"That's the level of tolerance Dubai (and Doha) shows to Western culture. So, while the behaviors they tolerate may not seem huge to us, if you consider how far Western behaviors fall outside the range of behavior permissible in their own culture, I think they have a far larger tolerance ratio than the US does. While I'm certainly not arguing that the US is an intolerant country, it certainly seems very parochial of us to act as though we have a lot to teach the Gulf countries about tolerating cultural diversity."
This is a broad sweeping claim that is barely supported by the evidence above. It may or may not be true, but when I read it here, I have little reason to accept it.
if you consider how far Western behaviors fall outside the range of behavior permissible in their own culture, I think they have a far larger tolerance ratio than the US does. How useful is this ratio as a basis for comparing countries? In this case, I don't see that it sheds light on very much besides the fact that Gulf countries are smaller and more homogeneous than the United States. From what I can tell, local populations are in many respects far less receptive to outside cultural influences than they were before oil money brought in large numbers of temporary workers. Dress codes are now standardized by governments, exogamy is discouraged, and permanent immigration is all but impossible. The rhetoric I see in the papers is all about protecting indigenous culture from outside influences; there is remarkably little mixing going on
( ... )
I'm certainly not arguing that Khaleeji people are remarkably receptive to outside cultural influences or that the actions I'm listing above aren't tacitly accepted behind closed doors. I think you're right that real cultural diversity has a lot more aspects than just letting foreigners get away with doing haram things... but that's all I was focusing on here, because I think most Americans commenting on the CNN post were wrong about that specific point.
The point about having a significant Sentinelese minority is an interesting one. American society definitely has morphed through the years as different minorities have joined it, so perhaps if that were to occur, American mores would change to allow it.
The thing I don't like about the Dubai and Doha situation
anonymous
March 20 2010, 21:12:45 UTC
is the hypocrisy. All of these things do go on in private AMONG the local (ie, Qatari and Emirati) populations. But for political reasons (read: to keep the more conservative elements happy so TPTB can continue on with their agenda), they choose occasional and random cases to prosecute. It's like throwing a bone to the more conservative elements of society without having any real policy that is followed and enforced with regularity. We do it in the US, too; and I don't like it any better when we do it. I hate the law being applied arbitrarily for political mean -- anywhere.
Thanks for that post.. i really enjoyed reading this. It's a very interesting topic, I never looked at it that way! I've always thought or made to think that western countries/cultures are more tolerant in general.
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This is a broad sweeping claim that is barely supported by the evidence above. It may or may not be true, but when I read it here, I have little reason to accept it.
-dpp
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How useful is this ratio as a basis for comparing countries? In this case, I don't see that it sheds light on very much besides the fact that Gulf countries are smaller and more homogeneous than the United States. From what I can tell, local populations are in many respects far less receptive to outside cultural influences than they were before oil money brought in large numbers of temporary workers. Dress codes are now standardized by governments, exogamy is discouraged, and permanent immigration is all but impossible. The rhetoric I see in the papers is all about protecting indigenous culture from outside influences; there is remarkably little mixing going on ( ... )
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The point about having a significant Sentinelese minority is an interesting one. American society definitely has morphed through the years as different minorities have joined it, so perhaps if that were to occur, American mores would change to allow it.
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Regards,
Lisa
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i really enjoyed reading this. It's a very interesting topic, I never looked at it that way! I've always thought or made to think that western countries/cultures are more tolerant in general.
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