Who I write for and why in English...

I've been asked recently by one reader why I write in English and who I write for. That is a very good question and one which deserves an answer. With regards to the second part of the question, I write mainly for myself, that is, I wish to put down somewhere my reflections and thoughts on what is happening in the Arab world. This amazing part of humanity has offered, and continues to offer, so much that is meaningful to the world. In spite of continuous aggression and occupation, physically and intellectually, it has confounded the most concerted efforts to subdue it. It is vibrant, diverse and individualist in a true sense, unlike the monotone consumer societies of empire. So when I write, I am writing to discover what it means to come from this world, hence the raw nature of some of my posts. The further I write, the more solid the articulation of myself and my identity becomes, as if the text and I have some bizarre relationship that allows us to grow together.

That leaves us with my choice of language, which is English as some of you may or may not have noticed by now. My English is slightly better than my Arabic because the schools I was educated in believed that the West is superior to our Arab societies (they didn't realise it but it was taken for granted that this was the case). So they thought they were doing me a favour by making me more employable and integrable in today's "global" culture. They were right to some extent, my current abode is in the heart of this "global" culture, better known as the heart of capitalism to some. I like to call it "The Little Satan" due to it's relationship with the United States of America. That I can write any good Arabic at all is only due to a conscious effort on my part over the past few years and I may decide to write in it one day, but currently my context is outside the Arab world and I write best about what I know best. I am planning to move back up there one day and when that happens I will most probably write in Arabic and with as much vigour.