Folk Festivals, Ramadan Soaps and Talk Shows: The Cultural Context of Syrian and Moroccan National Identity

Abstract

Some two decades after Leonard Binder wrote 'Islamic Liberalism: A Critique of Development Ideologies,' (University of Chicago Press 1988) Middle East development theory continues a bizarre pas de deux with Muslim culture and institutions. Binder anticipated this: 'I am certain that it is wholly misleading to equate Islam and culture in general in any Middle Eastern country. It is often far more accurate to see various Islamic symbols as instruments wielded by those who have power.' (1988:80-81) Cultural values such as authenticity and multiculturalism provide a useful insight into the way national identities in the modern Middle East are being hammered out in today’s white noise of info-cacophony. I consider how such cultural domains as government pageants, folk festivals, television dramas, and talk shows support and shape the national identity of the secular state/sacred society of Syria and the sacred state/sacred society of Morocco.

Keywords: Middle East, Culture, Cultural, Ideology, Ideologies, Society, Nationalism, Islam, Islamic