Interview Transcript

Interviewer: Alaa Mahmoud

Interviewee: Rula Koraa

Place: Al-Waleed Ibn Talal Building - American University in Cairo

Instructor: Kim Fox

Date Completed: March 12, 2017

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Mahmoud: Good Evening, This is Alaa Mahmoud recording an oral interview with Rula Koraa for

my JRMC202 Multimedia Writing class. Good Evening Rula.

Koraa: Good Evening Alaa.

Mahmoud: Could You Please Introduce Yourself?

Koraa: I am Rula Koraa, an MA alumna in English and Comparative Literature at the American

University in Cairo.

Mahmoud: And what is your profession?

Koraa: I currently work as an assistant professor in the department of Literature at Misr

International University.

Mahmoud: Ok. So my first question to you is since you are a recent alumna who studied

Literature, you must have examined peoples language at some point especially Egyptians as i

suppose, you must have realized that our mother language is decaying, and many Egyptian youth

are imitating the west. what do you think of this phenomenon?

Koraa: I think that we should all be concerned about this phenomenon. I actually really despise the

fact that our language is deteriorating, especially that Arabic is the language of Quran. The usage of

Franco-Arab has definitely destroyed our Arabic language. And now there is a huge segment of
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youth not only throw normal English phrases in their everyday conversations but also for example

tend to listen to western music thinking of the Arabic music as inferior. So yes I do think that many

of us are blindly trying to imitate the West and I actually find this to be somehow problematic due

to westernization.

Mahmoud: So do you think that westernization should have started at some point?

Koraa: OK so first let me tell you that westernization can include Europeanization or

Americanization or other forums whereby people adopt a certain foreign culture. This could also be

associated with globalization and modernization. So there is no specific date to recall, but this was

generally after the Cold War, by the end of the 20th century. At this time Europe has started to

prosper, and it became industrialized and it became economically better. So all the other countries

of the world were actually trying to be like Europe and try to mimic it and follow its path. So to

answer your question yes westernization should have started at some point given that it actually

came with its benefits.

Mahmoud: OK. But unlike the benefits that you're actually trying to imply, don't you think that

westernization let our culture to be manipulated and our traditions to be lost.

Koraa: Well yes surely our culture and traditions are actually fading away in many countries Arab

countries. So if you ask for example a new generation in Egypt about its history or its political

leaders they wouldn't know; they would actually know the foreign history more than their their
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domestic or or or national history. So, for example, also if you ask them about their favorite movie

or TV show they would most probably choose a western one, not not an Arab one or Egyptian one.

Mahmoud: Yes. True. This is in fact very true. In this regard, has westernization made people lose

their identities, like their real identities, and made them carbon copies of each other; like you mean

that westernization justifies influence.

Koraa: I can't really generalize and say that such is the case for all people but it is true for many

people who have adopted a purely Western mode of life the people who dress up in Western stores

eat western food listen to western music and probably those who live in close gated compounds that

actually resemble the Western houses so does they're actually transferring their whole lifestyle to be

Western. So yes there is a huge segment of people who mimic the West and in turn lose their

identities in this process and even even some people try to gain national Western nationality to

actually deny their Arab origin which is really sad. If you want an example we can talk about Saudi

Arabia which is very traditional and holds into its cultures. But if you look at people that they only

eat in those Western restaurants. No one even sticks to eating the traditional Saudi food. They wear

under their Abayas everything they were under their Abayas is Western cloth. So I think Saudi

Arabia is a good example to visualize this. In general, I think one could definitely follow some

successful aspects of the West while trying to preserve the identity and the traditions.

Mahmoud: OK so let me understand more. So do you think that we are, lets specifically speak
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about Egypt. so did Egypt required westernization at some point or do you think that we should

have resisted that in some way.

Koraa: Well Egypt has been ruled by the Ottomans and they actually like it no one no one really

resisted it that much. And also Egypt has been colonized by several countries European countries

and of course effect of Europeanization was evident for example in Egypt's architecture whereby

the we have buildings that are dominated in the Egyptian style and which are actually very beautiful

and ecstatic. If we take another example we could talk in the education field. Most schools focus on

teaching international languages so they're actually neglecting the Arabic language which is about

of course or are not a preferable thing or effect. So it depends on how differently Westernization is

perceived and defined by people in general.

Mahmoud: Thats really awesome. I couldn't agree more. Thank you so much for your time.

Koraa: It was my Pleasure!