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Saudi Arabia
Arab names and ritles:Prince Bandar
Miles Seeley, who spent years in Arab countries, enlightens
us about Arab names and titles:"It varies a lot. Sometimes titles are used
by and with Royal Family members, sometimes not. On radio, TV, and newspapers,
they are rarely used. Outside Saudi Arabia, they usually are. There seems no
fixed rule. Princes I dealt with as family or patients at Menninger always asked
me to refer to them by first name (ie Bandar). Every Saudi knows his family
history for many generations back, but they usually just put in a couple of
"bins" or "ibns" before the tribal name, to avoid confusion,
since there are a limited number of acceptable Arabic names. It can be confusing
to outsiders".
Arab Men's Clothing
Thobe, ghutra ihram. Ed Jajko clarifies: "We're talking about different things here and there was no indication of this in the posting about "identical white thobes and ghutra head coverings," nor any indication that the reference was to the hajj only. The "thobe" -- rhymes with "robe" -- is the standard shirtwaist garment of the Arab males of the Persian Gulf states. It is often white -- try to pick out one student among hordes of young men at a Saudi university, all in white thobes and red and white patterned headcoverings -- but is also found in gray and brown and can be of elegant and expensive cloth, rather than the cotton of the common white thobe. The thobe is the usual garment worn by Arab men of the Gulf. But the "egalitarian white robe [worn] when in Mecca on a pilgrimage" is not the thobe. Rather, the raiment required of Muslim males on pilgrimage is the "ihram" -- initial glottal stop; "h" pronounced with the sound one makes fogging eyeglasses; and long "a." The ihram is two squares of plain white cloth, held together by knotting; no pins or fasteners are allowed. One piece serves as a kilt or skirt and the other as a top. Underpants are allowed, as are sandals. But definitely no "ghutra head coverings." Pilgrims go bareheaded, protected only by an umbrella or the upper half of the ihram or some improvised hat. Ihram is enjoined on Muslim men on pilgrimage to emphasize their equality before God and to separate them from their earthly possessions and concerns for the period of pilgrimage.
Inevitably, the question will be asked, what about the women? A modest garment is required, but nothing as revealing and as difficult to manage as two squares of unfastened cloth.
Arab Civilization
Jon Kofas answers John Wonder: "I am always amazed at a few of our fellow-WAISers'
failure to appreciate the numerous and very well documented contributions of
Arab civilization. Have these people never been to the Middle East, have they
not read about Islamic art, science, philosophy, literature, algebra, etc.?
Moreover, can John Wonder point to any civilization at any time in history that
is not the result of cultural diffusion? Is there any civilization on this planet
whose contributions are not derivative to some degree? Does he really think
that the Greeks fell to earth from another planet and that their civilization
came from the gods of mount Olympus? Does he not realize that classical Greek
civilization thrived because it rested on Egyptian, Phoenician, Thracian, Mesopotamian,
to name just the most influential civilizations? And I don't think he even mentioned
Chinese civilization which is one of the most magnificent in all of history
and which made so many contributions to the west!
I am simply amazed that we live the early 21st century in a western pluralistic society, but we have people who allow their emotions and political/ideological orientation to blind their reason by refusing to acknowledge the contributions of past and present civilizations. If John Wonder or a few others who agree with him have a problem with AL QAEDA, or other such groups as I certainly do, that's a very legitimate issue. But to come to such conclusions about the entire Arab world and its past contributions to civilization is a poor reflection on the person making the statement, and it further demonstrates that indeed we are the ones who need to reexamine our values".
Martin Lewis says: "What about Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah (14th century),
the the first true work in historical sociology and comparative history? What
al Biruni's India (early 10th C.), the first (to my mind, at any rate) true
work in area studies. Both were extraordinarily original and creative -- and
both repay reading today. Al Biruni's contributions to mathematical geography
and astronomy were also highly significant. And one could go on, of course".
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