CULTURES IN CONFLICT:

A HANDBOOK FOR ESL TEACHERS OF ARAB STUDENTS

A creative work submitted to the faculty of

San Francisco State University
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the
d egree
Master of Arts

by

ANNE ADAMS HELMS

San F rancisco, California

 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

I ce rtify that I have read CULTURES IN CONFLICT: A HANDBOOK

FOR ESL TEACHERS OF ARAB STUDENTS b y Anne Adams Helms, and

that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for a pp roving a creative

work submitted in partial fulfillment o f requirements for the Master of

Arts d egree at San Francisco State University.

David W. Ames
P rofessor of A nthropology

Patricia A . Porter
Assistant P rofessor o f English
 CULTURES IN CONFLICT:
A HANDBOOK FOR ESL TEACHERS OF ARAB STUDENTS

Anne Adams Helms

San Francisco State University
1984

American teachers of English as a foreign language sometimes find

the behavior and attitudes of Arab students p uzzling, and in tu rn ,

Arab students are occasionally offen d e d or bewildered b y American

customs. This handbook explores in detail differen ces between the

two cultures in values, acceptable behavior and expectations, with the

hope that understanding of these d ifferen ces will lead to more s u c c e s s ­

ful te a ch er-stu d en t relationships while maintaining the ethnic identity

and individual integrity of both parties.

The information was gathered through library resea rch into the

history and culture of the Middle East, the phenomenon of culture

shock, values analysis, and a review of American customs and eti­

quette, and through extensive interviews with Arab students and ESL

te a ch e rs .
 PUBLICATION RIGHTS

I h ereb y re se rv e all rights o f publication, including the

right to rep rod u ce this thesis in any form, for a period
o f five years from the date o f submission.

Signed: (jjjjjjl Date: m«n ______

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAP: THE ARAB WORLD vii

I. INTRODUCTION 1

A. Purpose of the Study 1

B. Definitions 3

1. Arab 3

2. Culture and Culture Shock 5

3. Acculturation 8

C. Methodology and Problems 9

1. Interviews with Students 10

2. Questionnaires and Interviews with Teachers 12

3. Library Sources 13

D. Results 14

II. STEREOTYPES OF ARABS INWESTERN MEDIA 16

III. ARAB HISTORY ANDCULTURE: IMPLICATIONS 20

FOR TEACHERS

A. History and Culture 20

B. Islam and Islamic Ethics 21

1. Pillars of the Faith 23

2. Islamic Morality 26

3. Islamic Sects 29

C. Male/Female Relationships 30

1. Women's Honor 31

v
 2. Women's Rights 33

3. Consequences in the Classroom 36

D. Education in the Arab World 38

1. Teaching Methods and Curriculum 39

2. Contrasts between American and Arab 41

Schools

3. Educational Values 42

4. Arab Students in the American Classroom 43

E. Arabic Language and Communication Styles 45

1. Influence of Language on P sych ology 46

2. Speech Styles 48

3. Linguistic Problems 52

F. The Concept of Time 53

G. Attitude towards Work 56

H. Social Relationships 57

1. Family 57

2. Friends 57

3. Hospitality 59

I. Miscellaneous Arab Customs 61

IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 63

BIBLIOGRAPHY 68

APPENDIX A: Questionnaire Responses 75

APPENDIX B: Suggested Readings 86

1. Arab History and Culture 86

2. Teaching English to A rabs 92

3. Guides for Foreign Students 93

vi
the ARAB W O R L D

Vll
 I. INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Study

During the school year 1982-83, ov er 32,500 students from Middle

Eastern countries were stud ying in U .S . institutions of higher learning

(IIE 1983). Almost all o f these young people found it n ecessa ry to take

classes in English as a second language (ESL) , and through these

cou rses they also learned much about American custom s, beliefs and

cultu re. The basics of vocabulary and grammar are essential, of c o u r se ,

but b ey on d that the students need to develop what Dell Hymes calls

"sociolinguistic com petence": how to use the language a ppropriately,

when to speak, who to speak to and how to address that p e rso n , what to

talk about, and which codes to use in various settings (Hymes 1964:

269-293). There are other functions of ESL classes, including

" . . . s u r r o u n d i n g them (the students) with social warmth at a time when

many are b e r e ft — and p rovidin g discipline in study" (Pincus 1977:61).

It must be extraordinarily difficult to be plunged into a new en vi­

ronment where people often behave in inscrutable ways and where hardly

anyone speaks you r language. Add to that the need to learn a totally

different alphabet and numerical sym bols, and it is easy to understand

how students can feel overwhelmed. They may feel strip p ed of personal

status and identity b y their inability to communicate facts about them­

selves in this new g rou p . In defense they may ally themselves with a

s u b -g r o u p of other A rabic-sp eak in g students and avoid opportunities to

1
 2

speak English. Loneliness and frustration may be manifested in rep resse d

or ex p re sse d a g g ression , and teachers for their part may also have some

frustration and anger to deal with. It is easy to fo rg e t that behind ev e ry

national or ethnic group are just individuals with their own traditions,

p rejudices and b eliefs. With both students and teachers con v in ced of

the co rr e ctn e ss of their own a ttitu d es, an enormous opportun ity for mis­

understanding e x ists. Teachers may sometimes find the behavior and

attitudes of Arab students in particular p uzzling, and in tu rn , the

students are sometimes o ffen d ed or bewildered b y American customs.

The p u rp ose of this study is to explore in detail some d ifferences

between the two cultures in values, acceptable behavior and ex p ecta ­

tions, with the hope that understanding these d ifferen ces will lead to

more su ccessfu l tea ch er-stu d en t relationships while maintaining the

ethnic identity and individual in tegrity o f both p arties. In d is co v e r­

ing points of potential m isunderstanding, we may also d iscov e r some

universals in human culture that bind us together.

Getting to know Middle Easterners as people— sharing

in their thoughts and feelin gs, their beliefs and
aspirations— should help us to develop a sense of
empathy, a feeling of id entity, with human beings
ev ery w h ere . In the e n d , we should know more about
ou rs e lv e s —indeed, we should have an expanded
definition of who we are—because we will know more
about the common humanity that all people share.
Self-know ledge is the ultimate justification o f s t u d y ­
ing about others (Clark 1975:ix).

Some of the material in this paper may already be familiar to ESL

tea ch ers, and if so , please be patient. It is hoped that b y showing the

b a ck g rou n d and rationale for various attitudes, b ehaviors that seem

p erplexin g to Americans can be un derstood in the con text of Arab

 3

culture.

Since the majority of Arab students in the United States are males, I

have decided to use the masculine pronoun instead of "he or she" and

"his or h e r , " unless the use is ob viou sly illogical.

Definitions

Arab

Webster's Dictionary of the American Language d e scrib e s an Arab as

(1) a native or inhabitant of Arabia; or (2) any of a Semitic people native

to Arabia but now widely scattered throughout surrou n d in g lands; com­

monly, a Bedouin. These are inadequate definitions fo r several rea son s.

Certainly the people who live a nomadic, d esert-dw elling existen ce in the

Middle East represen t one aspect o f the Arab world (and this lifestyle is

said to affect the character of being an Arab) , but it n eglects the e n o r­

mous urban and farming populations of such countries as E gy p t, Syria,

Lebanon and Iraq.

While most Arabs are Muslims, there are also Christian and Z oro-

astrian A ra b s. Perhaps o n e -six th o f the world's population is Islamic,

including large parts of Indonesia and the Indian subcon tin en t, so the

fact of being a Muslim does not define being an A rab. All A rabs aren't

Muslims and all Muslims aren't A ra b s.

An Arab can be b rou g h t up in a non -A ra b culture ( e . g . , French

culture in North A fr ic a ), and still b e an A rab.

He may live in a n on -A ra b co u n try like the United States but still

maintain his Arab identity.

He may not cherish the memory o f the Arab Empire because he is a

 4

Communist, yet he may still have a belief in one Arab nation and will

consider himself an A rab.

He may be the descendant of a Semitic tribe or of African slaves or

of Bulgarian immigrants, and still be an Arab (Patai: 12-15).

Perhaps the b est definition of an Arab is "Anyone who speaks

A rabic as his own language and consequently feels as an Arab" (Jabra

1971:174). A rabic-sp eak in g Jews, Copts and Druze are not Arabs

because they don't think o f themselves as A ra b s. Being an Arab in­

volves a shared way of liv in g , acting, thinking and feeling; shared

family patterns and social relationships, traditions, art, h is to r y , and

symbolic system s. Within each geographical area in the Arab World are

many s u b -g r o u p s with their own traditions and d ifferent dialects, yet

it is safe to say that there are motives, traits, beliefs and values shared

b y most A ra b s, w herever they live. It is the contrast of those beliefs

and values with the ones shared b y most Americans that is the subject

o f this stu d y .

Muslims from Iran and T urkey share many of the attitudes and

religious beliefs of the Islamic A ra b s, but their languages are different

and they do not consider themselves A rabs (and will not appreciate

being grouped together in one c a t e g o r y ). There seems to be quite a

bit of bad feeling between Iranians and Saudi Arabians, and they do

not wish to be mistaken for one another. Incidentally, Muslims in Iran

read the Koran in A ra bic, a Hamito-Semitic language, b u t their own

language is Farsi, an Indo-European language whose general structu re

is similar to that of the European languages. The script for Farsi is

based on Arabic but includes some symbols not found in Arabic (John-
 5

stone 1970:114-123).

Turkish comes from another language family en tirely, and the T urks

have used Roman script as in English since 1928. Most T u rks share the

Islamic faith although the coun try was secularized under Ataturk sixty

years ago. This paper will not be dealing with either T urks or Iranians.

The Arab Middle East includes M orocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt

in North A frica , the northern tw o-th ird s o f the Sudan, A rabia, Ira q,

Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, and the Persian Gulf States (known

to Arabs as the Arabian G u l f ) . It should be noted that many Arabs do

not consider themselves so much citizens of a particular state but rather

people of one nation, and the division of the Arab motherland into s e p ­

arate countries is often seen as a temporary situation created b y Western

colon izers. In this ideal view, all A rabs are b roth ers and children of

one nation. The concept o f Arab unity is ex p r e sse d in the con stitu ­

tions o f Syria, Ira q, Kuwait, Yemen, E gy p t, Libya, Tunisia and A lgeria,

and the reality of constant b ick erin g and fratricidal wars does not seem

to tarnish that ideal (Patai 1976:204-209).

Incidentally, the term " A y -r a b " is d erog atory and should n ev er be

u sed , even when joking.

Culture and Culture Shock

"Culture" is often viewed as the best of the literary or artistic

tradition of a c o u n tr y , but in this paper the word re fe rs to

. . . t h e cumulative deposit of kn ow ledge, ex p e r ie n ce ,

meanings, b elie fs, values, attitudes, religion s, co n ­
cepts of self, the u n iv erse , and s e lf-u n iv e rse rela­
tionships, hierarchies of statu s, role ex pectations,
spacial relations, and time concepts acquired b y a
 6

large group of people in the course of generations

through individual and group striving (Porter 1972:3).

Because of the p erv asiv e influence of culture in forming our entire

ex p e r ie n ce , both of ourselves and of the world, most of us have no

other effectiv e way of p erceiv in g other cultures ex cep t in terms of our

own values. Thus we tend to assume that our values and culture are

the only co rr e ct and valid ones and are benchmarks b y which all other

cultures are to be ju d g ed . Even people who sincerely t r y to weed out

ethnocentric ideas in their own minds cannot always s u c ce e d . We must

constantly remind ourselves that people from other countries aren't

defective Americans; they are individuals who live accord in g to what

is "right" to them, and there is much we can learn about ourselves

and the rest of the world from them.

When a student is suddenly exposed to an alien so cie ty , he often

ex perien ces a disturbing feeling of disorientation and helplessness

that is called "culture s h o c k ."

In general, the more "exotic" the alien society and the

deeper one's immersion in its social life, the greater
the shock. The outstanding features of culture shock
include inability to make any sense out of the behavior
of others or to p redict what they may say or do.
One's customary categories of experience are no longer
usefu l, and habitual actions elicit seemingly bizarre
re sp o n se s . A frien dly gesture may be treated as a
threat, whereas a serious and sensible question p r o ­
vokes laughter or uncomprehending silence (B ock
1 9 7 0 :ix -x ).

The loss of all familiar signs and symbols results in anxiety. The

student doesn't know when to act in a certain way, how and when to

speak to certain people, what to say in each situation, and whether to

take statements seriously. Most students gradually make an adjustment

 7

to the new so cie ty , but some reject it and leave, and others r e g re ss and

see their home culture as irrationally glorified while they find nothing

good to say about America. Some o f the symptoms of a serious case of

culture shock are ex cessive fear of dirt and germs, fits of anger over

delays and minor frustrations, e x ce ssiv e fear of being ch ea ted , ro b b ed

or in ju red , hypoch on d ria , and a terrible longing to go home.

Most new arrivals go through a series of steps b e fo r e they adjust

to the new environment. At first they are fascinated with the new

g rou p . This may last a few days or six months, but then is often

replaced b y hostility towards the host cou n try based on genuine p r o b ­

lems with language, transportation, sh op p in g , and other daily hu rdles.

Natives are seen as unsympathetic and unhelpful. A fter awhile r e s ig ­

nation takes the place of paranoia and the foreign student is able to

make jokes with Americans and feels more at ease (O b erg 1954 passim) .

American teachers of Arab students may find themselves e x p e r i­

encing their own type of culture sh o c k , even though they are the ones

in control o f the situation and embedded in their own social system.

They are bewildered when innocent questions cause offe n se or when

serious statements are treated lightly and when jokes are m isunder­

stood . They may feel uncomfortable with students who stand too close

or gaze too intently. They will certainly experience frustration when

lon g -sta n d in g teaching techniques are in effectiv e or m isinterpreted. If

teachers can learn more about the history and customs of Arab countries

and the different values held, and how those customs and values make

sense in the Arabs' world p ictu re , then the teachers may find them­

selves both more aware (and perhaps more critical) o f the American
 8

emphasis on p racticality, utility, impersonality, and competition, and

more sympathetic to Arab values of leisu re, family, loyalty, etc. C on­

frontation with another society is the b est way to gain p e rsp e ctiv e on

one's own cu ltu re. Both teachers and students can learn that customs

that seem strange to them have meaning to those who practice them, and

that other p ercep tion s of reality are just as valid to those who live

according to them as our own are to us.

It is interesting to note that students who have spent several years

in the United States often experience "re v e rs e culture shock" when

they return to their own coun tries, and they may go through a period

of disequilibrium and discomfort b efore readjusting to their former

hom es.

Acculturation

Acculturation is "the p ro ce ss of learning about, accepting and

identifying with the people, customs and elements of ordinary life in a

new culture" (Rathmell 1970:2). Not all Arab students will go so far as

identifying with American cu ltu re, and some may never accept many

aspects of it, but certainly all students will be exposed to it and will

learn a great deal about it through their classes and interactions with

Americans. The acculturative p ro ce ss often includes long-term modi­

fication of attitudes and beh a vior, and those modifications include not

only the addition of new material but also the elimination of certain

p revious elements and the modification and reorganization of others

(Linton 1963:501). ESL teachers may be able to guide their students

towards adopting the positive elements of American culture and rejecting

 9

the negative. For instance, foreign students will sometimes emulate

their American peers and ca rry certain behaviors to extrem es. A young

man may in terpret movies or his frien ds' anecdotes too literally and may

assume that all Americans have sexual in tercou rse on their first date,

or he may pick up obscene language in the locker room and use it in­

appropriately in another situation. Some formerly devou t Muslims may

adopt American college students' patterns of d rin k in g , d ru g u se, and

sexual behavior while they are in this co u n tr y , yet their fundamental

attitudes about these things may remain unchanged and they may su ffe r

anxiety and guilt o v e r these con flicts.

Some students experience an extreme sense of ambivalence: they

are anti-West politically but pro-W est culturally. They want to acquire

Western culture and technical knowledge but eliminate Western influence

in other parts of their lives. T hey love their own co u n try but may hate

its b ackw ardness. They admire the Bedouin ethos of co u r a g e , hospital­

ity and hon or, but they don't want contact with it. They admire classi­

cal Arabic but feel it is inadequate for modern communication. They

see the importance of increased p rodu ction but refu se to do physical

labor themselves. They may become so familiar with American culture

that they cease to feel at home in their own co u n try (Patai 1976:188-201).

Methodology and Problems

Information in this paper has been gathered from three categories

o f sou rces: extensive personal interviews with 19 students from various

Arab coun tries; interview s, questionnaires and informal conversations

with teachers and friends of Arab stud ents; and numerous library
 10

sources.

Interviews with Students

Nineteen students were interview ed. The breakdown b y coun try

and sex is as follows:

Saudi Arabia: 7 males, 3 females

Lebanon: 2 males, 1 female

Jordan: 1 male

Dubai: 1 male

Syria: 1 male, 1 female

Iraq: 1 male, 1 female

Most interviews were arranged b y teachers who mentioned my study

to certain students who then agreed to meet with me. Some of these

students then in troduced me to their frien d s. I also put a classified

advertisement in the San Francisco State University student news­

paper and received a few resp on ses from that. The students were

th erefore se lf-sele cted volunteers for the p ro je ct, and for the most part

were articulate and valuable subjects who were eager to talk to an Amer­

ican.

At first I attempted to use a standard questionnaire that I had

d eveloped , but it soon became apparent that that made the co n v e rs a ­

tions stilted and u n p ro d u ctiv e . A lso, I learned that a greeting ritual is

important to Arabs and that my attempts to get right to the meat of the

problem was mildly offen siv e to them. I then allowed time for an ex te n ­

sive exchange of pleasantries and small talk b e fo re b rin g in g up the

subject of the stu d y . I explained that I was attempting to find out

 11

what sort of problems they had had in adjusting to a new environment so

that I could write a handbook for ESL teachers with the hope that teach­

ers might then have a b etter understanding of the stu d en ts. I asked

permission to take a few notes during our conversation . The students

d escrib ed certain situations that they had found trou b lin g , and if they

didn't volunteer information on how a similar situation would have been

handled in their native c o u n tr y , I asked. Sometimes it was n ecessa ry

to say, "If a teacher or student did that in y ou r co u n tr y , what would

people think?" If it seemed appropriate, I would try to explain why

Americans acted in a certain way, but I often found that I didn't have

an explanation; that was just the way Americans did th in g s.

The interviews lasted from one-half hour to several h o u rs , and in

some cases we met many times over a period o f four y e a r s . The in ter­

views attempted to identify regularities and variations in resp o n se s to

different social co n te x ts, and the results of each interview created new

questions for the n e x t. I was amazed at the trust and openness of

some of the female students in describ in g personal e x p e r ie n ce s .

The interviews revealed that there are enormous d ifferen ces b e ­

tween the various countries o f the Middle East reg a rd in g their d egree of

modernization, wealth, and exposu re to Western in flu en ces. A dded to

these are class d ifferen ces within each co u n tr y , rural v e rs u s urban

environments, and individual d ifferen ces in personality and educational

b a ck g ro u n d . T h e re fo re , none of the comments in this paper will hold

true for all Arab students at all times.

Some of the problems encountered doing the research w ere:

1. Finding subjects with both the time and inclination to be

 12

interview ed.

2. Establishing ra p p ort. Later it o ccu rre d to me that some

n ew ly -a rriv e d male students were uncomfortable with the interview set­

ting: a small room with a closed d o or. Despite the d iffe ren ce in our

ages, this might have been in terp reted as an inappropriate interaction.

3. Timing of interview s. I tried to find n e w ly -a rriv ed students

whose ex perien ces would be fresh in their minds.

4. Language limitations.

5 Mutual avoidance of Middle East politics. Only one of the

su b je cts , a young woman from Lebanon, was outspoken politically. I

now re g re t avoiding the subject with other students since it would have

been interesting to know their views and involvement.

6. Equivocal answ ers. Sometimes I felt I was being told what

the students thought I wanted to hear. Other times I felt they were

try in g to be polite and avoiding criticism of the host c o u n tr y .

7. Loss of some subjects who return ed home or moved on to

other sch ools.

Questionnaires and Interviews with Teachers

A questionnaire was distributed to ESL teachers at San Francisco

State University in February 1984. The protocol and the most helpful

resp on ses appear in A ppendix A . It became apparent to me that while

teachers for the most part enjoyed having Arab students in their class­

rooms, many students had adjustment problems that the teachers didn't

recog n ize . Perhaps the information in this study will help.

 13

Library Sources

The B ibliography at the end of this paper lists the sources actually

used . For more detailed information, an annotated list of su g g este d

readings appears in A ppendix B . The categories included are (1) Arab

cu ltu re, (2) teaching English to Arab stud ents, and (3) guides for

foreign stu d en ts.

Results

The same themes o ccu rre d in almost all o f the interview s with

students: the d isco v ery that American women with their make-up and

friendly manners were not all p ro stitu tes, the difficulty of maintaining

one's religious p ractices in a secular situation, the shallowness of many

frien dsh ips with Americans, and the shock of being ex p o s e d to un h ea rd-

of freedom of action. Many students ex p re sse d their anxiety ov e r filling

out applications, using public transportation, eating American fo od ,

finding hou sing, e t c . , but none had heard o f the various publications

put out b y the Asia Foundation, the Institute of International Education

and other organizations. The Saudi Arabian Educational Mission created

a film for p ro sp e ctiv e students but didn't succeed in finding an audi­

en ce. Perhaps the lack of preparation on the part of students b e fore

they come to this coun try is an expression of fatalism and trust that

everyth in g will work out according to God's plan. (A discussion of the

ramifications of this attitude appears la te r.)

The following comments are generalizations but indicate some of the

d ifferen ces between students from various Arab cou n tries.

Lebanese students are the most Westernized and cosmopolitan. Most

 14

already speak English when they arrive since they have attended bilin­

gual schools often run by American ch u rch g ro u p s. These students are

used to Western d r e s s , c o - e d sch ools, and active political participation

of stud ents, and their adjustment to American college life is not too

d ifficu lt.

The Palestinian and Jordanian students seem to o ccu p y a middle

ground between the Lebanese and the most conservative Saudis. Their

secon da ry schools are not c o - e d , but their clothing is Western and they

have been ex p osed to many Western ideas. However, accord in g to an

informant from Jordan, a Jordanese man would not walk down a village

street with an unrelated young woman, even in broad daylight. Both

of them might well b e killed b y outraged villagers who would view such

an act as a d isgra ce to the woman's family and th erefore to the entire

village. (A discussion of male/female relationships in Arab countries

appears later in this p a p e r .)

Interviews with students from Syria and Iraq reflect experiences

similar to those o f the Palestinians and Jordanians. No first-h a n d in­

formation was gathered about students from E gypt or other North A fri­

can coun tries.

The most p rod u ctiv e interviews were with Saudi Arabians. My best

informant was a young married woman from the resort area in the moun­

tains of Western Saudi Arabia. Her ex perien ces as the sheltered yet

w ell-educated daughter of a con servative and wealthy merchant revealed

a great deal about Arab life and values. A pparently the single young

men from Saudi Arabia who belong either to the royal family or who are

sons of v e ry wealthy men in Jeddah or Riyadh have v e ry d ifferent life

 15

e x p e r ie n ce s , yet their basic values are similar to those of this young

woman.

In general, the information generated b y these interview s s erv e d

the p u rp ose of identifying those areas o f experien ce that were problem ­

atical to students. The library sou rces then p rov id e d the b a ck g rou n d

to understand the cultural meaning of d ifferent values and b eh a v iors.

Much assistance was receiv ed from Miss Leila Kellow, the Syrian

D irector of the World Language Institute at the University of San Fran­

cis c o , and from Miss Rita Wong of the American Language Institute at

San Francisco State U niversity. I am also grateful to D r. David Ames

o f the A nthrop ology Department of San Francisco State and to Dr.

Patricia Porter o f the English Department for their su p p ort and helpful

criticism.
 II. STEREOTYPES OF AR A B S IN WESTERN MEDIA

Popular stereotypes of Arabs have a long h is to r y . Most nineteenth

cen tu ry writers who traveled to the Middle East commented mainly on

the p o v e r ty and disease they encountered to the exclusion of other,

more positive a spects. They saw Islam as a false religion that kept the

Arabs " s a v a g e s ." They used such descriptions as " fie r y tem p ers,"

"wild and r e s t le s s ," "law less," e t c . , and these images have important

political implications today. The Turkish massacres of Armenians in

1895-96, 1909, and then again in 1915 increased the antipathy towards

all Muslims in general. This lumping of Turks and A rabs together sto p ­

ped when T . S . Lawrence romanticized the Arab Revolt against the T urks

and promoted an image of Arabs as undisciplined yet p rou d and brave

fig h te rs. This new romantic image culminated in the popular 1920's

n ov el, The S h eik , which was turned into a movie starring Rudolph

Valentino as an intense, attractive, virile desert man with a sinister

cruel streak. Songs like "The Sheik of A raby" and "T h e Desert Song"

p resented the desert and its inhabitants as romantic but d an gerous,

and this is one of the stereoty pes that p ersists today.

The debates in C ongress during the 1920's and 1930's regarding

the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine characterized the Arabs

as b a ckw ard, poor and ignorant, and Palestine itself as a desolate land

ravaged b y centuries of Turkish misrule. V ery little was known about

Arab culture or literature, or about recen t history in Arab countries

and the causes of rising nationalism. Americans looked at Arab lands

16
 17

in terms of British and French colonial interests until the d iscov e ry of

oil, and then they began to see the area in more global terms and with

referen ce to American national interests (Lydon 1 969:3-14). The stereo­

types o f Arabs as ignorant and backward nomads or outrageously wealthy

oil sheiks prevail and hide the reality of a group of people important

to our understanding of the world as it really is. Most Americans are

woefully uninformed about the Arab world and accept stereoty pes and

racist jokes that they would n ever tolerate about other g ro u p s. Popular

culture in s o n g s , jok es, television, ca rtoon s, comics and movies has

rein forced these ste re oty p e s.

Jokes tend to show more racism than wit, as is shown in the collec­

tion o f ethnic jokes about A rabs stored at the Folklore Department of

the University of California at B erkeley. In these jokes A rabs are

d escrib ed as stupid, cow ardly, filthy and rep u lsiv e, to a d egree not

shared b y any other scapegoat group (Michilak 1984:5).

Television is particularly insidious in presenting A rabs as t e r r o r ­

is ts , Oriental d e sp o ts, wealthy p layboys and white slavers. Dr. Jack

Shaheen, a mass communications scholar, re p o rted that anti-Arab

images appeared on a prime time television program nearly e v ery other

week during a media study con d u cted from 1975 to 1980. " V e g a s ,"

"Fantasy Isla n d ," "Bionic Woman," "The Six Million Dollar Man,"

"PoliceW om an," "M cCloud," "Hawaii F iv e - O ," "C a n n on ," "Colum bo,"

"Wonder Woman" and "T ra p p er John, M .D ." are just some of the p r o ­

grams that presented negative stereoty pes of A ra bs. "Charlie's Angels"

and "The R ockford Files" each had multiple anti-Arab program s. Even

programs for children p resent negative images of A ra bs: "Sesame

 18

Street" used an Arab figure to illustrate the word "d a n g er" (Michalak

1984:5).

Political cartoons are perhaps the most vicious in their portrayal

of A rabs as h o o k -n o s e d , fat, b ea rded and sn a g g le-too th ed villains.

Such cartoons are as obnoxious and potentially dan gerous as the ones

that appeared in German newspapers in the 1930's depicting fat Jewish

bankers with a stranglehold on European b u sin e ss. One of the most

appalling recen t cartoons showed a fat Arab run through with a skewer

and called "Sheik Kabob" (Meyer in the San Francisco C hronicle, March

14, 1982).

Recent movies tend to present all Arabs as terrorists or evil

financiers. In Rollover (1981) Arab money causes the dollar to collapse

and the world's financial system is d e stro y e d . Wrong is Right (1982)

involves an Arab king who tries to blackmail the American president

into resign ing b y threatening to blow up New Y ork and Israel with atom

bom bs. Other movies with negative stereoty pes of A rabs are T re n c h -

coat (1983) and Raiders of the Lost A r k . The Black Stallion has a

nasty Arab who mistreats the horse (Shaheen 1983:24-25).

Even the United States Government promotes negative stereotypes

of A ra bs. How many Americans know that there were not real Arabs

involved in "Abscam?" One can imagine the outrage if that sting op era ­

tion had used a fictional Israeli financier and had been d u b bed

" Jewscam! "

James E. A kin s, a former U .S . Ambassador to Saudi A rabia, attri­

b u tes the generally negative image of the Arabs held b y a broad section

of the American public to two rea son s. The first is what he d escrib es as
 19

the v e r y extensive anti-Arab campaign cond ucted b y the American p r e s s ,

radio and television since the mid-1940's, which plays on the basic mis­

understanding of what Palestine and Israel are. That misunderstanding

is combined with a p rofou n d ly bad conscience on the part of most Amer­

icans as to what happened to the Jews in Europe during the Second

World War. Many Americans realize that their co u n try could have op en ­

ed doors to Jewish immigration during the 1930's and stop ped the Holo­

caust, but did not. T h u s, any criticism o f Israel is interp reted as

anti-Semitism, and Americans do not want to be accused o f that. The

second reason is the lack of information about Arabs and the Arab

world in the United States. The A rabs have failed to explain their

case to the American p ublic. For instance, the Arab states are blamed

for the escalation of oil p r ic e s , but Americans don't realize that the

leaders o f the price increases of this non-renewable re so u rce were the

non -A ra b members of OPEC. (A tk in s : Interview in Arab P erspectives

1 (4 ):2 2 -2 6 , 1980.)

Recently several Arab-Am erican organizations such as the

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) , the National

Association of Arab-Am ericans (NAA) , and the Association of A ra b -

American University Graduates (AAUG) have been actively involved in

challenging negative stereotypes and propaganda in the media. As the

American public becomes more informed of the Arab p ercep tion of world

ev en ts, we can hope that negative images like the ones d e scrib ed above

will become rare aberrations rather than the norm.

 III. ARAB HISTORY AND CULTURE —
IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS

History and Culture

The written history of the Middle East goes back more than 5000

years to the Sumerians in the Tigris-E uphrates Valley in what is now

called Ira q. Europe was still in the midst of the Dark A ges when

Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570 A .D . Barbarians had d estroy ed

the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire was on the point of col­

lapse. The message of Islam spread rapidly across North Africa to

Spain and across the Middle East to India. The Golden Age of the Arab

Empire (750-1258 A . D . ) was a time when the Arabs were known th ro u g h ­

out the world for their culture and military achievements. Much of our

knowledge o f astronomy, medicine, mathematics and philosophy either

comes from the A rabs or was saved b y them in translations from the

Greek into A rabic. This peak of Arab civilization was followed b y polit­

ical decline and what is generally accepted as a period of stagnation.

Only recen tly has there been a reawakening o f Arab p ride and hope for

unity. A growing awareness of the superiority o f Western tech n olo g y ,

as well as W estern-introduced information about Arab h is to r y , has

s p u rre d the search for modernization and p r o g r e s s , as well as for

information about past glories. At the same time, there is a great sense

of hatred for many aspects of Westernization: the loss of spirituality

and increase in materialism, the loose sexual morality and weakening of

the family, the downgrading of Arab h is to r y , and, of co u r s e , the effe cts

20
 21

European colonialism and what is interp reted as political betrayal. Young

students from the Middle East are in a bit of a b in d : they have been

sent here to b rin g back to their countries the technology and business

systems o f the West, and at the same time there is the suspicion that

these same values and knowledge will d e stroy what is important in their

own heritage. Some feel that the West has selfish motives for dealing

with A rabs (we want their oil) , or that we want to weaken them b y tu rn ­

ing them away from traditional values. Others suspect that American

scholars are encouraging A rabs to concentrate on their spiritual h eri­

tage in o rd er to keep them in a state of intellectual torp o r (Patai

1976:296-301). Western tech n ology is resen ted yet d esired . Perhaps

some of the ambivalent feelings are due to the awareness that Arabs

con tribu ted to the cultural development of the West and that they had

long historical contacts with the West and at one time had military su p e­

rio r ity . Now they are in a less advantageous position, and it hurts

their pride and sense of self-w orth .

Islam and Islamic Ethics

An awareness of some of the basic tenets of Islam is fundamental to

understanding the A ra b s , since it affects their cu ltu re, h is tory , poli­

tics and attitudes.

A ccord in g to Muslims, Mohammed was a proph et like Moses and

Jesus, but the messages of those two great men were misunderstood and

th erefore Judaism and Christianity are somewhat in e r r o r . Mohammed

was the final prophet who cleared up the remaining m isunderstandings.

Even though there were holy wars in resistance to the Christian

 22

cru sa ders (whose motives were not entirely r e l i g i o u s !) , Muslims consider

Christians and Jews to be "People of the Book" and within the same

religious tradition, so they are amazed to d iscov er that Christian Ameri­

cans think o f them as "U n b e liev ers." Many beliefs in Islam are remark­

ably similar to those propou nded b y Christian fundamentalists.

(In addition to the monotheism preached b y Mohammed, there are

folk beliefs in charms, vow s, the evil e y e , and the like. These should

be un derstood as comparable to such common American pra ctices as

"knocking on wood" or blessing someone who sn eezes, d ifferin g only in

the d egree to which a traditional cu ltu re— as op posed to a secular cu l­

ture such as o u r s — stays near the folk origins of such beliefs or p r a c ­

tices .)

We need to be aware that for Muslims, religion permeates life. It

is not a one-m orn in g-a-w eek observa tion . Islam is not just a religion;

it is also a civilization and an orientation to the world. All aspects of

individual and social life are ex p ression s of Islam or the working out of

its implications. Some of its stron gest aspects are traditionalism and

conservatism which may o b stru ct attempts to change.

A cco rd in g to Western b elief, Islam was spread b y mass conversion

at sw ordpoint. It is true that there was a militant, a g g re ssiv e element

in Islam, and that all military adventures involve massacres of subject

people to various ex te n ts, but the survival o f a wide variety of C h ris­

tian sects and Jewish communities in predominantly Muslim lands d is­

p rov es the idea that all who re fu s e d to con v ert were slain in a fanatic

"holy w a r." During the early spread o f Islam, subject peoples had three

choices: accept Islam, su rren d er and pay trib u te, or die. Christians
 23

and Jews, as believers in pre-Islamic monotheistic relig ion s, were allow­

ed to follow their own religions if they accepted Muslim ov e rlord sh ip .

Since Islam is not a complicated theology to learn (there are no concepts

like the Trinity or tra n su b sta n tia tion ), and since co n v erts were not

required to make drastic changes in their lifestyles, it is probable that

many people chose co n v ersion . Islam, like C hristianity, has actively

sought new members, in contrast to Judaism which discou rages c o n v e r ­

sion .

Pillars of the Faith

There are five "Pillars of the Faith" in Islam which are the five

primary duties req u ired of a Muslim. These are d escrib ed because of

the possible e ffe cts on the behavior o f Arab students.

The first is a confession of faith in God. "I witness that there is

no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his p r o p h e t." The name of Allah

appears in conversation and literature with great fr e q u e n c y . Speeches

and letters b y Muslims will start out, "In the name of God, Most Gra­

ciou s, Most M erciful." Arab conversation is sprinkled with the phrase

"In sh a 'alla h ," which means "If God wills i t ." Since God is the primary

cause and all-pow erful, a Muslim d oesn't make any plans without adding

the restriction "If it pleases G od ." From an American point o f view,

this resignation to the will o f God may look like an unwillingness to

exert extra e ffo rt and a generally passive attitude towards life, but on

the other hand it is not so d ifferent than Calvinist predestination or

Jesus's p r a y e r , "T h y will be d o n e ." It is not that Muslims don't take

responsibility for their actions so much as an awareness that no matter

 24

how hard one tries, if God doesn't want something to happen, it w on't.

This attitude may make it easier to accept disappointments and r e v e rs e s

in life.

The second Pillar of Faith is ritual p ra y e r . Muslims are supposed to

pray five times a day at specific times and using specific w ord s, p h y s i­

cal positions and artifacts, such as a p ra yer ru g and, for women, a

completely enveloping veil. In Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, the

work day is interrupted two or three times for ablutions and twenty to

thirty minutes of group p ra yer plus a sermon on F ridays. Obviously

there are difficulties in maintaining these ob serv a n ces in an American

u n ive rsity . Some schools have found a room that students can use to

get together and p r a y . Most students simple postpone the midday

p ra yer and double up in the late afternoon. A devout Muslim may auto­

matically wake up about 4 A.M. , wash and p ray b e fo re returning to b e d ,

then pray again b efore school, twice at 5 P .M ., and once more b efore

retirin g. Interviews seem to confirm that some students drift away from

praying at all, and they may su ffe r guilt pangs for this as well as for

their use of alcohol and d r u g s . Some become so enculturated as to

forg et their religious obligations while they are in this co u n try but

become devout again when they return home. One interviewee su g g e ste d

that some people are more con cern ed about the appearance of piety than

the actual p ra ctice , and since no one is watching them h e re , they don't

w orry about it.

All this praying may sound like a great deal, but a similar program

exists in most Catholic boarding schools in this co u n tr y .

One can see that these ritual practices and infusion of regular
 25

p ra yer into the entire life of a society would keep people aware o f reli­

gion as a part of daily life. One can also imagine the difficulties of t r y ­

ing to set up a W estern-style production line in Saudi A rabia, with

sta rt-u p and shut-dow n penalties eating into the p rofits while the Mus­

lims go to p ra y .

The third Pillar of the Faith is fasting. During the month of

Ramadan (which recently has been in the summer), no fo o d , water or

tobacco is to be taken between sunrise and sunset. Exceptions are made

for illness or tra velin g, but the pious Muslim is ex p ected to make up the

missed days later. A person is also ex pected to abstain from sexual

in te rco u rse, ly in g , evil talk and false oaths. The heart must be p r o ­

tected from all uncleanness while the b od y is d eprived of all n ou rish ­

ment. The intent is to make rich men appreciate the su ffe rin g of the

hungry. It is hard to imagine the amount of self-d iscip lin e this fasting

must re q u ir e , particularly in a desert climate at the hottest time of the

year! Shops stay open but restaurants are closed during the day

during Ramaden. Many people feast after sunset and stay up late, the

b etter to sleep during the heat o f the day.

A ccord in g to a Saudi informant, a yo u n g ster of 11 or 12 is ex pected

to fast, and the social p ressu re s to conform are enormous. I was told

that if someone in Saudi Arabia refu sed to fast or p r a y , the government

would punish him. Rebellious young men would be considered the r e ­

sponsibility of their fath ers, and if they were ir r e v e r e n t , it would

shame the entire family.

Teachers have o b se rv e d that during the fast some students may

become irritable, lethargic, or simply absent, although students claim

 26

that fasting makes your b o d y feel good and rests y ou r stomach.

The fourth Pillar is tithing, or almsgiving. It is a duty to give

regularly to the needy and to the religious foundations that finance

sch ools, hospitals and pilgrimages.

The fifth Pillar is the pilgrimage to Mecca and to other holy cities.

This is not obligatory but is highly recommended, and all Muslims hope

to make the journey at least once in their lifetime. Those who do get

an honorific title, Haji. Americans are often not aware that after Mecca

and Medina in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem is the third most important holy

city to Muslims, and that is why they don't want to give up their claim

to part of it.

Up to five million Muslims go to Mecca ev ery year during the holy

month of Ramadan. They speak many different languages but have a

sense of unity and b rotherhood b ecause of the shared religion . Class

d ifferen ces are eliminated because everyon e wears the same white

sheet-like garment. The pilgrimage places the believer in an atmos­

phere of universal Islamic broth erh ood and equality, and draws him

away temporarily from national and regional con cern s.

Islamic Morality

The Five Pillars of the Faith don't deal with e v ery d a y ethical issu es.

Rules for behavior are found in the Koran, the Sunnah (sa yin gs of the

P ro p h e t), the Hadith (the collection of Muslim tra d itio n s), and in the

Shari'ah, or sacred law. Some of these rules are:

1. Divorce is legal, but w ron g.

 27

2. There should be no picture o f any living b e in g , especially Allah

or man. (That is why Islamic art has developed such intricate geometric

patterns rather than representational scen es. H owever, this rule is

often d is r e g a r d e d .)

3. Be kind towards k infolk, orp hans, the p o o r , w a y fa re rs, fellow

w ork ers, and slaves.

4. No m onkery, b y which is meant a celibate c le r g y .

5. No u s u r y . (Businessmen have gotten around this restriction

b y organizing insurance companies and savings banks like join t-stock

companies, and they pay up to 50% interest le g a lly .)

6. Circumcision of b o y s (not necessarily in in fa n c y ).

7. No p o r k , no alcohol, no gambling, no homosexual in terco u rse.

8. Be chaste, excep t for lawful in tercourse with wives and c o n ­

cubines .

In general, Islam is not humanistic. It is not interested in d evelop ­

ing men's potentialities but rather in guiding them to heaven, and many

of the ways to get to heaven are p assive. There are five categories of

Islamic morality: obligatory acts (like the Five Pillars o f the Faith),

app roved or commended a cts, neutral a cts, d isapproved a cts, and

prohibited acts.

The heavy emphasis on avoiding d isapproved and forb id den acts

(taboos) is typical o f traditional societies but does not mean that doing

good is not also emphasized and ritualized. All Muslims know they

will eventually go to Paradise, but those who have sinned will su ffe r

some punishment first. This punishment gives a good reason for not

sinning, and final redemption b rin g s the relief of mercy to the guilty.
 28

Islam doesn't set up an ideal impossible to attain in this world.

Unlike some other religion s, preparation for the next world doesn't

exclude the notion o f happiness in this one in the shape of material

welfare, and one doesn't have to be superhuman to be rig h teou s. Islam

doesn't try to su p p ress natural tendencies but to moderate and r e g u ­

late them. For example, charity is a v irtu e , but no one has to seek

p o v e r ty to gain salvation. S elf-restraint is recommended in dealing

with someone who has w ronged y o u , but it is acceptable to retaliate in

just measure. It is better to f o r g iv e , but not re q u ir e d . There is no

monastic renunciation and self-abnegation in Islam, and celibacy is not

adm ired.

Some standards o f right and wrong differ from Western ones.

B rib ery is acceptable (but theft is not) . A ccord in g to informants from

several cou n tries, one always b rib es the examiner when getting a

d riv e r's license, even though one's score might be p e r fe c t . (Teachers

should warn students that this is not done in A m erica.) One b rib es a

policeman to stay out of trouble after a car accident, and if a person is

thrown in jail, money and connections are almost the only way out. In

the busin ess w orld, receivin g money for serv ices to be ren d e re d is seen

as a form of commission and not corruption (Muna 1980:76-77).

The Koran stresses chastity, guarding trusts and cov en a n ts,

honest testimony, no cheating, kindness and gratitude towards p aren ts,

kindness to oth ers, w orship, p e r s e v e r e n c e , m odesty, fo r g iv e n e s s , and

patience. These goals do not seem to be v e ry differen t from those

valued in American society .

 29

Islamic Sects

Western tradition looks on Islam as a monolithic s tru c tu re , but actu­

ally there are many sects within Islam, with major clu sters in various

coun tries. Sunni Muslims are the major sect in the Arabian Peninsula.

They are the followers of the original caliphs (s u c c e s s o r s of Mohammed).

As different schools of Koranic interpretation d eveloped , new sects

appeared. The most important of these are the Shi'as who claim that

Ali, the son -in -la w of Mohammed, should have been the first caliph and

that only his direct male descendants were rightful heirs to the cali­

phate. They believe in a sacred mother (Fatima) of a sacred son

(Husayn) who was m artyred, which is a familiar theme to Christians.

Today Shi'as are the majority in Iran and numerous in the Fertile C re s­

cen t. Sufis are another, more recent sect that promotes spirituality and

ascetisim. The Druze are descendants of Muslim A rabs who in the

eleventh cen tu ry seceded from the main b o d y of Islam. T hey live mostly

in the mountains of Southern Lebanon and are known for having secret

rituals and a reputation for fie rcen ess. They do not con sider them­

selves Arabs (Patai 1976:44). Other sects are Ismailis, who have a

revolutionary character and are found in Syria, Afghanistan and Paki­

stan; Zaidis (in Yem en); Assassins (u sers of h a sh ish ); Alawites o f

Syria; Sanusis in Libya; and Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia. It is not the

p u rp ose of this stu d y to describ e the d iffe ren ce s between different

s e cts , so suffice it to say that most of these sectarian divisions are

based on disputes about who the rig h tfu l Iman (religious authority)

was at any given time, and whether that person was divine. Some sects

have become secu la r, political movements as well as religious forces

 30

(Gulick 1976:164-171).

Male/Female Relationships

An important theme in understanding Arab behavior is the relation­

ship between men and women. Certainly to Westerners this is the most

talked-about and misunderstood aspect o f Arab cultu re. Fanon, in A

Dying Colonialism (1967), su g g e sts that the idea of the "o p p re ss e d Arab

woman" has been exploited to increase the gulf between "civilized

Westerners" and "backward A r a b s ." Arab males are a ccused of being

heartless tyrants who lock up their wives and d a u gh ters, as opposed

to Westerners who see themselves as chivalrous champions o f female

rig h ts. One might ask why Western women should be used as the stan­

dard. Long b efo re Western women considered themselves as a g ro u p ,

let alone a group d eprived of their rig h ts , the Islamic woman had begun

her emancipation. While the Christian ch u rch was still debating the

existence of a woman's soul, women in the Islamic world knew they had

one. Fourteen hundred years ago Islamic women had the right to run

their own bu sin esses and to be educated and to keep their financial

autonomy after marriage. The position of Arab women rose and fell

many times during the history of the Middle East. Now, the Arab woman

knows "that she must go at her own p a ce, on her own terms and within

the finite reality of her own culture in its particular historic moment"

(al-Hegelan 1980:7).

A recen t event has rein forced the Western view of male/female rela­

tionships in the Arab world. In 1980 a British film called "Death of a

Princess" dramatized the execution o f a Saudi Arabian p rin ce ss and her

 31

lover fo r committing adultery. The event had actually taken place in

1977, when the Princess Misha'il, b o re d with her elderly hu sb an d, had a

flamboyant romance with Khalid Muhalhal, the nephew o f the Saudi en v oy

to Lebanon. The couple tried to elope, were ca u g h t, and were tried and

sentenced in a court of law according to Islamic justice. When the tele­

vision special was b roadcast a few years later, the ruling family of

Saudi Arabia was outraged that a personal, shameful family tra g ed y and

infraction of religious law was publicized that way. This ancient law o f

the tribe places the purity of the woman at the heart of the family, and

for a married woman, especially one of royal b lo o d , to shame her family

in front of the world was too much to b e a r. Private family things

should not be made p u b lic. Not only had the family been d isg ra ced b y

the original tra n sg ression , but then a British filmmaker re e x p o se d

that dishonor with a fictionalized dramatic account and b ro u g h t addi­

tional shame to the House of Sa'ud (Lacey 1982:458-459).

Women's Honor

In reality, the strict seclusion o f women in a male-dominated society

is not universally practiced in Arab coun tries. Even in countries like

Saudi Arabia where women are seg reg a ted and veiled , they are not

helpless slaves. They have important roles within the extended family,

and these families have such large political, social, economic and cu l­

tural functions that being subordinated in them does not have the same

meaning it would have in Western industrialized societies. As in most

cu ltu res, the work of maintaining community social relations falls on

women, and they are mainly the ones who give help to others in time
 32

of n eed , who store family genealogies and community h istorie s, and who

keep labor migrants (to T u r k e y , Kawait, e t c . ) attached to the home­

land. If Arab women were truly the seclu d e d , p a ssiv e, domesticated

bein gs p resented in Western literature, it would be hard to explain

their su c ce ssfu l participation in national liberation stru g g le s ( e . g . , in

Algeria and Palestine) (Sayigh 1981:268-274).

It is true that women in Arab countries are much more p rotected

and restricted than women in the United States. There are large d if­

feren ces in acceptable behavior in differen t su b cu ltu res. The coe d u ­

cational schools and Western d ress o f Lebanon are in sharp contrast to

the isolation and veiling found in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States.

In Saudi Arabia a woman doesn't go out of the house or even into the

p resen ce of her male cousins without a chaperone and a veil. Behind

these restrictions are basic assumptions about honor and shame,

women's enormous sexual appetite and inferior moral sen s e , and the

belief that the attraction between men and women is so intense that it

would be impossible for them to be alone together without succumbing

to temptation (B e rg e r 1962:99-105). Hence women must be p rotected

from any contact with men other than their fa th ers, b r o t h e r s , uncles,

or h u sban ds. A woman's reputation is so fragile that she must c o n ­

stantly be on gu a rd , and if she b rin g s shame to her family, she may

well be killed. A girl who becomes pregnant outside of marriage (an

unlikely e v en t, given the restrictions on her behavior) ruins not only

the reputation o f her family but that o f the entire village. An in terest­

ing aspect is that an adulterous woman d isg ra ces her fath er's line even

more than affronting her h u sban d, in contrast to the Western view.

 33

The honor of the family can be lost through a woman's single illicit act

(or even the suspicion of such an a c t ) , and may take generations to

re s to re . A man's actions independent of a woman's actions may b ring

about loss of honor to the woman's family, even though the woman is

completely innocent o f any w r o n g -d o in g . A Saudi woman informant

d escrib ed her consternation when a male American teacher put his arm

around her and patted her on the shoulder for a job well done. To her

this was an extremely intimate gesture coming from a stra n g e r, and

consequ ently it was v ery threatening to her sense of p ro p r ie ty and her

hu sban d's hon or.

Women's Rights

These restrictions on women are meant to p re s e rv e the family unit,

which is extremely important in the Middle East as a sou rce o f se cu rity ,

help in time o f n ee d , economic su rviva l, and social con tro l. The r e ­

strictions may seem demeaning to Western women, but they have a fu n c ­

tion in Arab so cie ty . In the first place, an Arab woman will n ev er have

to bear the total economic responsibility for herself and her children.

Unlike d iv orce d or widowed women in America, she won't have to eke

out an existence with a low -paying jo b , nor will she have to leave her

children with inadequate childcare. In the Arab w orld, a husband,

fath er, b ro th e r or uncle will always care for a woman relative in need,

and if a wife is mistreated b y her h u sb an d , she does have the choice of

returning to her fath er's home. If she is d iv o rce d , it is possible for

her to remarry (although not v e ry lik e ly ).

Women in most Arab countries have no direct military or political

 34

resp onsibility. They can't v o t e , but in Saudi Arabia men don't vote

either.

An Arab woman doesn't have to take the emotional risks of dating

and possibly being rejected as part of the search for a h u sban d. The

people who care for her will arrange a suitable marriage for her without

involving her in the agreements. Marriage is an arrangement between

families, not individuals, and su rp risin g ly it seems to work v e r y well.

F orced marriages are prohibited b y the Koran, but in actuality most

women feel p re ssu r e from their families to accept the choice made for

them. It is hard for Westerners to believe that these marriages are

h a p p y , but the mutual re sp e ct and caring between most of the couples

I met were o b v io u s , and both parents are v e ry loving towards their

children.

A woman is resp ected for her role as a mother and is p rotected from

danger and insult. A fter the birth of a son , she will be called "Mother

of Khalid" instead of her own name, and this is a title o f honor.

The Koran gives women specific economic rig h ts . They are to r e ­

ceive a portion o f any inheritance at a rate of on e -h a lf of what a male

re ce iv e s . When one takes into account that they are not responsible

for the sup p ort o f their children or the household and that the money

is theirs and theirs alone, the half portion does not seem so unfair. A

woman has the right to b u y and sell p r o p e r t y , to hold a jo b , and to be

involved in trade or commerce without the influence or permission of

hu sb an d, father or male guardian. (This is not necessarily practiced

in the more con servative sta te s .)

 35

Polygamy, which was common b efo re the time of Mohammed, was not

abolished b y him but was limited to no more than four wives and fewer

than that unless a husband could treat all equally. This regulation may

have avoided a major social upheaval which might have followed the total

elimination of polygam y. Wives would have had to be return ed to their

fathers' homes with attendant problems of recov e rin g the dowry and

legitimization of children. (This interpretation is consistent with what

we know of early Islam, which usually didn't demand major changes in

lifestyle on the part of new con v erts or con q u ered p eop le s, and which

is prob ab ly one of the main reasons for its wide a cce p ta n ce .)

Today prob ab ly less than 10% o f marriages in most areas are p o ly ­

gamous, and most of those involve only two wives (Patai 1962:92-94).

D ivorce b y unilateral repudiation is still a right of the husband to

exercise as he pleases without explanation or justification, but it is not

a common p ra ctice . Under certain circum stances a woman can choose

to return to her father's home, but remarriage during the original

hu sban d's life is not possible unless a d ivorce has taken place.

Men and women in the early Islamic state su p p osedly had comple­

mentary rights and status, but as the con q u erors subjected and ab­

sorb ed other cu ltu re s, the position of women was not im proved. "One

could interpret the history of women in Islam as one long struggle on

their part to maintain the rights enunciated b y Mohammed in the face

of a series of traditions hostile to women's rights in the various Medi­

terranean countries conqu ered by the Moslems" (Boulding 1976:386).

T o d a y , in those countries that have the Shari'ah (the b o d y of holy

law) as the basis of their legal system , women have few if any rig h ts.
 36

These countries are Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates,

Yemen Arab R epu blic, and Libya. In those countries with a combination

of the Shari'ah and secular law, political and legal affairs seem to be

g overned b y W estern-type civil laws while family and personal matters

are guided b y the ritual and religious ob se rv a n ce s laid down b y the

Shari'ah. There is great variation and constant change in the way the

laws are interpreted and en forced (Gerner-Adam s 1959:324-353).

Because of the taboos about speaking of one's female relatives, I

was not able to elicit much information from male students about their

attitudes towards women. The general impression was that Arab women

are to be honored and re s p e cte d , and the man's job was to p rotect them.

C onsequences in the Classroom

An Arab does not like to be asked his mother's name, and he will

be upset about filling out that information on a form. If a teacher does

a drill about "What is y our name? What is y our mother's name? How

old is she?" it would be wise to forewarn the students that personal

questions aren't really being asked and that they can make up nonsense

answ ers. The students will run into the same problem when they open

a checkin g account and are asked for their mother's maiden name, so

the reason for this should be explained. (A lso, the co n cep t of "maiden

name" is confu sing to Arabs since women don't assume the husband's

name at m arriage.)

This sense o f p riv a cy about women's names may be carried to

extremes that cause problems for administrators. A Saudi woman wait­

ing for a prescription in a hospital might give a fictitious name so

 37

that when the medicine is re a d y , her real name wouldn't be called out

loud. Imagine the complications if all the women in the waiting room did

the same! Arab women will prob ab ly be v e ry embarrassed if their names

are called out in the hall at school.

One should n ev er comment on the attractiveness of any Arab man's

female relatives. He won't feel that is a compliment but rather will be

offen d ed and a n g ry . Since one's family honor depends on the unsullied

reputation of female relatives, any con ta ct— even a v erbal one from

another woman— may be taken as an insult.

Probably most of the Arab women students in ESL classes are the

wives or sisters of other students. If one considers the problems that

r e -e n t r y American women have returning to school, one could multiply

that b y 100 to get an idea of an Arab woman's problem s. Her first

obligation is always to her husband and children. Few Arab men are

willing to help with housework or co ok in g , although they do accompany

their wives sh op p in g , prob ab ly mostly out of a desire to chaperone and

p rotect them. If a woman has ch ildren , there is no way she would

leave them with stra n g ers, so p reg n a n cy may well b e the end of her

schooling in the United States and prob ab ly fo re v e r.

While education for women is gaining favor in the Middle East, the

main p u rp ose is to make women b etter wives and mothers, not to p r e ­

pare them for ca re ers. (That was the goal fo r many women in American

colleges in the 1950's.) There are ex cep tio n s, of c o u r s e , but for the

most part only the fields of teaching and nursing (always the tradi­

tional roles for women) are open to Arab women.

A you n g wife may experience conflict if she is a b etter student

 38

than her h u sban d. Since male-female competition in the Middle East is

n o n -e x is te n t, she will prob ab ly not want to speak up in class but will

know the answer when called upon. Probably it would be kinder not to

put her in a position that makes her outshine her husband.

So how should a teacher deal with a b r ig h t , eager you n g Arab

woman who is straining at the restrictions placed on her b y her family

and heritage? It would be unkind to encourage rebellion since she

really is dependent on the emotional and economic sup p ort of her h u s­

b and. While a Saudi woman may have a fortune in jewels, she does not

have her own p a s sp o r t, she cannot drive a ca r , she can't go freely from

one city to another, and she can't get an airline ticket without a rela­

tive accompanying h er. She really doesn't have any choices outside of

what her husband and family permit.

Education in the Arab World

The Middle East is the home o f some of the oldest literature cu l­

tu res. When the Arab Islamic Empire was at its peak , the great works

of G reek, Roman, Indian and other known civilizations of that time

were translated into A rabic. Centers for resea rch and translation were

established at B aghdad, and b y the end of the Eighth C entury all main

cities in the Arab Empire had book stores. A l-A zh a r, the first u n iv e r­

sity in the w orld, was established in Cairo in the Tenth Century and

still exists (Massialas and Jarrar 1983:9).

In spite of this rich intellectual heritage, one of the b ig g e st p r o b ­

lems facing Arab countries today is the high rate of illiteracy among

their populations. Yet, considering that a generation ago almost

 39

ev ery on e in the Gulf States was illiterate, the curren t (1983) literacy

rate of 79.1% for Bahrain is in cred ible, and other countries also show an

im pressive increase. Illiteracy in the Arab states in general has d e­

clined from 81.1% in I960 to 73% in 1970. In 1979 Jordan had a 59% lit­

eracy rate, Kuwait had 60%, and Lebanon had 88% (Massialas and Jarrar

1983:7). Education in Jordan, for instance, is compulsory for both

sexes through the ninth grade, and is free at all levels through uni­

v e r s ity . Some interesting statistics are that the U .S . 1979 expenditures

for education were 6.7% of the entire governmental e x p en d itu res, while

Iraq spent 13.5% and Saudi Arabia spent 31.1% (UNESCO Statistical

Y earbook, 1983, Table 4 . 1 ) . While the literacy rate does not yet equal

that of Europe and North America, the importance of education is

realized and the various countries are moving rapidly toward full

lite r a c y .

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

The goals of universities in the Arab World are to improve the

quality of higher education, to train qualified p ersonn el, and to further

the social, cultural and economic development of the society . Many

Middle Eastern colleges are based on the Western model, but there is a

shortage of qualified administrators and teachers. In most cases the

Ministry of Education makes all curriculum decisions. There is no in­

put on curriculum design from tea ch ers, stud ents, administrators or

lay people. There is little d iversity between system s, and there is no

variation in curriculum for urban or rural areas. Emphasis is on Islamic

studies and A ra bic, followed b y mathematics, science and foreign

 40

languages.

Teaching methods are still based on European models, but in Eng­

land and France the methods have ch a n ged , while in the many Arab

countries emulating European methods, they have not. In countries

that gained independence in the 1950's and 1960's (A lgeria, Tunisia and

Morocco) , there has been an attempt to replace foreign teachers in­

structin g in French or Spanish with local teachers instructing in A rabic.

The role of the teacher is that of an absolute ruler in control of moral

and intellectual tru th . Students are constantly try in g to guess what

the teacher wants them to sa y, and the right answer is more important

than explorin g alternatives. The objective is the acquisition of a

selected , closed system of know ledge, and there is no emphasis on

analysis, sy n th esis, application or evaluation.

There is a great emphasis on exams in Arab education. The p r e s ­

sure to pass is enormous and leads to a great deal o f cheating. Students

concentrate on memorization and imitation, not independent research and

creative thinking. This leads to an unquestioning reliance on printed

materials and a resistance to experiment and change (B adr 1978:2,

11- 1 2 ) .

Since an examination is required to move to another stage of e d u ­

cation, letters of recommendation, personal teacher evaluations, state­

ments o f the student's career objectives and similar documents have no

effect on promotion. The exams focus on a wide range of su b je cts , not

just on core subjects in the stud ent's intended program of studies.

The memorization of govern m en t-a pp roved textbooks appears to be the

b est way to pass the national exams (Massialas and Jarrar 1983:99).
 41

Contrasts between American and Arab Schools

There are some differen ces between methods of education in the

United States and in the Middle East which are important for u n d er­

standing the behavior of Arab students.

The Koranic schools of the past depended entirely on rote memori­

zation. Spontaneity, improvisation, or questioning traditional authority

were simply not acceptable, and intellectual curiosity was discouraged

at an early age. Submission to authority was emphasized. These atti­

tud es, if not the same p ra ctice s, are still found in many cu rren t ed u ­

cational systems in the Arab world.

The usual classroom techniqu e, at least in the lower g ra d e s , is for

a teacher to ask a question and the students to re sp on d in a set phrase.

For instance, the following lesson was d escrib ed b y John Laffin (1975:

75-76) who visited classes in a refu g e e camp in Southern Lebanon.

T ea ch er: From what part of England did William Wordsworth come?

Boys: (shouting togeth er) William Wordsworth came from the Lake

District!

T ea ch e r: What did William Wordsworth write about?

Boys: William Wordsworth wrote about nature!

T eacher: Which kind of people did William Wordsworth like most

o f all?

Boys: William Wordsworth liked the common people most of all!

(Laffin, p . 75)

(You get the id e a .) Later Laffin asked if he could talk to the b o y s and

ask some questions. He didn't realize how much embarrassment he

caused b y asking questions the b o y s weren't p repa red to answer. They

 42

were also bewildered because he was su pposed to be the e x p e r t, so why

was he asking them?

This rote memorization is still a part of higher education in many

parts of the Middle East. Students may even be asked to recite page 43,

even if the first word is part of the last sentence on the previou s page.

"Knowledge" often means literally knowing the words of a text and not

necessarily understanding its meaning. Exams can be a literal r e g u r ­

gitation of the tex tb o ok , word for w ord. Since memorization is an im­

portant part of learning a language, perhaps this aspect of Arab ed u ­

cation is more of a help than a hinderance in ESL cla sses, but it will

certainly cause problems in later h is to r y , humanities or political science

courses. These students need to be encou raged to analyze subjects

rather than to unquestioningly memorize fa cts, and to tra n sfer this

information to new situations. Some of them may have gone to a school

in which they followed absolutely strict rules about when to stand u p ,

when to fold their arms, when to start w riting, and how to resp on d to

questions from the teacher. They may flounder for awhile in a relaxed

American school. If you don't give specific assignments and due dates,

they may procrastinate about doing the work.

Educational Values

To summarize, the following attitudes fostered b y Arab educational

methods are in conflict with the goals o f American education:

1. Passive acceptance of ideas is p r e fe r r e d to active criticism.

2. D iscovering knowledge is viewed as beyond the power of

 43

students and is , in any case, none of their busin ess.

3. Recall is the highest form of intellectual achievement, and

collection of unrelated "facts" is the goal of education.

4. The voice o f authority is to be trusted more than independent

judgment.

5. One's own ideas and those of one's classmates are in con seq u en ­

tial.

6. Feelings are irrelevant in education.

7. There is always a single, unambiguous Right Answer to a

question (Badr 1978:10-11).

Arab Students in the American Classroom

In many w ays, Arab students can be a joy to tea ch ers. Male

students in particular are often spontaneous, ex u b era n t, uninhibited

and se lf-a s s u r e d . They are willing to make grammatical mistakes and

don't hold back in conversation , so that greater communication takes

place than with more hesitant and careful students.

Self-assu rance and confidence can mean that the students don't

accept criticism well. They may not admit it when they don't know the

answer. They may tend to dominate the conversation . Since listening

without speaking or contributing orally may be interpreted b y A rabs as

disinterest or ign ora n ce, they may interrupt and ask inappropriate q u e s­

tions in the classroom, or may talk during the lectu re. The " to g e th e r­

ness" of the extended family emphasizes conversation as a valued thing,

and they want to be sure you know they are participating.

A ccord in g to Meinhoff and Meinhoff (1976), Gulf A rabs speak a

 44

language variation which they consider not to have a grammar. Their

colloquial dialect is n ever studied or analyzed in sch ool, but it is the

language that the student would use with family, frie n d s , se rv a n ts, and

other stud ents. Since grammatical distinctions aren't important in that

dialect, the student may think the same thing about spoken English,

and may wonder why the teacher is tryin g to teach him formal language

which he thinks he p robably won't use in ev e ry d a y life.

Arab students are not particularly good at making in ferences and

drawing conclusions from written material, since they have n ever been

asked to do that b e fo r e . They have d ifficulty tra n sferrin g knowledge

from one specific or general experien ce to similar ca ses. T hey expect

teachers to dictate information and then they will reg urgitate it. They

may not read the assigned material because they ex pect the teacher to

go o v e r it in class. Sometimes they don't read the in stru ctio n s, or they

don't both er reading all the way through and try to guess at the answers

(Meinhoff and Meinhoff 1976:passim) .

There are intense social and economic p ressu re s on students to do

well. They may feel compelled to help a friend or relative and not p e r ­

ceive it to be cheating.

Since family loyalties will take p rece d en ce over tru th fu ln ess, a

teacher can't ex pect a student to rep o rt or admit his cou sin 's cheating.

A lie is not considered wrong in itself; it is acceptable if it works and

saves fa ce. T h e r e fo r e , teachers should be especially careful about

challenging a student's v eracity and forcin g him into a co r n e r . If he is

humiliated in front of the cla ss, the blow to his ego may be devastating.

The easy g iv e -a n d -ta k e of American classrooms is a new experience

 45

to Arab stud ents. They are shocked to see an untidy American student

slouching in his seat, perhaps with a bare and dirty foot p ropp ed on

another chair or d esk , while he argues with a teacher whom he calls b y

his first name. This particular scene is doubly shocking to an Arab

b ecause it is considered impolite to p resent the soles of one's feet, with

or without sh o es, to another p erson .

Given the formality of the Middle Eastern classroom and the s e p a r ­

ation of the se x e s , imagine the consternation when an American male

teacher hu gs a former woman student who d rop s in to say hello!

In many Arab cou n tries, a student would not be ex p e cted to knock

on the door o f a teacher's office b e fore enterin g. However, he might

knock on the classroom door b efore entering when arriving late! This

behavior is a cause o f irritation to American tea ch ers, who need to be

aware that part o f the reason might be for the protection of women

who should not be alone with a man behind a locked door (Bagnole

1977:19).

If one takes into account the fact that many students come from

homes where one or both parents may be illiterate, the lack of good

study habits and chronic u n preparedness are more understandable.

Arabic Language and Communication Styles

Arabic is a source of pride for A ra b s , who consider it the most

beautiful, logical and eloquent language there is. Literary Arabic is

based on the Koran, which is thought to be the final authority on

grammatical and idiomatic questions as well as literary sty le. Colloquial

Arabic is different in each coun try and in fa ct, a person from a North
 46

African co u n try may not be able to communicate verbally with a person

from Syria. In spite of these d iffe re n ce s , the shared language creates

and maintains a mythical sense of unity and a connection with the glori­

ous Arab past.

There are no terms for many modern things in classical A ra bic, so

old words are used to denote new meanings which may or may not be

shared b y readers and other w riters.

Influence o f Language on P sy ch ology of the Arabs

A cco rd in g to Shouby (1970:688-703), literate A rabs demonstrate

the e ffect o f the influence of language on their behavior and atti­

tudes b y :

1. General vagueness of thought. The general meaning of an

idea is con sid ered to be enough. Terms are not w e ll-d efin e d , and

there is no sense of u rg en cy about making meanings unequivocal.

Memorized word patterns are used in various arrangem ents, and the

rigid stru ctu re o f the language restricts the freedom of the Arab

thinker.

2. Overemphasis on linguistic signs such as puns and rhymes

at the ex pen se of meaning.

3. Stereotyped emotional r e sp o n se s . The musicality of the lan­

guage creates emotional effects which are contagious. Thus an Arab

may appear ex cite d , angry or affectionate when he is not.

4. O verassertion and ex aggeration. Arab p oe try is full o f minute

descriptions o f detail with numerous repetitions of the same ideas in

d ifferent w ord s. In speaking, a lack of emphasis or exaggeration will

 47

make other Arabs think the speaker means the o p p osite, so overassertion

is the rule.

5. The two levels of lif e - -t h e ideal and the r e a l--a r e mixed up.

A ccord in g to Sh ou b y, most A rabs won't notice the contradiction between

the ideal self and the real self, or what is said and what is intended.

The intention is enough.

Patai, in The Arab Mind (1976), d escrib es the d iffe re n ce in the way

that A rabs in general p erceiv e the relationship between ideas, words

and reality.

In attempting to recognize correlations between various

aspects of the Arab p ersonality, it is helpful to examine
the discrep a n cy that exists among the Arabs among the
three planes of existence that can be distinguished in
each individual and g ro u p . All o f us engage constantly
in action. Our actions e x p r e ss our intentions, b u t , at
the same time, are influ enced b y external fa cto rs , such
as the control the social and physical environment has
o v e r u s. The world of actions and activity is the first
plane of our ex isten ce. The second is that of verbal
utterance. We often ex p r e ss verbally intentions that
we cannot ca rry out because of external impediments.
In this re s p e ct, verbal expression co rr e sp o n d s more
closely to intentions than actions. But even in w ord s,
we do not ex p ress all o f our intentions. We refrain from
uttering certain things because of the realities of the
environment in which we live. The third plane is that
o f the intentions them selves, that is , of the thoughts
we entertain, the wishes we have, the ideas we b e ­
lieve in, and so on. The world of the mind, as this
plane can be called, is the one most independent of
the limited influences of the environment. Y et, while
thoughts cannot be ce n s o re d , thought is to a co n s id ­
erable degree related to reality. A normal person will
not entertain thoughts which are in ov ert conflict
with reality. He may engage in "wishful th in k in g ,"
or even "day dream ing," but he will always be aware
o f the d ifference between such idle thoughts and
re a lity .
As to the control o f the reality factor o v e r ideas
and w ords, there are unquestionably significant d if­
feren ces between individuals and g rou p s. In a p r a g ­
matically oriented community, the modal personality
 48

is strongly influenced b y reality and his verbal

ex pression even more so. At the other end of the
scale we find societies where reality does not e x ­
ercise a strong d egree of influence on thinking
and sp e ech . Western peoples stand at one end of
the scale, the Arabs near the other end. In the
Arab w orld, thought and verbal ex pression can
be relatively uncorrelated with what the circum­
stances actually allow.

D ivergen ce between facts and ideas or words can be called either

lying or poetic sensibility. The Arabic language has been called

"associative" rather than "logical and analytical." Words seem more

important than fa cts. How something is said seems to be more im­

portant than what is said. Speeches are full o f quotations from poems,

an tecd otes, parables, puns and gossip . They tend to be lengthy and

flow ery. Dialects are full o f allusions and approximations, and ideas

are often e x p r e sse d in slightly differen t ways two or three times to

make them clearly u n derstood . In written Arabic (as op posed to the

spoken la n g u a g e ), there are extremely rigid grammatical and formal

rules which mean that thoughts have to be accommodated to the lin­

guistic stru ctu re rather than using lingusitic tools to co n v ey ideas

(Shou by 1970:688-703).

Speech Styles

International tensions might be eased and business transacted more

happily if both Americans and Arabs were more aware of the d iffe r ­

ences in their attitudes towards speech sty les. For instance, eloquence

and rhetoric are highly appreciated in the Middle East. The American

ten d en cy is to be b rie f and to the point, and that sounds v e ry abrupt

and even hostile to the A ra b s. Americans tend to sa y, "Hello, how are

 49

you ?" and then get immediately to another su b ject. A rabs like an e x ­

tended and gracious greeting ritual and may run through elaborate

phrases several times b e fo re getting down to b u sin ess. R eferen ces to

God and flowery phrases are sprinkled throughout a conversation ,

which is sometimes disconcerting to p ractical, secular Americans who are

used to a b r ie f , logical, linear line of thought.

Another aspect of Arab personality that may be manifested in the

classroom is a tendency to make elaborate plans for study that n ever

materialize, or a willingness to say whatever the other person wants to

hear. This latter practice is r e fe rr e d to as " n e v e r -s a y -n o -is m " b y

Bagnole (1977:17). T ryin g to pin down the time for an appointment

may go like this:

"May I come visit you ?" (Westerner)

" Y e s ." (A rab)
"In the afternoon?"
" Y e s , if you lik e."
"Or is the evening b etter?"
" Y e s , the evening is fin e ."
"Maybe you would p r e fe r to come and see me?"
"Y es. That's b e t t e r ."

It is confu sing and annoying to Westerners to d iscov e r the Arabs'

tend ency to say "y es" when they mean "no" or "m a y b e." For example,

an Arab may reply to an invitation to visit in the affirmative because he

doesn't want to hurt your feelings, although he has no intention of

coming. In con tra st, an American who didn't want to go would p rob ab ly

decline the invitation ou tright, using some e x cu se to spare the feelings

o f the host. Or he might say "Maybe" or "I'll t r y to make it but don't

count on m e." The Arab doesn't see his failure to show up at the ap­

pointed time as a problem because apparently Allah willed that he be

 50

somewhere else at that time.

Sometimes an unenthusiastic "y es" really means " n o ." O r, an u n -

emphatic refusal may be a request for a more emphatic repetition of the

invitation. What seems like a firm assertion to Americans may seem weak

or doubtful to A ra b s, and statements which seem to A rabs to be mere

statements of fact may seem to be extreme or even violent assertions to

Americans (Prothro 1955:711-712).

A student who has already decided on a negative re s p o n s e , but who

avoids saying so, may hope that you will eventually withdraw y our r e ­

quest. The only way around this dilemma is to show that a delay in

resp on d in g or acting will have negative consequ en ces for the student.

This tend ency to provide noncommittal resp on ses to questions that

seem important to the teacher (and which in his own culture would get

a committed verbal resp on se) must be recognized as a cultural pattern

o f politeness and not a deliberate intention to infuriate (Bagnole 1977:

17-18). Perhaps a discussion of this d ifference of p ercep tion would be

helpful to both teachers and students.

One way of asking a question in Arabic (or in English) is to simply

change the inflection at the end of the sentence without changing the

word o r d e r . When an Arab says "You will get me a cup of coffee?"

that is a polite request to him, but it may sound like an ord e r to an

American who will feel offen d ed b y the presum ption. I know of one

y ou n g man from Lebanon who says he has lost two American girl

frien ds because o f his refusal to learn to say "P lea se." The girls tend

to sa y , "Get you r own damn c o f f e e !" and stamp o f f. Masculine p rid e,

 51

coupled with an adamant refusal to change an Arabic way of speaking,

are making interpersonal problems for this young man.

American teachers may be astounded b y emotional o u tb u rsts from

Arab stud ents. Dowshah is a ritual pantomime of violence in which

"letting o f f steam" through cu rses and threats relieves tension. Often

the audience encourages the show and it becomes a social occasion.

A nger is seen as an "outside affliction" rather than "lack of control"

(Atiya 1982: x v i - x v i i ) .

A rabs tend to think that people who do not show their feelings are

d an ge rou s, dishonest and inanimate. Americans may be taken aback at

the ou tb u rsts o f some A ra b s. Verbal threats are meant to be intimi­

dating and a way to avoid putting words into action. In general,

th ou g h , A rabs seem to make a genuine attempt to p rotect the feelings

and dignity of oth ers.

Americans pride themselves on their frankness and outsp oken ness.

In the United States, one can sometimes get oneself out o f trouble b y

con fessin g one's erro r early in the game. Then others tend to think

"What an honest fellow. He just made a human e r r o r , and since he

owned up to it, he is O .K ." An Arab would feel that he has lost face

b y admitting the e r r o r , and would do e v ery th in g possible to escape

responsibility or to minimize the damage. For example, in 1973, P resi­

dent Nasser of Egypt sent a glowing and optimistic diplomatic message

to King Hussein o f Jordan after the Israeli Air Force had d estroyed

practically all o f the combat planes o f the United Arab R epublic.

Nasser's claims of v icto ry were an amazing example o f wishful think­

in g , revision of fa cts, fa ce -sa v in g denials, and rhetorical hoopla that

 52

actually misled the Jordanians (Patai 1976:102-104).

Linguistic Problems

It is b e y on d the scope o f this study to analyze the linguistic p r o b ­

lems of Arabic speakers trying to learn the English language, but a few

comments are in ord e r.

There is no Ipl, / v / , or / g / in A ra bic, / b / is usually substituted

for / p / so the students say /b a r t i/ for "party" and /ball for "P aul."
Words ending in English in / i j / are sometimes o v e r -p r o n o u n c e d , so the

word "sing" may be pronounced /s iijg / or / s i n k / . This mispronuncia­

tion can ca rry ov er into the writing o f English. In Kuwait there is a

store selling household goods which has a sign above the door reading

"STORE OF HOME THINKS" (Meinhoff and Meinhoff 1976:27-28).

Vowels are omitted in written A ra bic, so students have to learn a

new co n c e p t. "V ery " and "too" are the same word in A ra bic, and there

are difficulties in teaching con cep ts of time and time markers such as

"already" and " y e t . " A list of helpful readings is included in A ppendix

B for those teachers who want to explore these problems in more depth.

The tenses o f v erb s in Arabic do not corresp on d to those in

English and other Indo-European languages. The im perfect form can

stand for the p re sen t, future and p a st, while the p e rfect can mean

p lu p e rfe ct, future and p resent participle! Thus we can see that for

people speaking a language in which the verb has these semantic

fea tu res, time cannot have the same o r d e r e d , definite and sequential

connotation that it has for speakers o f English, and learning to use

English can present special problems (Patai 1976:65-68).

 53

There are two English words that sound like Arabic obscenities:

kiss and z ip p e r .

The Concept of Time

An understanding of the Arab conception of time is important for

coping su ccessfu lly with Arab students. The three words that are

significant for understanding the d iffe re n ce s in viewpoint between Arabs

and Americans are b u k r a , ma'alesh, and in shal'allah (Bagnole 1977:

13-16).

Bukra literally means "tom orrow ," but should not be interpreted to

mean sometime in the next 24 h ou rs. It re fe rs to an indefinite time in

the fu tu re. This seems evasive to Westerners, but from an Arab point

of view, since only God knows the fu tu re, it would be impertinent to be

too p recise about it. If a certain action is not seen as u rgen t b y the

p e r fo r m e r , then he may see no problem in doing it later, toda y , tomor­

row , or sometime in the more distant fu tu re. A homework lesson may

not be handed in on time, and when asked, the student may have no

acceptable ex cu se but will promise to hand it in "tom orrow ." Or, he

may hand in all his assignments at the end of the semester and feel that

he has fulfilled the requirements of the c o u r se . (Such late assignments

may often be copies and of little value to either the student or the

t e a c h e r .) Thus bukra may mean "tomorrow at the earliest" or "tomorrow

if p o s s ib le ." Ba'd bukra means "after tomorrow" and bukra b a 'd bukra

means "within the next couple of d a y s ." Both of these phrases demon­

strate greater remoteness from the p resent and greater un certainty. A

 54

teacher would be wise to stick v e ry precisely to his own class schedules

and deadlines and to make the consequ ences of lateness known. One

teacher solved the problem of tardiness to class b y having a quiz in the

first five minutes o f ev e ry class period .

Ma'alesh can be translated as "It's not important" or "Never m ind."

A Westerner who is told that a delay or missed deadline or e rro r is not

important may not share that view. The Arab student in responding

this way is acting in accordance with his own customs although he is not

fulfulling the teacher's expectations.

The third term, In sha'allah, has already been d e scrib e d as both an

e x pression of religious belief and as a future tense marker. It is often

a "y es" with a safety valve which indicates the possibility of a negative

outcom e.

In the Middle East, time is measured b y p u rp osefu l divisions of the

d a y , sunrise and sun set, not b y what seems to Arabs as in con seq u en ­

tial units like minutes or h ou rs. Why set limits to the p resen t? Since

time cannot be accumulated or b u d g e te d , why h u r r y ? A meeting set

for three o 'clo ck may not get started until five o 'c lo c k , or perhaps the

person won't show up until the next day.

The system o f naming times is d ifferen t. For Arab stud ents, sunset

is 12 o 'c lo c k . Midnight and noon are 6 o 'c lo c k . The eve of Friday is

Thu rsd ay night. No wonder appointments are missed!

In the West, work hours are p o ste d , holidays are announced far in

advance and are o b serv ed as planned, stores and banks almost always

follow their scheduled h o u rs , the school year b egin s and ends a c c o r d ­

ing to a plan, and people are ex pected to be punctual. We are u rg e d to

 55

schedule events ahead of time, to "b u y e a r ly ," "make re s e r v a tio n s ,"

etc. , all in the anticipation of avoiding problems and minimizing delays.

Imagine our frustration if we arrived at the un iversity for the beginning

of classes and d iscov ered that the date for opening had just been p o s t ­

poned for a month, which has happened in Libya. We are irritated if a

single class is u n expectedly cancelled. If we show up at the h a ird re ss­

ers for a 2 o 'clo ck appointment, we don't like to wait until 2:45. Guests

who arrive an hour late for dinner without telephoning an ex cu se are

considered impolite. In the Arab world such delays and changes of

schedule o ccu r frequently and consequently are accepted philosophi­

cally .

Movies are frequently late in starting. School schedules are often

disrupted for unexpected holidays, visits from dignitaries, or political

distu rb a n ces. With the lack of telephones, friends "d ro p in" on one

another without notice. Popular retail goods are sold out because no

one thought to reo rd e r in time. Post o ffic e s , d ry cleaning establish­

ments and stores may not have regular h ou rs. Things are done on the

sp ur of the moment or as soon as p ossib le— if conven ient.

The use of time is seen d ifferen tly . Westerners tend to see d rin k ­

ing coffee with a friend in a cafe as "doing nothing" or "killing time."

An Arab would consider it "doing som ething." Time is a more flexible

commodity and doesn't have to be "used" and accounted for in the way

it does in the West.

Thus Arab students may delay in filling out applications (with

disastrous resu lts) because in their experience deadlines have never

been e n fo rc e d . Teachers will be doing a great service to emphasize

 56

that in American colleg es, deadlines do exist and the con sequ en ces of

missing one can affect the rest of the student's academic career.

Work

Related to concepts of time is the Arab view of w ork. The P rotes­

tant work ethic which is so prevalent in our society does not exist in

Arab cu ltu re . That is not to say that many people don't work hard at

whatever needs to be done, but rather that the attitude towards work

is d iffere n t. For them, work is a means to a specific goal, not a goal

in itself. Arabs don't see the point of keeping b u s y so as not to waste

time, and would n ever complain that they are "too b u s y " to visit or play

tennis or do whatever they claim is important to them.

Students may seem to look down on manual labor. The idea of

painting one's own house or d ig gin g up a vegetable garden may seem

incomprehensible to them (although many will work as waiters to su p ­

port themselves while in this c o u n t r y ) . They may look for sh ortcuts

in place o f hard work and maximum e ffort to reach a d esired goal.

They may avoid planning, and then when emergencies come u p , im­

p rov ise solutions that may or may not be co r r e c t. They will ex pect

that rules be bent for their special cases.

Work places in Arab countries are v e r y relaxed . There are no

strict rules about b re a k s, and frequent social interactions with c o ­

w orkers or customers is the rule.

 57

Social Relationships

Family

Family loyalty is highly valued in Arab cultu re. Next to religion,

re sp e ct for one's father and paternal uncle rates as one of the highest

values. A man is expected to define the honor of his family and to

extend help and support to its members, who deal with him r e c ip r o ­

cally. Sometimes that means a lack of p riv a cy and the ability to make

one's own plans. If two b ro th e rs or cousins are on the same campus

and the y ou n g er one is a b e tter stu d en t, the older one will feel humil­

iated and the y ou n g er one will feel guilty. Their relationship can

deteriorate to a point where they both fail in school. An illness or

tra g edy involving a close relative may make the student d epressed or

even feel guilty because he is not at home with his family to share the

burden.

Friends

The Arab view of the meaning o f friendship is differen t from the

American view. Americans would prob ab ly mention the enjoyment of

doing things tog eth er, or of sharing ideas and feelings. An A ra b , on

the other hand, would stress helpfulness in time of need. An Arab who

needed help, support or solace would turn to a frien d , while an Ameri­

can might choose not to bother his friends with his problems and in­

stead might turn to a professional.

Americans are often competitive with their frie n d s, while Arabs

stress cooperation. One is not liked for his su ccesses or personal

 58

accomplishments, which might be a threat to the other p e rso n 's ego.

An Arab will share his last cafeteria script with a friend and then

go to a third person to borrow some for himself so that he doesn't

embarrass his first frien d. He will interrupt his studies to help his

friend and will ex p ect the same when he is in need.

Newly a rrived foreign students may be delighted with the apparent

friendliness and willingness to help demonstrated b y Americans, but

after awhile they are disappointed at the lack of depth in their rela­

tionships with American frien d s. T hey see a basic in d ifferen ce demon­

stra ted, and they feel that Americans avoid deep commitments or c lo s e ­

n e ss . In Arab cu ltu re, friendship is rated just behind kinship in

importance. In contrast, most Americans have many frien ds that they

see on an irregu lar schedule. Americans do not appreciate invasions of

p riv a cy and want friends to call b e fo re d ropp ing in to visit. A rgu­

ments are not well tolerated, and if a d ifferen ce in opinion d ev elo p s,

usually the subject is avoided b y mutual agreement. Friends become

categorized as friends for partying with, frien ds for playing tennis

with, friends for talking politics with, and n eighbors (Stewart 1972:

54-55). In con tra st, the Arab sees a friend as a friend fo r e v e r ,

th rough arguments and times of troub le. A fter interpreting the initial

friendliness o f a first meeting with an American as a promise of future

intimacy, the student finds it hard to understand that he is just one of

many. Long periods of no contact at all lead him to think he is d is­

liked. In the United States a male Arab student may develop frie n d ­

ships among his female fellow stu d en ts, not only because the in ter­

action is a new ex p erie n ce, but also because he may not be able to
 59

find any American male friends willing to assume the responsibilities of

close friendship that he requires (Parker 1976:7).

Hospitality

One of the great virtues of Arabs is their hospitality, a legacy from

their Bedouin past when a wandering stranger was always treated as an

h onored guest whom the host must p rotect even at the risk of his own

life. Even extreme p o v e r ty does not ex cu se a man from fulfilling the

duty of hospitality b y feeding and sheltering a guest fo r three days

(Patai 1976:84-88). An Arab will stop whatever he is doing to make y o u ,

his g u est, feel welcome. You will be asked why you haven't come sooner

or more often , which may make you feel uncomfortable and guilty but

which is meant to show how much they care about y o u . You will be

offe re d coffee which you should accept with you r right hand with

murmurs about not putting them out. (A rabs think Americans are

awfully casual about washing their hands b efore they eat. The left

hand is n ever used to o ffer or accept fo o d , since that is the traditional

toileting hand. That is why a thief's right hand is cut o ff after the

third o ffe n se ; he will n ever be able to dip into the common dish again.

Students from the Middle East soon d isco v er that this prohibition is

meaningless to Americans, but you would prob ab ly avoid making y o u r

hosts uncomfortable if you accept a cup o f coffe e or dip a potato chip

with you r right h a n d .)

One doesn't take food or a bottle of wine when invited to an Arab

home because they see it as a criticism o f their hospitality. T hey will

take pride in presenting many attractive and delicious dishes to their

 60

guests and will u rg e you to take many helpings. A lso, wine is f o r ­

bidden to Muslims.

If you are a guest in an Arab home, you will find that y o u r host will

u rge you to stay when you are ready to leave. An Arab host will n ev er

terminate the conversation or su g g est that it is time for you to go.

When you really convince y ou r Arab friends that you are g oing, they

will walk you to the door and prob ab ly even out to y ou r ca r. T hey will

make you feel that you are an important and treasured p erson .

If you entertain Arab stu d en ts, you may want to keep the following

things in mind. Since it is their tradition to refuse food three times

b efore accepting it, they may go hu n g ry when the American hostess

d oesn't get around to offerin g food a second time, assuming that the

guests will either help themselves or ask if they want something.

In Arab cou n tries, all entertaining is done in the front room and

a guest n ever sees the more private parts of the house. You can imag­

ine how su rprisin g it is , then, when an Arab student is shown an en­

tire house b y a p roud homeowner, even down to the bathrooms and

garage!

Remember that Muslims don't eat pork or drink alcohol, so b a con ,

ham, and most sausage are fo rb id d en . Read the labels on cans so that

you don't inadvertently serv e p o rk . Bean d ip, for instance, has lard

in it.

You might want to let you r students know that hot dogs aren't made

of dog meat; that Chinese food often contains p o rk ; and that chicken a

la king is chicken in a cream sauce and not a v e ry special dish suitable

for Allah the King.

 61

Miscellaneous Arab Customs

The following comments d efy categorization, but may be helpful in

understanding the behavior of Arab students.

In Arab cou n tries, a shopkeeper will try to take care of all the

customers simultaneously. Each one is important and d eserv es full at­

tention. There is no sense of taking people in the o rd e r in which they

approached the coun ter. Transacting busin ess is a social thing and

can't be ru s h e d . Similarly, teachers in the United States may become

frazzled as several Arab students try to talk to them at once.

At theaters in the Middle East, the idea of an ord erly queue is

fo reig n . E veryone pushes towards the door. Sometimes there are

fig h t s , but a person who patiently waits in line might not get in.

N on -verb a l behavior is an important part of any cu ltu re. Some

gestures seem to have almost universal meanings, but others may be

acceptable in one culture and obscene in another. When an Arab means

"N o ," he moves his head upward and clicks his ton gu e. This can also

indicate disbelief or su rp rise. A beckon ing gesture that means "Come

here" to us means "G oodbye" to A ra b s, while holding up the right hand

with the palm down, moving the fin g ers in a clawing motion (somewhat

like our gesture for "Bye b y e " ) means "Come h e r e ."

Arab men in their own countries hold hands and kiss each other on

the ch eek , but they soon learn to modify those behaviors in this co u n tr y .

A sign o f resp e ct is for one or both men to place the palms of their

right hands on their ch e sts. Pointing is a threatening g estu re. B elch­

ing is a sign that one has enjoyed the meal (Barakat 1973:749-787).

A frequent description of Arab behavior is their d isconcerting direct

 62

gaze and their tendency to stand closer than Americans are comfortable

with. A voiding eye contact and withdrawing may hurt their feelings.

(This description is found in almost e v e r y book on Arab customs but has

not been verified in my own e x p e r ie n c e s .)

Arabs are extremely generous with their time and b elon g in g s. Some­

times flamboyant generosity eats up the savings of an Arab college

student and then he has to explain to his sponsor why he is out of

fu n d s. A teacher may feel uncomfortable at receivin g an unsolicited

g ift, which should be seen not as a b rib e but as a manifestation of the

generosity inherent in the culture.

 IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The information p resented in this paper can be summarized b y co n ­

trasting several categories of cultural assumptions and values held b y

most Americans with those held by most A ra b s. The following chart is

adapted from Hoopes and Ventura's Intercultural Sourcebook (1979:

48-51) and from a handout from a TESOLI meeting based on K luckhohn,

Condon and Barnlund (no specific re fe re n ce s g iv e n ).

American Arab

A ctivity

Optimistic, s triv in g , doing A cce p tin g , fatalistic, being

Fast, b u sy S teady, rhythm ic, non-com pulsive

Emphasis on planning and Emphasis on coping and final

p roced u res goals

Individual responsibility Group or family responsibility

and goals and goals

E xploring, creating and A ccep ting authority, learning b y

synthesizing informa­ rote

tion

Social Relationships

Loosely defined roles A scrib e d roles

Importance of individual Importance of family honor

achievement

High mobility Low mobility

63
 64

American A rab

Social Relationships (continued)

Equality o f p ersons Hierarchical ra n k s, resp ect for

authority, male dominance

Informality and spontaneity Formality and conformance to

rules, p rop riety

Flexible sex roles Rigid sex roles

Assumes limited re sp o n ­ Assumes unlimited responsibility

sibility for group for group

Seeks own goals, self­ Seeks family or group goals,

expression subordinates self

Many casual friendships Intense, long-lasting and exclusive

friendships with a few people

Democratic Authoritarian

Motivation

Achievement A scrip tion , approval

Competition seen as Competition seen as d e stru ctiv e,

healthy anti-social

World View

Analytical approach Su bjective, relational approach

World is knowable, co n ­ World is mysterious and unknow­

trollable, to be used able, uncontrollable, to be

accepted

World is physical and World is spiritual and organic

mechanical
 65

American A rab

World View (continued)

Nature is to be dominated Man/nature harmony

b y man

Unlimited good Limited good

Change seen as positive Change restricted

S u cce ss, health, and Some disease and material misery

material comfort ex p ected and accepted

important and expected

Nature of truth is relative, Nature of truth is definite, un­

tentative changeable, absolute

Time measured in precise Time undifferentiated

units

Time seen as a limited Time not limited

resou rce

Time seen as lineal Time seen as circular

Future time orientation Present time orientation

Perception o f Self

O pportunity for change Clearly defined roles

Flexible b e h a v ior, inde­ Person is located in a social system

p endence with mutual dependence and

obligation

Identity tied to achieve­ Identity tied to ro le s, g ro u p s,

ments family, etc.

Self-reliance important Reliance on g ro u p s, family

 66

Am erican A rab

Perception of Self (continued)

Youth highly valued A ge highly valued as wise and

experienced

Social control b y persuasion Social control b y possibility of

or guilt public shame

ESL tea ch ers, as produ cts of their own environments and culture

and in spite of their cros s-cu ltu ra l knowledge and good intentions, may

have absorb ed some o f the negative stereotypes of Arabs p resen ted b y

the media and had them compounded b y some of the misunderstandings

o f cultural d ifferen ces d escribed in this p ap er. Present political events

should be seen in the framework of countries seeking self-determ ina­

tion and self-realization in their own sty le. Until re ce n tly , foreign domi­

nation p rev en ted the growth of Arab states while exploiting their r e ­

so u r ce s. Several Arab leaders helped the Allies in World War I and then

didn't get to share in the honors and rew ards as promised. For instance,

in 1916, Sherif Hussain of Mecca helped the British defeat the T urks

(this was the Arab Revolt) in return for promises of support for esta b ­

lishing an independent Arab state that would emcompass most of what is

today Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and the Arabian Peninsula. Six

months later in the secret Sykes-P icot agreement, Britain promised

France the control o f Libya and Syria while keeping Iran and some port

cities in Palestine for h erse lf, which was totally inconsistent with the

promises to Hussain. Then the Balfour Agreement in 1917 guaranteed

a national home for the Jews in Palestine, and that was a third co n tra -
 67

d ictory agreement. No wonder the A rabs felt b etrayed ! (Lenczowski

1962:55-97.)

T h u s, after the War, European powers became self-im posed p r o ­

te cto rs , guardians, guides and ru le rs. Now the warnings about Com­

munism come from the same sources that have been resp onsible for many

Arab m isfortunes. Most o f these countries will no longer accept being

pulled between the two armed camps of the U . S . S . R . and the United

States, and they wish for self-determination and peace (Sayegh 1953).

These students will be the leaders of their countries in the next few

d eca des, and anything we can do to encourage mutual understanding

will be to all nations' benefit.

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1976 The Arab Mind. New Y ork : Charles S ch rib n er's Sons.

Pearson, R obert P . , ed.

1975 T hrough Middle Eastern Eyes. New Y ork: Praeger P ub­

lish ers. DS 42.4 T48 1975.

Pincus, Cynthia

1977 In a Jerusalem Ulpan. In Topics in Culture Learning.

Vol. 5, Richard W. Brislin and Michael P. Hamnett, ed s.

Honolulu, Hawaii: East-West Center. HM 101 T66x 1977.

P orter, Richard E.

1972 An Overview of Intercultural Communication. In In te r-

cultural Communication: A Reader. Larry A. Samovar

and Richard E. P orter, p p . 3-17. Belmont, California:

Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Prothro, E. T erry

1970 Arab-Am erican D ifferences in the Judgment of Written

Messages. Iri Readings in Arab Middle Eastern Societies

and C ultures. Abdullah M. Lutfiyya and Charles W.

Churchill, ed s. The Hague: Mouton & Co. DS 36.8 L85.

 73

Rathmell, George Wesley

1970 Factors Relevant to the Acculturation of Foreign Students.

M .A. T hesis, San Francisco State College. AS 36 1970 R38x.

Samovar, Larry A . and Richard E. Porter

1972 Intercultural Communication: A R eader. Belmont, Califor­

nia: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Sayegh, Fayez A.

1953 Understanding the Arab Mind. Organization of A ra b -

Students in the United States. DS 215 S38.

Sayigh, Rosemary

1981 Roles and Functions of Arab Women: A Reappraisal. Arab

Studies Quarterly I I I (3) : 258-274.

Shaheen, Jack G.

1983 On Prejudice: A Review of Arab Images. Arab P e rsp ec­

tives IV (Oct. 1983) :p p . 22-27. Washington, D . C . : Arab

Information Center.

Shaked, Joseph

1955 Israel. In Some Studies in the Education o f Immigrants

fo r Citizenship, UNESCO, Publication No. X VI, Education

Clearing House. Quoted in "In a Jerusalem Ulpan."

Cynthia Pincus. Iri Topics in Culture Learning. Richard

W. Brislin and Michael P. Hamnett, e d s . , p . 61. 1977.

HM 101 T66x 1977.

S h ouby, E.

1970 The Influence o f the Arabic Language on the P sy ch olog y of

the A ra bs. Iii Readings in Arab Middle Eastern Societies

 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES

Twenty questionnaires were distributed to ESL teachers at San

Francisco State U niversity, and ten were retu rn ed . The most in ter­

esting and controversial resp on ses are quoted below. It is clear that

individual teachers have different attitudes towards and experiences

with Arab stu d en ts.

1. Do you find that you categorize Arab students accord in g to the

cou n try or region of origin , and that there are v e r y differen t inter­

actions with each group? If so, please d e scrib e.

Teacher A : "Y es. Saudis seem the most a rrogant, although

Kuwaitis are p retty ba d. Lebanese are either totally INTOLER­

ABLE, or absolute dolls. Same for Jordanians and Syrians,

despite their theoretical sophistication. I like A fg h a n is ."

Teacher B : "Y es. Jordanians are different from Saudis who are

d ifferen t from Lebanese who are different from Kuwaitis. Jordan­

ians, as a whole, tend to seem more a g g r e ssiv e . Saudis seem

more genial, as do Kuwaitis and L eb a n ese."

Teacher D : "Not really. I tend to assume that students from

Kuwait and UAE are a little more sophisticated than students from

Saudi A rabia, but this is not always born out in actual fa c t ."

75
 76

Teacher E: "Saudis: polite, con se rv a tiv e, reticent to speak some­

times. Jordanians/Palestinians: urbane, v e r b o s e , sometimes ag­

g r e ssiv e . Moroccans: rela xed , 'Westernized'; Kuwaitis: sop his­

ticated . "

T eacher G: "The only coun try I have found differen t is Libya, and

this is not due to the differen ces in cu ltu re, but rather to the tone

set up b y Khaddafi. Students from Libya seem to have a chip on

their sh o u ld e r ."

Teacher H : "Palestinians tend to categorize themselves b y being

so consistently politically outspoken both in oral and written work.

Otherwise I don't seem to ca te g o riz e ."

Teacher J : "I have noticed the following national d iffe re n ce s:

extent of religious o rth o d o x y ; familiarity with and understanding

of Western cultural values; urbanization."

"N o ." (T hree r e s p o n s e s .)

2. Have you had any misunderstandings with Arab students because

of cultural d ifferen ce s?

Teacher A : "T o n s. The big problem is their rotten attitude

toward homework— that it doesn't necessarily have to be done—

and their total dishonesty (in our terms) in testing and homework.
 77

Their elaborate cheating ring throughout the campus is truly im­

p ressiv e ."

T eacher B: "O h, y e s . It's hard when you are a woman. I sense

some disbelief of what I sa y, especially when it negates what the

student wants. They agree with you on the surface and later show

they aren't going to follow th r o u g h ."

Teacher F : "Y e s , often an Arab student will be extremely ag­

gre ssive if told 'no' - for instance when requestin g entrance into

a class that is already fu ll."

Teacher H: "I'm not sure that they were m isunderstandings, but

I have learned how to accept (not to reject) what they o ffe r m e."

Teacher J : "I have had misunderstandings with San Franciscans

because o f cultural v a lu e s."

"N o ." (Four r e s p o n s e s .)

3. Are there any particular problems that o ccu r only with Arab stu ­

dents in you r classes? If so , what sort?

Teacher A : "Not actually in class— reg a rd in g class d iscussion.

If anything, they are a pleasure as participa tors— although they

d o, occasionally, have to be told to shut up . The problem is the

 78

ou tsid e-cla ss or test-situation— cheating and ly in g ."

Teacher B : "Arab students tend to be v e ry vocal and not re ti­

cent to speak out in class. Problems arise when they don't o b ­

serv e tu rn -ta kin g and when they fail to follow the thread of a

d is c u s s io n ."

Teacher C : "No, not generally. I'v e only had one Arab student

who regularly missed class because he felt it was "too b orin g " for

him (Grammar). Another Arabic spea ker, a beginning student,

often acted out in class. He was v e ry y o u n g , he was having

family problem s, and he was upset b y the war in L eba n on ."

Teacher E : "Sometimes Arabic students avoid doing thorough

w ork , and try to take the path o f least w o r k ."

Teacher F : "Again, aggression ( v e r b a l) !"

Teacher G : "I don't know whether you mean behavior problems

or academic problems. I have had few behavior problem s, how ever

academic problems are another thing. They tend not to pay atten­

tion to detail, particularly in w riting, on both the mechanical and

stylistic level. They are also somewhat careless about completing

assignments on time."
 79

Teacher H ; "A few ov er the last few years have been v e r y d e­

manding: immature, spoiled, b r ig h t , ru d e — re fu sin g to participate

in class activities— always tryin g to get special attention— d isru p t­

ing me and o t h e r s ."

T eacher I: "T h ey are usually v e ry verbal, sometimes to the extent

that they make it difficult for other students to r e s p o n d ."

"N o ." (Two r e s p o n s e s .)

4. Have you found su ccessfu l solutions to some problems you may

have had teaching Arab students?

Teacher A : "The best solution I'v e found is to be exceptionally

h a rd , mean, and strict the moment you lay eyes on them ."

Teacher B : "Teaching the rules of turn-taking and the structure

of discussions has h e lp e d ."

Teacher D : "Reminding them their mother wants them to work

hard. Keeping my approach personal and n on -h ostile. Indulging

in g ood-n atu red histrionics. Appealing to their p r id e ."

Teacher E : "Close monitoring, and continuing relationship. Arabs

seem to set great store b y a private relationship with one a d v is o r ."

 80

Teacher F : "This is not always a problem— if you can direct the

e n e r g y , it means you can have a liv e ly , talkative c la s s ."

Teacher G : "Live with it ."

"?" (One r e s p o n s e .)

"N o ." (One r e s p o n s e .)

" Y e s ." (One r e s p o n s e .)

5. Are there traits that most of y o u r Arab students have that you

particularly enjoy?

Teacher A : "As already mentioned, they are terrific participators

and are excellent at following class discussions and id e a s."

Teacher B : "Their v e r b o s it y , sometimes a ba n e, is sometimes a

boon. The Saudis and Kuwaitis, in particular, are so genuine in

their interactions, almost innocent in many w a ys. Not to exclude

other A ra b s , this trait is exhibited in the other grou p s in many

instances as w ell."

Teacher C : "Y e s. I don't know if this is just my b ia s, but Arab

students seem more outgoing and seem to have a sense of humor

v e r y similar to that of Americans. If I had to pick one group as

 81

my fa vorite, Arab students would be it ."

Teacher D : "Their outspoken ness. Their flair for drama. Their

relaxed attitude. Their emphasis on friendly personal relations.

Their love of bu llsh ittin g."

Teacher E : "Politeness, humanity."

Teacher F : " . . . i f the aggression isn 't hostile— it's great— the

students are smart and want to talk which is not always the case

with foreign sp e a k e rs."

Teacher G : "T h ey are v e ry fr ie n d ly ."

Teacher H: "Their warmth is limitless— They can be wonderfully

charming (usually right after th e y 'v e driven me cra zy b y ruining

a class) and thoughtful at times."

Teacher I : "Friendliness. G o o d n a t u r e ."

Teacher J : "Y e s , many."

6. Have you been aware of it when Muslim students were fasting

because of Ramadan? If y e s , what did you notice?

"N o ." (T h ree r e s p o n s e s .)

 82

Teacher C : "Y e s. The students often told me they were fasting.

At times I thought the fasting students were low on e n e r g y ."

Teacher D : "Y es. They were sleep y . They use Ramadan as an

ex cu se to slack o ff a b it ."

Teacher G: "I notice it because they usually tell me when Ramaden

will b e g in . I don't think it affects their performance sig n ifi­

cantly ."

Teacher H : "Y es. Some have chosen to drop out of school for

fear of inability to handle it. Others seem to manage fin e ."

6. Have you e x p erien ced any hostility ov e r Arab students' p e r c e p ­

tions of American foreign policy re Israel and Arab coun tries? Would

you say that the hostility has been mutual, if it exists at all?

Teacher A : "A little. No d o u b t."

Teacher C : "I haven't ex perien ced any hostility, but Arab stu ­

dents have occasionally e x p re sse d disapproval o f American foreign

policy in conversations outside of cla ss, and have often e x p re ssed

hostility towards Israel verbally and in compositions (especially

during the Beirut c r i s i s ) ."

Teacher F : "This question is worded in a difficult m a n n e r ...b u t

 83

Arab students have e x p re sse d d espair, sadness, anger ov er political

situations as well as the Israelis as well as other cultural g r o u p s ."

Teacher J : "No hostility towards me personally; plenty of hostility

toward U .S . policies. I have found the policies of some Arab nations

extremely ann oyin g."

"N o." (Six r e s p o n s e s .)

" Y e s ." (One r e s p o n s e .)

7. Please check those adjectives that d escribe most o f the Arab stu­

dents you have taught, and feel free to add oth ers. T r y to use only

your own e x p erien ce, not stereoty p es.

8 charming 5 generous 5 p rou d

1 reliable 3 extravagant 2 industrious

3 lazy 7 friendly 2 not punctual

2 serious 1 mature 3 re s e r v e d

2 caring 1 responsible 6 humorous

2 touchy 2 anxious 3 resp ectful

1 hedonistic 5 intense 4 emotional

6 loyal to 3 _polite (one added

friends "extrem ely, or
outrageously
r u d e . ")
 84

A dded adjectives:

(These first three were from one re s p o n d e n t.)

1 arrogant 1 no concept of 1 sch izophrenic as

truth a g rou p . You
either love 'em
or hate 'em.

1 laid -back 1 adaptable 1 verbal

1 a g gressiv e

Other comments:

"Dealing with them as an administrator included b r i b e s , unsolicited

'opinions' as to placement, and other 'charming' a n n oy a n ces."

"We've had so many Arab stu d en ts, different individuals w ho've e x h ib ­

ited differen t traits. Some are v e ry industrious and reliable; some are

lazy— what can I say?"

"I'v e e x p erien ced a real range of behavior among Arab stud ents; I find

that I'm partial to g reg a riou s, willing participants in the classroom, and

they are often Arabic sp e a k e rs ."

"T h e re 's a big differen ce between you n g Arabs (in their early 20's)

and older ones (30+). The older group tend to also be seriou s, r e s p o n ­

sible, in d u striou s, t o u c h y ."

"I find it hard to complete this portion as p resently I have at least two
 85

Arabs who are serious, resp ectfu l, and resp o n sib le, and I'v e had them

b efore t o o ."

" S o r r y , my mind doesn't work this way. I have had Arab students and

friends with all o f these tra its."

 APPENDIX B: SUGGESTED READINGS

Arab History and Culture

Adams, Michael, ed.

1971 The Middle East: A Handbook. New Y o rk : Praeger.

DS 44 A3 19716.

The statistics in this book are out of date, but this is

an excellent general referen ce with descrip tion s of the

different cou n tries, p olitics, social p a ttern s, e con o­

mies, art, etc.

Ali, Zaki

1947 Islam in the World. Second R evised Edition. Lahore,

India: Mohammed A sh ra f. (R eprinted b y AMS P ress,

New Y ork , 1973.) BP 161 A4 1973.

This is an attempt to dissipate Western misconceptions

about Islam and Muslims. It d escrib es the present

state of revival and its bearing on international

affairs.

Alireza, Marianne

1971 At the Drop of a Veil. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

DS 215 A43.

The delightful story of an American who marries a

Saudi Arabian. Even though the story d oesn't end

with them living happily ev er a fter, the outgoing

 87

personality o f the author makes it all seem like a grand

adventure. Excellent description of Saudi cultu re.

Amiruddin, B.

1939 Women's Status in Islam: A Moslem View. Muslim

World 28:153-163.

The author blames disregard for Islamic p recep ts for

the low status of women in Arab coun tries.

A nth on y, John D.

1975 Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics,

Petroleum. Washington, D . C . : The Middle East

Institute.

Themes of continuity and ch a n ge, recen t h is tory ,

genealogies of ruling families, attitudes, and an exam­

ination of n o n -elites. A scholarly and thoughtful

work.

B eck , Lois and Nikki Keddie, eds.

1978 Women in the Muslim World. Cam bridge, Massachu­

setts: Harvard University Press.

Many scholarly articles on a variety o f aspects of the

lives of Arab women.

B erq u e, Jacques

1964 The A rabs: Their History and Future. Transl. b y

Jean Stewart. New Y ork: Praeger. DS 218 B413.

Essays on tradition, symbol, e th ics, econom ics, fi­

nance, feminism, language, music, politics, values,

 Arabs and the world.

B row n, L. Carl and Norman Itzkowits, ed s.

1977 Psychological Dimensions of Near Eastern Studies.

Princeton, New Jersey: The Darwin P re ss . DS 42.4

P79.

Essays on modal personality of Saudi college stud ents,

Iranian ideal character ty p e s , p sy ch ia try in the Arab

East, classroom b eh a v ior, etc.

Dearden, A nn, ed.

1975 Arab Women. Report No. 27. London: Minority

Rights G roup, f HQ 1784 A7.

D escribes legal rights in E gy p t, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq,

Tunisia and Algeria,

de C om brey, Richard

1978 Caravansary: Alone in Moslem Places. Garden C ity,

New Y ork : Doubleday & Co.

Marvelous travel b ook.

El Saadawi, Nawal

1979 The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World.

London: Zed Press.

How women are p erceiv ed and what they experience in

Arab coun tries. Deals with female genital mutilation

in E gypt.

Fernea, Elizabeth Warnock and Basima Qattan Bezirgan

1977 Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak. A ustin, Texas:

University of T ex a s. HQ 1170 M53.

 89

Chapter 2 describ es the teachings of the Koran on

women. Other chapters are on p o e tr y , stories, b io ­

g raph ies, feminists.

Hamady, Sania

I960 Temperament and Character of the A ra b s. New Y ork :

Twayne Publishers. DS 218 H18.

This book was written b y a Lebanese woman who lived

in Syria and Iraq and studied eight years in the U .S .

I include it because it has a great deal o f material and

is often quoted in other sou rces, but I feel it is n e g ­

ative and con tra d ictory . She seems stron g ly p re ju ­

diced against A ra bs. Some of the re fe re n ce s date as

far back as 1906.

Hayes, J. R . , ed.

1983 The Genius of Arab Civilization, Sou rces of Renais­

sance. Second ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT

Press. DS 36.85 G46.

Hitti, Philip K.

1971 The A rabs: A Short History. London: MacMillan.

If you have time for only one book on the history of

the A ra bs, this should be it.

Journal o f Social Issues 15(3): 1-76.

1959 Entire issue is about young adults from the Middle East.

Kiernan, Thomas

1975 The A rabs: Their H istory, Aims and Challenge to the

Industrial World. B oston, Massachusetts: Little,

 Brown & Co. DS 36.7 K53.

Journalistic style; in tersperses h istory with his p e r ­

sonal journal. Fascinating reading.

Mernissi, Fatima

1975 B eyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in a Modern

Muslim Society. Cambridge, Massachusetts: S ch en k -

man Publishing Co. HQ 1170 M46.

A l-Q azzaz, Ayad

1975 Women in the Arab World: An Annotated Biblio­

g ra p h y. Detroit: Association of American-Arab Uni­

v ersity Graduates, Bibliography Series #2.

R accagni, Michelle

1978 The Modern Arab Woman: A B ib liogra ph y. M etuchen,

New Jersey: Scarecrow P ress. Z 7964 A7 R32.

Shiloh, Ailon, ed.

1969 Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East. New Y ork:

Random House. HN 660.8 A8 S53.

Culture history; distribution of people cultures and

s u b -c u ltu r e s ; population dynamics; culture change

and conservatism; the schoolteacher as anthropologist.

Tibawi, A. L.

1972 Islamic Education: Its Traditions and Modernization

into the Arab National Systems. London: Luzac.

LA 1491 T5.

T u rk i, Fawaz

1974 The Disinherited: Journal o f a Palestinian Exile.

 Second ed . New Y ork : Monthly Review P ress. DS

119.7 T83.

A moving account of the personal tragedies caused b y

the A rab-Israeli conflict.

Thomas, A lfred , Jr.

1968 Saudi Arabia: A Study of the Educational System of

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Guide to the Aca­

demic Placement of Students from the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia in U .S . Educational Institutions. Washington:

American Association of Collegiate R egistra rs and

Admissions O fficers.

Waddy, Charis

1980 Women in Muslim H istory. London: Longman Group

Ltd.

Social and political conditions of Muslim societies ov er

1400 years and 3 continents, and the roles of famous

women in Muslim h istory.

Walther, Wiebke

1981 Woman in Islam. Montclair, New J erse y : Abner

Schram Ltd. HQ 1785 W35 1981.

This is a large, handsome book with beautiful illus­

trations of Persian miniatures and scholarly articles.

Y ou n g , T . C uyler, ed.

1951 Near Eastern Culture and Society. A Symposium on

the Meeting of East and West. P rin ceton, New J ersey :

 Princeton University P ress. DS 38 Y6.

Interaction of Islamic and Western thought. Pan-

Arabism v s . state nationalists. Problems of Westerni­

zation. The present and the future from a Near East

p e r s p e c t iv e .

Teaching English to Arabs

Fellman, J.

1973 Sociolinguistic Problems in the Middle Eastern Arab

World: An Overview. Anthropological Linguistics

X V ( 1 ): 24-32.

Lehn, Walter, and William R. Slager

1959 A Contrastive Study of Egyptian Arabic and American

English: The Segmental Phonemes. Language Learn­

ing IX , numbers 1 and 2, p p . 25-33.

Malick, Alice Paul

1956 - A Comparative Study of American English and Iraqi

1957 Arabic Consonant C lusters. Language Learning VII,

numbers 3 and 4: 65-87.

P rothro, E. T .

1955 Arab-American D ifferences in the Judgment of Written

Messages. Journal o f Social P sych ology 42.

Sebeok, Thomas ( e d .)

1970 Linguistics in Southwest Asia and North A frica. The

Hague: Mouton & Co.

 93

Setian, Sosi

1972 Problems in Teaching Time to Egyptian Students.

English Language Teaching XXVI: 3.

T v e d tn e s , John A.

1977 Arab L ogic, In Languages and Linguistics Symposium.

Deseret Language and Linguistic S ociety. Provo,

Utah: Brigham Young University P ress.

3. Guides for Foreign Students

American Friends of the Middle East

1975 Planning for Study in the United States: A Guide for

Middle Eastern and North African Students. Washing­

ton, D . C . : AFME. (English and Arabic versions

availab le.)

Hsu, C. Y. ( e d .)

1977 The Asian Student Orientation Handbook 1977-78. San

Francisco: The Asia Foundation.

Institute o f International Education

1973 Handbook on U .S . Study for Foreign Nationals. Wash­

in g ton , D . C . : I.I.E . Ref LB 2376 I 52.

Lanier, Alison R.

1981 Living in the U . S . A . Chicago: Intercultural Press,

Inc.

P insky, Nina

1980 Foreign Student's Guide to Living in San Francisco.

San Francisco: International Institute of San Francisco.