The modification of stereotypes is usually as a result of extraordinary happenings or incidents. The recent Egyptian mass uprising made the four stereotypes of the societal norms of the populace of the Middle East into question. The extraordinary happenings in Egypt expose the flawed misconception of Middle Easterners as a sexually dangerous, luxurious, violent people who are not affected by events in time or by the surrounding world.
Hudson (2011a) referred to violence as the first stereotype on Middle Eastern society. Taken in the point of view of the Egyptian uprising, this viewpoint does not hold water as despite the huge numbers of protestors who were on the streets and the respective huge number of police called upon to rein in the protestors, there was hardly a person injured during the protests (Asmaa Mahfouz 2011). Mahfouz (2011) dismisses the sexual dangerousness of Middle Easterners as a myth as there was no reported case of sexual abuse in the course of the protests.
The notion of Middle Eastern affluence and luxurious living is exposed by the Egyptian incidents as a myth as the major cause of the revolt was poverty and the denial of fundamental rights and freedoms. Asmaa Mahfouz in addressing the Egyptian people made a call for unity of the people in standing up for their rights and freedoms, which is atypical of people of affluent merchants and traders (Asmaa Mahfouz 2011).
The final stereotype of the Middle Eastern as a society living in timelessness has also been debunked by the Egyptian revolt. A people living in sloth would hardly come out in their thousands to demand for change in the face of police and military units (Asmaa Mahfouz 2011).
As such the Egyptian events to a great extent put the four main stereotypes against Middle Eastern society into question. The Egyptians demonstrated a high level of dynamism, non violence and a people ready to stand up to demand their freedoms and rights. The Egyptian events help a great deal in putting into perspective the significant role that extraordinary events play in the questioning, modification and debunking of stereotypes.
