Gulf Cities

The Wall Street Journal reported last week on the Al-Monitor debate, which has gone viral in the region, over whether the events of the so-called Arab-Spring have been catalyst for a trend where Gulf cities, including Dubai and Doha, have replaced Cairo, Damascus and Beirut as the centers of Arab culture.

Sultan Al-Qassemi got the debate rolling when he wrote for Al-Monitor:  “Decades of underinvestment and full-blown civil wars have resulted in the historic Arab cities of North Africa and the Levant having poor and inadequate infrastructure, from archaic roads to outdated academic curricula and teaching methods. However, the traditional Arab capitals may be down now but they certainly aren’t out. These cities that dominated the Arab psyche for decades in the 20th century are rich in culture and human and natural resources. Nonetheless, if and when they begin the process of turning their fortunes around, they will encounter an Arab-world landscape dominated by the new, formidable Gulf cities that have set a standard that is hard to match not only regionally, but on a global scale.”

Abbas a-Lawati offered a contrasting view, writing:  “the traditional Arab centers that exported literature, art, science and ideas to the world, there is little in these Gulf cities that can be considered organic. They have produced few if any literary giants, scientists, academics or innovators. The achievements of expatriates, no matter how long they have lived there, are cast aside as non-indigenous and not celebrated with the fanfare that the most miniscule of achievements by the minority citizen population are. It is no wonder that some of the most celebrated Arab achievers were incubated abroad. A city cannot rise to become a regional center if it bases its achievements on the success of a tiny fraction of its population.”