Saudi Arabia open house to combat stereotypes

Stereotypes have taken graduate student Loay Alfi nowhere. That’s why he wants to eliminate them, especially those about Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Student Club is hosting an open house from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Bloomington. The event will include a dinner, cultural tour and panel discussion.

Alfi said the event will show the face of the country and its people and culture.

“Stereotypes,” said Alfi, president of the Saudi Student Club. “This is what frustrates us and that’s why we’re doing the cultural event.”

He said what might be considered disrespectful in the United States is sometimes thought of as respectful in Saudi Arabia and vice versa. He added that it is all about cultural differences.

Graduate student and club member Anas Alahmed said he wants the event to show the reality of Saudi culture and how people really live.

During the first hour, there will be a cultural tour of different booths. Two club members who specialize in each area will run each booth. Topics will include Arabian art, calligraphy, education, medicine and technology. 

One booth will display men’s fashion and one will display women’s fashion. Guests can try on the clothing and take pictures between the two fashion booths.

Alahmed urges everyone with an interest in Saudi Arabia to come and judge the country for themselves rather than hear about it from others.

He said each country is different, and one person’s actions don’t represent everyone in that country. He also wants all Saudis to be viewed as individuals.

“It’s a globalization era,” Alfi said. “We have to understand each other.”

He said Americans are lucky because they can learn about different cultures from students who come to study in America. Many other countries don’t have international students to learn from.

Saudi Arabian students are the fifth-largest international group on campus, and the club is helping to start an IU alumni chapter in Saudi Arabia.

The event will also include speeches from Mohammad Aleissa, the Saudi Arabian cultural attache to the United States, and Patrick O’Meara, IU vice president for international affairs.

Also, two Americans who visited the country will share their experiences with guests.

A panel discussion about misconceptions of Saudi culture called  “Saudi Arabian Culture and Traditions between Fact and Fiction” will be led by Mody Al-Khalaf from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington D.C.

Members of the club will perform music from the different regions of Saudi Arabia. Alfi said the country is very large, and each region has a subculture, similar to different states of America.

The event will include a dinner of traditional Arabian foods and a presentation of Saudi Arabian art by Nada Farhat.

Alahmed said he wants the event to continue annually and for both students and community members to attend.

“When I go there,” he said, “I will remember my family and remember my country.”