Why do some people confuse or put Indians and Middle Easterners in one category? (crimes, loan)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't know if this is common outside the US, but I noticed people strangely confuse Indian people with Middle Easterners which is baffling to me. Some Indian communities in the US, like Sikhs, even faced hate crimes or violence from people after 9/11 mistakenly associating them with the Middle East (not that violence against anyone, no matter what part of the world people associate them with, is ever justified).
I even once in a while hear people connect India to Arabs! How can people think of Arabs when they think of imagery of the Indian subcontinent like Bollywood, temples, monsoons and close to tropical climates, Hinduism (and the place where Buddhism originate), the Kama Sutra, treating cows as sacred, etc., which seem so drastically different. To me, it is more different than comparing Canada and Mexico, something which Americans would be unlikely to do.
Now, it is true that some elements of what people associate with the Middle East exist (for instance, India was ruled by Muslim dynasties for a long time and introduced Middle Eastern elements to the subcontinent like loanwords in Hindi and Urdu from Persian and Arabic, also architecture like the Taj Mahal), but using the same logic, the Middle East influenced Europe just as much (through Judeo-Christian history and Classical Antiquity). Spain has just as much Arab or Middle Eastern influence as the Indian subcontinent does, yet you rarely hear Spaniards tied to the Middle East so strongly.
What makes people's minds associate the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East often? I don't know people do this very often elsewhere, but I have seen this mistaken identity often in US culture from those unfamiliar with either region.
Yes I'm sure you heard of Miss America receiving a lot of hateful comments about being a terrorist.etc, she doesn't even look Middle Eastern, so I think that's just pure ignorance. I could understand people mistaking Pakistanis or Northern Indians (especially Sikhs, with their turbans) if they don't know their culture, but yeah I would think most Americans would have a pretty distinct conceptions of Indians and Indian culture. It does seem almost baffling how some can be so ignorant, sometimes I think it's just wilful ignorance is one thing. Ignorance is one thing, but ignorance where you spew hatred without even bothering to find out anything is another.
Yes I'm sure you heard of Miss America receiving a lot of hateful comments about being a terrorist.etc, she doesn't even look Middle Eastern, so I think that's just pure ignorance. I could understand people mistaking Pakistanis or Northern Indians (especially Sikhs, with their turbans) if they don't know their culture, but yeah I would think most Americans would have a pretty distinct conceptions of Indians and Indian culture. It does seem almost baffling how some can be so ignorant, sometimes I think it's just wilful ignorance is one thing. Ignorance is one thing, but ignorance where you spew hatred without even bothering to find out anything is another.
Yes, that partly was what came to mind when I was writing this thread.
I don't know if this is common outside the US, but I noticed people strangely confuse Indian people with Middle Easterners which is baffling to me. Some Indian communities in the US, like Sikhs, even faced hate crimes or violence from people after 9/11 mistakenly associating them with the Middle East (not that violence against anyone, no matter what part of the world people associate them with, is ever justified).
I even once in a while hear people connect India to Arabs! How can people think of Arabs when they think of imagery of the Indian subcontinent like Bollywood, temples, monsoons and close to tropical climates, Hinduism (and the place where Buddhism originate), the Kama Sutra, treating cows as sacred, etc., which seem so drastically different. To me, it is more different than comparing Canada and Mexico, something which Americans would be unlikely to do.
Now, it is true that some elements of what people associate with the Middle East exist (for instance, India was ruled by Muslim dynasties for a long time and introduced Middle Eastern elements to the subcontinent like loanwords in Hindi and Urdu from Persian and Arabic, also architecture like the Taj Mahal), but using the same logic, the Middle East influenced Europe just as much (through Judeo-Christian history and Classical Antiquity). Spain has just as much Arab or Middle Eastern influence as the Indian subcontinent does, yet you rarely hear Spaniards tied to the Middle East so strongly.
What makes people's minds associate the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East often? I don't know people do this very often elsewhere, but I have seen this mistaken identity often in US culture from those unfamiliar with either region.
I've never heard or experienced that. It's obviously done by people with little knowledge of the outside world. You know the types that confuse Austria and Australia.
I've never heard or experienced that. It's obviously done by people with little knowledge of the outside world. You know the types that confuse Austria and Australia.
I think the news just picks the more ignorant people too. I mean a news story isn't as interesting if it's about how Americans are so understanding and tolerant now is it? It gives a false view of Americans as a whole and people generalise.
Ignorance and it is likely to happen in Europe as well.
I have always found saddest to die because someone confounded your Sikh turban for an Arab one.
Like if being an Arab justifies being killed.
Arabs can be of any race or racial admixture. Arabs can be of ANY religion. NOT ALL Arabs are Muslims. In fact, MOST Arabs are actually CHRISTIANS. And there are many Arab Jews, or many Arabs that are Jewish.
Not all Muslims are Arabs.
Arabs actually began a mass global slave trade of black Africans as well as of people of other backgrounds throughout the entire globe since ancient times, long before Europeans. In fact, slavery and colorist racist race based slavery still goes on today in Arab and Muslim and Islamic nations. Look up the Arab slave trade and Islamic/Muslim slave trade. Look up the history.
Not all people in the Middle East or North Africa identify as Arabs or with that term. Arab is more of a pan cultural term or meta ethnicity term similar to Hispanic and Latino which connotes or denotes inclusion of people of all races and racial admixtures into one pancultural unified identity.
Sikhism developed out of mixing Islam and Hinduism, since many didn't like the caste system in Hinduism, so out of this disdain and other discrepancies Sikhism was born, as it helped find a way for people to deviate abd escape the caste system promulgated in and thru Hinduism society
Arabs can be of any race or racial admixture. Arabs can be of ANY religion. NOT ALL Arabs are Muslims. In fact, MOST Arabs are actually CHRISTIANS. And there are many Arab Jews, or many Arabs that are Jewish.
Not all Muslims are Arabs.
Arabs actually began a mass global slave trade of black Africans as well as of people of other backgrounds throughout the entire globe since ancient times, long before Europeans. In fact, slavery and colorist racist race based slavery still goes on today in Arab and Muslim and Islamic nations. Look up the Arab slave trade and Islamic/Muslim slave trade. Look up the history.
Not all people in the Middle East or North Africa identify as Arabs or with that term. Arab is more of a pan cultural term or meta ethnicity term similar to Hispanic and Latino which connotes or denotes inclusion of people of all races and racial admixtures into one pancultural unified identity.
That's true, although most Arabs are Muslim (though I heard most Syrian/Iraqi refugees to the US are Christian). There number of Arab Christians is underrated and was higher before the rise of militant Islam in the latter half of the last century. Of course the word 'Allah' predated Islam and is still used by Christians in the Holy land and Arab countries to refer to God.
Dunno if it was necessary race based, but more because of the power differential. Arabs were wealthy, with more technology.etc, while the Africans were less 'developed.'
But yes, a lot of people were culturally conquered by the original Arabs, who are Arabians from Arabia. Nowadays it's largely based on speaking Arabic.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How can people think of Arabs when they think of imagery of the Indian subcontinent like Bollywood, temples, monsoons and close to tropical climates, Hinduism (and the place where Buddhism originate), the Kama Sutra, treating cows as sacred, etc., which seem so drastically different. 
To me, it is more different than comparing Canada and Mexico, something which Americans would be unlikely to do.
