The book “Cities of Salt,” written by a Jordanian-born Saudi writer, Abd al-Rahman Munif is one of the ancient literary works, which narrates the transition of human history from one era of civilization to another . The book is a translation from the Arabic by Peter Theroux. It gives a detailed account of the conflicts between the traditions and modernity. The author describes how an unnamed Arab emirate transforms from a traditional nomadic life-style to a modern, oil producing state. The arrival of foreigners with their machines, cars and deserts into the emirate marks the beginning of the confrontations between the traditions of the indigenous Bedouin population and modernity . The fact that the foreigners are non-Muslims adds another dimension to the conflict, which is the religion. The injudicious dress code, slack manners and striking technology brought by the foreigners create terror in the hearts of the native people residing in the desert.
The native Bedouins suspect the foreigners for their immense knowledge in the geography, history, social customs and genealogy of the local tribes. The Bedouins refer the foreigners as devils and often worry about the fluency of the foreigners in the Arabic language. The quote states the attitude of the Bedouins when one of them says “Why don’t they convert to Islam, if they are not devils?” . The story features about how a bunch of generous people allow the Americans to drill oil from the desert and lose their homes and villages in return. The Saudis undergo a painful phase when the machinery of the oil industry intervenes with the tranquil landscape of the desert. The author explains about the unresisting distraction caused by the semi-naked American women unloading from the American ships, which the Arab men could neither accept nor reject . With the arrival of the foreigners, the traditional land of Arabia segregates into a new class system. Prior to the entry of the Americans, the Bedouins owned nothing more than a crust of bread; however, working in the company set up by the Americans earned them money, which brought them a livelihood more than just the bread .
The emir, seduced by the western gadgets, such as the radio and telephone begins to denounce the cultural imperialism of the Americans. The introduction of gadgets into the Arab world allows the emir to connect with the distant centers of power . The Americans employed the local Bedouins to work in the oil drilling process and frequently dismissed them as a strict routine measure when the workers failed to report to work. The inability of the workers to read and write English created problems as to who continued in the job and who did not . Gradually, the Americans taught their English to the workers and educated them so that they can follow the instructions carefully. Over the years of the book, the worsening working conditions and unresponsiveness of the Arabic leaders to address needs of the people lead to unrest among the workers. On one occasion, the strike of the workers results in the repression of the government and death; however, the workers, inspired by a Muslim religious leader believe that it is the obligation of the Muslims to resist subjugation .
Amidst intensifying social upheaval, the religious leader accuses the Americans for being “the source of the illness and the root of the problem” . In spite of the denouncement of America, the fate of the kingdom interlaced with that of U.S. The Americans considered the Bedouins as simple and peaceable people. However, on the occasion of strike, the Americans could not resolve it without any acts of violence. The emir finally realizes the role of the Americans in making the lives of the Arabs miserable. He reinstates the workers in the company and identifies the responsibility for the transformations of the traditions into modernity . The book “Cities of Salt,” discovers that inviting the Americans to explore local oil was the conservative temperament of the Saudis, which never recovered. The desert land forcefully adopted the global capitalist system and believes that the violent transformation into modernity marked the beginning of destruction. Gradual industrialization of the desert led to the transformation of the area into modern buses, paved roads, manufacturing plants and pipelines .
Within no time, the country turns into a society of consumers attracting many kinds of shrewd opportunists. The author explains the way through which the Arabs replaced the old ways with the new. He also mentions about how the people who believe in the traditions live in a displaced way facing tragic consequences. The novel ends with the conflicts between the old traditional ways and the new modern ways without deciding who the winner is. The quotes “God only knows” and “Hope for the best, no one can read the future” express doubt about the future of the desert land. To conclude, the book “Cities of Salt,” explores the differences between the traditional ways of an unnamed Arab emirate before the arrival of the Americans and after their establishments in Arabia, and explains the drastic changes in their lives of the Bedouins.
References
Munif, A. a.-R. (1989). Cities of Salt. Vintage Books.
