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IGNORANCE is the real enemy of both the Arab world and the West according to US author Mary Coons who has written a book aimed at dispelling some age-old preconceptions.
Mary, from Minnesota, first came to Bahrain in December 2005 to visit her husband Bob Miller, an engineer who is working here. From that first trip she was immediately in awe of the island's Arab culture and religion and before long she was making firm friends among the Bahraini people.
Then she heard from her young nephew Ryan Purol back home in the States. Co-incidentally, Ryan's room-mate at college had been a Bahraini lad called Mohammad and for three years the pair were close pals until the young Arab was killed in a car crash in California.
Ryan was profoundly affected by the loss of his dear friend and began a journal expressing his feelings and his memories of Mohammad.
When he heard that Mary was in Bahrain, he asked her to track down the young man's family and give them the journal.
With a little help from her new friends, the writer was able to reach the family and eventually she got together with around 15 of Mohammad's relatives who all made her feel very welcome.
At that meeting she encountered Mohammad's two sisters Fatima and Naeema and spent several hours talking with them about their experiences as young Bahraini women who had studied overseas and them returned to the kingdom.
Their openness and willingness to talk about their lives was one of the factors which planted the seed for the book Culturally Speaking, in which Mary attempts to explode some of the common misconceptions held by both Bahraini Arabs about Americans and vice versa.
She said: "The more people I spoke to, the more I kept coming across the same views. Although I would say the Arabs seem far better informed about us Americans than we are about them, there is still a great deal of misunderstanding, though in post 9/11 America there is much more interest in the Arab world."
Helped by her good friend Maryam Al Sheroogi, Mary gained access to people in all levels of Bahraini life from the ministries to everyday workers. And as she got to know her subjects better she became more comfortable asking those probing questions both about their lives and their beliefs about the United States.
Her book starts with a list of 11 generalisations expressed by Bahraini Arabs about Americans and vice versa.
They range from the apparent Arab view that 'America has no respect for its women, as evidenced by advertisements, movies, television and pornography' to the American beliefs that 'All Arabs living in oil-producing countries are rich'.
Through a series of interviews with around 25 Bahraini Arabs and 20 mid-Western Americans she examines these ideas and puts forward alternative viewpoints.
She also provides some useful information on Arab history and a brief explanation of the practices and beliefs of Islam.
She said: "This book is about dispelling the preconceptions we have about each other but in order to look at those issues you have to look at where they have come from so it is also necessary to look at Islam and its practice in the wider Arab world and Bahrain."
And paying tribute to another of those who was instrumental in her decision to set about writing Culturally Speaking, Mary added: "Although many people provided me with assistance and encouragement, it was Sheikh Mobarak Alsuwaiket of Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, who first planted this book's seed.
"I remember his chilling words one sweltering hot day in Saudi - that such a book, promoting cross-cultural awareness and tolerance, was too late for Iraq, but it wasn't too late for Saudi Arabia."
She decided not to write about Saudi but that encounter resulted in Culturally Speaking which was officially launched by Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa at a reception in Muharraq and will be featured at a book signing at Jashanmal in Seef Mall on November 14.
Mary said: "I decided to do this book because I believe it is important and has a serious message, to help dispel the ignorance that we have about each other's countries, cultures and religions. I believe we really need to do that in order to move forward together and preserve peace."
And Mary is not finished yet, she is hoping there will be another Bahrain book in the future, perhaps developing on the theme she has already established.
