With a total of 200 million people and counting, stretching across 22 different countries, the Arab world hosts a myriad of rich Arabic culture and traditions that can be unsurprisingly unheard of from the rest of the world.
While Islam is the main religion amongst the Arabs, there are smaller percentages of Jews, Catholics, Christians as well. But as religion is the primary driver of the region, the teachings of Islam has a huge influence on the day-to-day lives of the Arabs as well as the legislation of the countries. While the fine details may differ from one country to the other, Arabs generally practice performing their prayers five times a day and revolve any other matters around them.
Strong family values are deeply rooted in Arab families as well. The role of the men in the family is more towards that of a provider and shouldering the overall financial responsibilities. On the other hand, women are expected to perform the supporting role to the best of their abilities such as the upbringing of the children and ensuring that the state of the house is in an orderly manner. Although modernisation may have blurred these lines and even swapped the roles altogether in some cases, the general consensus still remains as is.
Another value that is being held high by the Arabs is the value of oneself. Reputation and dignity often indicate the upbringing of any family. As such, Arabs will strive to behave well in the eyes of the public so as not to cause any form of embarrassment to their families. It is also of the belief that it is best to leave a positive and good impression of themselves in front of strangers and give their utmost the sense of respect for the elders.
The concept of modesty also strikes a natural chord amongst the Arabs. This is mainly seen in the Arab women who don from conservative Western-influenced outfits to burkas that cover completely from head to toe. The concept of covering up is both an act of modesty and encouraged by Islam, but may differ from country to country depending on their level of piousness and liberalism. It is also encouraged for ladies of other religions to dress appropriately by avoiding skin-baring clothing such as tank tops and mini-skirts when they are there, to show their form of respect to the Arabic culture.
Above all, ‘Arabic’ is the native language of these 200 million people, with the Modern Arabic being more widely used in daily lives and the Classical Arabic being reserved for Quranic verses and religious scholars. With the help of modern technology, you can now learn Arabic online from qualified and highly competent Arabic teachers from Path to Arabic. By learning Arabic at your own pace and comfort, you will be able to grasp the language better and be more confident in reading, writing and speaking Arabic in no time.
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