Transcript Middle Eastern Culture

Middle Eastern Culture
Ashleigh FitzGerald, Megan McCoy,
Kimberly Parent
Geography
• Divided into subareas:
– Levant
– Israel
– Arabian peninsula and Yemen
– North Africa
• Most landscape is harsh desert or mountains
• People living in the desert moved to search for
water sources
Religious Conquests
• Shortly after the advent of Islam, the Arabs
began an energetic conquest of surrounding
territory, eventually expanding their empire
from Spain to India. Widespread conversions
took place, which accounts for the fact that
over 90% of all Arabs today are Muslims.
• 85% are Sunni (orthodox), the rest are Shia.
• Their practices differ but they will recognize
and respect each other’s rightful differences.
The Qur’an
• Islam= “submission to God,” Muslim= “one who submits”
• The single most important guiding force for Muslims,
touches every aspect of their lives.
• Contains doctrine to guide Muslims to find salvation,
stories illustrating God’s power & benevolence, and
social regulations for the entire Islam community.
• Muslims find it unfortunate that Westerners seem to
not understand how similar our faiths really are. Islam
sees itself as a continuation of the other religions, as
the “completed, true faith.”
The 5 Pillars of Faith
• 5 Basic Tenets of the Muslim Faith:
(1) Reciting the Declaration of Faith
“There is no God but God and Muhammad is the
Messenger [Prophet] of God”
(2) Praying five times daily,
(3) Giving alms to the needy,
(4) Fasting from sunup to sundown during the
month of Ramadan, and
(5) Performing a pilgrimage to Mecca at least
once in their lifetime if finances do permit.
Cultures
• The Middle East consists of approximately 20
different cultures
• Family is VERY important part of culture
• In traditional Arabic societies, family consists
of extended members
– Cousins, grandparents, etc. all living together
• Arabic language is the most widely spoken,
French and English are second languages
Women and Society
• Patterns of behavior developed to protect women’s
honor and avoid false impressions and untrue gossip.
• Within the family women have more power
• They accrue more power and status as they age
• They control upbringing & education of children.
• Western women expected to behave with propriety,
but are not required to be as conservative in general.
Dress Code
• Very strict
• Loose fit clothing, long
sleeves and pants with head
dress (headscarf= “Hejab”)
• Women are forbidden from
exposing hair and should be
covered in public from their
ankles up to their neck
• Men cannot wear shorts or
sleeveless shirts
Food
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Hummus is most popular food
Mankeesh- pizza of Arabic world
Halloumi- cheeses
Olive oils and grains are often used
Dining is typically done without utensils
– Left hand is considered unclean so always use right hand to eat
• Impolite to not eat what is given to you