The Middle East is not just ISIS or nuclear deals

I knew coming to Penn, an “elite Ivy League academic institution,” there were going to be knowledgeable people. However, I quickly learned there’s a difference between knowledgeable and well-informed.

If I wear a sweatshirt with Farsi or Arabic on it, does that constitute my support for ISIS? If my friend wears a hijab, does that make her a prude? If you are travelling to the Middle East for winter break, does that deserve the follow-up question: “Aren’t you worried about getting bombed?”

Yeah no. None of these are actually true. Contrary to what you see in video games, there are not just bombs dropping everywhere and people waiting on every corner with big machine guns in the Middle East.

Fun fact: if you’re blonde and go to the Middle East, the only thing you’ll always have to watch out for is the paparazzi. Everyone wants to take a picture with the blonde people because you are practically a unicorn. Enjoy it.

The Burj al-Arab in Dubai, AKA the seven-star ‘sailboat’ hotel

Now the Middle East is plastered on every news-stand with the words “ISIS,” “tension,” “hostility,” and “nuclear deal,” everyone has suddenly become an expert. However, spitting out a couple of facts or knowing a country’s GDP doesn’t give someone the right to generalize a country like Iran of 77 million people.

The Sheikh Zayed grand mosque in Abu Dhabi

Iran is not just a bunch of people with red paint on their hands who want to kill American hostages—despite what you might be thinking after watching Argo.

Overlooking a bazaar (kind of like a market place, but with way more cool stuff) from the Dubai mall

Iran’s history before the Revolution cannot be characterized by a three minute cartoon insulting the Pahlavi dynasty, nor can the entire population of Iranians be characterized as American-hating, violent, and completely conservative Muslims.

I personally have a connection with Iran, but I have travelled all over the Middle East and can assure you that there is civilization! There’s also not just oil spurting on every block or people with large pouches of gold riding on camels.

Inside the mosque

Authentic Middle Eastern spices

Will I lie and say I haven’t been looking for a Lawrence of Arabia myself? No. Do I wish sometimes I can ride off into the sunset on a camel with an oil tycoon? Yes. But as the other assumptions are false, so are these.

The only magic carpet I’ve ever seen was actually at Penn, and that was when I needed to be dragged home on my jacket after a grand total of eight Magic Carpet cookies. Word to the wise: stop after five. Always stop after five.

They see me rollin, they hatin

So kids, the Middle East is not just ISIS and nuclear deals. Nor does living in an Arab country constitute being Muslim. In fact, the Middle East is not anything in particular at all. It’s comprised of 22 diverse and culturally-rich countries, and each has its own set of values and religious practices. I’m not going to stand here and say that all of them are perfect, but they’re all certainly not the same.