Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on January 18, 2004 12:29 PM
Thank you for this post. I read the whole series hoping I'd find some really great information in English on technological development in Saudi Arabia; instead, the whole series is the author comparing two cultures, and almost NO information about open source in KSA. Though he probably believes he's done Saudis a great service and liberated them through his incredibly average journalistic abilities, he's actually insulted the vast majority of them, and depicted them as backward individuals. All 5 of these articles remind me of Orientalist travelogues such as those by Montagu.
If you're going to dabble in cultural judgment calls I suggest you have a thorough knowledge of the people in question, and that includes living with them, knowledge their language, and perhaps being a part of the culture yourself.
Let me ask you a serious question: If I as a Muslim went to France to report on open source adaptation there do you think I'd waste 75% of the text talking about people drinking wine, not praying five times daily, or women not covered according to Islamic standards? Of course not, because it's irrelevant to the discussion. Why do you then waste time talking about Islamic dress code, prayers, and other similar issues? This is our life; the vast majority of us LIKE our culture this way, just as you enjoy your porn and beer. Instead of sitting in your hotel all day smoking a 'hookah' maybe you should've been making connects with important open source figures there, technological decision makers that keep the Windows hegemony strong, or researching some of Microsoft's strong-arming tactics in the region. These are actually all things you should have done before even ARRIVING there. I'm guessing all the cultural descriptions are just fluff covering up the fact that you have no real content.
Anyway, for people interested in seeing how Arabic Linux is progressing in KSA (and other Arab nations) check out www.arabeyes.com. They've created, among other things, one of the first Arabic Live-CDs, based on Knoppix (I believe).
For the author, some lessons on cultural relativism may do you well. In the future please think twice before publishing such biased material.
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Re:Typical Western ignorance
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on January 18, 2004 12:29 PMIf you're going to dabble in cultural judgment calls I suggest you have a thorough knowledge of the people in question, and that includes living with them, knowledge their language, and perhaps being a part of the culture yourself.
Let me ask you a serious question: If I as a Muslim went to France to report on open source adaptation there do you think I'd waste 75% of the text talking about people drinking wine, not praying five times daily, or women not covered according to Islamic standards? Of course not, because it's irrelevant to the discussion. Why do you then waste time talking about Islamic dress code, prayers, and other similar issues? This is our life; the vast majority of us LIKE our culture this way, just as you enjoy your porn and beer. Instead of sitting in your hotel all day smoking a 'hookah' maybe you should've been making connects with important open source figures there, technological decision makers that keep the Windows hegemony strong, or researching some of Microsoft's strong-arming tactics in the region. These are actually all things you should have done before even ARRIVING there. I'm guessing all the cultural descriptions are just fluff covering up the fact that you have no real content.
Anyway, for people interested in seeing how Arabic Linux is progressing in KSA (and other Arab nations) check out www.arabeyes.com. They've created, among other things, one of the first Arabic Live-CDs, based on Knoppix (I believe).
For the author, some lessons on cultural relativism may do you well. In the future please think twice before publishing such biased material.
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