Reading fii-l Khalij; Sad state of affairs

The world is in books, that’s why we need to create a reading culture

Christopher K Brown

There seems little disagreement here in the Gulf, or almost anywhere else in the world, that reading is a good thing. And while literacy rates — both in Arabic and in English —have risen impressively in the UAE in the previous three decades, I fail to see much evidence today that this is a reading culture. Certainly there are significant exceptions, but particularly among the local population, I worry at the quantity and quality of reading that is done. It is my job, after all, to set high expectations, at least for my students.
Throughout the Near East, in cities like Cairo, Tehran, Istanbul, and Beirut, reading is more publicly in evidence, and sales and circulation figures confirm that the reading habit is at a high level. I begin to wonder if the principle impediment here is a lack of opportunities.

In most major cities of the world, reading is what one does on trains, buses, or even in taxis. It is an escape from the numbing boredom of the commute, and perhaps a defence against endlessly dull conversations with strangers. In America, another nation mostly averse to public transport, the audio books market is robust. In parks, cafes, at times in bars, even in restaurants the world over, one can spy solitary readers engrossed in text.
In contrast, a wander through Abu Dhabi demonstrates a mania with technology. With one of the world’s highest per capita mobile phone penetrations, and massive usage rates, the UAE talks or texts in its spare time. Laptops are far more common than books or magazines in public spaces. Are the readers simply in hiding, as if ashamed to be seen indulging?

Reading is by definition a solitary pursuit, but my students tell me that it is difficult to find the time and space in this culture. Can it be that the large size of families contributes? Even in large houses, quiet space can be nearly impossible to find. The cultural tradition of sociability discourages active disengagement from the family to pursue the imaginary worlds of fiction.
One of my most avid students lamented to me the other day that her mother threatened to take her to the doctor because she was obviously sick: she had locked herself in her room to read Pushkin, and missed dinner.

Reading takes time, ideally large chunks of it. Personally, I take great delight in escaping for hours in a great read, but to do so requires a quiet, comfortable, and uninterrupted place. Like any other skill, reading for pleasure is an activity that must be learnt and practised. Habits of mind develop and improve as a result of sustained imaginary engagement with words on a page and the endlessly novel worlds they describe. At best, reading can be liberating and inspiring, and can cause readers to conceive of themselves in new ways.
Perhaps it is a question of availability? Initiatives such as Kalima and Tarjem, impressive projects to translate vast numbers of quality texts from around the world into Arabic, join a large collection of titles already in print. Browsing through any bookshop confirms a wide selection of texts available in Arabic as well as English. It seems hard to imagine that the raw material for reading is lacking.
Maybe then it is a behaviour that is not being taught at home or in schools? To be sure, the practice of reading to children and teaching them the joy of stories is the cornerstone of any young reader’s development. My own three-year-old cannot imagine going to sleep without at least two stories before bed. She learns by mimicry: often she will get her books and read more-or-less silently with me as I scowl over my pages. But for her, as for me, a world without books is unthinkable.
If the goal is indeed to develop a population that can respect difference and that can project itself into a globalised future, the practice of reading widely and by one’s own initiative must be developed rather more thoroughly and systematically. Reading privately remains the best way to apprehend the diversity of ideas and dreams in the world, and it is a necessary component of being a “lifelong learner”.
The predisposition doubtless exists: widespread, impressive, and earnest reading of scripture testifies to this. That practice can expand outward to include other types of texts while still appreciating the lessons to be learned from various sources. Becoming a culture of people who read books can foster the continued development of the nation and can inspire home-grown expressions of identity.

Imagine a UAE where being well-read is expected. We have made great strides in expecting any ambitious young person to be educated, but we have yet to figure out just what that really means.
For myself, I am convinced that this nation, like many others in the world, needs to read more, needs to be seen reading, and needs to talk about reading. The difference is, however, that the level of affluence and educational opportunities available in the UAE set the stage for a genuinely humanistic society to evolve as an example for the rest of the world to follow.



Christopher K Brown is Associate Professor of English at Zayed University