On Middle Eastern Culture

So I know I have already discussed culture. But, I didn't really get to delve into the Middle Eastern Culture as much as I wanted to. So, obviously, this post will relate to A Thousand Splendid Suns, specifically question 24 from the Socratic Seminar.

As stated previously, my parents lived in Saudi Arabia for three years (1987-1990). This is right before the Desert Storm operation took place, and coinciding with the novel between the time that Jalil dies, the Soviets invade Afghanistan, and then sign a treaty to leave Afghanistan in peace. I've obviously heard countless stories about the Middle East, and my opinion about it is and was that it was just another place in the world with people that were different from me. That is a key point though: they were and still are people, no matter what a few radicals have done.

In today's world, opinions about anything are usually formed by what is seen in the media. For example, if someone sees on the news that terrorists from Iraq brutally murdered hundreds of people, many viewers will immediately jump to the conclusion that all people from the Middle East or people that are Muslim are terrorists.  My opinion was only further strengthened by this novel because it proved the point that most people in the so-called evil Middle East are innocent.

Mariam and Laila were just two people that wanted to live their lives as happily and as safely as possible. They did whatever they could to make this a reality. They fought the minority that ruined their lives. I believe that these are great people because of this, and they are just people, just from a different place than me.