The United Arab Emirates, referred to as UAE, is one of the Arab countries located in the golf in between Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. UAE is made up of seven small emirates, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al-Qaiwain, Fujairah, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah and Ajman. The location of the country gives the country rich culture in sea and also in desert. The location of any country has an affect of the type of culture it will have. If a country is near the water then there is fishing and other sea life opportunities that are created for the culture. Also, if the country is land locked then there are less resources for seafood that the country would be limited too, and it would also be more expensive to buy the fish from the store because the price would reflect the catching and shipping of the seafood. The fact that UAE is located both by the water, and also other land it creates a culture very rich in differing food options and also trade. The different types of food that the UAE focuses on are the same that most Arab countries eat. The country as a whole focuses on meats, and fishes and also fresh vegetables. Other example of food choices is goat, lamb, bread and yogurts. What is really interesting is that a lot of those that live in the UAE enjoy eating with their right hand and this has been taken into their culture. Along with other Arab countries a big part of their culture is eating together and having very good hospitality. Whenever going into any Arab home they will want to cook for you and make sure you have plenty to eat. Regardless of what Arab country you are in, there will be excellent hospitality brought forth by everyone you meet. This quarter I have learned many things about many different Arab countries and about the life those that identify as Arab live, and one that keep surprising me is how loving they are and their all around positive outlook on life. Before this class I was unaware of most of the things have learned about the Arab world because growing up on the western world I have just been given the stereotypes and other unfair outlook on the Arab people. By focusing on the culture that is surrounded by food people can see how loving and generous those are in the Arab countries, and maybe there will be a little hope in diminishing the negative outlook on the Arab people.
Whenever meeting people in public most people greet others with the common Arabic greeting. Men don’t usually shake women’s hands in the golf countries but they do shake other men’s hands. Its interesting the different gender roles that are set fourth in the Arab world. Men and women both act differently according to the gender they are interacting with. In Western civilization most people greet others with a hug regardless of gender. Its interesting how the world differs and how different cultures influence the actions of those associated with it. A big part of the culture in the Arab world comes from the Islam religion. There are certain rules set fourth b the religion that gets adapted into the culture, which causes people outside of the Arab countries and Islam religion to immediately group all Arabs as followers of Islam, which is not true. There are followers of all the different religions throughout the Arab world. Another social aspect of UAE is that there is social gender isolation. Whenever there are big gatherings women will be in one room entertaining each other, while the men are in the other room entertaining each other. This can also be seen in weddings. Women are in a big room dancing and celebrating together, and then there is a separate room where the men are celebrating together. Later in the reception they will all come together and celebrate the new marriage. This is interesting that there is separation based on gender that still happens in the Arab world. This also can be linked back to the majority of the country following Islam, but its an interesting topic that can be found throughout the Arab world. Many new ethical and religious backgrounds have moved into the UEA which causes them to become more accepting of others social interactions although they still hold very true to their own culture and most do not intend to give up their way of life and specific social interactions. It is very amazing that the Arab world continues to grow in their tolerance towards others and their beliefs, wile they still hold on tightly to their own.
Different economic growth in the Arab world has came from the growth in the oil industry. The more the oil industry grows, the more that the economy of the given Arab country grows. Countries in the golf are among the highest of the Arab countries in the oil industry due to their location. The more economic growth there is, the more that people will want to move and try to get their foot in the door in the booming business. The economic strength is one of the highest throughout the world. The emirates Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah are the leaders in UAE of oil production and therefore are the wealthiest in the country. Although the other countries aren’t highest in oil production, mostly due to their location, they still are striving due to the economic strength of other countries. Other neighboring emirates can gain the wealth off of welfare and other means of support which also helps the country be more connected and dependent on its self not other countries or outlets of help. The economic growth has also led to the big cities to become more and more like other big cities through out the world. One of the big city aspects that can be found in the UAE is that the growth of bigger skyscrapers continues to expand in the bigger cities. Other aspects of the new cities is the different sets of highways and complex boulevards. Whenever thinking about the Arab world I don’t imagine huge cities and big highways, but that’s just do to my exposure and before this class I was not exposed to many things outside of the United States. Along with the big buildings, there is a need to have good architects that can create beautiful masterpieces of buildings that allow for the business to grow and continue striving. The world keeps growing, and the UAE is not apart from that growth. Some people blame this urbanization on the western world and other aspects of westernization. Although western cultures are full of the big city aspects, there are many reasons why the Arab world is becoming more developed and becoming more like the western world. The interesting part about the expansion of cities is that there are the big cities, which are developing more western cultures, but then there is still a large majority of the country that is holding onto the original Arab traditions and other culture aspects.
The growing economy has created a bigger divide among classes. This seems to be the trend worldwide. The more a country strives and begins to grow, the lower class becomes poorer and the higher classes become wealthier. This situation has been happening through out the world and is evident in the UAE as well. As stated above, the countries in the UAE have become very wealthy due to the oil industry. The oil industry brings in a large sum of money and helps countries become wealthy. But as the country grows the separation becomes bigger, and this also leads to an unhealthy country. There needs to be a focus worldwide that helps the economic problem that creates such a large dived between classes, ultimately hurting the economy.
Whenever discussing family in the Arab world it is one of the most important aspects of the culture. People will always do everything in their power to protect and make their family happy. Whenever it comes to marriage in the UAE, arranged marriages are still very common. Before the booming oil businesses arranged marriages were the main forms and the wives had little say in what they wanted. It is known that women have been very suppressed in the Arab world but that is all changing along with the culture surrounding marriages. Before the oil business it was the norm for a wife and husband to be brought together by the family members, but due to the growing people and culture change it has become more and more common to have a marriage in where it is not arranged by family members. Although the family may not arrange the marriage, the opinion of the family still matters a great deal to the decision to get married. Another aspect of the marriage life that continues to change in the UAE is that women are able to have a bigger say in the decisions of the family. Before women had little say and the men were the head of the household and made all the decisions. Although men are still considered the head of the household the women are starting to get a bigger say because of their duties of taking care of the children and also overall choices of the family. Another aspect of marriage in UAE is that the husband is paid about 19,000 dollars to marry a nationalist. This was odd to me because although the country is okay with people from other countries and backgrounds to become part of their culture, they are paying the citizens to pick those that are originals to the country as a wife and luring them to follow this choice with money. If a man is given the choice between two women in this case he will most likely choose the women originally from UAE because he will get more money. This whole concept seems very strange to because why would a country decide to pay out someone to marry the type of person they see fit. One of the more promising aspects of the marriage in the UAE is that women continue to strive and become more outspoken and are getting a bigger say in how the lives of each person in the family should live and this is truly amazing because it shows the growth of the country and also shows that even if the religion is somewhat restricting for women they are receiving more rights and people are sticking up for those rights.
Education is one of the most important things in the world. Without education there is no growth, no understanding of the world and ultimately it harms the human race all together. Education in the UAE is one of the highest in the world for those entering some type of higher education. This is truly amazing because one of the harsh stereotypes of the Arabic world is hat they are uneducated and lack intelligence. The fact that there is such a high level of students going into higher education shows that there will be a continual growth in the Arabic world in education and also in other aspects of business and health. A big part of the education is the fact hat it is government supported. The government of UAE pushes for students to strive for more education after high school and try to do something that will help and make their family proud.
The way a child is raised will determine the way the child will act and the way the child will strive in life. One of the culture aspects of children in the Arab world is that they are cared and loved for. Arabic families tend to be very large which means a child will have a very large support system whenever it is born. The child feels very loved whenever it is brought into the world because it has not only loving parents, but the entire extended family. Arab children are brought up knowing what is right and wrong, and know how to help out others. As the child grows the child learns different aspects of the Arab culture that gets passed onto each generation, such as hospitality, which is very important as covered previously above. What’s interesting is that whenever a child is under the age of 5 they are referred to as “the one who does not know” in Arabic. This was interesting because as I interpret this, it is referring to the child as somewhat stupid for lack of better words. The UAE is very focused on education so if seems contradictory that they would refer to a child as one that does not know at such a young age because the child is so young there is little knowledge that the child needs to know. Another interesting finding is that a large amount of families employ a maid to help take care of children and also help around the house. This can be linked to the growth of the women’s say in the family. Some women are beginning to receive jobs, although they are under paid whenever compared to men, but they are working nonetheless. The fact women are working decreases the time they get to spend with their children, therefore causing the, to need an extra set of hands since most men are full time workers.
Another important aspect of UAE is the religion. The majority of the religion in UAE is Islam, and to be specific it is Sunni Muslims. Because of the religion people follow the set of rules put forth by Islam and the Quran. The basics of Islam is that there is a prayer five times a day and that the religion not only affects social life, but the government, marriage, economics, and personal behaves. Just as those in the UAE respect other ethnical groups, they are also very respectful of other religions. There are certain places for other religions to go and do their specific worshiping. There can be Christian churches, and other holy places found through out UAE. The main religion in UAE is in fact Islam, but about 9% is Christian, and about 5% of other religions all combined. There isn’t a huge concentration of different religions, but there’s enough to where there has to be some religious tolerance from all parties. This is very important because it shows that those in the country are not scared to close-minded by allowing others from different background and religious groups to become part o their society. But the other part od it is that they also show that they wont I’ve up their religion and other cultural beliefs just because there are people moving into their area and trying to share their beliefs. Religion in the middle east, and all over the world have been cause of man wars, but by having cultures such as the ones found in UAE that are both understanding, but still hold true to their own values are examples of how religious conflict in the middle east can be diminished and overall help each religious group. It’s important for people to be open-minded, but strong enough to still hold onto their differing opinion.