The Middle East comprises Iran, eight Arab states (all Muslim),
and Israel (Jewish). The Lebanon refers to itself as an Arab country but is half Arab and half Christian.

The Muslim world is a very strict society and it is essential that you observe Islamic politeness and decorum. The United Arab Emirates are less strict and very cosmopolitan; though still adhere to Muslim values. Segregation of the sexes is an important feature of the Arab world.  Men – DO NOT under any circumstances touch an Arab woman or make direct eye contact with her. No one should behave in public in a flirtatious or affectionate manner – not even married couples. Alcohol is prohibited in most parts of the Middle East and gambling is considered evil.

Women should always be very modestly and conservatively dressed, often covered fully by a burka (a long black coat, with or without a veil).  Skirts below the knee, high collars and long sleeves are required. You should check on any practice regarding wearing a long scarf for hair cover. There are special areas for Westerners where ‘normal’ dress, behaviour and customs are allowed out of sight of the locals. The United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and The Lebanon (Beirut) are the exceptions; they accept ‘western’ dress and behaviour, Saudi Arabai does not.

So far in this section you’ll find the  Top Ten Tips for doing business in five countries of the Middle East along with opening times, holiday dates and festivities. These are: United Arab Emirates, The Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,  and Israel.

Egypt is a major Arab country whose stability and evolution remains pivotal to the future of the Middle East. It is also an important economic force with the second largest market in the region (after Saudi Arabia) and the base for some of the region’s most innovative companies (the most successful telecoms operator, construction conglomerate, investment bank, and private-equity firm). It’s no wonder, then, that Egypt has fallen under the media spotlight; no less than coverage in ten issues in The Economist in 2009 alone; apart from the American and Arab coverage it has received.   

However, many argue that the coverage so far has tended to be reductionist missing some of Egypt’s most significant and dynamic trends. One such important trend is seen as a  pervasive Islamic force in the country. This description, used to describe the Muslim Brotherhood, more accurately defines the Salafist movements, according to Tarek Osman a writer on Egyptian affairs. It is he who argues that an appeal to Barack Obama to reinvigorate the United States’s democracy-promotion efforts in the Arab world is based on a flawed understanding both of political Islam and the real needs of the region’s people.

For an insightful view of the difference between the Muslim world, the Arab world and the Middle East read his article on the subject. As Osman emphasises: “The differences and distinctions matter: for their own sake, for proper understanding by outsiders, for policy that is intended to help not harm to be got right, and for the tragedies and enmities of past years to be overcome rather than repeated.”

And so it seems, the plethora of new media has put Egypt under the spotlight, but allows for too little close study and critical observation. Such hurried coverage risks failing to detect the real trends that are shaping tomorrow’s Egypt – and are not picking up “the differences and distinctions” that matter. As those who work in cross-cultural understanding and intercultural communication know – it’s the differences that make a difference.

Footnote: Salafists, who regard early pious Muslims and their communities as exemplary models, command major followings on the Egyptian “street”. They are not politically active, and that is why they are tolerated (and sometimes encouraged) by the regime; that is also why they do not feature in news-bulletins or reports on the country. Their influence, however, is many times more than that of organised political Islam.  Salafist thinking, which has been expanding and proliferating in Egypt for more than three decades, is based on a religious view of life; a strict and highly conservative social code; and inherently advances an Islamist foreign policy. The accumulating influence of this significant Salafist influence on Egyptian society could be to make many young Egyptians more anti-secular, anti-liberal, and anti-west. After three decades of domestic and foreign efforts to align the country with the United States and the west, including around $100 billion of American (and western) investment in and aid to Egypt, this outcome would be a colossal policy failure. The Salafi phenomenon receives far less attention than it deserves.

Turkish girls are demanding more autonomy from their parents citing they want to choose their own friends and how they spend their free time. It seems that nowadays these young woman will accept less interference about their lives and are striving for more independence.  They are also becoming more vocal in their choice of careers.

It seems a small revolution is quietly taking place in Turkey among young women and their parents. Girls are becoming more self-confident and well integrated and will defend their points of view to their parents, becoming more outspoken than any generation before them.

A study by the University of Würzburg has disproved the sterotypical image that Germans have about Turkish girls which sees Turkish girls obediently doing what their parents tell them to do and eagerly awaiting to play their role as stay-at-home moms. Girls, it appears, are being more pushy than the boys. The Würzburg study outlines the image of a young and self-confident generation of Turkish girls who have a very clear concept of what they want to do in their spare time and how they plan their future.

The study was performed on the basis of interviews with 400 girls and 430 boys of Turkish origin by Prof. Dr. Heinz Reinders between 2005-8, with the results just published.

On learning about a young Saudi boy not seeing his father for about ten months due to his dad’s busy international business schedule, I was rather saddened. However, I was surprised to learn from his mother’s comments that the poor lad was unlikely to have seen his father even if he were at home because he would have been busy with business commitments there.  This rather suggests that there is no room for fathers to develop strong emotional links with their children – or even their spouses.

I believe much of this goes back to the segregation of the sexes and the very conservative nature of Saudi families. Women and children of the family and extended family live together in a closed community. Children are unlikely to see their Saudi mother and father hugging, kissing or even holding hands. These are actions which typically take place in private with the husband and wife behind closed doors. This is very much unlike Western countries where affection is widely and broadly shown and demonstrated. A real cultural difference! The showing of affection is very much a part of our Western life and, nowaday, is seen as an important part of our emotional upbringing and well-being.  But my husband was brought up in an England where demonstrative affection between father and son was ‘not cricket’ – and that is not so many years ago. I’m glad our society has changed enough so that my husband feels able to show and tell his sons that he loves and cares for them. But I say that from the context of having a Dad who loved to be hugged and cuddled, as do I.

I know from a friend of mine, who worked as a governess for one of the Royal families in Saudi, that the male children of the household live with the women until almost puberty. This engenders a stronger bond between mothers and children than between fathers and their offspring. And, probably expalins why most of the Saudi gentlemen of my acquaintaince always claim that their wives rule the roost!  It would be unfair to say that this segregation leads mothers to be more emotionally attached to their children than their husbands, but as an armchair psychologist one might think so.  However, I refer back to my friend who said that the Prince and Princess were deeply in love and would spend as much time together as his busy scheduled and her household commitments allowed.

There’s no right or wrong – just difference. C’est la vie!

Undoutedly, events like 9/11, the London and Madrid bombings, along with the terrorist attacks in Mombai and the Philippines, to name just a few, have changed many attitudes towards other cultures and the peoples that live in some distant lands. Will conflict between civilisations be the latest phase in the evolution of conflict in the modern world? Samuel Huntingdon argues that the great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict, in this century, will be cultural – not ideological or economic as in the last century.

So what does this actually mean?  Well, let’s take a step back…

Confronting one of the most hotly debated social issues in France, President Sarkozy gave a withering critique of burquas as a symbol of  women’s “enslavement” – and he wants to stamp them out. Apparently there is no room in France for the garment that some Muslim women wear to cloak their bodies and faces. Addressing the French Parliament, Mr Sarkozy said: “The issue of the burqa is not a religious issue. It is a question of freedom and of women’s dignity.” He emphasised, “The burqa is not a religious sign. It is a sign of the subjugation, of the submission, of women.”  To enthusiastic applause, he said, “I want to say solemnly that it will not be welcome on our territory.”

But why such “intolerance” on the part of the French?

The separation of Church and State is jealously guarded in France, embodying that cherished French principle of secularism. Born out of the French Revolution it has long been a tenant of the French way of life. Voltaire, one of the leaders of eighteenth century progressive thought, argued that religion was divisive, primitive and intolerant. While the Republic believes you have the right to worship as you want in private, it believes that as a French citizen you owe your allegiance first to the French nation rather than to God.

Five years ago,the wearing of ouvert signs of faith was banned in State institutions – being incompatible with French values. Last year, a Moroccan women was refused French citizenship inspite of speaking fluent French and having a French husband. Why? Because of her ‘radical practice’ of Islam. She insisted on wearing a burqua which is incompatible with French values.

However, in his recent speech, Sarkozy was at pains to stress that Islam must be respected like all other faiths. Interestingly, an extensive survey of Muslims in Europe recently found that France is the country most at ease with its Muslim population. Whilst 81% of Muslims in the UK felt themselves to be Muslim first and British second, over 50% of French Muslims viewed themselves as French first and Muslim second.

As I always emphasis – there’s no right or wrong – just difference. Cultural difference. C’est la vie!