Dubai: The role of the media and education in strengthening or weakening the UAE's sense of national identity has come under the spotlight as the debate over the preservation of the Emirati national identity continues.
Specialists say the media in the UAE often played a negative role by emphasising alien "imported" values instead of the indigenous culture. The wide use of English in most private education institutions has also weakened the Arabic language, they said.
Young Emiratis often prefer to read English than Arabic, says Bilal Al Budoor, Assistant Under Secretary for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development.
UAE intellectuals repeatedly ask about the proper means and mechanisms to activate national and cultural identity, as well as about possible efforts to reinforce patriotic feelings among younger generations.
Many questions have been raised about national identity. What are the most important suggestions that would contribute to encouraging the young to stick to their national identity?
Nowadays, the young are haunted by many ideologies that may prompt them to adopt new trends and foreign values that are incompatible with their own.
They are confused about whether to adopt new ideologies or hang onto their conservative national identity and local culture. With the flow of different ideological currents, some adopt the ideology of openness, which may put them on the wrong path and lead them into a web of self-destruction - by becoming alcoholics or drug addicts.
Others though adopt fundamentalist religious ideologies, which may drag them into falling into terrorist networks as a means of expression.
This raises a question: What are the possible means to protect younger generations from such destructive intellectual currents?
Another question arises: How can we safeguard the UAE's material and cultural achievements?
The announcement by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the 36th National Day anniversary to consider 2008 National Identity Year clearly mirrors the leadership's realisation of national concerns and the importance of national identity in building a healthy society.
So, how can we preserve a moderate Arab-Islamic identity for the UAE? First, before identifying the proper mechanisms to enhance national identity, we must recognise influential factors.
The media, especially the visual media, tops the list of these factors. It plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion and cultivating patriotic feelings. Yet, the problem is that UAE media itself suffers from an identity crisis, which negatively reflects on the community.
Regretfully, the use of Arabic, which is an important mechanism in safeguarding national and cultural identity, is declining in the UAE, which houses a diversity of ethnical, cultural and religious communities.
This has made the Arabic language lose its importance and status - and eventually its role in defining identity. For instance, the Arabic language teacher has been mocked by the media that portray him as old- fashioned, or a symbol of backwardness and old values.
On the contrary, the media depicts one who speaks foreign languages as a symbol of openness and modernity. The strong connection between the job market, and technology and foreign languages, is among other reasons that have contributed to the decline of Arabic.
Another factor is the imbalance in the demographic structure, which affects UAE national identity. There is a mix of ethnical and cultural communities living in the UAE, and this negatively affects the original identity of Emiratis.
This leads to a question: How can we maintain an acceptable development rate and a specified national identity?
Flow of expatriates
Since its establishment, the UAE has been keen to preserve an important principle of its cultural, which is accepting others irrespective of their creed, culture, language and religion. Moreover, Islamic teachings call for interacting and dealing with others and getting acquainted with their cultures.
But, the question is: Does recognising the other's culture mean the domination of this culture over the other?
The UAE, like other GCC countries, passed through its development experience in the second half of the 20th century. During this period, the UAE was in need of skilled and unskilled labour, which in turn, led to a flow of expatriate workers of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.
In record time, the flow of expatriate workers has led to an imbalance in the demographic structure and has had a major impact on the region's cultural identity.
For example, in the 1960s, UAE citizens constituted 60 per cent of the UAE population, this fell to 30 per cent in the 1970s, and then to 25 per cent in the 1980s.
The number of UAE citizens fell to 15 to 20 per cent of the total population in the latest official census conducted in December 2006. This imbalance in the demographic structure has led to social changes, and made the UAE a unique case in the world.
Finally, school curricula can play a major role in enhancing national identity. All school curricula have been subjected to a comprehensive evaluation process over the past four decades to cope with community changes.
Is the school curricula better today? And why do some accuse it of failing to highlighting the positive aspects of national culture?
Usually, school curricula are a reflection of the learner's environment, and they help shape his social awareness and ways of thinking. They can play a central role in shaping the way of thinking by younger generations and cultivating the positive values in them.
Therefore, evaluating curricula is a national duty that must be carried out by highly qualified experts who can tackle this issue with a high sense of responsibility and professionalism.
Earlier, the UAE reviewed its school curricula to cope with the requirements of the job market, but failed to maintain local cultural and social values. This resulted in bringing in new curricula that contributed to instilling new and strange social values in younger generations.
- Fatima Al Saayegh is a professor of UAE and Gulf history at UAE University
Reviving culture: Arabic books available
The declaration of this year as National Identity Year and the declaration of Arabic as the official language has encouraged many parents to look into the status of Arabic in education, said a senior official.
Fatma Al Merri, CEO of the Dubai School Agency (DSA), said that some schools are keen to improve their Arabic language classes and the status of the language in schools. Some schools, she said, have asked for a more advanced Arabic curriculum for non-Arab students.
Almost a year ago the DSA, the first agency of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), launched the first phase of its "My Language My Identity" project that aims to encourage the habit of reading in Arabic among elementary school students.
The "My Arabic Library" series was prepared for elementary school students with each school having a library that contained around 40 interesting book titles.
The selection of books was made by a group of qualified Arab educationalists, Arabic language teachers and Arabic language supervisors, the books were translated in the Arab world and approved by many education ministries across Arab countries.
"The project aims to revive the culture of reading in Arabic among students, especially as the internet and TV have replaced books as a means of information," Fatma said.
The KHDA is also working on improving the Arabic curriculum taught as a second language in private schools.
"The new Arabic books for Arab students are very good, and most supervisors are happy with them. If the same quality was found in the curriculum for non-Arab students, things would improve," she said.
The Minister of Education recently said that the ministry plans to advance the Arabic curriculum in an effort to emphasis the importance of the language as it is linked to the identity, religion, and heritage of the region.
His comments were followed by a meeting in which he rewarded two Emirati students who were among the top achievers, in a competition that included pupils from across Arab countries, to deliver an Arabic speech with absolute fluency.
"The ministry on many occasions stressed the importance of improving English in public schools. However that doesn't mean it is done at the expense of teaching Arabic. We want students to graduate who are fluent in both Arabic and English," said Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education.
- Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter
Do you think imported TV programmes have a negative impact on national identity? Are fears of private education affecting national identity exaggerated?
