Photo by

Cliff Feldman

Welcome to the Fulbright ETA

Workshop

*

Who are the Arabs? A definition?

• “The Arabic-speaking peoples as a nation or group of sister nations…, linked by a common territory, language, and culture."

• KEY: Arab countries are religiously and ethnically diverse with Islam being the dominant religion in most countries.

• Arabs make up fewer than one quarter of the world's 1.4 billion Muslims,…sometimes referred to as the Islamic world.

• Of that population, 80-90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and 10-20% are Shia.

Sources: http://www.slate.com/id/1008394/, and http://www.slate.com/id/1008394/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_World and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi%27a%E2%80%93Sunni_relations

Note: Iran and Turkey are not Arab Countries

*The Arab League includes Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

*Arab identity: Family, Honor, and Religion.

Family Importance, extended, size, duty

Honor A poor person with honor is more revered than a rich person without it.

Insults are taken personally and rarely- if ever- forgotten.

Feuds between families (or villages) can rage on for decades

Hospitality

Invite complete strangers for dinner or tea

Arab society is highly communal.

Neighbors consider it their duty to look out for each otherReligion is a major part of every Arabs life, Muslim, Christian, or Jews.

Arabs may you the question "What religion are you?" (not "What religion to do you follow"). Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080614094905AA17hOg

*Considerations for teachers and expats

Time:

Promptness is not a major virtue.

Arabs are a night culture.

When Arabs want to say something is beautiful, they will say "She is as lovely as the moon" or "He is as handsome as the moon". The popular Arab name "Layla" literally means "night".

Public Behavior:

No drinking alcohol in public, no kissing nor holding hands. No unseemly or raucous behavior. Modesty and decorum at all times. 

Clothing:

Modest for both men and women. Neatness. No Shorts or sleeveless attire.