...now offering “Islamic home mortgages.” Such mortgages are described in detail in the textbook. The price of the Islamic mortgages tends to be very comparable to the price of traditional mortgages. Values and Attitudes * Values are the principles and standards accepted by members of a society; attitudes encompass the actions, feelings, and thoughts that result from those values. Attitudes about time, authority, education, and rewards reflect an individual’s deep-seated values and shape the behavior of, and opportunities available to, companies operating in a given culture. * Time. In Anglo-Saxon cultures, the prevailing attitude toward time is that it is valuable and should not be wasted. Conversely, Latin Americans and Arabs do not share this attitude and think nothing of starting a business meeting late, or being interrupted during a meeting. * In...
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...<Writing Score> <Date Graded> Assignment 1: Building the vision My name is Siham Wallace and I am originally from Casablanca, Morocco. I moved to the United States in 1998 and I attended Western Michigan University. I graduated in 2000 with a Masters Degree in Communications. I have worked in healthcare for the last 14 years and am currently employed as a Director of an assisted Living for Dementia /Alzheimer’s patients. I have 2 children, a boy and a girl, ages 11 and 9. I am interested in teaching women how to be leaders, especially Arab women. In the Arab culture, men are predisposed from birth to be leaders while women are taught to be followers. Women are taught to take care of their husbands and children. From Birth, they are conditioned to be daughters, sisters, mothers and bread winners. They can acquire higher education and join the workforce but in the back of their minds, they are not born leaders. An Arab woman is an “uneducated housewife and an educated one. She is an exhausted modern professional wife and mother...
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...Planet of the Arabs I am really disappointed about “Planet of the Arabs” film. These kinds of films are called propaganda films, due to the false information. The message of this film is probably to show that Hollywood or other media sources are trying to corrupt the images of Arabs. The film starts from the old days and kept going to the Arab development in American history. They mentioned that Arab people are dehumanization, and the women are like camels in Arab society, and the false meaning of jihad. “The dehumanization of a people” was the first thing that was in the film, and they referred it to the Arabs people, by telling Arabs you can tell! I think it is inappropriate to dehumanize a group of people, because this is against the meaning of human being and humanity. However, he did a great job in convincing the neutral people, because he mentioned a lot of things about jihad and the Afghanistan people. But probably he failed to convince the knowledgeable people. Talking about women and that Arab people treat them like camels, is absolutely false. Women in Arab society have the same rights that men have. They were one of the first societies that gave the women her rights. On the other hand, women were prohibited to vote in old Britain society. Also the romans people, when they knew that the pregnant women is giving her birth, they would kill it if they knew it was a female. Because they thought that men are the important aspect in their society. So, why Arabs! Moreover...
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...Similar to other immigrants, Arabs came to the United States as a result of economic instability in their homeland. Since Arabs came from a different culture and background, European immigrants judged them based on a Eurocentric point-of-view. The Arabs were also racially misrepresented by the government as Turks or Armenians. The government even contemplated including Arabs in the Asian Exclusion Act of 1882. The Arabs, throughout the first part of the 20th century, struggle to establish their own racial identity in America. It was not until after WWII that a large amount of Arab civil rights organizations began to form. Throughout the 20th century Arab stereotypes began to spread. Negative images of Arabs were being promoted through pop culture outlets such as film, T.V., and newspapers. The portrayal of successful and highly educated Arabs was nonexistent. Also with tensions in Israel-Palestine rising in the 1960s, The United States pro-Israel propaganda was based completely on an anti-Arab ideology. New Arab immigrants, who arrived with the abolishment of the national-origins act, found themselves being outcasts of society. How Americans felt about an event that occurred in the middle usually represented how they treated Arabs. After the Twin Towers were attacked on 9/11, the mistreatment of Arabs peaked. Anti-Arab sentiment became prevalent within media outlets, who began to racially target Arab culture and beliefs. Shortly after, a new wave of stereotypes emerged that...
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...The “Arab spring” also known as the Arab revolution is referred to a revolutionary wave of demonstrations, protest, and violence occurring in the Arab world in the Middle Eastern and North African regions beginning in December of 2010. The Arab spring has had a large impact on the worlds foreign affairs for the past 3 years. Many Arab countries in the last few years have had their own revolutions and protest almost reaching levels to be considered civil wars. The largest and most violent demonstrations have been and are currently happening in a country on the western border of Iraq and south of Turkey known as Syria. Syria has been in an inner conflict since the country won its independence from France in 1946. Though recently because of the large amount of different social ethical and religious groups all looking for power and authority in the same region, the country has been in a violent turmoil. To get a better understanding on why and how Syria has fallen into this state of power struggled violence you should first look at the other countries involved in todays Arab spring and how this whole mess started in the Arab world. On December 17, 2010, in a small North African country called Tunisia, a twenty six year old street vendor by the name of Mohamed Bouazizi started a revolution that would change the world forever. Earlier that day Mohamed had been selling goods from his wheelbarrow in his rural home town when local authorities seized his wheelbarrow and all of his goods...
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...research was to answer the main research question: ‘What caused the Arab Spring’ In order to tackle this question; desk research, case studies and an interview with Mr Farrid Benkaddour have been conducted. Farrid Benkaddour is a Moroccan sociologist, he started his career in Morocco after obtaining his baccalaureate in 1984. Since then he has been a teacher in Morocco, afterwards he went to the Netherlands to teach Dutch people about Moroccan culture. He currently works for Arabika, a company that specializes in legal assistance, translations, language trainings and intercultural communications. The desk research revealed the opinions of the Arab spring’s countries inhabitants. Inflation, unemployment and poor housing conditions prevailed as a direct consequence of insufficient dictatorial regimes. Freshly graduated youth was left jobless with no sign of improvement in the near future. People became more and more aware of the lack of political influence they had and started idealizing the western political democratic models. The interview and case studies showed there have been negative thoughts about the dictatorial regimes ever since their instalment. Protests have been seen throughout the history of the Arab world. The difference, however, between those protests and the Arab Spring is the modern age. Where earlier protests failed due to lack of support, the modern age tools such as (social-)media carried the Arab spring’s unfolding events throughout the world, reaching a lot...
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...overview of Arab culture. It must be emphasized that there is no “one” Arab culture or society. The Arab world is full of rich and diverse communities, groups and cultures. Differences exist not only among countries, but within countries as well. It is impossible to talk about groups of people without generalizing. It then follows that it is hard to talk about the culture of a group without generalizing. This handbook attempts to be as accurate and specific as possible, but inevitably contains such generalizations. Treat these generalizations with caution and wariness. They do provide insight into a culture, but the accuracy and usefulness will depend on the context and specific circumstances. WHERE IS THE ARAB WORLD? • The Arab world stretches from Morocco across Northern Africa to the Persian Gulf. The Arab world is more or less equal to the area known as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Although this excludes Somalia, Djibouti, and the Comoros Islands which are part of the Arab world. • It can also be defined as those countries where Arabic is the dominant language. • Arab countries are religiously and ethnically diverse with Islam being the dominant religion in most countries. • 22 Arab countries/areas: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. • Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries...
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...between the Arab World and the West Mustapha Ettobi McGill University Introduction In 1990, Edward Said wrote an article entitled “Embargoed Literature” which was published in The Nation. In it, he argues that Arabic literature is “embargoed” in the West even if one of its most prominent figures, the Egyptian novelist and short story writer Naguib Mahfouz, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. Said spoke of some “singular” reasons for this situation: [...] of all the major world literatures, Arabic remains relatively unknown and unread in the West for reasons that are unique, and I think remarkable at a time when tastes here [the United States] for the non-Western are more developed than before and, even more compelling, contemporary Arabic literature is at a particularly interesting juncture (Said 372). Although Said’s article was well received by Arab and non Arab critics and researchers (such as Richard Jacquemond, 1992), its main argument was also challenged by other critics and scholars such as Peter Clark (2000). The latter maintained that Arabic literature in translation has significantly progressed since 1988 and has been more reviewed and studied than before. In this article, I do not intend to either defend or question Said’s view but would like to examine an important issue which is central to his article: the impact of geopolitical conflicts on literary translation. I will be looking specifically at the influence of conflicts between the Arab world and...
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...Global Interactions November 20, 2014 Paper 1: Arab Spring The Arab Spring refers to a series of popular uprisings throughout the Arab world that began in December, 2010. The catalyst for these uprisings was a twenty-six year old Tunisian, who lit himself on fire outside of a civic building.[1] Mohamed Bouazizi was a fruit and vegetable cart vendor and was trying to sell produce on the streets when his cart was confiscated by a Tunisian government official. This was one of a series of harassments that he had experienced, and the last indignity that he suffered was being slapped by a female Tunisian government employee.[2] He then subsequently set himself on fire, and this event is was set off the Arab Spring, or the Arab Awakening, as it is also called.[3] However, this was only the catalyst; the Arab Spring is a fluid, ongoing event that is steeped in history with economic, political, and social factors contributing to its occurrence. After Mohamed’s self-immolation there were thirty days of national protests in Tunisia before the former Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine was removed from power.[4] During this time there were others in the Arab world watching this on satellite channels like Aljazeera, so there was an increase in cases of self-immolation in other parts of the Arab world, including Egypt.[5] Many in Egypt were watching this going on and thought that if a small country like Tunisia can overthrow a dictator through popular uprising then perhaps they...
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...Book Review: The Invisible Arab: The Promise and Peril of the Arab Revolution Written By: Marwan Bishara Lilia Gomez INTL 5000 (Fall Semester) The book that I am reviewing is titled The Invisible Arab: The Promise and Peril of the Arab Revolution. It is written by a well-known political analyst named Marwan Bishara. Mr. Bishara works for the Al Jeezera (the primary news channel for the Arab world) as a Senior Political Analyst. The book is in the perspective of an Arab and not by someone within the Western media/culture. He writes about the Arab revolutions and the history behind it. Mr. Bishara debunks several thoughts of how the Arab revolutions started and how the media (both Arabic and Western) have played a major role within these causes. Mr. Bishara’ book is self-described as an essay in which he reflects on the history of the revolutions up until present and how social media and the Arab youth population played a part. He credits the youth of being able to over throw decade old customs, governments, and regimes. In addition, he describes the rise of many positive organizations that formed because of the revolutions such as women’s groups, sports teams, and a higher employment rate. Although he praises the rise of these types of organizations, Mr. Bishara faults the lack of organization and commitment to principles as the basis of...
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...extent were the actions of Nasser the most important factor in encouraging Arab unity in the years 1954-70? Overall, it seems that Nasser was an important figurehead in uniting the Arab population because he managed to unite Arab thought into being independent both in terms of within The Middle East and on the world stage. Nasser managed to gain Egypt and the concept of Arab nationalism an increased status through his running and appeal of Egypt. It could however be argued that hostility against Israel and the effects of this, as well as the fact that Arab unity was not exceptionally strong during this period may also have meant that his attempts to encourage Arab unity may have been unsuccessful. It is clear to a large extent that between 1945 and 1970, Nasser was at least partially responsible for fuelling feelings of Arab nationalism in Egypt that caused other countries to wish to join him in his cause. Nasser rose to power when he overthrew the Egyptian government in 1952 following Egypt’s humiliating defeat during the War of Independence. In 1954, Nasser managed to negotiate less British control on the Suez Canal. The West, specifically Britain and the USA tried to convince Nasser and the Egyptians to move into an anti-Soviet alliance, The Baghdad Pact, in 1955. Instead, Nasser founded a radio channel, the ‘Voice of the Arabs’, which spread ideas about Arab nationalism by broadcasting them across the Arab world. In 1956, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, in order to show the...
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...The major difference between Muslims and Arabs is that Arabs are an ethnic group and Muslims are a religious group. According to the textbook (Schaefer, 2006) “many Arab Americans are not Muslims, and most Muslim Americans are not Arabs” (p. 285). Arab Americans are immigrants and descendants from Arab countries as well as non-Arab countries. Muslims are people who practice the Islam faith. Though Muslims and Arabs are significantly different, they do share some similarities. Both Arabs and Muslims experience orientalism, which prevents them from obtaining classification as individual groups. There are many characteristics of orientalism such as stereotyping of Islam, religious conflict, and misrepresentation of cultures among Eastern countries. Orientalism can contribute to hate crimes because it promotes prejudice. It does this by fostering the idea that everyone within an ethnic group is to blame for the actions and ideas of only a few. For example, Muslims and Arabs have experienced high levels of hate crimes and discrimination since the attacks of 9/11. This is most likely because orientalism helped foster the idea that all Arabs and Muslims are a threat to the country, just because a few were. There are some recent changes to the United States policies that may affect the treatment of Muslim and Arab Americans. The most recent change comes in the form of verbal support for Muslim Americans by President Obama in his State of the Union Address, January 25, 2011. Another...
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...Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafiwas the longest-serving leader in the Arab world. He ruled Libya after he took it over from King Idris I in 1969.Gaddafi was born on 7th June, 1942 in Qasr Abu Hadi located outside the town of Sirte in western Libya. He attended a Muslim elementary school in Sabha. During his schooling, he was profoundly influenced by major events in the Arab world especially the Arab nationalist movement. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser became his idol. Gaddafi joined the army in the 1960s as a supporter of Arab nationalism. In 1959, significant oil reserves were discovered in Libya. Revenue from petroleum exports moved Libya from being one of the poorest nations, to becoming a wealthy state. However, people began to resent the increased concentration of wealth in the hands of King Idris. This discontent grew with the rise of Nasserism and Arab nationalism throughout North Africa and the Middle East. In August 1969, King Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment. On September 1, 1969 a group of 70 junior Libyan military officers led by Muammar Gaddafi took the opportunity to stage a bloodless overthrow (coup d’état). The coup started in Benghazi, by members of Libyan Signal Corps. They placed the crown prince, Sayyid as-Sanussi under house arrest The coup leaders were referred to as the Free Officers’ Movement. They declared an end to monarchy in Libya and renamed the country the Libyan Arab Republic. The movement then evolved into the Revolutionary Command...
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...What are Arab Americans? An individual can be classified as “Arab” if the person speaks Arabic, practices Islam, and identifies with the traditions of Arabic-speaking peoples. (Aguirre and Turner 276)These individuals are usually subject to negative and differential treatment by others. It is essential to identify the differential treatment of Arab Americans by others in society. The mistreatment of Arabs in the United States can be contributed to many factors; however, there have been certain events that have occurred in the United States, which have increased and enraged these strong emotional feelings in many Americans. Discrimination and stereotypes of a culture or group mainly develops from a lack of understanding. We can become a stronger society and nation if there is a greater awareness of the different cultures, in general, and not just about Arab Americans. With a better understanding by all Americans, these Arab-Americans, as well as other stereotyped individuals in society, would not have to worry about defending their identities, ancestries, cultures or traditions. Since Sept. 11, Arab Americans have been beneficiaries of what it feels like to be a member of the African American community. Although it is wrong to treat Arab Americans like criminals, we should not be surprised that they are treated in these ways. September 11 is a day that no one will ever forget. Everyone can remember where they were eleven years ago when terrorist attacked the twin towers of...
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...author of this article. Climate change has been charged with many numerous and insidious effects on the planet and human affairs in general, but how far reaching are this effects the economic, social and political structures. In this article we shall explore the proposition that climate change can lead to massive political upheavals and specifically if climate change could have caused Arab Spring. Arab Spring is the widespread revolutions and protests that have rocked that Arab world. There has been a wave of protests, riots and armed conflicts that has swept through the Arab world beginning on 18th December 2010 continuing to present day, with various revolutions accompanied by toppled governments and civil wars resulting from the Arab Spring. The following countries has their governments kicked out; Yemen, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt who kicked out two consecutive governments. Syria and Bahrain had major civil uprisings with the Syrian one presently considered a civil war. Riots have broken out in Jordan, Kuwait, Sudan, Morocco and Algeria with minor protests occurring in other Arab countries. Arab Spring has been undoubtedly been motivated by mainly political reasons, to topple the tyrannical governments. The desire for freedom and recognizance of the right of the people seems to be...
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