐point Likert Scale, the mean of overall life satisfaction of the Afghan immigrants was found as 3.22, which shows satisfactory QoL of Afghan immigrants in Iran. The highest level of satisfaction, with a mean value of 3.96, is related to public transport access followed by satisfaction in social relations with friends, relatives and fellow immigrants living in Iran, and access to cultural centres such as the mosque, library, and cinema. The lowest level of satisfaction, with a mean value of 1.90, was seen at border services like entry and exit from Iran, followed by the Iranian government policy towards Afghan refugees, and saving abilities. In addition, the most important predictors of immigrants' QoL include indicators of health, security, work status, and income, which are closely interrelated with the main reasons for Afghans' immigration to Iran. After immigration to Iran, the QoL status of the immigrants has improved significantly, especially in the fields of security and education; nevertheless, their employment in jobs with low skill and income, along with the decrease in the economic growth of Iran over the recent years, have caused problems for the economic and financial status of the immigrants. The results and findings of this study will be useful for designing and implementing plans and policies necessary to improve QoL of Afghan immigrants in Iran.     

Measures of Assimilation in the Marriage Market: Mexican Americans 1970–1990

In 1965 the United States rewrote its immigration laws, and immigration increased sharply as a result. The immigrants and the children of immigrants from the post‐1965 period are slowly becoming more influential in U.S. life; the largest of these groups are the Mexican immigrants and the Mexican Americans. The rapid growth of Hispanic and Asian populations in the United States has led to a renewed interest in the question of assimilation; that is, will the new groups assimilate, and if so how long will it take? Will they become part of White America? Will some groups assimilate into the Black‐dominated urban underclass (a process Portes called segmented assimilation)? Will some groups remain permanently separate and socially isolated? In this article, I examine the behavior of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the U.S. marriage market, using census data from 1970, 1980, and 1990. The findings are that Mexican Americans are assimilating with non‐Hispanic Whites over time, and the evidence tends to reject the segmented assimilation hypothesis. The interplay between intermarriage and endogamy is studied with log linear models; some variations by geography and U.S. nativity are noted.     

中阿安全合作

中阿安全合作的基础是彼此对对方的战略需求.中阿双方应在这一基础上建立面向未来的战略关系,这种关系的核心目标是在全球化进程中推动多极化的发展.这种关系落实在国家安全的层面,其具体目标是反对恐怖主义和宗教极端主义,以及打击跨国毒品交易等.具体的措施包括设立机构、信息共享、人员交流和观点交换等方面.在安全合作领域,最大的障碍是彼此对对方缺乏了解,尤其是对历史文化领域了解不够.这种状况导致对对方的核心利益认知不够以及在反恐和反对宗教极端主义方面的认识存在差异.     

Palestinian and Jewish Israeli-born immigrants in the United States

"This article considers both Arab and Jewish emigration from Israel to the United States, relying on the 5 percent Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) of the 1980 U.S. census. Using the ancestry and language questions to identify Jews and Arabs, we found that over 30 percent of Israeli-born Americans are Palestinian-Arab natives of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. While the Jews are of higher educational levels, hold better jobs and enjoy higher incomes than their Arab counterparts, both groups have relatively high socioeconomic characteristics. Both have high rates of self-employment, particularly the Palestinian-Arabs, who appear to serve as middlemen minority in the grocery store business in the cities where they reside. The fact that nearly a third of Israeli-born immigrants are Arabs accounts for the occupational diversity previously observed of Israelis in America but does not account for their income diversity as much as does differences between early and recent immigrants."     

阿拉伯国家社会转型中经济发展面临的挑战

能源在阿拉伯世界经济社会发展中具有举足轻重的地位和作用,影响并形成了阿拉伯国家独特的经济社会结构和发展道路。然而,阿拉伯世界以能源为主的社会经济发展模式凸显了资源导向增长的经典困境,阿拉伯产油国经济和社会发展高度依赖石油和天然气,工业和经济结构单一,经济多元化水平低下。石油财富未能从根本上改变阿拉伯国家社会经济发展成就的有限性,社会经济发展滞后,贫困、失业和社会不公三大问题,凸显了阿拉伯世界以能源为主的社会经济发展模式的弊端和深层危机。“阿拉伯之春”对社会经济包容性增长的强烈要求,对以能源为主的阿拉伯国家社会经济发展模式提出了严重挑战。阿拉伯世界的社会稳定将是一个长期和艰难的过程,最终取决于阿拉伯国家的社会经济发展水平。     

“东突”问题发展演变与中东恐怖主义相关性透视

本文从“东突”问题、“东突厥”、“东突厥斯坦”、“泛突厥主义”等概念为切入点，对“东突”问题的历史演变与发展进行了细致梳理，进而阐述了“东突”恐怖主义的实质与国际因素。研究发现，“东突”问题受国内和国外因素的双重影响，是21世纪全球恐怖主义网络化、跨国化和全球化的一部分。“东突”问题与中东恐怖主义存在内在关联，土耳其、阿富汗、巴基斯坦和部分阿拉伯国家的恐怖主义与“东突”分裂势力之间在人员、资金和技术上存在千丝万缕的联系。中国的反恐工作客观上要求它与南亚、中亚和中东国家合作，建立长效反恐机制。     

Immigration Policy Changes After 9/11

Abstract

Immigrants to the United States face new and significant challenges since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Within a dramatically short time national immigration policy has become oriented more to protecting Americans than welcoming people from other nations. Creation of the Department of Homeland Security, dismantling the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and tightening the rules and enforcement provisions for immigrants were changes designed, not to facilitate the immigration process, but to counter the threat of terrorism and preventing potential terrorists from entering the country. This article discusses the recent policy changes that have affected the immigrant community and reviews how professionals working with immigrants might address these changes to better help their clients.     

Measuring emotional intelligence in Moroccan Arabic: the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale / Medidas de la inteligencia emocional en árabe marroquí: la escala de inteligencia emocional de Wong y Law

Emotional intelligence is a widespread concept that has been analysed in different countries. However, it has been barely measured in African-Arab societies’ cultures due to their scarce tradition in validating instruments. In Morocco, the mere translation of instruments is a common practice that should be avoided to incorporate cultural and linguistic singularities. Thus, the aim of our study was to culturally adapt the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale to Morocco. This version could be widely used in other Arab North African countries and among immigrants in hosting countries. Two hundred and seventy-three Arab undergraduates (178 women and 95 men; age M = 22.17, SD = 4.09) from Morocco completed a questionnaire adapted to their culture following the back translation method. To determine construct validity, data were analysed by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The final scale resulted in a second-order factorial model with four first-order factors compounded by 16 items. This structure supports the original for Moroccan Arabic and other countries in which Arabic is spoken. Likewise, the results confirm an adequate criterion validity of the instrument.     

Apathy and Antipathy: Media Coverage of Restrictive Immigration Legislation and the Maintenance of Symbolic Boundaries

Although the government no longer explicitly establishes boundaries of whiteness, it continues to play a central role in shaping symbolic boundaries between immigrants and nonimmigrants through immigration lawmaking. However, the salience of these boundaries may depend on how the media disseminate them to the public. In this study, we investigate media framing of immigration lawmaking using an original data set of news coverage of six of the most widely recognized exclusionary immigration bills and laws at different levels of government. Two patterns emerged from an iterative frame analysis. First, in their coverage of frames critical of these bills and laws, outlets devoted more attention to the effects of exclusionary legislation for nonimmigrants. Second, in their coverage of frames supportive of the restrictive legislation, outlets provided more space to those who openly associated immigrants with criminality and terrorism. Regardless of outlets’ seemingly neutral stance toward restrictive legislation, their disparate coverage of exclusionary lawmaking demonstrates apathy and antipathy toward immigrants, which has repercussions for the maintenance of inequality.     

Constructing a Place for Religion and Spirituality in Psychodynamic Practice

A focus on spirituality has become in vogue for the media as well as for professional conferences, journals, and schools of social work. Likewise, our clients are struggling with how to integrate religion and/or spirituality with their therapy. The premise of this paper is that we have a role in assisting our clients with this integration and to consider some of the current postmodern approaches. However, in attempting such an integration it is important to retain certain parameters and guidelines that have been helpful to our clinical work. This paper will examine how to make room for religion and spirituality in psychodynamic psychotherapy and the ways in which constructivism can be helpful in this process. The influences of psychodynamic theories and postmodernism shape the discussion in the following areas: definition of terms, self-awareness, deconstruction of clients' narrative, assessment of strengths and vulnerabilities, and reconstruction of a useful narrative.     

Meeting immigrant health challenges: An integrated model in New York City

New York City has traditionally been the portal to America for millions of foreign‐born immigrants. Current immigration echoes this past. Each year, tens of thousands of immigrants and migrants enter New York City. These individuals and families come from diverse cultures and health care systems which continue to impact on their health care needs. How can New York's health care system provide culturally sensitive and epidemiologically informed health services to these immigrants? In 1990, with a grant from the Aaron Diamond Foundation, an interdisciplinary group of professionals established the New York Task Force on Immigrant Health. This paper will describe the work of this unique multi‐disciplinary organisation as it seeks to address issues of health status and service delivery to immigrant populations. The paper will discuss specific issues and strategies with respect to a) the development of data bases, b) ethnographic investigations, c) cross‐cultural and structural barriers to care, d) the creation and analysis of models to integrate traditional and Western bio‐technical health care, and e) the informing and transforming of public policy and programs to result in more linguistically appropriate, culturally sensitive and effective health and social services. The successes of the New York Task Force on Immigrant Health, in a relatively brief period of time, provide both a model and a stimulus for other localities and nation‐states interested in preventing illness and improving the health status of their diverse populations.