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Comparative Cultural Patterns 09-Jandt 5e-(V-5).qxd 7/13/2006 1:35 PM Page 211 CHAPTER 9 Comparative Cultural Patterns Arab Culture What You Can Learn From This Chapter What defines Arab culture The major beliefs of the Islamic faith How Arab and U.S. cultural values compare The difficulties in intercultural communication between Arab and Western cultures ny two cultures could be compared as a way of learning more about both. A Knowledge of other cultures is critical. You remember that cultural aware- ness is identified as a critical intercultural communication skill. In this chapter, the same categories used to describe dominant U.S. cultural values are used to learn more about Arab culture—a culture often misunderstood in the United States. This chapter is devoted to how religion and language define Arab culture and then extends that with an examination of the conservative Arab state Saudi Arabia and the more tolerant state Oman. The chapter concludes by identifying some of the communication barriers among the Arab states and the United States. As you study this chapter, make comparisons to the previous chapter on dominant U.S. cultural values. What intercultural communication problems could arise between individuals from these diverse cultures? 211 09-Jandt 5e-(V-5).qxd 7/13/2006 1:35 PM Page 212 212 CHAPTER 9 THE ARAB STATES There is much diversity in the Arab world today, composed of 22 countries with a total population of 280 million. The population per country ranges from 600,000 in Qatar in 2001 to 65 million in Egypt in 2001. Iran is not considered an Arab country because its language is Persian (Farsi). Life expectancy in Arab countries ranges from 45 years in Djibouti to 76 in Kuwait. Annual per capita gross domestic product (GDP) ranges from $278 in Comoros to more than $19,000 in Qatar. Literacy rates range from 27% in Somalia to 89% in Jordan (see Table 9.1). The Arab world’s history spans more than 5,000 years. Yet from the time of Napoleon, who invaded Egypt in 1798, until the end of World War I, European countries conquered close to 90% of the Arab world by military force. After World War I, the European colonial powers began a slow retreat. FOCUS ON THEORY Christianity’s New Testament makes no claims for religious orthodoxy, but in the 4th century, once it had been embraced by Emperor Constantine, its leaders began to demand it, con- verting some by the sword and burning alleged heretics at the stake. Achieving religious free- dom without abandoning religious belief was the difficult challenge. The struggle for religious freedom paved the way for discussions of freedom of speech and the press. Zagorin (2003) argues that a nation’s progress depends on the creation and maintenance of human freedom, which in turn depends on religious freedom. Freedom in the modern sense of the term was introduced into the Arab culture through contact with Europe—particularly France. The scholar Ahmed bin Khalid al-Nasseri wrote that “the notion of freedom invented by the ferenja (for- eigners or French) is, undoubtedly, the work of heretics. It requires disregard of the rights of God, the rights of parents and even the rights of humanity” (Arab Human Development Report 2004, 2004, p. 54). On the other hand, the liberal Ahmed Lutfi al-Sayyid wrote, “Our freedom is our very being and our being is our freedom” (Arab Human Development Report 2004, 2004, p. 55). Lewis (2002) recognizes the argument that Islam was once the pioneer of free- dom, science, and economic development yet also raises the same point that in modern times, it is the separation of church and state and the creation of societies governed by secular laws that has fostered freedom of thought and expression, which have made progress possible. THE ISLAMIC FAITH Traditionally, Arabs have had three political and cultural trends: nationalism, pan-Arabism, and Islam. After the 1970 death of Egypt’s pan-Arab leader, 09-Jandt 5e-(V-5).qxd 7/13/2006 1:35 PM Page 213 Comparative Cultural Patterns 213 Table 9.1 Overview of 22 Arab Countries Population Life Expectancy Adult Literacy GDP Per Country (millions) (years) (%) Capita ($) Algeria 30.4 68.9 66.6 1,566 Bahrain .07 72.9 87.1 9,714 Comoros .69 58.8 59.2 278 Dijbouti .66 45.5 63.4 802 Egypt 64.5 66.3 54.6 1,380 Iraq 23.0 58.7 54.6a 574 Jordan 6.5 69.7 89.2 1,154 Kuwait 2.1 75.9 81.9 14,076 Lebanon 3.3 72.6 85.6 5,030 Libya 6.2 70.0 79.1 4,501 Mauritania 2.4 50.5 41.6 402 Morocco 28.3 66.6 48.0 1,283 Oman 2.3 70.5 70.3 6,200 Palestinea Qatar .60 68.9 80.8 19,669 Saudi Arabia 19.9 70.9 76.1 7,005 Somalia 7.2 46.9 27.0b 600 Sudan 28.4 55.0 56.9 346 Syria 16.1 70.5 73.6 1,006 Tunisia 9.5 69.5 69.9 2,189 United Arab 2.9 74.6 75.1 17,965 Emirates Yemen 17.7 59.4 45.2 384 SOURCE: Population and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita: ArabDataNet, http://www .arabdatanet.com (1999 data); life expectancy and adult literacy: United Nations Development Programme, Arab Human Development Report, 2001. a. No data available. b. 1995 data. Gamal Abdel Nasser, secular Arab nationalism has not regained the influence it had. Later, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein appealed to secular Arab nationalism. And in some countries such as Egypt and Lebanon, many people identify them- selves as Egyptians or Lebanese. But in much of the Arab world, people identify themselves as Arab or Muslim. The Arab culture transcends time and space, particularly through its lan- guage and its Islamic faith, the second largest in the world after Christianity, 09-Jandt 5e-(V-5).qxd 7/13/2006 1:35 PM Page 214 214 CHAPTER 9 with some 1.2 billion followers, or about 20% of the world’s population. Arabs, the ethnic group that originally spread Islam, are now a minority in the religion. The Muslim religion extends far beyond the Arab world from Africa to Europe to Asia, including the republics of the former Soviet Union, which had experienced suppression of religion and language since the time of the Russian czars. Today, some 75 countries have large Muslim populations. Just as the Muslim religion includes more than Arabs, not all Arabs are Muslim. The Arab world, however, is connected by a shared culture that developed in the Islamic faith. Of course there is diversity within Islam, but it can be said that Islam is a “multidimensional system of beliefs that embraces the spiritual and the material, the divine and the earthly, the heavenly soul and mortal worldly deeds” (Arab Human Development Report 2003, 2003, p. 118). People who practice this religion are called Muslims (literally “submitters” to the will of God). Islam is a nonhierarchical religion; there is no priesthood. No one institution or individual speaks for Muslims. Rather than churches, there are places to pray. BOX 9.1 Muslims in the United States The number of Muslims in the United States is a matter of dispute. Estimates range from 1.6 to 6 million. The first Muslims in the Americas were enslaved Africans brought over in the 17th century. African-Americans account for the majority of all converts to Islam in the United States. Among African-Americans, the Nation of Islam grew most rapidly in the 1960s. Most of its mosques underwent reforms after 1975 to join conventional Islam. Today, the Nation of Islam represents a small frac- tion of Muslims in the United States. Today, Islam is one of the fastest growing reli- gions in the United States. Islam’s presence is being felt in the United States: Casio markets a watch that sounds an electronic call to prayer, some banks have set up “Islamic accounts” in response to the Muslim prohibition against paying or receiv- ing interest, and Warith Deen was the first Muslim to open the U.S. Senate with a prayer. SOURCE: J. I. Smith (2000) and Dannin (2002). Muhammad, the Prophet The prophet Muhammad (born circa 570, died 632) founded the religion in the early 7th century in Arabia. Orphaned at an early age, Muhammad ibn 09-Jandt 5e-(V-5).qxd 7/13/2006 1:35 PM Page 215 Comparative Cultural Patterns 215 Abdullah was a businessman when, in 610, it is said he received his first revelations through the angel Gabriel. These continued for another 20 years to form the Koran, the holy book of Islam. The Koran The Koran (often spelled Quran) was revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad in Arabic and is considered to contain the literal words of Allah, or God. The Koran contains stories, admonitions, verse and prophetic seg- ments, and social, political, and economic laws. The Koran embraces all areas of human affairs, from the most personal to international relations. Not only is it unique in its completeness, but it also deals with human transactions in such a way as to make God’s presence felt in every human transaction. There is no separation of church and state as in the United States. The Koran is a spir- itual guide, a system of law, a code of ethics, and a way of life. Islam is the only world religion that offers rules by which to govern a state as well as a set of spiritual beliefs.
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