Ibsen’s Arab Journey

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 107-120
Author(s):  
Shireen H. Alkurdi ◽  
Awfa Hussein Al-Doory ◽  
Mahmoud F. Al-Shetawi
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Arab Culture

This article sheds light on the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s interest in Egypt and the Arab world. It underscores the influence of his tour in Egypt during the opening of the Suez Canal on his works, drawing on the theoretical underpinnings established by Edward W. Said. The study foregrounds Ibsen’s correspondence, plays, and other works that include references to his two-month stay in Egypt and to his encounter with the Arab culture. Ibsen’s references validate the Western stereotyping and ideology that have influenced a wide array of Western writers in the ways they misrepresent and misinterpret the Arab culture, and concomitantly other references mirror a personal force of admiration. Additionally, the article discusses the idea that Ibsen’s sojourn in Egypt did not alter his viewpoint of the Arab culture in general and the Egyptian one in particular which is markedly controlled by the Western stereotyped image of Arabs and their culture.

Postpartum psychiatric illness in Arab culture: Prevalence and psychosocial correlates

1997 ◽  
Vol 171 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Ghubash ◽  
M. T. Abou-Saleh
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Postpartum Depression ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
Industrialised Countries

BackgroundThere have been numerous studies of the prevalence of postpartum depression and its putative risk factors in Western Europe and North America, but very few studies in developing countries including the Arab world.MethodNinety-five women admitted to the New Dubai Hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for childbirth were studied. All subjects were assessed in the postpartum period using clinical and socio-cultural instruments: the Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ) at day 2, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at day 7, and the Present State Examination (PSE) at week 8 ± 2 and week 30 ± 2 after delivery.ResultsThe prevalence rate of psychiatric morbidity was 24.5% by the SRQ, 17.8% by the EPDS, and 15.8% by the PSE. A number of psychosocial factors emerged as putative risk factors for postpartum depression.ConclusionsThe prevalence rates of postpartum psychiatric morbidity and its risk factors in this Arab culture are similar to the results obtained in numerous previous studies in industrialised countries. These findings have implications for the early detection and care of women at risk for postpartum depression.

Between Myth and Reality: Approaches to Ibn Khaldun in the Arab World

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 590-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cengiz Tomar
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Ibn Khaldun ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
The One ◽  
The 19Th Century

AbstractIbn Khaldun is one of most discussed social philosophers in the modern Arab World. The most important reasons for this are that he lived in a time of crisis that resembles the one that Muslims find themselves in at the present time, that his thoughts have found approval from Western scientists, and that they possess modern characteristics. It is for these reasons that the thought of Ibn Khaldun, from the 19th century onwards, have given rise to a wide variety of interpretations, including pan-Islamism, nationalism, socialism and other ideologies that have found interest in the Arab world. In this article, after examining the heritage of thought bequeathed by Ibn Khaldun to Arab culture, starting from the time in which he lived, we will try to evaluate interpretations of the Muqaddimah in the modern Arab world.

Wind in the Reeds

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wafaa EL Sadik ◽  
Rüdiger Heimlich
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Suez Crisis ◽  
Political Center ◽  
Gamal Abdel Nasser ◽  
History Books

This chapter focuses on the author's childhood in 1956. On July 26, 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser declared that he was nationalizing the Suez Canal and would use the income from the canal's operations to finance the construction of the new dam at Aswan. The broadcast of the speech was the signal for the takeover of the canal office by an Egyptian military commando unit. This episode has gone into the history books as the Suez Crisis, a highly euphemistic term, for the “crisis” was a proper war, with many dead, wounded, prisoners of war, and massive destruction. The author also describes her experiences adapting to a new environment as they move from Kafr al-Arab and Fariskur to Cairo, Egypt's capital and the cultural and political center of the Arab world at the time.

The Arab World, Culture and Information Technology

2009 ◽  
pp. 123-131
Author(s):  
Mohamed El Louadi
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
World Culture ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
Oil Resources ◽  
Arab League ◽  
The Devil ◽  
Modern Technologies

In 801, Harun Rashid offered Charlemagne a water clock, the like of which was inexistent in all of Europe at that time; the King’s court thought that a little devil was hidden inside the clock. In the 1930s, King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia had to convince his people that the radio was not the making of the devil and that it could in fact be used to broadcast and spread the Quran. In 2003, the Arab region is found to be still lagging in modern technologies adoption (UNDP, 2003). Thus, in a little more than 11 centuries, the Arabs were transformed from leaders to adopters, then to late adopters as far as technologies are concerned. The Arab world is taken to mean the 22 members of the Arab League, accounting for more than 300 million people with an economy of 700 billion dollars. Although most Arabs practice Islam, they represent less than one third of all Muslims. The Arab world is often thought of as economically prosperous due to its oil resources; yet its total GDP is lower than that of Spain (UNDP, 2003). Arab countries share language and culture but differ in size, geography, demographics, government type, etc. In terms of spending in and use of IT, statistics portray the Arab world as far from being up-to-date (UNDP, 2003). This article raises the question of whether existing research models are appropriate to explain this delay. If certain characteristics proper to the Arab culture play an important role in explaining the delay in IT adoption, then we anticipate the answer to be that no existing model is able to adequately study the IT adoption phenomena in the Arab world.

scholarly journals Trends and Issues in Contemporary Arab Thought

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-165
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Abu-Rabi’
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
The West ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Modernization Process ◽  
Epistemological Structure

The author, Issa Boullata, states that his intention is to study Arabintellectual and social phenomena and trends against the background ofmodernity: “Particularly insufficient in Western studies are publications onArab intellectuals who are grappling with the idea of modernity” (p. ix).Furthermore, “this book, concerned with the present-day Arab culture andits crisis, will attempt to present a number of important themes that haveengaged Arab intellectuals” (p. 9) who “exhibit a profound desire to grapplewith the problem of modernity” (p. 2).Boullata uses two essential terms in his study- modernity andmodernization - without exploring their epistemological structure and meaning,historical formation (especially in the context of Europe), and social viabilityin the modern Arab world. He takes it for granted that the Arab world hasbeen a part of the modernization process for many decades. Furthermore,he seems to make a distinction between two types of Arab intellectuals:progressive/modernizing (forces of modernity), and conservative/traditionalist(forces of tradition). He claims that the first type “voiced and articulatedthe frustration of the Arab masses against Arab regimes and the prevalentculture of Arab society. Their writings were characterized by deep socialinsight, self-analysis and a great measure of self-criticism” (p. 2). And, “themore progressive among Arab intellectuals have tried to analyze the relationshipof contemporary Arabs and the West” (p. 8). Also, “the forces of modernity,using mostly external ideas and models for change, are oriented towards thefuture, which they see as opening new horizons for the Arabs. Opposingthem the forces of tradition, using mostly internal ideas and models for change,are oriented towards the past, which they see as an ideal to be repted becausethey perceive it as having the promise of certainty and surety of proven success”(p. 6). Finally, “The difference between the extremist Arab thinker on theRight and the extremist Arab thinker on the Left is that the former conformsto a past-oriented ideology which he believes originates in God and divine ...

scholarly journals Promoting an academic culture in the Arab world

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Moustafa
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Academic Environment ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Academic Education ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Wide Gap ◽  
Economic Developments ◽  
Science And Research

A wide gap between academic education and ethical conducts is perceptible in many research and scientific activities. Basically, scientists with high academic degrees are expected to behave ethically but unfortunately this is not always the case. Scientific research in the Arab world is sometimes challenged with many flaws and shortcomings such as the lack of ethics, effectiveness and well-defined investment strategies. The academic environment is also entangled with invidiousness, selfishness, and overwhelming bureaucracy in an obvious and paradoxical way with the Arab culture that emphasizes ethics. Unethical symptoms are ranging from trivial bad behaviors, such as the absence of basic communication ethics and nonresponse to formal requests or emails to more serious misconducts in research and medical practices. The objectives of science and research programs in many Arab institutions are directed toward artificial and superficial prestige more than toward real and local scientific and socio-economic developments. To alleviate such issues, Arab scientists and policymakers need to deeply rethink the way research and development policies are currently planned and performed with particular focus on local priorities with the highest ethical and methodological values considered.

scholarly journals Comics in the Arab world. Birth and spread of a new literary genre

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 117-126
Author(s):  
Emanuela De Blasio
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
The West ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Shed Light

The research focuses on the birth and development of the comics, a new literary genre in the Arab world. The paper takes into account the dynamics of the advent of comics in the first Arab countries until to our days when comics began to appeal to an adult audience, sometimes taking inspiration from material from the West, sometimes referring to traditional elements of Arab culture. With the advent of the Arab revolutions, this genre has become more widespread and has also been used by artists to express dissent and criticism. Following the fall of dictatorial regimes in some Arab countries, the power of censorship has diminished; this has allowed the proliferation of different types of comics, also thanks to the fundamental role of social networks and the Internet. Through the examination of comics in the Arab world it is possible to shed light on a new literary genre and it is possible to trace the lines of the evolution of its themes and language.

Cosmopolitanism in Dubai’s Pan-Arab Drama

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-209
Author(s):  
Fadi G. Haddad ◽  
Alexander Dhoest
Keyword(s):  
Recent Trend ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
Private Lives ◽  
Transnational Narrative ◽  
Culture Education

Abstract Pan-Arab dramas (Ar. al-drama al-ʿarabiyya al-mushtaraka) are a recent trend in Arabic drama series (Ar. musalsalat); they portray an ensemble of characters of various Arab nationalities in a transnational narrative setting. By considering transnational television a factor that contributes to the cosmopolitan imagination, and given the argument that Gulf cities are replacing historical Arab capitals and becoming ‘new centers’ for Arab culture, education and business, we explore the manner in which cosmopolitanism is represented in transnational Arab drama content. We do this through a case study of ‘04’ (Zero Four), a pan-Arab drama series that tells the story of four young expatriates of four Arab nationalities, experiencing their personal, professional and private lives in modern-day Dubai. We find that the boundaries of the cosmopolitan imagined community encompass the Arab world, resulting in a cosmopolitan imaginary that seems to favor Arabs over non-Arabs.

scholarly journals Argentine and Egyptian History Entangled: From Perón to Nasser

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-577
Author(s):  
LILY PEARL BALLOFFET
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
Egyptian Revolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Egyptian History

AbstractThis article presents an entangled history of Argentina and Egypt in the years surrounding the 1952 Egyptian Revolution. It combines diplomatic, migration and anti-imperial activism histories to delineate the intellectual and institutional links between these nations from the late 1940s to the 1950s – from the rise of Peronism through to Nasser's management of the Suez Canal crisis of 1956. Diverse Argentine social and political sectors saw parallels between the anti-imperial struggles in the Arab world and in Latin America. Though with differing and sometimes competing agendas, these groups learned and deployed the language of non-alignment and South–South solidarity in the escalating Cold War.

scholarly journals The influence of culture on trust in B2B banking relationships

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roudaina Houjeir ◽  
Ross Brennan
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Arab Culture ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
Relationship Partners ◽  
Banking Relationships ◽  
Qualitative Nature ◽  
Cultural Origins

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of culture generally, and Arab culture in particular, for the development of trust in business-to-business (B2B) banking relationships. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative fieldwork was employed, gathering in-depth interview data from bankers and their business clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In total, 80 relationships between bankers and business clients were investigated. Findings The development of trusting relationships between bankers and clients is affected by the cultural origins of the relationship partners. Strongly held religious beliefs, and loyalty to family, tribe and nation, lead to strong affect-based trust between bankers and clients from Arab culture. Cognitive-based trust is more characteristic of UAE banker/client relationships that involve partners from outside the Arab world. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in the UAE. Additional tests in other Arab countries would be valuable. The qualitative nature of the study means that statistical generalizations cannot be drawn. Practical implications The cultural origins of banking relationship managers are of considerable importance when seeking to develop relationships of trust with business banking clients in the Arab world. Originality/value This substantial, qualitative study of banker relationships with business clients throws considerable light on the importance of culture as an antecedent to trust in B2B banking relationships.

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