What The Arabs Think Of America

Description:
This work gives voice to ordinary Arabs with strong views on American involvement in the Middle East - frequently angry, sometimes admiring and always heart-felt. For hundreds of years, pilgrims to Mecca have paused in the narrow mountain pass known as Mina to cast stones at the three pillars of the Jamaraat in a symbolic casting out of the Devil. Recently, someone added graffiti to the central pillar, four Latin letters - BUSH. These days, Americans and America provoke strong opinions from Arabs of all sorts, from politicians and journalists to the ordinary men and women of the 'Arab Street'. Their voices aren't always heard in the West, but for over a decade Andrew Hammond, a British journalist based in the Middle East, has been listening to what they have to say, and in this book they are heard loud and clear. Many of the issues are political. What do the Arabs think of American support for Israel or its close relationship with Saudi Arabia? How have they reacted to the American occupation of Iraq? But American influence in the Arab world isn't limited to politics. What is the Arab view of American film, television or the latest hip-hop or rap music? And what, for that matter, do Arabs think of Americans themselves, their life-style, attitudes and character? Incorporating interviews with individuals of all sorts from all over the Arab world, 'What the Arabs Think of America' gives voice to the unheard partner in a relationship in crisis. It features a unique presentation of the views of Arabs, including interviews conducted by the author. It meets the ongoing intense interest in the Arab World. The author, a Briton based in the Middle East, is ideally placed to address this subject. It addresses the current interest in what the world thinks of America.

Author Biography:
Andrew Hammond is a journalist who has written extensively about the Middle East, reporting from many countries including Egypt, Sudan, Israel and the occupied territories, and Iraq. He is currently Reuters Senior Correspondent in Saudi Arabia, the only western journalist based in that country. He is the author of Popular Culture in the Arab World (2004).