Arab culture

Arab culture refers to the culture in the countries in Khansa, a female contemporary of Muhammad, was an
which the official language is Arabic (although the Arabic acclaimed Arab poet.
language in some of minority), and the west officials and
scholars used to call them “Arab countries” of Western
Asia and North Africa, from Egypt to the Arabian Sea.
Language, literature, gastronomy, art, architecture, mu-
sic, spirituality, philosophy, mysticism (etc.) are all part
of the cultural heritage of the pan-Arab world.
The Arab world is sometimes divided into separate re-
gions including Nile Valley (consisting of Egypt and Su-
dan), Al-Maghrib Al-Arabi (consisting of Libya, Tunisia,
Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania), Fertile Crescent
(consisting of Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and
Jordan) and the Arabian Peninsula (consisting of Iraq,
Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Al Ah-
waz Al Arabiya, Oman and the UAE) and the Arabian Antara and Abla, the Arab Romeo and Juliet
Peninsula’s Al-Janoub Al-Arabi (consisting of Yemen
and Oman).
The Arab culture is divided into three main parts, the 1.1 Mu'allaqat
urban culture (Al-Mudun), the rural culture (Ar-Reef),
and the nomad culture (Al-Badow). Typically, most of Main article: Muallaqat
the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, along with parts
of Jordan and Iraq, are considered Badow (Bedouins).
The Mu'allaqat (Arabic: ‫المعلقات‬, [al-muʕallaqaːt]) is
Other countries’ countrysides such as Palestine, Syria,
the name given to a series of seven Arabic poems or
Lebanon, Algeria and Tunisia are considered rural cul-
qasida that originated before the time of Islam. Each
tures. Their cities are considered to be urban cultures. In
poem in the set has a different author, and is considered
fact, most of the Arab major cities are recognized with
to be their best work. Mu'allaqat means “The Suspended
urban cultures, like Jaffa (pre-Israel), Cairo, Jerusalem,
Odes” or “The Hanging Poems,” and comes from the po-
Beirut, Baghdad, Alexandria, Damascus, etc. The Lev-
ems being hung on the wall in the Kaaba at Mecca.
ant, particularly Palestine, Lebanon, Syria as well as
Egypt are known to have a long urban culture history. The seven authors, who span a period of around 100
years, are Imru' al-Qais, Tarafa, Zuhayr, Labīd, 'Antara
Ibn Shaddad, 'Amr ibn Kulthum, and Harith ibn Hilliza.
All of the Mu’allaqats contain stories from the authors’
1 Literature lives and tribe politics. This is because poetry was used
in pre-Islamic time to advertise the strength of a tribe’s
Main article: Arabic literature king, wealth and people.
One Thousand and One Nights (Persian: ‫)هزار و یک شب‬
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and is a medieval folk tale collection which tells the story of
poetry, by speakers of the Arabic language. It does not Scheherazade (in Persian: Šahrzād ‫)شهرزاد‬, a Sassanid
include works written using the Arabic alphabet but not queen who must relate a series of stories to her malev-
in the Arabic language such as Persian and Urdu litera- olent husband, King Shahryar (Šahryār), to delay her ex-
ture. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which ecution. The stories are told over a period of one thou-
is derived from a word meaning “to invite someone for sand and one nights, and every night she ends the story
a meal” and implies politeness, culture and enrichment. with a suspenseful situation, forcing the King to keep her
Arabic literature emerged in the 6th century, with only alive for another day. The individual stories were created
fragments of the written language appearing before then. over several centuries, by many people from a number of
The Qur'an, from the 7th century, had the greatest and different lands.
longest-lasting effect on Arabic culture and literature. Al- The nucleus of the collection is formed by a Pahlavi Sas-

1
2 2 MUSIC

sanid Persian book called Hazār Afsānah[9] (Thousand suggested that it be called the Near East (from Morocco
Myths, in Persian: ‫)هزار افسانه‬, a collection of ancient to India) style (van der Merwe, Peter 1989, p. 9).
Indian and Persian folk tales. Habib Hassan Touma (1996, p.xix-xx) lists “five compo-
During the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid nents” which “characterize the music of the Arabs:
in the 8th century, Baghdad had become an important
cosmopolitan city. Merchants from Persia, China, India, 1. The Arab tone system (a musical tuning system)
Africa, and Europe were all found in Baghdad. During with specific interval structures, invented by al-
this time, many of the stories that were originally folk sto- Farabi in the 10th century (p. 170).
ries are thought to have been collected orally over many
years and later compiled into a single book. The com- 2. Rhythmic-temporal structures that produce a rich
piler and ninth-century translator into Arabic is reputedly variety of rhythmic patterns, awzan, used to accom-
the storyteller Abu Abd-Allah Muhammad el-Gahshigar. pany the metered vocal and instrumental genres and
The frame story of Shahrzad seems to have been added give them form.
in the 14th century.
3. Musical instruments that are found throughout the
Arabian world and that represent a standardized
tone system, are played with standardized perfor-
2 Music mance techniques, and exhibit similar details in con-
struction and design.
4. Specific social contexts for the making of music,
whereby musical genres can be classified as ur-
ban (music of the city inhabitants), rural (music of
the country inhabitants), or Bedouin (music of the
desert inhabitants)....
5. A musical mentality that is responsible for the
aesthetic homogeneity of the tonal-spatial and
rhythmic-temporal structures in Arabian music,
whether composed or improvised, instrumental or
vocal, secular or sacred. The Arab’s musical men-
tality is defined by:
(a) The maqām phenomenon....
(b) The predominance of vocal music...
(c) The predilection for small instrumental en-
sembles...
(d) The mosaiclike stringing together of musi-
cal form elements, that is, the arrangement
in a sequence of small and smallest melodic
Fresco from Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbî, Syria, Ummayad caliphs elements, and their repetition, combination,
Palace, built in the early 7th century and permutation within the framework of the
tonal-spatial model.
Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking people (e) The absence of polyphony, polyrhythm, and
or countries, especially those centered around the Ara- motivic development. Arabian music is, how-
bian Peninsula. The world of Arab music has long been ever, very familiar with the ostinato, as well as
dominated by Cairo, a cultural center, though musical with a more instinctive heterophonic way of
innovation and regional styles abound from Tunisia to making music.
Saudi Arabia. Beirut has, in recent years, also become (f) The alternation between a free rhythmic-
a major center of Arabic music. Classical Arab music temporal and fixed tonal-spatial organization
is extremely popular across the population, especially a on the one hand and a fixed rhythmic-temporal
small number of superstars known throughout the Arab and free tonal-spatial structure on the other.
world. Regional styles of popular music include Iraqian This alternation...results in exciting contrasts.”
el Maqaam, Algerian raï, Kuwaiti sawt and Egyptian el
gil. Much Arab music is characterized by an emphasis on
“The common style that developed is usually called 'Is- melody and rhythm rather than harmony. Thus much
lamic' or 'Arab', though in fact it transcends religious, Arabic music is homophonic in nature. Some genres of
ethnic, geographical, and linguistic boundaries” and it is Arab music are polyphonic—as the instrument Kanoun
 3

is based upon the idea of playing two-note chords—but periments were done which determined conclusively that
quintessentially, Arabic music is melodic. the notes in actual use differ substantially from an even-
It would be incorrect though to call it modal, for the Ara- tempered 24-tone scale, and furthermore that the intona-
bic system is more complex than that of the Greek modes. tion of many of those notes differ slightly from region to
The basis of the Arabic music is the maqam (pl. maqa- region (Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iraq). The commission’s
mat), which looks like the mode, but is not quite the same. recommendation is as follows: “The tempered scale and
The maqam has a "tonal" note on which the piece must the natural scale should be rejected. In Egypt, the Egyp-
end (unless modulation occurs). tian scale is to be kept with the values, which were mea-
sured with all possible precision. The Turkish, Syrian,
and Iraqi scales should remain what they are...” (trans-
lated in Maalouf 2002, p. 220). Both in modern prac-
tice, and based on the evidence from recorded music over
the course of the last century, there are several differ-
ently tuned “E"s in between the E-flat and E-natural of
the Western Chromatic scale, depending on the maqam
or jins in use, and depending on the region.
Musicians and teachers refer to these in-between notes
as “quarter-tones” (“half-flat” or “half-sharp”) for ease
of nomenclature, but perform and teach the exact values
of intonation in each jins or maqam by ear. It should
also be added, in reference to Touma’s comment above,
that these “quarter-tones” are not used everywhere in the
maqamat: in practice, Arabic music does not modulate to
The Riq is widely used in the Arabic Music
12 different tonic areas like the Well-Tempered Klavier,
and so the most commonly used “quarter tones” are on
The maqam consists of at least two jins, or scale seg- E (between E-flat and E-natural), A, B, D, F (between
ments. “Jins” in Arabic comes from the ancient Greek F-natural and F-sharp) and C.
word “genus,” meaning type. In practice, a jins (pl. ajnas) The prototypical Arab ensemble in Egypt and Syria is
is either a trichord, a tetrachord, or a pentachord. The tri- known as the takht, which includes, (or included at dif-
chord is three notes, the tetrachord four, and the penta- ferent time periods) instruments such as the 'oud, qanún,
chord five. The maqam usually covers only one octave rabab, nay, violin (which was introduced in the 1840s
(two jins), but sometimes it covers more than one oc- or 50s), riq and dumbek. In Iraq, the traditional en-
tave. Like the melodic minor scale and Indian ragas, semble, known as the chalghi, includes only two melodic
some maqamat have different ajnas, and thus notes, while instruments—the jowza (similar to the rabab but with
descending or ascending. Because of the continuous in- four strings) and santur—with riq and dumbek.
novation of jins and because most music scholars don't
agree on the existing number anyway, it’s hard to give
an accurate number of the jins. Nonetheless, in prac- 3 Media
tice most musicians would agree on the 8 most frequently
used ajnas: Rast, Bayat, Sikah, Hijaz, Saba, Kurd, Na-
hawand, and Ajam—and a few of the most commonly
used variants of those: Nakriz, Athar Kurd, Sikah Beladi,
Saba Zamzama. Mukhalif is a rare jins used exclusively
in Iraq, and it does not occur in combination with other
ajnas.
The main difference between the western chromatic scale
and the Arabic scales is the existence of many in-between
notes, which are sometimes referred to as quarter tones
for the sake of practicality. However, while in some treat-
ments of theory the quarter tone scale or all twenty four
tones should exist, according to Yūsuf Shawqī (1969) in
practice there are many fewer tones (Touma 1996, p.
170). An anchor on Al-Arabiya Television, in Jerusalem
In fact, the situation is much more complicated than that.
In 1932, at International Convention on Arabic music Prior to the Islamic Era, poetry was regarded as the main
held in Cairo, Egypt (attended by such Western lumi- means of communication on the Arabian Peninsula. It
naries as Béla Bartók and Henry George Farmer), ex- related the achievements of tribes and defeats of enemies
4 3
and also served as a tool for propaganda. After the arrival
of Islam other forms of communication replaced poetry
as the primary form of communication. Imams (preach-
ers) played a role in disseminating information and relat-
ing news from the authorities to the people. The suq or
marketplace gossip and interpersonal relationships played
an important role in the spreading of news, and this form
of communication among Arabs continues today. Before
the introduction of the printing press Muslims obtained
most of their news from the Imams at the Mosque, friends
or in the marketplace. Colonial powers and Christian
Missionaries in Lebanon were responsible for the intro-
duction of the printing press. It was not until the 19th
century that the first newspapers began to appear, mainly
in Egypt and Lebanon, which had the most newspapers
per capita.
During French rule in Egypt in the time of Napoleon
Bonaparte the first newspaper was published, in French.
There is debate over when the first Arabic language news-
paper was published; according to Arab scholar Abu
Bakr, Al Tanbeeh (1800) published in Egypt and Jun-
ral Al Iraq (1816) in Iraq according to other researchers.
In the mid-19th century the Turkish Empire dominated
the first newspapers. In the Northern African countries of
Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria the French colonial power
built a press link between mainland countries. The first
newspapers were limited to official content and included
accounts of relations with other countries and civil tri-
als. In the following decades Arab media blossomed due
to journalists mainly from Syria and Lebanon, who were
intellectuals and published their newspapers without the
intention of making a profit. Because of the restrictions
by most governments, these intellectuals were forced to
flee their respective countries but had gained a following
and because of their popularity in this field of work other
intellectuals began to take interest in the field. The first
émigré Arab newspaper, Mar’at al Ahwal, was published
in Turkey in 1855 by Rizqallah Hassoun Al Halabi. It
was criticized by the Ottoman Empire and shut down af-
ter only one year. Intellectuals in the Arab World soon
realized the power of the press. Some countries’ news-
papers were government-run and had political agendas in
mind. Independent newspapers began to spring up which
expressed opinions and were a place for the public to out
their views on the state. Illiteracy rates in the Arab world
played a role in the formation of media, and due to the
low reader rates newspapers were forced to get political
parties to subsidize their publications, giving them input
to editorial policy.
Freedoms that have branched through the introduction of
the Internet in Middle East are creating a stir politically,
culturally, and socially. There is an increasing divide be-
tween the generations. The Arab World is in conflict in-
ternally. The internet has brought economic prosperity
and development, but Bloggers have been incarcerated
all around in the Middle East for their opinions and views
on their regimes, the same consequence which was once
MEDIA
given to those who publicly expressed themselves without
anonymity. But the power of the internet has provided
also a public shield for these bloggers since they have the
ability to engage public sympathy on such a large scale.
This is creating a dilemma that shakes the foundation of
Arab culture, government, religious interpretation, eco-
nomic prosperity, and personal integrity.
A cafe in Cairo
Each country or region in the Arab world has varying
colloquial languages which are used for everyday speech,
yet its presence in the media world is discouraged. Prior
to the establishment of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA),
during the 19th century, the language of the media was
stylized and resembled literary language of the time,
proving to be ineffective in relaying information. Cur-
rently MSA is used by Arab media, including newspa-
pers, books and some television stations, in addition to
all formal writing. Vernaculars are however present in
certain forms of media including satires, dramas, music
videos and other local programs.
3.1 Media values
Journalism ethics is a system of values that determines
what constitutes “good” and “bad” journalism.[1] A sys-
tem of media values consists of and is constructed by
journalists’ and other actors’ decisions about issues like
what is “newsworthy,” how to frame the news, and
whether to observe topical “red lines.”[2] Such a system
of values varies over space and time, and is embedded
within the existing social, political, and economic struc-
tures in a society. William Rugh states, “There is an inti-
mate, organic relationship between media institutions and
society in the way that those institutions are organized
and controlled. Neither the institution nor the society
in which it functions can be understood properly without
reference to the other. This is certainly true in the Arab
world.”[3] Media values in the Arab world therefore vary
between and within countries. In the words of Lawrence
Pintak and Jeremy Ginges, “The Arab media are not a
monolith.”[4]
3.1 Media values
Journalists in the Arab World hold many of the same
values with their news generation as do journalists in
the Western world. Journalists in the Arab world of-
ten aspire to Western norms of objectivity, impartiality,
and balance. Kuldip Roy Rampal’s study of journalist
training programs in North Africa leads to the conclu-
sion that, “the most compelling dilemma faced by pro-
fessional journalists, increasingly graduates of journal-
ism degree programs, in the four Maghreb states is how
to reconcile their preference for press freedom and ob-
jectivity with constraints imposed by political and legal
factors that point to a pro-government journalism.”[5] Iy-
otika Ramaprasad and Naila Nabil Hamdy state, “A new
trend toward objectivity and impartiality as a value in
Arab journalism seems to be emerging, and the values of
Arab and Western journalism in this field have started to
converge.”[6] Further, many journalists in the Arab world
express their desires for the media to become a fourth es-
tate akin to the media in the West. In a survey of 601
journalists in the Arab world, 40% of them viewed in-
vestigation of the government as part of their job.[4]
Important differences between journalists in the Arab
world and their Western counterparts are also appar-
ent. Some journalists in the Arab world see no conflict
between objectivity and support for political causes.[7]
Ramprasad and Hamdy’s sample of 112 Egyptian jour-
nalists gave the highest importance to supporting Arabism
and Arab values, which included injunctions such as “de-
fend Islamic societies, traditions and values” and “sup-
port the cause of the Palestinians.” Sustaining democracy
through “examining government policies and decisions
critically,” ranked a close second.[6] This view is further
endorsed in Kirat’s survey where 65 percent of Algerian
journalists agreed that the task for the press is to “help
achieve the goals and objectives of development plans.[8]
Such an approach to media fits within the larger scope
of development communication and journalism. The ex-
tent to which professional and political aims conflict is a
subject of study for scholars of the Arab world’s media.
Other journalists reject the notion of media ethics alto-
gether because they see it as a mechanism of control. Kai
Hafez states, “Many governments in the Arab world have
tried to hijack the issue of media ethics and have used
it as yet another controlling device, with the result that
many Arab journalists, while they love to speak about the
challenges of their profession, hate performing under the
label of media ethics.”[1]
Historically news in the Arab World was used to inform,
guide, and publicize the actions of political practitioners
rather than being just a consumer product. The power of
news as political tool was discovered in the early 19th cen-
tury, with the purchase of shares from Le Temps a French
newspaper by Ismail the grandson of Muhammad Ali.
Doing so allowed Ismail to publicize his policies.[9] Arab
Media coming to modernity flourished and with it its re-
sponsibilities to the political figures that have governed
its role. Ami Ayalon argues in his history of the press
5
in the Arab Middle East that, “Private journalism began
as an enterprise with very modest objectives, seeking not
to defy authority but rather to serve it, to collaborate and
coexist cordially with it. The demand for freedom of ex-
pression, as well as for individual political freedom, a true
challenge to the existing order, came only later, and hes-
itantly at that, and was met by a public response that can
best be described as faint.” [9]
Media researchers stress that the moral
and social responsibility of newspeople dictates
that they should not agitate public opinion, but
rather should keep the status quo. It is also im-
portant to preserve national unity by not stir-
ring up ethnic or religious conflict.[10]
The values of media in the Arab world have started to
change with the emergence of “new media.” Examples
of new media include news websites, blogs, and satel-
lite television stations like Al Arabiya. The founding
of the Qatari Al Jazeera network in 1996 especially af-
fected media values. Some scholars believe that the net-
work has blurred the line between private- and state- run
news. Mohamed Zayani and Sofiane Sabraoui state, “Al
Jazeera is owned by the government, but has an inde-
pendent editorial policy; it is publicly funded, but inde-
pendent minded.”[11] The Al Jazeera media network es-
pouses a clear mission and strategy, and was one of the
first news organizations in the Arab world to release a
code of ethics.[12] Despite its government ties, it seeks
to “give no priority to commercial or political over pro-
fessional consideration” and to “cooperate with Arab and
international journalistic unions and associations to de-
fend freedom of the press.” With a motto of “the view
and the other view,” it purports to “present the diverse
points of view and opinions without bias and partiality.” It
has sought to fuse these ostensibly Western media norms
with a wider “Arab orientation,” evocative of the social
responsibility discussed by scholars such as Noha Mellor
above.
Some more recent assessments of Al Jazeera have
criticized it for a lack of credibility in the wake of the
Arab Spring. Criticism has come from within the Arab
Middle East, including from state governments.[13] Inde-
pendent commentators have criticized its neutrality vis-
a-vis the Syrian Civil War.[14]
Media values are not the only variable that affects news
output in Arab society. Hafez states, “The interaction
of political, economic, and social environments with in-
dividual and collective professional ethics is the driv-
ing force behind journalism.”[1] In most Arab countries,
newspapers cannot be published without a government-
issued license. Most Arab countries also have press laws,
which impose boundaries on what can and cannot be said
in print.
Censorship plays a significant role in journalism in the
Arab World. Censorship comes in a variety of forms:
6 3
Self-censorship, Government Censorship (governments
struggle to control through technological advances in
ex. the internet), Ideology/Religious Censorship, and
Tribal/Family/Alliances Censorship. Because Journalism
in the Arab world comes with a range of dangers – jour-
nalists throughout the Arab world can be imprisoned,
tortured, and even killed in their line of work – self-
censorship is extremely important for many Arab jour-
nalists. A study conducted by the Center for Defend-
ing Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) in Jordan, for exam-
ple, found that the majority of Jordanian journalists ex-
ercise self-censorship.[15] CPJ found that 34 journalists
were killed in the region in 2012, 72 were imprisoned on
December 1, 2012, and 126 were in exile from 2007 to
2012.[16]
A related point is that media owners and patrons have
effects on the values of their outlets. Newspapers in the
Arab World can be divided into three categories: govern-
ment owned, partisan owned, and independently owned.
Newspaper, radio, and television patronization in the
Arab world has heretofore been primarily a function of
governments.[17] “Now, newspaper ownership has been
consolidated in the hands of powerful chains and groups.
Yet, profit is not the driving force behind the launching
of newspapers; publishers may establish a newspaper to
ensure a platform for their political opinions, although it
is claimed that this doesn’t necessarily influence the news
content”.[18] In the Arab world, as far as content is con-
cerned, news is politics. Arab states are intimately in-
volved in the economic well-being of many Arab news
organizations so they apply pressure in several ways, most
notably through ownership or advertising.[19]
Some analysts hold that cultural and societal pressures de-
termine journalists’ news output in the Arab world. For
example, to the extent that family reputation and personal
reputation are fundamental principles in Arab civiliza-
tion, exposes of corruption, examples of weak moral fiber
in governors and policy makers, and investigative jour-
nalism may have massive consequences. In fact, some
journalists and media trainers in the Arab world neverthe-
less actively promote the centrality of investigative jour-
nalism to the media’s larger watchdog function. In Jor-
dan, for example, where the degree of government and
security service interference in the media is high, non-
governmental organizations such as the Center for De-
fending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) and Arab Re-
porters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) train journal-
ists to undertake investigative journalism projects.[20]
Some Saudi journalists stress the importance of enhanc-
ing Islam through the media. The developmental role of
media was acknowledged by an overwhelming majority
of Saudi journalists, while giving the readers what they
want was not regarded as a priority.[21] However, jour-
nalism codes, as an important source for the study of
media values, complicate this notion. Kai Hafez states,
“The possible hypothesis that Islamic countries might not
be interested in ‘truth’ and would rather propagate ‘Islam’
MEDIA
The Jordanian Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists
(CDFJ) posted this sign in protest of the country’s 2012 Press and
Publications law. It reads, “The right to obtain information is a
right for all people”.
as the single truth cannot be verified completely because
even a code that limits journalists’ freedom of expression
to Islamic objectives and values, the Saudi Arabian code,
demands that journalists present real facts.”[1] In addition,
Saudi journalists operate in an environment in which anti-
religious talk is likely to be met with censorship.
Patterns of consumption also affect media values in the
Arab world. People in the Arab world rely on newspa-
pers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet to dif-
fering degrees and to meet a variety of ends. For Rugh,
the proportion of radio and television receivers to Arab
populations relative to UNESCO minimum standards
suggests that radio and television are the most widely
consumed media. He estimates that television reaches
well over 100 million people in the region, and this num-
ber has likely grown since 2004. By contrast, he sup-
poses that Arab newspapers are designed more for elite-
consumption on the basis of their low circulation. He
states, “Only five Arab countries have daily newspapers
which distribute over 60,000 copies and some have dailies
only in the under-10,000 range. Only Egypt has dailies
which distribute more than a half million copies.”[22] Es-
timating newspaper readership is complicated, however,
by the fact that single newspapers can change hands many
times in a day. Finally, the internet continues to be a
fairly common denominator in Arab societies. A report
by the Dubai School of Government and Bayt.com esti-
mates that there are more than 125 million Internet users
in the region, and that more than 53 million of them ac-
tively use social media. They caution, however, that while
“the internet has wide-ranging benefits, these benefits do
not reach large segments of societies in the Arab region.
The digital divide remains a significant barrier for many
people. In many parts of the Arab world levels of edu-
cational attainment, economic activity, standards of liv-
ing and internet costs still determine a person’s access to
life-changing technology.[23] Further, according to Leo
Gher and Hussein Amin, the Internet and other modern
telecommunication services may serve to counter the ef-
fects of private and public ownership and patronage of
the press. They state, “Modern international telecom-
3.4 Television 7

munications services now assist in the free flow of infor- radio by 1955, but Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Oman did not
mation, and neither inter-Arab conflicts nor differences start indigenous radio broadcasting until nearly a quarter
among groups will affect the direct exchange of services century later.
provided by global cyberspace networks.”[24]

3.4 Television
3.2 Magazines
Almost all television channels in the Arab world were
In most Arab countries, magazines cannot be published government-owned and strictly controlled prior to the
without a government-issued license. Magazines in the 1990s. In the 1990s the spread of satellite television be-
Arab World, like many of the magazines in the Western gan changing television in Arab countries. Often noted
world, are geared towards women. However, the number as a pioneer, al-Jazeera represents a shift towards a more
of magazines in the Arab World is significantly smaller professional approach to news and current affairs.[25] Fi-
than that of the Western world. The Arab World is not as nanced by the Qatar government and established in 1996,
advertisement driven the way the western world is. Ad- al-Jazeera was the first Arabic channel to deliver exten-
vertisers fuel the funding for most Western magazines to sive live news coverage, going so far as to send reporters
exist. Thus, a lesser emphasis on advertisement in the to “unthinkable” places like Israel. Breaking the mold
Arab World plays into the low number of magazines. in more ways than one, al-Jazeera’s discussion programs
raised subjects that had long been prohibited. However,
in 2008, Egypt and Saudi Arabia called for a meeting to
3.3 Radio approve a charter to regulate satellite broadcasting. The
Arab League Satellite Broadcasting Charter (2008) lays
There are 90 private radio stations throughout the Middle out principles for regulating satellite broadcasting in the
East and North Africa. (list of private radio stations in Arab world.[26][27]
the Arab World)
Other Satellite Channels:
Arab radio broadcasting began in the 1920s, but only a Al-Arabiya: established in 2003; based in Dubai; offshoot
few Arab countries had their own broadcasting stations of MBC
before World War II. After 1945, most Arab states began Al-Hurra (“The Free One”): established in 2004 by the
to create their own radio broadcasting systems, although United States; counter perceives “biases” in Arab news
it was not until 1970, when Oman opened its radio trans- media
missions, that every one of them had its own radio station. Al-Manar: Owned by Hizbullah; Lebanese-based; highly
Among Arab countries, Egypt has been a leader in radio controversial
broadcasting from the beginning. Broadcasting began in “Across the Middle East, new television stations, radio
Egypt in the 1920s with private commercial radio. In stations and websites are sprouting like incongruous elec-
1947, however, the Egyptian government declared radio tronic mushrooms in what was once a media desert.
a government monopoly and began investing in its expan- Meanwhile newspapers are aggressively probing the red
sion. lines that have long contained them”.[28] Technology is
By the 1970s, Egyptian radio had fourteen different playing a significant role in the changing Arab media.
broadcast services with a total air time of 1,200 hours Pintak furthers, “Now, there are 263 free-to-air (FTA)
per week. Egypt is ranked third in the world among ra- satellite television stations in the region, according to
dio broadcasters. The programs were all government con- Arab Advisors Group. That’s double the figure as of just
[28]
trolled, and much of the motivation for the government’s two years ago”. Freedom of speech and money have
investment in radio was due to the aspirations of Presi- little to do with why satellite television is sprouting up
dent Gamal Abdel Nasser to be the recognized leader of everywhere. Instead, “A desire for political influence is
the Arab world. probably the biggest factor driving channel growth. But
ego is a close second”.[28] The influence of the West
Egypt’s “Voice of the Arabs” station, which targeted is very apparent in Arab Media especially in television.
other Arab countries with a constant stream of news and Arab soap operas and the emerging popularity of reality
political features and commentaries, became the most TV are evidence of this notion.
widely heard station in the region. Only after the June “In the wake of controversy triggered by Super Star
1967 war, when it was revealed that this station had mis- and Star Academy, some observers have hailed real-
informed the public about what was happening, did it lose ity television as a harbinger of democracy in the Arab
some credibility; nevertheless it retained a large listener- world.”[29] Star Academy in Lebanon is strikingly simi-
ship. lar to American Idol mixed with the Real World. Star
On the Arabian Peninsula, radio was slower to develop. In Academy began in 2003 in the Arab world. “Reality tele-
Saudi Arabia, radio broadcasts started in the Jidda-Mecca vision entered Arab public discourse in the last five years
area in 1948, but they did not start in the central or east- at a time of significant turmoil in the region: escalating
ern provinces until the 1960s. Neighboring Bahrain had violence in Iraq, contested elections in Egypt, the strug-
8 3
gle for women’s political rights in Kuwait, political as-
sassinations in Lebanon, and the protracted Arab-Israeli
Conflict. This geo-political crisis environment that cur-
rently frames Arab politics and Arab-Western relations
is the backdrop to the controversy surrounding the social
and political impact of Arab reality television, which as-
sumes religious, cultural or moral manifestations.”[30]
3.5 Cinema
Main article: Arab cinema
Most Arab countries did not produce films before nation
independence. In Sudan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the
United Arab Emirates, production is even now confined
to short films or television. Bahrain witnessed the produc-
tion of its first and only full-length feature film in 1989.
In Jordan national production has barely exceeded half
a dozen feature films. Algeria and Iraq have produced
approximately 100 films each, Morocco around seventy,
Tunisia around 130, and Syria some 150. Lebanon, ow-
ing to an increased production during the 1950s and
1960s, has made some 180 feature films. Only Egypt
has far exceeded these countries, with a production of
more than 2,500 feature films (all meant for cinema, not
television).[31] As with most aspects of Arab Media, cen-
sorship plays a large art of creating and distributing films.
“In most Arab countries, film projects must first pass a
state committee, which grants or denies permission to
shoot. Once this permission is obtained, another offi-
cial license, a so-called visa, is necessary in order to ex-
ploit the film commercially. This is normally approved
by a committee of the Ministry of Information or a spe-
cial censorship authority”.[31] The most significant taboo
topics under state supervision are consistent with those of
other forms of media: religion, sex, and politics.
3.6 Internet
The Internet in the Arab world is powerful source of ex-
pression and information as it is in other places in the
world. While some believe that it is the harbinger of free-
dom in media to the Middle East, others think that it is
a new medium for censorship. Both are true. The Inter-
net has created a new arena for discussion and the dis-
semination of information for the Arab world just as it
has in the rest of the world. The youth in particular are
accessing and utilizing the tools. People are encouraged
and enabled to join in political discussion and critique in
a manner that was not previously possible. Those same
people are also discouraged and blocked from those de-
bates as the differing regimes try to restrict access based
on religious and state objections to certain material.
This was posted on a website operated by the Muslim
Brotherhood.
MEDIA
The internet in the Arab world has a snow-
ball effect; now that the snowball is rolling, it
can no longer be stopped. Getting bigger and
stronger, it is bound to crush down all obstacles.
In addition, to the stress caused by the Arab
bloggers, a new forum was opened for Arab
activists; Facebook. Arab activists have been
using Facebook in the utmost creative way to
support the democracy movement in the re-
gion, a region that has one of the highest rates
of repression in the world. Unlike other re-
gions where oppressive countries (like China,
Iran and Burma) represent the exception, op-
pression can be found everywhere in the Arab
world. The number of Arab internet users in-
terested in political affairs does not exceed a
few thousands, mainly represented by internet
activists and bloggers, out of 58 million inter-
net users in the Arab world. As few as they are,
they have succeeded in shedding some light on
the corruption and repression of the Arab gov-
ernments and dictatorships.[32]
The public Internet use began in the US in the 1980s. In-
ternet access began in the early 1990s in the Arab world
with Tunisia being first in 1991 according to Dr. Deb-
orah L. Wheeler. The years of the introduction of the
Internet the various Arab countries are reported differ-
ently. Wheeler reports that Kuwait joined in 1992 and
in 1993 Turkey, Iraq and the UAE came online. In 1994
Jordan joined the Internet and Saudi Arabia and Syria
followed in the late 1990s. Financial considerations and
the lack of widespread availability of services are factors
in the slower growth in the Arab world, but taking into
consideration the popularity of internet cafes, the num-
bers online are much larger than the subscription numbers
would reveal.[33]
The people most commonly utilizing the Internet in the
Arab world are youths. The café users in particular tend
to be under 30, single and have a variety of levels of
education and language proficiency. Despite reports that
use of the internet was curtailed by lack of English skills,
Dr. Wheeler found that people were able to search with
Arabic. Searching for jobs, the unemployed frequently
fill cafes in Egypt and Jordan. They are men and women
equally. Most of them chat and they have email. In a sur-
vey conducted by Dr. Deborah Wheeler, she found them
to almost all to have been taught to use the Internet by a
friend or family member. They all felt their lives to have
been significantly changed by the use of the Internet. The
use of the Internet in the Arab world is very political in the
nature of the posts and of the sites read and visited. The
Internet has brought a medium to Arabs that allows for
a freedom of expression not allowed or accepted before.
For those who can get online, there are blogs to read and
write and access to worldwide outlets of information once
unobtainable. With this access, regimes have attempted
to curtail what people are able to read, but the Internet is a
 9

medium not as easily manipulated as telling a newspaper ber is the mother.

what it can or cannot publish. The Internet can be reached Family honor is one of the most important characteristics
via proxy server, mirror, and other means. Those who in the Arab family. According to Margaret Nydell, social
are thwarted with one method will find 12 more methods exchanges between men and women happen very seldom
around the blocked site. As journalists suffer and are im- outside of the work place.[38] Men and women refrain
prisoned in traditional media, the Internet is no different from being alone together. They have to be very careful in
with bloggers regularly being imprisoned for expressing social situations because those interactions can be inter-
their views for the world to read. The difference is that preted negatively and cause gossip, which can tarnish the
there is a worldwide audience witnessing this crackdown
reputation of women. Women are able to socialize freely
and watching as laws are created and recreated to attempt with other women and male family members, but have to
to control the vastness of the Internet.[34]
have family members present to socialize with men that
Jihadists are using the Internet to reach a greater audi- are not part of the family.[38] These conservative practices
ence. Just as a simple citizen can now have a worldwide are put into place to protect the reputation of women. Bad
voice, so can a movement. Groups are using the Internet behavior not only affects women but her family’s honor.
to share video, photos, programs and any kind of infor- Practices differ between countries and families. Saudi
mation imaginable. Standard media may not report what Arabia has stricter practices when it comes to men and
the Muslim Brotherhood would say on their site. How- women and will even require marriage documents if a
ever, for the interested, the Internet is a tool that is uti- woman and man are seen together alone.[38] Foreigners
lized with great skill by those who wish to be heard. A should learn about the practices in the Arab country they
file uploaded to 100 sites and placed in multiple forums are visiting to avoid any disrespectful actions.
will reach millions instantly. Information on the Internet Arab values One of the characteristics of Arabs is gen-
can be thwarted, slowed, even redirected, but it cannot be erosity and they usually show it by being courteous with
stopped if someone wants it out there on the Internet. each other. Some of the most important values for Arabs
The efforts by the various regimes to control the informa- are honor and loyalty. Margaret Nydell, in her book Un-
tion are all falling apart gradually. Those fighting crime derstanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times’ [38] says
online have devised methods of tracking and catching that Arabs can be defined as, humanitarian, loyal and po-
criminals. Unfortunately those same tools are being used lite. Tarek Mahfouz explains in the book “Arab Culture”
to arrest bloggers and those who would just wish to be [39] that it is common for Arabs in dinner situations to in-
heard. The Internet is a vast and seemingly endless source sist on guests to eat the last piece of the meal or to fight
of information. Arabs are using it more than perhaps the over who will pay the bill at a restaurant for generosity.
world is aware and it is changing the media. Arab speech The Arab world is very influenced by Is-
lam and it practices even if though not all Arabs are Mus-
lims.In Arab society it is common to include blessings and
4 Society proverbs while talking to other persons to pepper their
speech.
Social loyalty is of great importance in Arab culture. Female Infanticide Like many societies around the
Family is one of the most important aspects of the Arab world, the preference for a son is much higher than pre-
society. While self-reliance, individuality, and responsi- ferring a daughter in the Arab world. In pre-Islamic Ara-
bility are taught by Arabic parents to their children, fam- bia, husbands would go as far as burying female infants
ily loyalty is the greatest lesson taught in Arab families. alive because of the shame it caused them among their
“Unlike the extreme individualism we see in North Amer- peers. Women are typically seen as a burden whereas
ica (every person for him or herself, individual rights, men represent honor and dignity to a family. Muham-
families living on their own away from relatives, and mad revealed a verse which deals with this phenomenon.
so on), Arab society emphasizes the importance of the It says, “And God will ask the female infant who had been
group. Arab culture teaches that the needs of the group buried alive (“mau'udda”) for what wrongdoing was she
are more important than the needs of one person.”[35] In killed.” This practice is long gone in the Arab world, but
the Bedouin tribes of Saudi Arabia, “intense feelings of the sentiment of having a son over a daughter still resides
loyalty and dependence are fostered and preserved”[36] and women are still subject to divorce for failure to give
by the family.[37] Margaret Nydell, in her book Under- birth to a son as a first born child.[39]
standing Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times, writes “fam-
ily loyalty and obligations take precedence over loyalty to
friends or demands of a job.”[38] She goes on to state that
“members of a family are expected to support each other
in disputes with outsiders. Regardless of personal antipa-
thy among relatives, they must defend each other’s honor, 5 Sports
counter criticism, and display group cohesion...”[38] Of all
members of the family, however, the most revered mem-
10 7 DRESS

5.1 Pan Arab Games Arab women who are participating in boxing, even reach-
ing international competition levels.[42] Arab women are
Main article: Pan Arab Games not limiting themselves and although they receive criti-
cism from some of society, their families and commu-
nities have been very supportive while still considering
The Pan Arab Games are a regional multi-sport event held
themselves conservative and faithful to Islam.[43] These
between nations from the Arab World. The first Games
women and their families are challenging the very narrow
were held in 1953 in Alexandria, Egypt. Intended to
view that society at times has of the capabilities of women
be held every four years since, political turmoil as well
and have inspired women all around the Arab world to
as financial difficulties has made the event an unstable
not limit themselves. Despite this occurring in the Arab
one. Women were first allowed to compete in 1985. By
world, what these Arab female athletes are doing is an
the 11th Pan Arab Games, the number of countries par-
inspiration to women all over the globe.
ticipating reached all 22 members of the Arab League,
with roughly over 8,000 Arab athletes participating, it
was considered the largest in the Games History, with the
Doha Games in 2011 expected to exceed that number. 6 Cuisine
Main article: Arab cuisine
5.2 Arab women in sports
Originally, the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula relied
Women around the world have struggled in the profes-
heavily on a diet of dates, wheat, barley, rice and meat,
sional world of sports since it has been something that has
with little variety, with a heavy emphasis on yoghurt
been dominated by men. When looking at the Arab world
products, such as leben (‫( )لبن‬yoghurt without butter-
currently there is an emergence of Arab women playing
fat). Arabian cuisine today is the result of a combina-
sports, something that for the most part is not much dis-
tion of richly diverse cuisines, spanning the Arab world
cussed but is of great importance. Muslim Arab women
and incorporating Lebanese, Egyptian, and others. It has
are taking part in playing on futsal, football (soccer), soft-
also been influenced to a degree by the cuisines of In-
ball, basketball, and various other teams. Some women
dia, Turkey, Berber, and others. In an average Arab
are participating in boxing, archery, running, swimming,
household in the Persian Gulf area, a visitor might ex-
tennis and other individual sports. Because more Mus-
pect a dinner consisting of a very large platter, shared
lim women are playing sports, sportswear is being devel-
commonly, with a vast mountain of rice, incorporating
oped so that a woman can still be able to participate in
lamb or chicken, or both, as separate dishes, with vari-
sports like swimming without limiting their participation
ous stewed vegetables, heavily spiced, sometimes with a
due to the way they choose to dress. Although women
tomato sauce. Most likely, there would be several other
have received great support from family members in play-
items on the side, less hearty. Tea would certainly ac-
ing sports, there is still much criticism towards female
company the meal, as it is almost constantly consumed.
athletes in the Arab world. Many conservative men have
Coffee would be included as well.
criticized that sports and women do not go together and
that a woman would not be able to wear her headscarf Tea Culture Tea is a very important drink in the Arab
or should not wear shorts while playing sports. Some World, it is usually served with breakfast, after lunch, and
people do not see Islam and women playing sports as with dinner. For Arabs tea is a hospitality drink that is
being compatible. Despite the various criticisms Arab served to guests. Moreover, it is also common for Arabs
women around the Arab world face, it has not stopped to drink tea with dates.
the popularity of women’s participation in sports. Foot-
ball is one of the sports that has exploded in popularity
with women in the Arab world. With the coming of the 7 Dress
Women’s World Cup in 2011, there is a Women’s Foot-
ball Cup Arabia occurring in Bahrain which is bringing
together women’s teams from all over the Arab world to 7.1 Men
play in competition.[40] There are teams in Syria, Pales-
tine, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Jor- Arab dress for men ranges from the traditional flowing
dan and events like this show that, as said by Dr. Sahar robes to blue jeans, T-shirts and business suits. The robes
al Hawary who is a member of FIFA’s Women’s Com- allow for maximum circulation of air around the body to
mittee from Egypt, “women’s football can be promoted at help keep it cool, and the head dress provides protection
the highest level and watched in the Arab world...women’s from the sun. At times, Arabs mix the traditional garb
football can be promoted at the highest level and watched with clothes.[44]
in the Arab world”.[41] Arab women are also challeng- Thobe In the Arab states of the Persian Gulf men usually
ing and becoming a part of sports that even outside of wear their national dress that is called “thobe” but can be
the Arab world are considered not for women. There are also called “Dishdasha” (Kuwait) or “Kandoura” (UAE).
7.2 Women
“Thobes” differ slightly from state to state within the Gulf, 7.2 Women
but the basic ones are white. This is the traditional attire
that Arabs wear in formal occasions.
Headdress The male headdress is also known as
Keffiyeh. Headdress pattern might be an indicator of
which tribe, clan, or family the wearer comes from. How-
ever, this is not always the case. While in one village, a
tribe or clan might have a unique headdress, in the next
town over an unrelated tribe or clan might wear the same
headdress.
A wedding carriage in Jisr az-Zarqa, Israel
• Checkered headdresses relate to type and govern-
ment and participation in the Hajj, or a pilgrimage
to Mecca.
• Red and white checkered headdress – Generally of
Jordanian origin. Wearer has made Hajj and comes
from a country with a Monarch.
• Black and white checkered headdress – The pattern
is historically of Palestinian origin.
• Black and grey represent Presidential rule and com-
pletion of the Hajj.
Guthra (headdress) in the Arab states of the Per-
sian Gulf The male headdress in the Gulf states is called
Guthra and it is different in each country (size and shape).
It is usually worn with a black cord called “agal” that
keeps the guthra on the wearer’s head.
• The Qatari guthra is heavily starched and it is known
for its “cobra” shape.
• The Saudi guthra is a square shaped cotton fab-
ric. The traditional is white but the white and red
(shemagh) is also very common in Saudi Arabia.
• The Emirati guthra is usually white and can be used
as a wrapped turban or traditionally with the black
agal.
11
Adherence to traditional dress varies across Arab soci-
eties. Saudi Arabia is more traditional, while Egypt is less
so. Traditional Arab dress features the full length body
cover (abaya, jilbāb, or chador) and veil (hijab). Women
are only required to wear abayas in Saudi Arabia. In most
countries, like Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Jordan, Syria and
Egypt, the veil is not prevalent. It is clear that religiously
speaking, the mention of the burqa doesn't exist for Mus-
lim women and today represents more of a politic position
rather than a religious interpretation. Nowadays, some
conservative Muslims believe that hijab is not obligatory
while others feel that it is.
8 See also
• Culture of the Arab States of Persian Gulf
• Culture of Palestine
• Culture of Syria
• Culture of Iraq
• Culture of Somalia
• Culture of Egypt
• Culture of Lebanon
• Arabian mythology
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 13

[1]

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14 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text
• Arab culture Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_culture?oldid=710448128 Contributors: Eclecticology, Edward, GTBacchus,
Anders Feder, Darkwind, Uriber, WhisperToMe, Hyacinth, Topbanana, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Xezbeth, Bender235, Shrike,
Kwamikagami, Kross, Summer Song, Smalljim, Viriditas, Maurreen, Hesperian, Alansohn, Kalisa, Woohookitty, Scjessey, Pol098,
Marudubshinki, Josh Parris, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, FayssalF, Ian Pitchford, Intgr, DVdm, Bgwhite, RussBot, Stephenb, Gaius Cornelius, Cam-
bridgeBayWeather, Rsrikanth05, NawlinWiki, Grafen, Welsh, BirgitteSB, Coderzombie, Tachs, Kelovy, BorgQueen, Kungfuadam, Philip
Stevens, Tyomitch, Amalthea, SmackBot, KnowledgeOfSelf, Alex Ex, Jagged 85, Edgar181, Yamaguchi , Ohnoitsjamie, Hmains, Chris
the speller, OrangeDog, Rrburke, Arab Hafez, Andrew c, SingCal, Gobonobo, Mgiganteus1, Melody Concerto, Ckatz, Snezzy, Violncello,
CmdrObot, Tanthalas39, Dycedarg, Cydebot, JodyB, Btball, Dugwiki, TAMilo, Jj137, Alphachimpbot, The Transhumanist, Konstable-
Bot, TAnthony, Joecool94, Magioladitis, VoABot II, Aziz1005, JaGa, Rettetast, CommonsDelinker, BigrTex, Neutron Jack, Thaurisil,
Sherif Omran, Unflavoured, Jehuty Strife, Idioma-bot, Funandtrvl, X!, CWii, AntaHelu~enwiki, Philip Trueman, Una Smith, Shahin.shn,
Falcon8765, Al Ameer son, FunkMonk, Perspicacite, Atari400, ‫ترجمان‬05, Sanya3, VaderQuake, ImageRemovalBot, Skatewalk, Clue-
Bot, The Thing That Should Not Be, Czarkoff, Mild Bill Hiccup, Niceguyedc, Forestgarden, Auntof6, Seanwal111111, Sun Creator,
Chrono1084, Aitias, Editor2020, Thekid18, XLinkBot, Arabbi, Addbot, Hattar393, Glane23, Lightbot, HerculeBot, Middayexpress,
Yobot, Vitalie Ciubotaru, Gongshow, AnomieBOT, JackieBot, Scythian77, Aditya, LlywelynII, Mahmudmasri, Materialscientist, Cita-
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10.2 Images
• File:Antarah_ibn_Shaddad_&_Abla.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Antarah_ibn_Shaddad_
%26_Abla.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Flickr Original artist: Horemachet from Moskva, Russian Federation
• File:Arabischer_Maler_um_730_002.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Arabischer_Maler_um_730_
002.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202.
Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. Original artist: Arabischer Maler um 730
• File:Arabiya_Reporter.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Arabiya_Reporter.jpg License: CC BY 2.0
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cense: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Flad
• File:Jissr-groom.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Groom.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:
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8/8c/Jordan_Center_for_Defending_Freedom_of_Journalists_sign.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist:
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? Original artist: ?
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Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
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vided. Catrin assumed (based on copyright claims).

10.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0