whitegrim 3 | 69 Freelance Writer
Nov 13, 2009 | #1
Running Head: Muslim Arabs
Muslim Arabs
Bryan Radcliffe
University of Phoenix
Arab is an ethnic group which lives across many countries in the Middle East and Africa. Apart from Israel, all countries follow the Islam as their religion. The Arabs differentiate themselves from the others on the basis of their linguistics, cultures, economic policies, social structures and religious grounds (Versteegh, 1997). The term Arab has history going way back then Christ when there were Arab Kingdoms and tribes in these areas but currently Arabs are only considered as those who have faith in Islam.
Social structures of Arabs are quite different from that are currently operational in western countries. They are still following the structures of tribes that they had originally. Some reforms have taken place in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt due to some potential influences from the western countries but the concept of tribe is still present if not observant. The concept of extended families still working greatly and the pride they have in their heritage and social values is keeping them do this and they take serious responsibilities of their families. In fact they consider themselves as those who have inherited the values of Islam. The tribes have one leader and he owns the power to make decisions. The males of the families all work in different businesses. These countries are rich in oil reserves therefore most of the times they recruit people from developing countries to do their work. There is, however, discrimination quite evident in their social society. As they are the heritage owners, they consider other Muslims to be of low value. There are no law protections for the Muslims from other countries especially any residency laws which don't allow any other to gain the citizenship of these countries (Lewis, 1993).Arabs are considered as true believers. Their faith in their religion has allowed them to critically evolve into those who are following the rules of Islam quite efficiently. Saudi Arabia holds the cities of Mecca and Medina which are the holy cities of Islam. Every years hundreds and thousands of Muslims around the world pay visit to these places for Hajj and Umrah, the two most holy practices in Islam. The graves of many prophets and noble people are present here which are visited by many regularly. Because of being a center of the religion, Arabs emphasize much on their practice as well. Spiritually they are affected by only one God who is the Creator and Owner of the entire universe. In face government also plays an important role to make people pray five times a day and the mosques are filled during these times pertaining to the fact that they are very close to their religion. Their every aspect be it social, political or cultural all are greatly emphasized by the teaching of Islam.
Political emphasis of democracy hasn't made any difference to the government system. Apart from one or two countries, all the countries have kings who are inheriting the throne from their fathers. Saudi Arab is the largest kingdom in the Middle East and Arab Peninsula and follows this trend as well, though with some reforms in recent years, the governing body's structure has changed with formation of ministries. However, there is no electoral or voting system that could decide who will be handling ministries. The decision is only taken by the king and his advisors and the chosen one belongs to an influential rich tribe (Versteegh, 1997). The richness factor is not an issue here because their religion requires that power should be given to those who are not vulnerable to capital and corruption. Corruption prevails when people having low backgrounds suddenly get hold of good positions and start manipulating reserves in a negative manner. The legal system is based on the Islamic rule which describes blood for blood and hand for hand (Lewis, 1993). The judges and magistrates follow orders right from their Holy Book and other explanatory materials. The judges and magistrates also belong to a rich and influential tribe so that they cannot be bribed. The legislation is passed by a board of judges in the presence of kings in order to uniformly apply them to all parts of the countries.
Arabs speak Arabic language which also had a very long history. Arab is the language of Quran, the Holy Book of Muslims. The traditions and the holy events of Islam are all conducted in Arabic language. With this distinction there are more than 300 million people on the planet that have Arabic as their mother tongue (Versteegh, 1997). Arabic word is taken from the word Arab, meaning the language that is spoken by the Arabs.
In the financial texture, all the Arab countries greatly rely on the oil reserves in the country. Therefore, they have a strengthened economy and that has progressed this way for many years. Many Arabic countries are influential members of OPEC which is the organization for oil producing countries and because of this fact they have been easily influencing different other countries. The government of Saudi Arabia has direct investments in United States and UAE has direct governmental investments in major developing countries like Pakistan. Because of the power they had inherited and gained, these countries are well respected in the other Muslim countries and they decisions are given value all around. Before, using oil as a major source of revenues, Arabs were indulged in the simple trades. The Arabs history determines the trade including the selling and buying of cattle as the main business. Middle East and African Arab countries are situated on deserts providing very less chance for the cultivation of crops; therefore they rely on the imported foods that come from Asian countries (Owen, 2001).
Arabs historically haven't impacted much on the education. However, in major Arab countries education system is prevailing. However, the education has two meaning for Arabs. One means the worldly education which is the current education of science and technology and other is the religious education which mostly revolves around the religious aspects of the Islam. Teaching historically and still is given in the Islamic schools and mosques; place where Muslims pray to God (Lunde, 2002). However, with current advancements in science and technology all around the world the emphasis have also turned towards it and Arabs are more likely to indulge into higher education including studying abroad as well. Various universities have recently established in many countries that are par with western countries educational systems. The petroleum engineering, in fact, is by far the best taught here in these universities.
According to the teaching of Islam, racism and discrimination is not the right practice. As described earlier, the racism is in fact has prevailed more in these countries. With the passage of time and because of the fact they have gained influence around the world, some aspects of Arabs are still not healthy (Owen, 2001). The behavior they practice against non Arabs especially non Arab Muslims is far away from their religious teaching and sometimes have led to serious criticism from other Muslim countries but still nothing has changed here. The employees that work here are completely owned by their owners as they are not allowed to leave their homes without asking for permission. Amnesty International has at various times described this serious issue of human rights against these countries but no steps have been applied yet in this regards.
The banking system in all Arab countries is purely the same, following the business rules of Islam. Islam prohibits the use of interest during debts and loans, and this is strictly implemented here. Even if a foreign bank opens up its branch in these countries they have to follow their rules. The globalization trend has made its mark in science and technology because it didn't hinder the way of Islam but foreign banking sector does so and therefore it is changed.
If the analysis of progress is done with regards to Arabs, it is evident that they have achieved more than their expectations. The countries like UAE has evolved into an international market trade market. The infrastructure and systematic approach they have delivered to their citizens and foreigners require much appraisal. The capital has been invested in right place as they have managed to justice and peace for the people living in these countries. From skyscrapers to airlines, they are considered as the best that enjoy all the luxuries of their lives and imparted these luxurious levels of life to the people living there, subtracting those who come here for labor from other countries.
On the whole, the Arabs can be regarded the best Muslims not because they have inherited the treasure of the religion, Islam, but also they have tried to implement all the rules of Islam perfectly into their practices (Lunde, 2002). The laws are governed by the teaching of Islam, the societies are build on the teaching of Islam, the banking system follows what Islam teaches, their businesses, their cultures all are affected by the teaching of their Holy Prophet (Lunde, 2002). There have been various criticisms on Arabs stating them as backwards as they still require their females to wear veils but as a matter of fact these things haven't shaken the principles of Arabs.
References
Versteegh, Kees, (1997). The Arabic Language, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Owen, Roger. (2001). State Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East. London: Sage.
Lunde, Paul. (2002). Islam. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishing.
Lewis, B. (1993). The Arabs in History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Supplementary:::
Arab is an ethnic group which lives across many countries in the Middle East and Africa. Apart from Israel, all countries follow the Islam as their religion. The Arabs differentiate themselves from the others on the basis of their linguistics, cultures, economic policies, social structures and religious grounds. The term Arab has history going way back then Christ when there were Arab Kingdoms and tribes in these areas but currently Arabs are only considered as those who have faith in Islam.
Social structures of Arabs are quite different from that are currently operational in western countries. They are still following the structures of tribes that they had originally. Some reforms have taken place in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt due to some potential influences from the western countries but the concept of tribe is still present if not observant. The concept of extended families still working greatly and the pride they have in their heritage and social values is keeping them do this and they take serious responsibilities of their families. In fact they consider themselves as those who have inherited the values of Islam. The tribes have one leader and he owns the power to make decisions. The males of the families all work in different businesses. These countries are rich in oil reserves therefore most of the times they recruit people from developing countries to do their work. There is, however, discrimination quite evident in their social society. As they are the heritage owners, they consider other Muslims to be of low value. There are no law protections for the Muslims from other countries especially any residency laws which don't allow any other to gain the citizenship of these countries.
Political emphasis of democracy hasn't made any difference to the government system. Apart from one or two countries, all the countries have kings who are inheriting the throne from their fathers. Saudi Arab is the largest kingdom in the Middle East and Arab Peninsula and follows this trend as well, though with some reforms in recent years, the governing body's structure has changed with formation of ministries. However, there is no electoral or voting system that could decide who will be handling ministries. The decision is only taken by the king and his advisors and the chosen one belongs to an influential rich tribe. The richness factor is not an issue here because their religion requires that power should be given to those who are not vulnerable to capital and corruption. Corruption prevails when people having low backgrounds suddenly get hold of good positions and start manipulating reserves in a negative manner. The legal system is based on the Islamic rule which describes blood for blood and hand for hand. The judges and magistrates follow orders right from their Holy Book and other explanatory materials. The judges and magistrates also belong to a rich and influential tribe so that they cannot be bribed. The legislation is passed by a board of judges in the presence of kings in order to uniformly apply them to all parts of the countries. Arabs speak.