By: Abdulaziz Almuslem
March 1st 2024

I came across an interview with the acclaimed and highly prized Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid on social media a few days ago, where she stated that her “biggest failure has been in the Arab world” and that Arabs do not “respect you enough.” When the interviewer asked her why she held such a view, Hadid explained that “Arabs like foreigners […] that’s the truth, if I was an American man, they would love me.”

It is important to add that Hadid is not talking about mere nationality by document, but a combination of an ethnically European background plus having the right passport. What she was describing is recognized in Arab society as the “Khawaja” complex, which is the middle eastern tendency to associate individuals with a European background with favorable traits at first glance all while maintaining a cooperative attitude with them.

The “Khawaja” complex might be understood by some as mere favoritism towards European ethnic groups with neutrality towards other groups. Such an assumption, however, is difficult to sustain when it becomes apparent the European favoritism can also be coupled with in-group derogation where the middle easterner would be inclined to associating members of his own group, along with others from the postcolonial world, with negative traits at first glance all the while maintaining a less cooperative attitude with them.

Given the history of European global domination, one can understand what helped produce the in-group derogation and out-group elevation as a phenomenon in the Arab world; the in-group was usually poor, uneducated, and powerless, while the European out-group was usually wealthy, educated, and would be able to help you if they liked you enough (for historical reference, Arab rulers that signed protectorate treaties with the British like the Saudis with the 1915 Treaty of Darin and Kuwait with the 1899 Ango-Kuwaiti agreement for e.g. ultimately fared better than those who did not like Sharif Hussein bin Ali who used to be ruler of Mecca).

However, a quick glimpse at some economic power measure shows that the “subaltern” states are not only catching up with the European world but surpassing them (see following figure of BRICS vs. G7 as a proxy measure).

With the growth and advancement of non-European states, those maintaining the original formulation of in-group derogation and out-group elevation are slowly turning into a relic given the market forces. If the BRICS and their new additions can compete with the G7 in different advanced industries like tech and automotive (see rise of Huawei and cars from Changan to Tata), and business environments (see below figure listing 3 of the original 5 BRICS in the top five rank of Kearney’s Global Services Location Index), maintaining the default preference to one side over the other would be naïve given the opportunity cost.

In the United States, the default preference for the “Western” label is well established in terms of demographics. There, the normalization of in-group bias against the out-group can easily be demonstrated through data relating to education and income. African American households on average maintain around 60% (or three fifths) the income of the White household irrespective of whether they have closed the educational gap between themselves and the White household. So, in States like Vermont and North Dakota where the average Black person is more likely to have a bachelor’s than a White person, the Black household’s income will still be around three fifths the White household’s income (see following figure using MoA data from 2015). The employer’s opportunity cost therefore becomes the retention of less educated employees at a greater cost.

Data Source: Measure of America (MoA) – Link: https://measureofamerica.org/

The dynamic between in-groups and out-groups in the Arab world, however, are more difficult to empirically verify given the scarcity of data. Through a quick online search, however, I found a working paper by Qingxia Tong (2017. P. 9) from Zayed University that shows the median salary for Westerners in the UAE is around 1.5 times greater than the Emirati’s salary. In Kuwait’s case, I found the following table on https://gulfmigration.grc.net/ that shows average monthly income levels in USD at different sectors by national background. I color coded the income to help show the trends (green is greatest, yellow is in second place, and red is last place), and added the average incomes at the bottom of the table.

The order in terms of salary strength suggests the European out-group gets primary preference in terms of compensation, followed by the Arab in-group, and in last place is the postcolonial out-groups. Such a phenomenon suggests the Arab world suffers from the same biases the United States is experiencing in terms of marginalizing non-Western out-groups, but this is coupled with securing prime treatment for the Western category i.e. the “Khawaja” phenomenon. You may hear plenty of stories in this regard: A former faculty member in one of the private universities in one of the gulf states for example once told me that the university made job offers to Americans, and when one PhD accepted the offer and showed up to work the recruiters were surprised and seemingly disappointed that he was an African American instead of a White guy.

We members of the non-Western world, of course, should eliminate this dynamic, not only for the pragmatic (opportunity cost) reasons but for ethical ones as well. Meritocracy should be the watchword. To tie this back to Hadid, no local, Arab, or postcolonial talent should feel disrespected or unwelcome due to the in-group & out-group biases that are the product of a different time. With greater appreciation and utilization of local and postcolonial talent and resources, Arab societies can help enable a (hopefully) smooth power transition from a Western led global order to an Asian led one as per the A. F. K. Organski (1958) logic in World Politics (which is a fantastic book that I highly recommend for those interested in International Relations in general).

The BRICS, with its recent inclusion of countries like Saudi, UAE, Egypt, and Iran, is making steady progress in that regard. Such transition is much needed given the current global leadership’s normalization and acceptance of double standards at our own expense. Genocide against Arab groups like the Palestinians in this case is acceptable for many Western leaders, yet they strongly reject any violence aimed at their own in-group like the Ukrainians or the settler colonists in Palestine.

*Special thanks to H. Albloshi, A. Qabazard, and K. Aboudahham.