Understanding Arabic Culture

FBI Critical Incident Response Group, Crisis Negotiation Unit ^

[mikenola]

UNDERSTANDING ARABIC CULTURE

Understanding A Culture

Understanding Arabic Culture

• Arabic culture and the Islamic faith are deeply intertwined.

• Islam is the most dominating, single influence in the Arab world.

The Arab World

• Twenty countries encompass the "Arab world."
• Governments include: Monarchies, military governments and socialist republics.
• All embrace Islam
• Arabs are more similar in their outlook on life than Westerners.

Arabic Beliefs

• Most things in life are controlled by God.
• Children are the "jewels" of the family.
• Wisdom increases with age.
• Inherent roles and responsibilities of men and women are vastly different.

Arabic Beliefs

• They share basic beliefs and values that cross national or social boundaries.
• Personal beliefs are influenced by Islam and are shared by non-Muslims.
• Examples;
• A strong family structure.
• Different roles for male and female children.

Arabic Values

• A person’s dignity, honor and reputation are of paramount importance.
• It is important to behave at all times in a way which will create a good impression.
• Loyalty to one’s family takes precedence over personal needs

Arabic Values

• Social class and family background are the major determining factors of personal status, followed by individual character and achievement.

Religious Beliefs

• Everyone should believe in God and have a religious affiliation.
• Humans cannot control all events.
• Dependent upon God (fate).
• There should be no separation between church and state.
• Religion should be taught in schools and promoted by governments.

Religious Beliefs

• Piety is one of the most admirable characteristics in a person.
• Religious tenets should not be subjected to liberal interpretations.
• Threatens established beliefs.
• Moslems belong to several different sects.
• Islamic law (Sharia) takes precedent over all other law.

Arabic Self Perceptions

• They are generous, humanitarian, polite and loyal.
• They have a rich cultural heritage.
• They have a history of literature, medicine, art, mathematics and sciences.
• They are a cultural group and members of the "Arab Nation".

Arabic Self Perceptions

• The Arab people have been victimized and exploited by the West.
• Western culture weakens traditional family ties and religious values
• Will have a corrupting influence on Arab society.
• Arabs are misunderstood and wrongly characterized by most Westerners.

Arabic Traditions

• Friendship is based on a relationship in which it is the duty of the friend to help to the best of his ability.
• Good manners require that one never openly refuses a request from a friend.
• Requests need not be done.
• It is discourteous to say "No".

Arabic Traditions

• Western culture: Actions speak louder than words
• Arab culture: Words without action have value (avoids conflict and saves face)
• "Yes" is being polite, as required by culture.
• Yes may mean "maybe"
• "As God wills it" may mean "No".
• "Do this for my sake" will incur indebtedness.

Arabic Traditions

• Arabs tend to provide details about their personal lives and connections.
• Honor and dignity flow from the family.

• Provides a look into the associates of the person being spoken to.

• People that are mentioned first may form the foundation for the subject’s life.

Arabic Traditions

• Arabs are a socially-oriented people.
• Expect to receive requests
• Return favors in kind
• People who are relaxed and personable enough to establish relationships are most successful.
• Arabs like to be praised in public.
• SOUND SINCERE!

Arabic Traditions

• Pride is one of the mainstays of the Arab character.
• To establish good rapport, be aware that self-esteem is of foremost importance.

Arabic Thinking

• Subjectivity and emotional outbursts are more common in Arab culture and deemed more acceptable.
• Arabs reserve the right to look at the world in a subjective way.

Arabic Thinking

• Fatalism based on religious beliefs is very common.
• Arabs are more likely to allow subjective perceptions to direct their actions.
• An Arab will rarely admit to an error if it will cause loss of face.
• Honor is more important than facts.

Human Dimensions

• Arabs believe in persons, not in institutions.
• Arabs are usually not as angry as they appear.
• Their emotions connote a deep and sincere concern for the outcome of the decision.
• Never expect a "yes" or "no" answer to a sensitive matter.
• The answer may be somewhere in between.

Human Dimensions

• Good manners constitute an important factor in evaluating a person’s character.
• Patience is critical.
• Arabs have plenty of time.
• Little need to accommodate people in a hurry.

Human Dimensions

• Family loyalty and obligations take precedent over loyalty to friends or the demands of a job.
• Religious affiliation is essential for every person in Arab society:
• There is no place for atheists or agnostics.
• Other religions and their practices are generally treated with respect.

[Redleg Duke]

Roger that. Sorry

[steve-b]

Other religions and their practices are generally treated with respect.

It depends on what the definition of "respect" is.

[Jonathon Spectre]

From Khomeini's book, "Tahrirolvasyleh", fourth volume, Darol Elm, Gom, Iran, 1990 : A man can have sexual pleasure from a child as young as a baby. However he should not penetrate, sodomising the child is OK. If the man penetrates and damages the child then he should be responsible for her subsistence all her life. This girl, however does not count as one of his four permanent wives. The man will not be eligible to marry the girls sister.

There's always a "but".

[Billthedrill]

This is really a very strange document. Arab (the ethnicity), "Arabic" (the language group), and Islamic are three very different things. The author refers to "Arabic peoples" which can only mean that he or she intends a reference to the language group, but that language group subsumes at least the 20 ethnicities referenced and more, and within those "customs" such as those referenced vary widely. Moreover, the Iranian people the linked story references are not Arabic by ethnicity (they're Persians and the remnants of ancient peoples such as the Medes) nor by language group (they speak Farsi). They are, in addition, Shi'ite muslims, not the Sunnis of classical Arabic derivation, whose customs within Islam differ from their Western coreligionists.

Even within the Arabic Sunni Moslem Arabs customs tend to differ depending on whether the individual is a follower of the fundamentalist Wahhabis or the more secular majority. While I'd be the last to defend Islam as a "religion of peace," this sort of stuff is simply too oversimplifying and broad-brush to be useful to really understanding the peoples in question.

[Oztrich Boy]

Iranians are not Arabs.
... Pakistanis are not Arabs.

Yes, but as the author of the article didn't state.

*Arab culture is the most dominating, single influence in the Islamic world.*

[ramdalesh]

I started on this thread this morning. I left from the university on my bicycle and did about 25 miles. I have given this some thought.

There are a lot of books in Arabic. Literally there are millions. Just like in English there are Occult books which call for sodomy, and rape, and human sacrifice. Of course there is the Koran, and then there are the Hadiths of the Prophet Mohamet, and then there are untold hundreds of books written as poetic fiction attributed to the myth of the Prophet.

It is not surprising that we are calling for a Religious Intifada Against Islam. The world has become baren spiritually. For example, Ritual Abuse by catholic priests or Masonic Abuse is based on the very same Islamic idealogical shit that says that its O.K. for a man to have sexual pleasure with children. Whats more is that these religious herecies have been imbedded in the doctrine of the world's religions since their inception.

The Crusades of the 14th century led to the European Rennaisance. In most Islamic countries women are not permitted to read the Koran. Men are forbidden to touch it without going through the proper cermonial ablutions. It is the same scenario of Pre-Martin Luther-Christendom. In that time the Bible was so "sacred" that there was only the Latin, which could only be viewed on the post in the church. When the Americans smuggled Bibles into the Americas they were hunted down by the British. Benjamin Franklin describes how they hid the Bible in his house by nailing it to the underside of a stool. In order to read the book they would turn the whole stool upside down.

In the Arab world, Prophet Mohamet is not just the founder of the religion, but he is also the central figure of most folk tales.

Small persecuted groups in the Arab world are calling for democracy. They who live under the tyranny of the Mullahs, the Ayatollahs, and the Shiek's have very little power. A terrorist attack against the United States is a terrorist attack against any free-thinking democracy movement in the Arab World. It is Osama's and Hussein's way of saying to the Arab people, there is your American Freedom, and poof there your dreams for democracy are like a puff of smoke.

It is good that American press will point to the inhuman punishments that go on there. The Moslem people will not do it. They will not speak about it because it is an infraction called shirk. The Prophet once ordered a man to be stoned to death because he boasted about commiting adultry. To not speak of these things is to follow Arab culture. It is in the line of wearing a Hijab, and washing your hands before you eat. It is also in the way of not disturbing the peace.

There is much more going on in this war then most of us are aware of. If you read my post, then you like to read. Do a Google search and type Islam and Democracy in the window. where's my...

[ramdalesh]

Foundation...Al Queda Redefined

It occured to me today that I am greatful to be an American, because despite all of our terrible ways we continue to expect a higher set of standards out of ourselves, no matter what others say or do to us.

[KneelBeforeZod]

that picture is funny, but its been 'photoshopped' and the caption is bogus (the candy part is)

[MassExodus]

I'm not sure what you mean about "photoshopped".

As far as the caption is concerned, there may be some inacuracies in the translation from $#!t-bag Palestinian to English, is the definition of "candy".

That the woman is doing that shrilly thing with her tongue and dancing is clear.

[Siobhan]

you may have missed this post and I think it is very helpful in understanding Arabic/Muslim culture.

[Siobhan]

The article is helpful in understanding Arab culture. The thread is less helpful. I thought given the current situation, this was good information to have at hand.

BUMP.

[SauronOfMordor]

"Children are the "jewels" of the family." Is that why they turn them into homicide bombers or pass out sweets to the neighbors when they've killed one of their daughters for having sex?

Throughout history, jewels have been used as high-denomination currency, as well as decoration. Looking at it in that sense, children could be considered "high-value assets".

Expending a high-value asset in furtherance of Jihad, can be considered a religious contribution

A daughter who is no longer a virgin has little marketable value as marriage-material, and so may be recycled. If the act of recycling results in an increase in the family's reputation for "piety", then the expenditure is profitable, in their eyes

[SauronOfMordor]

As far as the caption is concerned, there may be some inacuracies in the translation from $#!t-bag Palestinian to English, is the definition of "candy".

Probably the arabic text said "sweets", meaning pastries made with lots of honey (which are popular in Middle-eastern cultures) and it got translated as "candy" (which to Americans means stuff like chocolate and lollipops)

[eleni121]

Who wrote this manual for the FBI- Osama and Khomeini? God help us if the FBI really trains off this rubbish.