Breaching the American-Middle East Cultural Divide (StumpJumper)

It should go without saying that the United States did the right thing when we provided disaster relief to the residents of Bam, Iran after the recent earthquake. Helping those in need has always been part of the American character. Many have discussed what impact, if any, this will have on future America-Iran relations. My personal hope is that this will become a step forward in resolving our differences, but it is essential that we keep things in perspective. The Middle East is very different from the West, culturally. The most notable difference, perhaps, is in our respective attitudes toward women.

The online edition of the Arizona Republic, azcentral.com, recently published an interesting article regarding the aid that we provided. The interesting part comes about half-way through:

In their haste to reach Bam, the Americans realized only en route that they had forgotten to pack headscarves, required attire for women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

A search of their U.S. Air Force C-5 cargo jet ensued, an improvised solution was pulled from crates of medical supplies, and Susan Briggs, a surgeon from Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, greeted her Iranian hosts wearing a sling on her head.

The Raving Atheist has posted a scathing satire of this event. In so doing he deftly highlights many of the monumental differences that we must overcome for before any long-term change can occur. It is telling enough that Dr. Briggs and her colleagues had to don headscarves in order to assist the quake victims. What is more telling is the degree of freedom that Dr. Briggs enjoys over Iranian women. Had Dr. Briggs been born in Iran she would probably never have been able to receive an education, let alone a medical degree. Sadly, this may have been the least of the injustices that she would have suffered.

Today, more than ever, it is important that the United States continue to reach out to our detractors in the Middle East and try to show them that we are not the Great Satan that many of them perceive us to be. Humanitarian efforts such as this are at least as important as our continued fight against terror. We must not forget, however, that we have a long way to go. The cultural differences are simply to great to be overcome quickly.

Update: In the original post I used the term "Arab world" several times. Julia has corrected my error: Iranians are Persian and not Arab. (This just proves that some of us in the West have a long way to go in understanding the cultures in the Middle East, too.) As a result I have changed my "Arab world" references to "Middle East." Kudo to Julia for keeping me honest, as well as for her other excellent comments.