ELON- Peaceful civil disobedience has been the trending action in the Middle East according to foreign

affairs correspondent Robin Wright. The current uprisings in this region have caused, epic convulsions
across the Islamic world.
Millions and millions and millions of Muslims today are demonstrating peacefully, taking their lives,
Wright said tonight at Elon Universitys McCrary Theater sponsored by the Liberal Arts Forum. Wright
noted the fascinating feat protesters have accomplished in the Middle East by remaining peaceful in,
the most volatile region in the world.
Robin Wright spoke for an auditorium full of nearly 500 students and community members of Elon.
Through a slide show of photos, Wright presented the attendees with a realistic and personal depiction
of the revolutions and uprisings in the Middle East. She offered stories of her past experiences and
insights regarding the revolutions in the Middle East. Wright gave scholarly predictions on what to
expect from the Islamic world politically and economically in the future.
The majority of the presentation consisted of Robin Wrights seven key trends in historic transition. Each
trend from one to seven plays an equally important role in the radical change taking place in the Middle
East. Wright described each trend in detail including: the Big Chill, the New Martyrdom, culture of
change, Pink Hijab, The 99, counter jihad, and the new Muslim Theater.
Culture of Change seemed to be the most relevant topic to the young crowd in McCrary Theater. Music
and popular culture are an emerging freedom in the Middle East so its natural that, Rap is the rhythm
of resistance. Young rappers like El General from Tunisia write lyrics that challenge government ideals
and pose a definite opposition against all extremist values. Its young activists like El General that are
sparking revolution in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen who in the past year have
ousted their leaders.
Wright accredits the start and prolonged success of the revolution to the number of people in support of
the cause, the literacy of this generation and the fact that the people in the Middle East are becoming
more confident in their voice as a society.
What role does the United States play in all this upheaval in the Middle East? Wright says there are
limitations to what we can do but we are also limiting ourselves. The rest of the world views are actions
hypocritically based on previous situations weve dealt with. Wright questions why we dont have one
over reaching policy on democracy in the Middle East.
Wright concludes her speech with an update on the current situation in each of the countries she
mentioned, especially Egypt and Syria, noting that they still struggle. The big question is what happens
next? Rebuilding, says Wright, which has the potential to be very dangerous. With no concrete
direction to head in, revolutions will eventually stall and search for a plan to move forward.
To bring it down to a personal and relatable level, Wright tells a few stories about friends she has
tragically lost during her career. She realizes stereotypes of Muslim people are hard to break in the
United States with our fresh history of the 9/11 terrorist attack. But Wright also points out that not
every Muslim is an extremist and Americans need to learn to take a harder look and not be so quick to
label.
Ms. Robin Wright made a notable impact on Elon Universitys campus which was evident by stepping
into the lobby of McCrary Theater and hearing the buzzing and stimulating conversation that was
happening between students, professors and members of the community.