Public Relations Education in an Arab/Islamic Context

Abstract

Numerous scholars consider the discipline of public relations a western construct, infused with classic Greek rhetoric and Judeo-Christian tradition. In fact, public relations education in many Arab and Islamic countries continues to be based on Anglo-Saxon concepts and knowledge generated by US-UK scholars. A number of critical scholars have referred to the need of addressing issues pertaining to public relations ethnocentricity, and recommended replacing it with global perspectives in terms of culture and identity. The present public relations education and multinational corporations are change agents aim at re-shaping public relations practices in host countries with a view of creating liberal political governments, securing cheap raw material/labor, and new markets. Public relations ethics in Arab and Islamic countries did not capture adequate scholarly interests. The focus of this paper is to highlight public relations ethics in an Arab/Islamic context. Ethics is of paramount importance at this historical moment because it helps redefine the role of public relations practices at a time when most of the countries in the region are facing insurmountable political, economic, and nation-building problems.



Author Information
Mustafa Taha, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Paper Information
Conference: IICEDubai2017
Stream: Education and post-colonialism

This paper is part of the IICEDubai2017 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon