When
the scientific renaissance started in the Islamic world with the flow of missions
to European countries such as France then Britain, Germany and the rest of the
European countries and later to the United States of America, a number of Arab
researchers and scientists knowledgeable about these countries emerged.
However, we (as Arabs) have not invested in this knowledge the right way as we
have not established research centers to deepen our understanding of Western
peoples and their civilization. To the contrary, we remained dependent on them
in both the intellectual and cultural fields. In addition to this, translation
hasn’t been activated the way it should. The United Nations report about Human
Development in the Arab World has mentioned that
the works translated yearly in Greece alone are equal to those translated yearly
in the whole Arab world.
Throughout
the last few years, calls for intercultural dialogue have been intensifying,
and we are strongly required to engage in these dialogues. However, there is a
missing dimension in our dialogue with other cultures, namely the severe lack
in the Arab world of specialized cadres in the other countries’ studies. Rare
are the scientific centers and departments dedicated for regional studies.
This
paper presents samples about other countries’ experiences in regional studies.
It also gives an idea about the other peoples, their culture, history and
civilizations throughout three parts. The first one is dedicated to the European
and American experiences. The second one is dedicated to the Asian experiences
and the third tackles the need in Arab countries for these studies and the
capacities to pursue them.
Experiences
of European countries and the United States
The
British experience
Arab
studies started in Britain since the middle of the seventeenth century with the
establishment of the Arabic language chair in both Cambridge and Oxford
universities in 1632 and 1636 A.D. However, in the 20th century,
the importance attached to this subject intensified especially after the
parliament ratified the importance of establishing a big center dedicated to
other peoples’ and nations’ studies in London, namely at the University of London.
For this reason, the School of Oriental and African Studies was established,
becoming one of the biggest Middle Eastern studies centers in the world. Even
after the British Empire’s recession, the British people kept attaching an
importance to knowing about other peoples and cultures. For this reason, the
British government established a committee to study the country’s needs for
specialists in Oriental, African, Eastern European and Slavic studies in 1947
headed by the Earl of Scarborough.
When
the British government noticed that the world situation had changed and that it
should reconsider its need for these studies, it created another governmental
committee in 1961 under the presidency of Sir William Hayter to examine the
situation of the Oriental, Eastern European, Slavic and Northern African
studies. Among the recommendations of this committee is benefiting from the
American experience in the field of regional studies. The report states that:
“regional studies offer a new kind of organization supported by the
institutions and the government that play an important part in establishing
this branch of knowledge”(Parker, 1986, 85). The report also mentions that
these centers or departments receive huge financial support to carry out
research, scientific travels and publications, and that they possess influence
to attract personalities that are capable of carrying out fruitful research.
The British government continued giving importance to regional studies, and established
a committee headed by Sir Peter Parker that presented its report in February
1986. This report mentioned that despite the decrease in British political
influence, the successive British governments saw the importance of preserving
a global foreign policy. In addition to this, it noted that Britain depended then
more than any time before, on world trade. For example, when the report was
published, Britain’s exports represented 33% of its GDP while they didn’t
exceed 20% of its GDP 20 years earlier. If Britain was to preserve its status
on the international level, it should keep on attaching importance to language
and regional studies (Parker, 1986, 3).
Britain
and the United States studies
People’s
studies in Britain are not only limited to Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies but
extend to Chinese studies for example. Britain also attaches an importance to
the United States studies. It has in fact established an institute affiliated
with the University of London where a Masters’ program includes the following
courses: Immigration and racism in the United States between 1820 and 1880, US
constitutional history until the middle of the nineteenth century, Hollywood
and the History of popular American movies and Foreign American policy after
the end of the Cold War.
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