Understanding Arabs A Contemporary Guide to Arab Society

by Nydell, Margaret K.

• ISBN13: 9780983955801
• ISBN10: 0983955808
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-16
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey

Summary

The Definitive Guide to Understanding Arab Culture Now Completely Updated with Expert Arab Spring Coverage and Insight

Author Biography

Dr. Margaret Nydell is a widely respected scholar and professor of Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic dialectology, and many Arabic regional dialects. She was an Arabic linguist for the Foreign Service Institute and the U.S. Department of State, and has directed the latter's School of Advanced Arabic Training in Tunisia. The author of ten books, she currently lectures on Arab cultural orientation for numerous government and private organizations. Dr. Nydell holds a master's degree in Arabic and a PhD in applied linguistics, both from Georgetown University. She has lived and worked in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Cairo.

Table of Contents

A Message from the Author	p. xi
The Arab Spring	p. xii
Terrorism	p. xiv
Looking to the Future	p. xx
Map of the Arab World	p. xxii
Preface	p. xxiii
Introduction: Patterns of Change	p. xxix
Modernization	p. xxix
The Arab Human Development Reports	p. xxxiv
The Effects of Change	p. xxxiv
The Muslim View	p. xxxvi
Islamic Education	p. xxxvii
Facing the Future	p. xxxviii
Beliefs and Values	p. 1
Basic Arab Values and Attitudes	p. 3
Basic Arab Self-Perceptions	p. 4
Friends and Strangers	p. 5
The Concept of Friendship	p. 5
Reciprocal Favors	p. 5
Introductions	p. 7
Visiting Patterns	p. 8
Business Friendships	p. 10
Office Relations	p. 11
Criticism	p. 12
Intermediaries	p. 13
Private and Public Manners	p. 14
Emotion and Logic	p. 17
Objectivity and Subjectivity	p. 17
Fatalism	p. 18
What Is Reality?	p. 18
The Human Dimension	p. 20
Persuasion	p. 21
Getting Personal	p. 23
Personal Questions	p. 23
Sensitive Subjects	p. 24
Social Distance	p. 25
Gestures	p. 27
Names	p. 28
Men and Women	p. 33
Social Interaction	p. 33
Displaying Intimacy	p. 35
The Status of Women	p. 35
Women's Right to Vote	p. 38
Women in Government Positions	p. 39
Women's Power in the Family	p. 39
The Headscarf and the Veil	p. 40
Polygamy	p. 43
Traditional Gender Roles	p. 44
Western Women	p. 45
Looking Toward the Future	p. 46
Social Formalities and Etiquette	p. 47
Hospitality	p. 47
Time and Appointments	p. 49
Discussing Business	p. 50
Sharing Meals	p. 51
Smoking	p. 54
Rules of Etiquette	p. 55
The Social Structure	p. 59
Social Classes	p. 59
Image and Upper-Class Behavior	p. 60
Dealing with Service People	p. 61
The Role of the Family	p. 63
Family Loyalty and Obligations	p. 63
Relations Among Family Members	p. 65
Marriage	p. 67
Divorce	p. 68
Child-Rearing Practices	p. 69
Talking About Your Family	p. 70
Religion and Society	p. 73
Religious Affiliation	p. 73
Religious Practices	p. 73
The Religion of Islam	p. 75
Sunni and Shia	p. 79
The Sharia, Islamic Law	p. 79
The Qur'an and the Bible	p. 81
Passages from the Qur'an	p. 84
Communicating with Arabs	p. 87
Varieties of Arabic	p. 88
The Superiority of Arabic	p. 89
The Prestige of Classical Arabic	p. 90
Eloquence of Speech	p. 91
Speech Mannerisms	p. 93
Pleasant and Indirect Responses	p. 94
The Power of Words	p. 94
Euphemisms	p. 95
The Written Word	p. 96
Proverbs	p. 97
Islamic Fundamentalism (Islamism)	p. 99
Definitions and Numbers	p. 99
Jihad	p. 104
Islamists and Muslim Society	p. 105
Mainstream Muslims	p. 108
Anti-Americanism	p. 111
Reasons for Arab Anger	p. 113
Arab/Muslim and Some Western Views	p. 113
Some American Views	p. 116
They Hate Our Freedom, Values, Way of Life	p. 116
They Hate Our Success	p. 117
They Don't Know Enough About Us	p. 117
Anti-Americanism Is an Excuse	p. 119
We Share a Long History of Hatred	p. 119
Arab/Muslim Views on American Culture	p. 121
Views on Western-Style Democracy	p. 122
Islam	p. 124
Anti-Islam Comments	p. 124
Defense-of-Islam Comments	p. 125
Arabs and Muslims in the West	p. 127
Arabs in the United States	p. 127
Muslims in the United States and Canada	p. 128
Muslims in Europe	p. 130
The Image of Arabs and Muslims	p. 134
In America	p. 134
In Europe	p. 138
The Future of Islam in the West	p. 142
The Arab Countries, Similarities and Differences: The Arab Countries in Africa	p. 145
The Maghrib	p. 148
Morocco	p. 149
Algeria	p. 152
Tunisia	p. 154
Libya	p. 157
The Nile Valley	p. 160
Egypt	p. 160
Sudan	p. 164
The Arab Countries in the Center	p. 169
The Levant	p. 169
Lebanon	p. 170
Syria	p. 173
Palestinian Territories	p. 176
Jordan	p. 181
Iraq	p. 184
The Arab Countries in the Arabian Peninsula	p. 189
Saudi Arabia	p. 190
Yemen	p. 194
The Arabian Gulf States (Persian Gulf)	p. 198
Kuwait	p. 199
Bahrain	p. 201
Qatar	p. 203
The United Arab Emirates (UAE)	p. 205
Oman	p. 207
Conclusion	p. 211
Appendix: The Arabic Language	p. 213
Colloquial Arabic Dialects	p. 213
Attitudes Toward Dialects	p. 215
The Structure of Arabic	p. 216
Transcription	p. 217
Arabic Writing	p. 218
Calligraphy As an Art Form	p. 220
Social Greetings	p. 220
Notes	p. 223
Bibliography	p. 247
Index	p. 265
About the Author	p. 277
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