Multiple Alterities by Elie Podeh & Samira Alayan

Author:Elie Podeh & Samira Alayan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

The External Other in Jordanian Textbooks

The official narrative defines who is considered a Jordanian, and this is clear in Jordanian textbooks. A fourth grade textbook states, “I am an Arab, proud of my beliefs and country. My country is the country of the Arabs” (1: 3). On the following page, this text continues: “…My little motherland is an integral part of the larger Arab motherland, and it is also an integral part of the glorious Islamic nation” (1: 4). This is where Jordan positions itself as a nation, part of the Arabs and Muslims. In this case, the distinctiveness of Jordan becomes possible through the development of external Others, who are mentioned in the same textbook: “We are united, Jordanians, Arabs, and Muslims, to recover the occupied parts of our motherland [Palestine], and to liberate those colonised parts of the larger Arab motherland” (1: 5).

Indeed, in the Jordanian school textbooks, Zionists and colonial Western states are usually described as aggressors towards Jordanians, Palestinians and Arabs in general. They are portrayed as the cause of supposed Arab fragmentation and debilitation since they forcefully divided Arab lands into weak nation-states. The textbooks depict them as colonialists who “occupied the beautiful parts of the motherland, Palestine” (2: 3–4). Somewhat problematically, Palestine is described as part of the Jordanian motherland, leaving the question of the home of the Palestinians unanswered.

The textbooks mention the colonisation of Jordan until its independence. Notably, there is no reference to external Others as enemies in the textbooks dealing with the contemporary world. Instead, these textbooks seem to make a conscious effort to use a language of peace and mutual respect. For example, the USA is included by references to its revolution and declaration of independence from Britain. But these accounts are brief: they contain only general information and fail to discuss other aspects of US history and its contemporary role in the world. References to European or American Others serve mainly to construct a certain Jordanian or Arab-Islamic self-image: the textbooks contain images of an Islamic civilisation that is marked by its openness to a plurality of interacting civilisations (3: 102). Little or no information is available in the textbooks on countries such as the USA, China or Russia. European history is mentioned only insofar as it relates to the Crusaders, the American and French revolutions, the industrial revolution and Napoleon. The textbooks highlight the colonial legacy and the Arab struggle for independence (4: 120). Jordan is presented as part of a wider Arab homeland, but the focus is clearly on Jordanian patriotism. Internal Others such as Palestinian refugees or the great number of Iraqi refugees who immigrated to Jordan after 2003 are not accounted for in the textbooks. However, these accounts emphasise the heroic Arab armies, and the Jordanian army in particular, and their role in these events. The textbooks notably refrain from open incitement and are written in a factual style (Georg Eckert Institute 2009: 22–26).

Most of the textbooks written prior to 1994 do not distinguish between Jews as the members of a religious group and Jews as members of a political movement.

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