Why do you hate Khalijis?
One of the struggles that many Khalijis have to undertake is the one against all the stereotypes set against them, especially by the rest of the Arab world. These stereotypes are caused by three factors: oil, migrant workers, and tourism. The millions of Arabs, whether Arab nationalists or not, who negatively stereotype people of the Gulf, look down at them, and marginalize their political and human struggles, do blame the Gulf for not using their oil to empower the Arab region. They see them as spoiled, non-productive creatures and classical allies of the West. Simply, the Gulf is somehow blamed for most of their tragedies.
As for migrant workers, the Gulf has one of the worst records when it comes to mistreating, discriminating, and violating the rights of millions of migrant workers; Arab, Asian, and African, and certainly far less against white westerners who mostly hold prestigious posts in corporations and academia.
The third generator of these stereotypes comes classically from Khaliji tourists visiting countries like Lebanon, Egypt, and Morocco. The men who travel looking for sex tourism and what comes with do so simply because they are denied many of their individual freedom in societies that do not normalize interaction between both genders.
What is the Gulf to Arabs? An oil land filled with backward Bedouins who don’t deserve the luxury they have. The Gulf for many Arabs is never portrayed as the region that fought colonialism, contributed to the struggle of fellow Arab nations, revolted in Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. The Gulf is not the beauty of Bedouin culture but its harshness, the Gulf is not the diversity, and not that meeting point of African, Yemeni, Arabian, Persian, and Indian cultures. The Gulf for many outsiders is exactly what the Gulf regimes want it to be portrayed as; passive, disconnected, and spoiled.
One of the worst arguments made by many Arabs against the Gulf is made by neo-colonial minds, those who use the same arguments used by European colonialists; you are uncivilized, you are tribes, and that’s why you can’t be productive, creative, or free. They don’t even question the dangerous discourse they’re using and do not realize the importance of knowing the real Gulf. They do not realize that they are abusing Khalijis the way they were abused; dehumanizing nations, isolating them, and leaving them without forms of solidarity and needed exposure.
The discourse of civilization has been often used in the modern Arab world and is now being reborn in reaction to the rising Islamist power that is believed to be funded by Gulf regimes. Instead of pointing to the acts of those regimes, the cultures of the Gulf and the people are taking the blame. The cultures are being deformed in a way that portrays the political game as if it is an act of exporting a violent, sexist, racist, and backward culture to the rest of the region.
Here, the discussion of an Arab Spring of the mind comes to play an important role. I believe the rising voices around the Gulf are not only contributing to the fight for democracy but most importantly shaping a new image for themselves; when other Arabs see how many communities are oppressed in the Gulf and how many of those are compromising to highlight those struggles, then we will witness a new era of mutual Arab understanding. We can no longer believe in the elite (being writers or bloggers) as long as they insist on using the colonial discourse of civilization.
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I would never say I hate Khalijis because I'm a Khaliji (From Ahvaz,Iran) but I do have to say that what I have seen from most of the Khalijis is simply unacceptable.I am a British citizen and have lived almost 2 years in the UAE and I have experienced greatly efficient points to support my partial hatred towards the arab gulf states type of rule.34 years ago,before the islamic revolution happened in Iran it was the shah that provided the healthcare,education and necessities to the people of UAE.The point is that arabs believe that they are highly cultured and efficient people while they aren't and MR/MS.Arab you can go argue your life on this point but I am never going to reply back to you if you think The Persian gulf is supposed to be renamed to the arabian gulf :D.Why did saudi in aramco think of renaming the forever Persian gulf in 1960? If anyone can answer that.7000 years of history can never go unseen,You can even go on arguing this point but hey ... look at the evidence available because there were never arabs living on the three islands belonging to Iran.According to the UN law of international waters which the UAE has also signed as well as iran states is that 20 km of water around the dry land of a country belongs to that particular country........Iran's 3 islands would make the most of the water body area belonging to Iran .and so most of the water body belongs to iran.Hey since when do arabs serve as your slaves...most of you do not pay them...torture them...and your government has nothing to do with it ?? how great is that..can someone answer that ??Yes they believe they would get good treatment and pay from arabs...so they come .and once they do they get to know that they dont and when they make plans to go back they can't ...and if they speak up they either get torture or killed...shame on those arabs* who did these shameful acts....but... arabs .. this wouldnt last forever :D just like how oil wouldnt and its then when youd come to know that money wasnt supposed to be known as everything
LOL kinda funny but the UAE's the most civilized, developed modern arab state.
Dont mistake buildings and franchises for modernity. Indicators such as womens rights, democracy, human rights are poor. Countries like lebanon and tunisia fair much better and they dont have a fraction of your wealth.
لا يغير الله ما في قوم حتى يغيروا ما في انفسهم
I think you wasted your time typing all this. Countries are judged by the majority of the population and the majority of Khalajis are actually big headed ignorant and racist. I lived with them and I know the reality is different.
Khalijis are definitely discriminated against by other arabs and also people of other countries, they are often depicted as lazy who got rich by oil and they did not have to work for it. However, I do think that khaliji women are discriminated against the most, by khaliji men, arabs and other women, I have often heard and read people depicting them as lazy, fat , ugly and not feminine. Although I do know a khaliji girl who is very pretty, the funny thing that a lot of her arab friends thought that she was not khaliji and when she told them that she was they insisted she was of a mixed origin apparently you cannot be a khaliji women and pretty at the same time!!
In addition, there are laws that discriminate against them in their countries. For example marriage to foreigners and citizenship for her kids from a foreign father is almost impossible to get.
I am a national of a Gulf Arab(and a British national) country,the problem is that there is a problem with the Arab world as a whole. I think the other non Gulf Arab countries need to look at themselves in the mirror. Most of these countries have been ruled by brutal and corrupt dictatorships. Iraq,Libya,Egypt and now Syria are essentially ruled by tyrants. Most of the Gulf people are content with their leaders,they get good opportunities if they work to better themselves. True that the Gulf countries are ruled by Kings and Emirs who have almost total power,but if the population are happy with their leadership,then there is no real problem.
There are no Saddams,Ghaddafis or Assads ruling the Gulf,leaders who were and are happy to butcher their own people. Everyone knows that the 90% of the population of these countries wanted or want to overthrow these particular leaders. Their regimes are brutal. Bahrain's King is not even as half as bad,he has agreed to concesions after the protests and only about 10% want to overthrow him,largely due to extreme Islamic shia ideology that these minority of people hold.
Yes there are spoilt ignorant Gulf Arabs,but just as many as there are ignorant arabs from other countries. There are many small minded Egyptians,Palestinians,Iraqis etc. So the critisism is really unfounded and baseless. I can't tell you how many moronic Palestinians,Egyptians,Iraqis,Libyans etc. I've met but there are also a fair amount of highly eductated and well balanced people from these countries. The Gulf produces as many unmannered people as any other non-gulf arab country.
One of the problems is that the laymen from these non Gulf arab countries is their jealousy. They see the rich Gulf Arabs and they get jealous. Well what can one say but tough luck,it's their money so live with it. It is not just some Gulf Arabs that give arabs a bad reputation,it is all ignorant arabs,be they Gulf Arabs,North African Arabs or Levant Arabs. Unfortunately the educated in the Arab world as a whole are still too few,there is a lot of ignorance and backwardness about in all of the arab world. Having said this there are some very intelligent and advanced minds so to speak in the Arab world as well,among Gulf Arabs and Non-Gulf Arabs,but they are the minority.
One of the things that some non gulf arab people whinge about is that the Gulf doesn't help them enough or that they interfere with other countries politics. Again what can one say,the Gulf Arab countries have pumped millions over the years to help the Palestinian cause,they've helped many other arab countries out financially as well on many occasions. It seems that there is no pleasing some people. Look at the respective leaderships in your countries first,sort them out,get good un corrupt leaders in then you might have a better right to have a go at Gulf Arab countries.
As far as the politics of the Gulf states,well they do have a strong relationship with the west,because that is in their interest.Every country in the world looks after their own interests,so I don't really see what the problem is with that. It was the Gulf countries that helped get rid of the brutal dictatorships in Iraq and Libya,most of the natioanals are delighted that these leaders are no more.Even if the current political condition might be far from ideal,they are still better off.90% of Syrians are now calling on Arab countries to do more and help fund the arming of the resistance and the majority of the Syrian population. So people can't have things both ways all the time. If anyone has a legitimate complaint I'd like to hear it. But I can say as a 27 year old who was born in the UK but has also lived in two Gulf Arab countries for many years,I am on the whole happy with the policies of the Gulf states.I don't come from a rich family,but I have had a decent eduction in the Gulf and a good standard of living despite not coming from a wealthy background.
As an Arab living in the west I have very little respect for those gas stations. For centuries the Arab counties of the Mashriq and north Africa were feeding them and now that they have enough money to build their playground they use their wealth to export warfare at our expense. Nearly all negative stereotypes stem from their strict Wahhabism and the "poorer" Arabs and Muslims living in the west bear the consequences of discrimination and hatred.
The Arabs and Muslims have been in need of a strong leader for decades, Saudi Arabia has the potential for this (having both Mecca, Medina and vasts amounts of wealth) yet they kiss the feet of the United States and drive warfare throughout the region while they continue to build Las Vegas. Most of the Emirs don't even follow the state religion and come to Beirut for alcohol and prostitutes. The day the "Arab spring" moves to the gulf and overthrows the kings will be the day I dance in the street.
Ever since the end of WWI the rest of the world has moved forward and progressed while the Arabs are still in the dark ages fighting sectarian wars. Our biggest accomplishments were made centuries ago and this is all we have to brag about. I hope in my lifetime a true leader will emerge and lead us to our second golden age, only time will tell.
Oh boo hoo, people don't like khalijis, so what? Its because of your own actions of the past hummm let me see, 50 years or so that has alienated the rest of us. So please don't attempt this crying act whilst wiping your big noses with your Blood Money. I'm so annoyed with jarabs, every night you bend over to receive western influence and money then in the morning you go to the Arab League and pretend you care about the rest of us.
Secondly, whenever khalijis visit anyone else's country on holiday or something they treat the locals like cheap trash. Once I was in Egypt when some khaliji guys were around and they literally thought the whole country was their garbage can. I said to myself " wow what a bunch of entitled d-bags". Its a shame, a real shame.
I think this article was well overdue. I am quite surprised at the uniform opinion people have expressed on here with regards to the Gulf and the Khaliji culture that has become widespread.
As an Arab myself, born and living in London, I often witness the Khaliji whom many on here have spoken of on a day to day basis. It seems London is their playground when they decide to come here and spend that "Aay-rab" money. I myself won't deny the huge negative stigma that has been attached to these particular people. Let us not solely blame their government or political regime - these people themselves have become a product of their brainwashed leaders and have accepted it. This is not a path of enlightenment the rest of the Arab world or West needs to impose on them - that's damn near impossible when you're busy smoking shisha all day and deciding which colour Ralph Lauren polo tee to wear today.
These people LOVE what they are, who they are and what they show; and I mean literally SHOW. Take the dollar sign specs off and somebody who lives a pretty normal life will tell you. We see you as ignorant, almost uneducated (even though "papa" sent you to that private college in Regents Park to better your failed English and has already bribed the institution with oil money for a signed certificate after your one-year-out-me-no-speak-English "graduation").
Its apparent that a lot of these people come here with the same attitude they like to adopt when visiting the (dare I say) "poorer" Arab nations - classless, turned out in dated Ralph Lauren Polo tee's like it's the only thing going out there, a must have pair of Ray Bans, an oversized watch glamorising their wealth, whilst effortlessly disturbing the peace in the neighbourhood speeding around the area like drunken monkeys in their over-modified supercars they have privately jetted over from their homeland, hanging around trendy Knightsbridge (an upmarket area of London which is particularly infiltrated by filthy rich Saudi's). I mean you literally couldn't make this stuff up if you wanted to - I practically see it EVERYDAY. And to add insult to injury they speak not one word of English... Seeing as your region is so filled with this Oil money, at the very least you could have impressed me with some fine English instead of intoxicating me with your Tom Ford aftershave. Oh what a life to be living...
Moving on to other worrying issues, you also have this extremely disturbed view of white chicks out here (apparently they're easy... Sure they are if they're one of the many Eastern European prostitutes that have found refuge in this sin city of ours and you're paying at the end of the night). Apparently its cool to have a blonde, skinny, white non-speaking-English chick on your arm out here in London. I guess it helps when you both don't speak the common language at all and everybody looks at you like you're the clown. Yes you are and yes we also have concluded she's a prostitute and her smile is really a huge laugh. That money will go all the way to her foreign bank account where she's already building that huge mansion house in the middle of that two housed village she fled from.
Let's not forget that they also go around chasing anything which looks the slightest bit provocative to them. That could be a male too in their case - I kid you not, the stories I've heard first-hand from Khaliji's whilst on vacation here and on their own turf is pretty grim and really quite pathetic. Anything that will serve as sexual "relief" will do... Oh and apparently anybody who is Lebanese or Moroccan is considered a prostitute here too LOL laugh till I cry... But that's a whole other story.
I feel as though I could go on and continue with the Khaliji bashing but it's a hopeless cause. They themselves have bought this stereotype upon themselves and therefore only they can remove it. People who live here in REALITY in a democratic, self serving and FREE society will tell you all about their personal experiences with these backward people. My personal opinion on them is as the many who reside in London of Lebanese, Syrian, Moroccan, Egyptian and North African descent. We laugh at you, chuckle a little and then continue to laugh at the ridiculous stuff coming out of your mouth usually because it's a lot of nonsense. Whilst we exchange those pound notes you throw at many, we take that with great pleasure and feed our brains, not just our bellies and materialistic desires.
Many may say the other Arab states envy the Khaliji - I agree, we envy the fact you have all these resources at your disposal and still our people in Palestine are killed on a daily, Syria is being destroyed, Iraq has collapsed in front of our very eyes and here you are 20million Gucci bags later kissing the UK's and US's backside claiming you rule with Islam. How ludicrous.
You promote sodomy, excessive wealth at the expense of dying humans, racism, slavery and sexism - everything that goes against Islamic beliefs. For as long as you live for the "dounya" (world), you will serve the dounya and die for the dounya. How very said. You don't deserve anything more than what you have become - a failed society. We pity you.
agreed a 100%
Arabs have very little respect for other people. They have to stop blaming AMERICA for everything . They treat their own muslim brothers like crap if they other person is not well off or with money. Anyone with money can buy respect in Gulf. I know people will hate this post of mine, but we need to look at our own behavior, our own faults and change.
Ok so I am Lebanese and to many of us Khalijis were supposed to be illiterate bediouns and Yemen should have remained the pearl of civilization in the Arabian Peninsula. After-all, a mountainous overpopulated country like Lebanon with no natural resources, a country that has been the playground of bigger nations for decades, plagued by civil and international war still scores better than a very oil rich Khaliji country like Oman on the UN Human Development Index, still receives immigrants from Yemen.
You say we don't understand what is the real gulf. What is the real gulf? I myself make a distinction between Khaliji countries, Kuwait is not Saudi Arabia neither is Bahrain or the UAE.
But you also have to blame Saudi Arabia for ruining the beautiful diverse and progressive Khaliji picture you are trying to paint. They make the biggest fraction of Khalijis and to many people around the world, both Arabs and none-Arabs, Saudi Arabia is arguably the most backwards nation on earth. With its vast oil wealth it should have already achieved a considerable amount in the fields of science, sports, even space exploration and equality. Instead they spend their petrodollars on exporting their backwards Wahabi version of Islam, fighting our more Sufi moderate version of Islam, and hating on minorities.
Even though Saudi Arabia probably has one of the highest rates of homosexuality in their single gender schools, not that I have anything against homosexuality myself they still brand us as homosexuals. If you only you know how many times I've heard Saudi' and Khalijis branding us as homosexuals, ancestors of the crusades, prostitutes and Nassara. Read their Youtube comments see what THEY think of US.
I will tell you something, screw those khalijis that think that way.
They are not acting the way Islam is asking us to do.
I only have one request don't generalize believe me, I love Lebanon even though I never been there as much as I love any other Arabian country.
So what if there are Christians? our prophet Mohammed lived with them with no troubles. I like everything Arabian, and someday I will marry someone not Khaliji inshAllah. I know it is very hard as I am a girl and it will take me ages to convince my father and take that stupid permission, but I will do it. I never thought of any Lebanese, Syrian, or whatever as less than I am.
I agree with you there are somethings that needs immediate change!
Don't lose hope there are many of us that treat others good.
Those people are called "Jadeedeen n3ma" which means they just got rich and want to show the whole world.
All the Lebanese guys that are working in my country, are the cutest and none of them is gay.
They are as manly as Khalijis not even 0.0000000009 less, and some of them even more!
Just to correct you Oman is not a rich Khaliji country, it's oil reserves are about 2% that of Saudi Arabia's,Kuwait's or the UAE's for example. There is a huge problem with unemployment there. I agree with you that each Khaliji country should be judged on its own merit.
What you say about Saudi Arabia is to a large extent correct. There has been a lot of money that has been wasted by the Saudi royal family,but they have also modernized the country and spent billions building the cities around their huge country. One of the main reasons the Saudis spread their wahabbi ideology is because they want to counter the equally extreme shia doctrine that Iran exports. We saw an example of the succes of this policy by Iran in Bahrain. Where a minority of Bahraini nationals put their religion before their allegiance to Bahrain. This is all part of the political games that go on between Saudi Arabia and Iran who see each other as threats to their own personal interests.
If a Saudi calls a Lebanese guy a homosexual then he is just as ignorant as Lebanese guy who suggests Gulf Arabs are ignorant. The most christian Lebanese are mainly phoenecians and so are many of the muslim Lebanese. A few might have ancestors who were part of the christian crusades,it makes some sense because that is the region where the crusdes took place but there is nothing wrong with that.
This I can assure YOU is not what most Gulf Arabs think of the Lebanese only the ignorant minority of Gulf Arabs would think like that. In fact there are many Lebanese who inter marry with Gulf Arabs. Personally a relative of mine got married to a christian Lebanese girl a couple of years back. His very traditional grandmother was only concerned with the fact that the girl might be too liberal being from liberla Lebanon.But apart from that she didn't have a problem,this coming from a religious woman in her eighties who has lived in her tribal village for years and lives the traditional arab way of life. There are many other Gulf arab and Lebanese couples I know,so they can't hate you that much can they!
Not all Lebanese are phoneticians whether the are Christians or whatever.
These are just some stories to ruin between Arab countries.
The masses in the gulf are victims to a systematic methodology perpetrated by the backward regimes and monarchies of the gulf, in order to keep their reign and control over the resources.
That's all there is to it; as long as the masses are subdued, spoiled and under a rotten religious anesthetic, hatred towards "outsiders" shall prosper, degradation will be the norm and the Tyrants will ravish the thrones, lands and masses ad infinitum.
The theocracy that is smothering the region is what is keeping people blind and deprived from the basic freedoms that democratic states guarantee to their citizens. It seems that the middle east is stuck in the 14th century with the ultra conservatism and the horrible laws that prohibit women from driving and force them to be wrapped in black rags. This might be a contributing factor to the negative image of the Gulf region.
Another factor is the sectarian violence and extremism fueled by a religious ideology that is supposed to help the region reach independence, but what it does instead is justify the military support from western nations to fight the indiscriminate killing of innocent people. A better approach to peaceful activism should be inspired from Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
It is only in Saudi Arabia where the womes can't drive, and I admit they do have some draconian laws,but that's similar to Iran and other countries that try to impose the Sharia law. Do you think that Saddam's Iraq or Assads Syria or Ghaddafi's Libya are or were any better?
Interesting that the anti-orientalist discourse is carried by Lebanese ink. Well the Guld is also (plus the fair three depictions) a complex of the white man that is being paid three times more than the same Arab doing the same job. It is also the spoiled kids whose IQ fails on the ground to focus on them readings instead of waking up at six in the evening for a shisha breakfast. It is also a soft spot for them crocodile-tered sweet talkers. I really wish Gulfies become self-sufficient so that neither the Natashas nor the "Toqborni"s take advantage of their wealth. Fairly yours.
geez... where do I ever start?! This is a good topic Mona, I'd like to see more writing from you that zooms out of the bidoon issue into other dysfunctional aspects of our culture(s)
The Gulf is that part that is so selfish to the rest of the Arab and Muslim world which is paying the price from their lives and freedom -their tragedies- to pay for the Gulf Oil's wealth... This is the complete picture!!!.. The Gulf's wealth and ecconomical boom are paid for by the misery and continuing blood sheding of Arab and Muslim people...
How did you work that one out,please elaborate and give us examples instead of making baseless accusations.
I think that those who mistreat asian workers in the gulf are indeed both the citizens and the governments. Gulf countries embody the very definition of backwardness: 6 decades have been lost and gulf countries have made no progress in science, technology and sustainable development. Even in the west no one has the slightest respect for them and those who smile at them they do smile at their purse. Can you imagine the future of the region after the oil era? We do not hate you , we pity you instead..
I would correct you and say all arab countries have a lot of catching up to do and not just Gulf Arab countries. In fact apart from Saudi Arabia and their religion driven state,Gulf countries are perhaps the most advanced of all the arab countries. I am a Gulf arab and I can assure you I get the utmost genuine respect from most well educated people in the west. So do many other Gulf Arabs. You get idiots everywhere my friend, I'm sure the Arab country your originally from is a much worse place to live than the Gulf. We don't need your pity, we just need people like you to educate yourselves and not generalize. Like I said you get idiots everywhere and I'm pretty sure your country is full of them after listening to your diatribe.
I dont agree with all the racist comments on here, but khalijees need to stop confusing high rise buildings with advancement. Its down to laws and societal norms abd attitudes, funnily enough, when it comes to that i would say, jordan, lebanon and tunisia are the most advanced, specifically when you look at indicators such as women's rights and attitudes to women. Money does not buy progression, it just buys buildings, chains and designer bags.
Why are we even generalizing with all gulf nations? I will admit to my bias against these countries because I've lived in one that was oppressive to my rights as a female expatriate. But I wouldn't put countries like Qatar for example on the same playing field. At least they're investing in the right venues, education namely, instead of simply competing for the tallest structure in the everlasting quest of overcompensating for their image as third world countries.
That said, when gulf nations start treating their neighbors and fellow nationals in a respectable manner (and not as lesser human beings), then maybe the other countries will have a better general opinion of them (they can start by disbanding their gulf nation click that is the GCC). People will pick on the more powerful countries, because we expect better from them. They have the resources, let them lead the way to prosperity, not more corruption.
Are these the type of articles we're learning to copy from Mr Zakaria? Let's allow criticism where it's due. I'm not going to glorify gulf countries, I'm not going to congratulate them for the coincidence of having oil on their land. What have they accomplished without it really? And don't get me wrong, this is by no means the fault of the people. Their governments unfortunately set the country up by importing workforce from outside (labor and otherwise), and what does that workforce get (whether they are other Arabs or other Asians/Africans) - low pay and racism. I have not seen people from the gulf treated at the same level of disrespect in other Arab nations.
Right you are my friend! I do not see any Gulfy holding any significant position in any global organisation on their merits. It's a tragedy that people of the region have not seen competition for their jobs & as a result have not had the mind frame to improve their qualifications or skill set.
As for discrimination against Asian workers, it is institutionalised and very much unislamic where some of the last words of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) were "no Arab has any significance over an ajami (term used at that time for non-arabs) and vice versa, except in taqwa (piety)." So having an institutionalised discrimination policy in pay and perks for Asians is really shocking!
I can only speak for educated Westerners who travel to the Gulf on a regular base: We appreciate the enormous achievements & the culture of Khalijis - those migrants or travellers who are able to see are realizing the good facts and those who are ignorant will never realize anything!:-))
Seems like you have some stereotypes of your own on the Gulf. We are not oppressed, rather we chose to be quite and enjoy life while others do the dirty work of politics for us. This has proved ineffective as those in power also chose to relax and hand over the Gulf to our enemies.
You're right about Arabs looking down on khalijis in general, but you also don't point out that khalijis spend the most on aid to other nations. You also simply mention that Arabs think of khalijis as lazy sheep, but don't provide examples of successful khaliji Drs, researchers, and businessmen.
I think you were in hurry to post this article. Thanks anyways.
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