CHAPTER 1: CULTURE IN SAUDI ARABIA
By Carolyn Wermuth
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines culture as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” or “the characteristics features of everyday existence…shared by people in a place or time” (2012). This definition is essential to communication between other cultures. We can recognize that many countries and societies around the world share the same basic structure of culture, yet fulfill these roles in very different ways. Understanding culture is integral to communication. Realizing the cultural similarities and differences between our country and other countries can help facilitate intercultural communication and ease transitions, whether they relate to business, friendship, and anything in between. There are many facets to culture, and Saudi Arabia’s general way of life is no exception.
Islam in Saudi Arabia
Sunni Islam is the national religion of Saudi Arabia, so it plays a large role in their cultural practices (“Saudi Arabia,” 2008). Approximately ninety percent of Saudi Arabian citizens are Sunni Muslims and ten percent are Shi’a Muslims, and the government’s legal system is based on their interpretation of Islamic law (“Saudi Arabia,” 2008). To say that their religion continues to help shape the Saudi Arabian lifestyle is an understatement, considering how important its location is to the entire Islamic religion. One of the most important sites in Saudi Arabia is Makkah. Since the Makkah is the holiest place to Muslims, they pray in Arabic five times a day facing Saudi Arabia, no matter where they are, and are expected to make the hajj, or annual pilgrimage, at least once in their lifetime (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). This is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which devoted Muslims faithfully obey. The rest of the Pillars comprise of the profession of faith, devotional worship or prayer, obligatory alms-giving, and fasting (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). Saudi Arabia does not allow public worship of any religion besides Islam (Jandt, 2007). Religious freedom is not protected by law and the religious police often invade private non-Muslim religious ceremonies (“Saudi Arabia,” 2008). Even their beautiful style of writing Arabic has its roots in Islamic religious practices. Drawing, painting, or sculpting people and animals is considered an affront to God by trying to imitate His creation, so people turned to calligraphy to fulfill their artistic needs and wrote the words of the Quran beautifully (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006).
Holidays are important to Saudi Arabian culture, whether they are religious or not. National Day, the Saudi independence day, began to be celebrated in 2005 and has been a joyous celebration for all ever since (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). On this day, many people party all day and well into the night, with traffic at a standstill and people jumping out of their cars and dancing, at times (Eskandar, 2012). Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims, cycles throughout the seasons, depending on which Gregorian calendar year it falls under (the Muslim holidays follow the Hijrah calendar. 100 Hijrah years equal 97 Gregorian years, so the two calendars are slightly misaligned) (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). ‘Id al-Fitr always immediately follows this month of fasting. It is a joyous holiday filled with gift-giving, feasts, and public worship for all (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006).
Both of these holidays emphasize joy, giving to others, and religious celebration. Going through the suffering of fasting during the day shows the Muslims’ dedication to their religion. All practicing Muslims must go through fasting from sunrise to sunset and it includes refraining from indulging in food, drink, tobacco, and worldly pleasures (Harris, 1959). Once the sun has set, people may begin to eat again for the night and, as stated above, ends in a big holiday (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). The Quran places giving to others on a very high pedestal; in fact, many Muslims used to give one-fortieth of their annual income to help the poor in some way (Harris, 1959). Now, people usually just give what they can to the poor in some way (Harris, 1959). When marriages occur, parties are numerous and long, perhaps more than we are used to in the United States (Eskandar, 2012). Some of the traditional Arabian dishes may be served at these grand parties. Several of these foods may be familiar to Americans, like hummus (ground chickpeas), baba ghnnuj (mashed eggplant), dates, tabbulah (cracked wheat salad with tomatoes and spices), and kebabs (meat grilled on skewers) (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). These examples indicate that Saudis communicate a sense of joy, charity, tradition, and togetherness in their celebrations of holidays and emphasizes the importance of family and religion in their culture.
Holidays are important to Saudi Arabian culture, whether they are religious or not. National Day, the Saudi independence day, began to be celebrated in 2005 and has been a joyous celebration for all ever since (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). On this day, many people party all day and well into the night, with traffic at a standstill and people jumping out of their cars and dancing, at times (Eskandar, 2012). Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims, cycles throughout the seasons, depending on which Gregorian calendar year it falls under (the Muslim holidays follow the Hijrah calendar. 100 Hijrah years equal 97 Gregorian years, so the two calendars are slightly misaligned) (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). ‘Id al-Fitr always immediately follows this month of fasting. It is a joyous holiday filled with gift-giving, feasts, and public worship for all (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006).
Both of these holidays emphasize joy, giving to others, and religious celebration. Going through the suffering of fasting during the day shows the Muslims’ dedication to their religion. All practicing Muslims must go through fasting from sunrise to sunset and it includes refraining from indulging in food, drink, tobacco, and worldly pleasures (Harris, 1959). Once the sun has set, people may begin to eat again for the night and, as stated above, ends in a big holiday (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). The Quran places giving to others on a very high pedestal; in fact, many Muslims used to give one-fortieth of their annual income to help the poor in some way (Harris, 1959). Now, people usually just give what they can to the poor in some way (Harris, 1959). When marriages occur, parties are numerous and long, perhaps more than we are used to in the United States (Eskandar, 2012). Some of the traditional Arabian dishes may be served at these grand parties. Several of these foods may be familiar to Americans, like hummus (ground chickpeas), baba ghnnuj (mashed eggplant), dates, tabbulah (cracked wheat salad with tomatoes and spices), and kebabs (meat grilled on skewers) (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). These examples indicate that Saudis communicate a sense of joy, charity, tradition, and togetherness in their celebrations of holidays and emphasizes the importance of family and religion in their culture.
Women and Men
Saudi women do not have some of the privileges that women in the United States do. Most women do not drive in Saudi Arabia. One might think not being able to take oneself places would be a hassle for women, but many families have chauffeurs that live with them and take the women wherever they want to go, whenever they want to go (Eskandar, 2012). In addition, they are required to dress much more modestly than American women. Women in Saudi Arabia must dress modestly because the Quran says to avoid revealing too much around men who are not relatives so the women will not attract too much attention (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). Many Muslim women cover their hair and neck as taught by Islamic beliefs. Hair-covering is not required by Saudi Arabian law, but covering the body with a loose-fitting black garment, called an abayah, is required by law, whether women are Muslim or not (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006) (Eskandar, 2012). This is different from a burka, which covers the entire body, including the face, which some Muslim women wear in public (Merriam-Webster, 2012). When I talked with Amal, a girl from Saudi Arabia, over Skype, she would wear casual clothing and leave her hair uncovered in her home, so the Islamic rules and Saudi Arabian laws must not apply in one’s own home. Unrelated women and men in Saudi Arabia do not seem to interact with each other as much as they do here in the United States. Amal also told me that any kind of physical affection between men and women in public is considered extremely inappropriate and highly frowned upon (Eskandar, 2012).
Men’s traditional clothing is similarly modest. The thawb is a loose-fitting, ankle-length cotton or wool shirt (depending on the season), which is sometimes worn under a Western-style blazer (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). The quahfiyah, ghutrah, and ‘iqal (skullcap, long head-cloth, and cord) come together to make up the traditional men’s headdress (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). These garments make up the majority of what Saudi Arabian men wear, but Western-style business suits are also very common, especially when traveling abroad and working in the city (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006).
The idea of general modesty is very different from the United States, where one can wear whatever one wants (dress codes in schools and workplaces notwithstanding), as long as it is not offensive in nature or revealing enough to show breasts and/or genitals. By contrast, the Saudi Arabian dress code emphasizes modesty to show their dedication to Islam. The Islamic code considers modesty important; they believe that people will not be as distracted by lustful thoughts if the body is not as visible or in revealing clothing. The Saudi Arabian norms seem to be set so that people can communicate their desires and thoughts without being as distracted by physical appearance.
It would be easy to just dismiss the way that Saudi women are treated as sexiest and oppressive, given that we have so much freedom to do so much in the United States. But one must empathize and consider how one would feel if they grew up in that culture and lived it their whole life. Would you be upset that you do not have the same rights as people in other countries, or would it not bother you because you had known nothing else and felt fine with it? Since Islam came to Arabia, women have been granted many rights, such as owning their own property, being able to choose a husband and propose marriage to a man, keeping her maiden name after marriage, and owning her own dowry (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). The first private school was opened in Jiddah in 1962 and since then, women’s opportunity for education has been increasing; there are now over eighty women’s colleges in Saudi Arabia (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). Now, sixty percent of university graduates are female and there are 4.7 million working-age women in Saudi Arabia (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). Just because Saudi women may not be able to enjoy all the rights that American women do does not mean that they are unvalued or lacking opportunities to succeed.
Men’s traditional clothing is similarly modest. The thawb is a loose-fitting, ankle-length cotton or wool shirt (depending on the season), which is sometimes worn under a Western-style blazer (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). The quahfiyah, ghutrah, and ‘iqal (skullcap, long head-cloth, and cord) come together to make up the traditional men’s headdress (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). These garments make up the majority of what Saudi Arabian men wear, but Western-style business suits are also very common, especially when traveling abroad and working in the city (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006).
The idea of general modesty is very different from the United States, where one can wear whatever one wants (dress codes in schools and workplaces notwithstanding), as long as it is not offensive in nature or revealing enough to show breasts and/or genitals. By contrast, the Saudi Arabian dress code emphasizes modesty to show their dedication to Islam. The Islamic code considers modesty important; they believe that people will not be as distracted by lustful thoughts if the body is not as visible or in revealing clothing. The Saudi Arabian norms seem to be set so that people can communicate their desires and thoughts without being as distracted by physical appearance.
It would be easy to just dismiss the way that Saudi women are treated as sexiest and oppressive, given that we have so much freedom to do so much in the United States. But one must empathize and consider how one would feel if they grew up in that culture and lived it their whole life. Would you be upset that you do not have the same rights as people in other countries, or would it not bother you because you had known nothing else and felt fine with it? Since Islam came to Arabia, women have been granted many rights, such as owning their own property, being able to choose a husband and propose marriage to a man, keeping her maiden name after marriage, and owning her own dowry (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). The first private school was opened in Jiddah in 1962 and since then, women’s opportunity for education has been increasing; there are now over eighty women’s colleges in Saudi Arabia (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). Now, sixty percent of university graduates are female and there are 4.7 million working-age women in Saudi Arabia (Facey, Lunde, McKinnon, & Pledge, 2006). Just because Saudi women may not be able to enjoy all the rights that American women do does not mean that they are unvalued or lacking opportunities to succeed.
Scale and Spectrum Rankings
Where a society falls on the spectrum of individualism or collectivism is a big indicator of their communication style and values. According to Geert Hofstede, “individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family” (2002). In this type of society, the focus is placed more on individual success than success of the group. For example, families tend to be more nuclear (parents and children usually are the only family members who live in the same house) and most parents expect their children to move out, go to school, get a job, marry, and/or start their own family once they are old enough (Hofstede, 2002). The Individualism Index scores and ranks countries based on how individualistic their culture seems, and the United States has the highest score in the world, with ninety-one out of one-hundred (Hofstede, 2002).
By comparison, a collectivistic society focuses more on the family as a whole: “collectivism as [individualism’s] opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Hofstede, 2002). Grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, and children commonly live under one roof and they rely on one another more than an individualist family would (Hofstede, 2002). Taking care of family is very important to people in a collectivist society and events are often mandatory (Hofstede, 2002). In Saudi Arabia, the parents even control who their children marry. If a man wants to get engaged to a woman, he asks the parents, and their answer is final (Eskandar, 2012). If the parents say no, then there is no chance at all of marriage, but if they say yes, then the two can start to date (Eskandar, 2012). Compare this expectation with the American “tradition” of the boyfriend asking the girlfriend’s father for permission to marry her. It depends on the situation, but usually the parents will not ban the couple from ever seeing each other again if they do not approve of the match, and sometimes they will go ahead and marry each other anyway. As far as the Individualism Index score goes, Saudi Arabia was not surveyed individually, but was grouped with “Arab countries” and tied with Brazil for twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh place with a score of thirty-eight out of one-hundred. Although they do not have the lowest score in individualism, it is still almost halfway down the list.
On a similar note, Saudi Arabia scored very high in terms of uncertainty, which means that they like to keep traditions in their society and culture. They scored eighty out of one-hundred on this scale, which is very high. It makes sense that they would be this way, seeing as they hold their religion near and dear to them. In the same vein, Saudi Arabia is a very masculine country, meaning that they value hard work and working one’s way up the ladder, so to speak (Eskandar, 2012). This is very similar to the attitude in the United States, where the ideal is that one can go from rags to riches if one simply works hard enough. Both of these countries value hard work and mobility in the socio-economic ladder (Eskandar, 2012).
Similar to the degree of individualism and collectivism, the context of a culture is a major indicator of communication styles within that culture. The United States is very low context, with most of the meaning of communication attached to the words that people say to one another (Jandt, 2007). Non-verbal cues are present but are not as important as the literal message stated. Saudi Arabia definitely follows a high context communication style, with the non-verbal cues taking precedence over the verbal cues (Jandt, 2007). If two people coming from cultures with different contexts, they might have trouble communicating and feel that their message is being lost on the other person. In Saudi Arabia, their high-context culture is also reflected in the way that people show affection for their friends. For example, kissing one’s friends on the cheek is a completely normal and acceptable greeting, no matter the gender (Eskandar, 2012). By comparison, most people in the United States only wave, shake hands, or hug each other, at the most, when they see a friend. Overall, Saudis seem to use lots of hand gestures and facial expressions when they talk to others, much more so than the United States, showing the differences in context between these two countries (Eskandar, 2012).
Overall, the Saudis seem to really have their priorities in mind when it comes to communication with others. Above all, religion takes precedence in their lives. Islam dictates their laws and behaviors in almost every aspect of their lives. They are a very masculine culture and value hard work and tradition in their lives. These values in their culture affect how they communicate with others, not only from other countries, but fellow Saudis as well.
By comparison, a collectivistic society focuses more on the family as a whole: “collectivism as [individualism’s] opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Hofstede, 2002). Grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, and children commonly live under one roof and they rely on one another more than an individualist family would (Hofstede, 2002). Taking care of family is very important to people in a collectivist society and events are often mandatory (Hofstede, 2002). In Saudi Arabia, the parents even control who their children marry. If a man wants to get engaged to a woman, he asks the parents, and their answer is final (Eskandar, 2012). If the parents say no, then there is no chance at all of marriage, but if they say yes, then the two can start to date (Eskandar, 2012). Compare this expectation with the American “tradition” of the boyfriend asking the girlfriend’s father for permission to marry her. It depends on the situation, but usually the parents will not ban the couple from ever seeing each other again if they do not approve of the match, and sometimes they will go ahead and marry each other anyway. As far as the Individualism Index score goes, Saudi Arabia was not surveyed individually, but was grouped with “Arab countries” and tied with Brazil for twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh place with a score of thirty-eight out of one-hundred. Although they do not have the lowest score in individualism, it is still almost halfway down the list.
On a similar note, Saudi Arabia scored very high in terms of uncertainty, which means that they like to keep traditions in their society and culture. They scored eighty out of one-hundred on this scale, which is very high. It makes sense that they would be this way, seeing as they hold their religion near and dear to them. In the same vein, Saudi Arabia is a very masculine country, meaning that they value hard work and working one’s way up the ladder, so to speak (Eskandar, 2012). This is very similar to the attitude in the United States, where the ideal is that one can go from rags to riches if one simply works hard enough. Both of these countries value hard work and mobility in the socio-economic ladder (Eskandar, 2012).
Similar to the degree of individualism and collectivism, the context of a culture is a major indicator of communication styles within that culture. The United States is very low context, with most of the meaning of communication attached to the words that people say to one another (Jandt, 2007). Non-verbal cues are present but are not as important as the literal message stated. Saudi Arabia definitely follows a high context communication style, with the non-verbal cues taking precedence over the verbal cues (Jandt, 2007). If two people coming from cultures with different contexts, they might have trouble communicating and feel that their message is being lost on the other person. In Saudi Arabia, their high-context culture is also reflected in the way that people show affection for their friends. For example, kissing one’s friends on the cheek is a completely normal and acceptable greeting, no matter the gender (Eskandar, 2012). By comparison, most people in the United States only wave, shake hands, or hug each other, at the most, when they see a friend. Overall, Saudis seem to use lots of hand gestures and facial expressions when they talk to others, much more so than the United States, showing the differences in context between these two countries (Eskandar, 2012).
Overall, the Saudis seem to really have their priorities in mind when it comes to communication with others. Above all, religion takes precedence in their lives. Islam dictates their laws and behaviors in almost every aspect of their lives. They are a very masculine culture and value hard work and tradition in their lives. These values in their culture affect how they communicate with others, not only from other countries, but fellow Saudis as well.
References
Burka. (2012). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burka?show=0&t=1355202738
Culture [Def. 5b]. (2012). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 6, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture
[Digital image]. (2007, March 27). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://delhi4cats.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/guys-in-thobe.jpg?w=468&h=312
[Digital image]. (2010). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/saudi_arabia/images/great-mosque-500.jpg
[Digital image]. (2010, August 22). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://saudigirlslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/abaya-1126.jpg
Eskandar, A. (2012, September 28). [Online interview, online journal].
Facey, W., Lunde, P., McKinnon, M., & Pledge, T. A. (2006). A land transformed: The Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Aramco (A. P. Clark, M. A. Tahlawi, T. A. Pledge, H. El Mallakh, J. P. Mandaville, & K. Hardy Campbell, Eds.). Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabian Oil (Saudi Aramco).
Harris, G. L. (1959). Saudi Arabia: Its people, its society, its culture (Survey of World Cultures). New Haven, CT: Hraf Press.
Hofstede, G. (n.d.). I, we, and they. In Readings in intercultural communication (2nd ed., pp. 289-301). 2002: McGraw Hill.
Jandt, F. E. (2007). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publ.
Saudi Arabia. (2008). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 9, 2012, from http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2008/108492.htm
Culture [Def. 5b]. (2012). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 6, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture
[Digital image]. (2007, March 27). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://delhi4cats.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/guys-in-thobe.jpg?w=468&h=312
[Digital image]. (2010). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/saudi_arabia/images/great-mosque-500.jpg
[Digital image]. (2010, August 22). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://saudigirlslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/abaya-1126.jpg
Eskandar, A. (2012, September 28). [Online interview, online journal].
Facey, W., Lunde, P., McKinnon, M., & Pledge, T. A. (2006). A land transformed: The Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Aramco (A. P. Clark, M. A. Tahlawi, T. A. Pledge, H. El Mallakh, J. P. Mandaville, & K. Hardy Campbell, Eds.). Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabian Oil (Saudi Aramco).
Harris, G. L. (1959). Saudi Arabia: Its people, its society, its culture (Survey of World Cultures). New Haven, CT: Hraf Press.
Hofstede, G. (n.d.). I, we, and they. In Readings in intercultural communication (2nd ed., pp. 289-301). 2002: McGraw Hill.
Jandt, F. E. (2007). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publ.
Saudi Arabia. (2008). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 9, 2012, from http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2008/108492.htm