PEOPLE OF ARAB

HERITAGE
Overview, Inhabited Localities,
and Topography
■ trace their ancestry and traditions to the nomadic desert tribes of the Arabian
Peninsula. They share a common language, Arabic, and most are united by Islam, a
major world religion that originated in seventh-century Arabia.
■ Historically Christians, Muslims, and Jews share a common religious background,
and the three prophets are descendants from the same father, Abraham. Moses, the
messenger of Judaism, and Jesus, the messenger of Christianity, are believed to be
descendants of Isaac; whereas, Mohammed, the messenger of Islam, is believed to
be a descendant of Abraham’s eldest son,
■ 22 Arab countries of North Africa and Southwest Asia:
■ Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
■ Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman,
■ Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,
■ Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
■ Detroit-Dearborn, Michigan, is one of the two largest, and perhaps most visible, Arab
American communities.
■ Houston, Texas, and Cleveland, Ohio, are also among the top 10 cities for Arab
Americans
■ Seeking economic opportunity and perhaps the financial means to return home and
buy land or set up shop in their ancestral villages.
■ Arabs favor professional occupations, education, as a prerequisite to white-collar
work, is valued and most likely self-employed.
Communication

■ Arabic is the official language of the Arab world

■ Arab person’s speech is likely to be characterized by repetition and gesturing,
particularly when involved in serious discussions. Arabs may be loud and expressive
when involved in serious discussions to stress their commitment and their sincerity
in the subject matter.
■ Arabs value privacy and resist disclosure of personal information to strangers,
especially, when it relates to familial disease conditions.
■ Arabs are sensitive to the courtesy and respect they are accorded, and good
manners are important in evaluating a person’s character.
Guidelines for communicating with Arab
Americans include the following
■ 1 Employ an approach that combines expertise with warmth. Minimize status
differences, as Arab Americans report feeling uncomfortable and sel-fconscious in
the presence of authority figures. Pay special attention to the person’s feelings. Arab
Americans perceive themselves as sensitive, with the potential for being easily hurt,
belittled, and slighted
■ 2 Take time to get acquainted before delving into business.
■ 3 Nurses may need to clarify role responsibilities regarding history taking,
performing physical examinations, and providing health information for newer
immigrants.
■ 4 Perform a comprehensive assessment. Explain the relationship of the information
needed for physical complaints.
■ 5 Interpret family members’ communication patterns within a cultural context.
Recognize that a spokesperson may answer questions directed to the client, and
that the family members may edit some information that they feel is inappropriate
■ 6 Convey hope and optimism. The concept of “false hope” is not meaningful to
Arabs because they regard God’s power to cure as infinite.
Family Roles and Organization

■ Arab Muslim families are characterized by a strong patrilineal tradition.

■ Women are subordinate to men, and young people are subordinate to older people.
Consequently, within his immediate family, the man is the head of the family and his
influence is overt
■ the older male figure assumes the role of decision maker.
■ the father is the disciplinarian, whereas the mother is an ally and mediator, an unfailing
source of love and kindness.
■ Family members cooperate to secure livelihood, rear children, and maintain standing
and influence within the community.
■ Family members live nearby, sometimes intermarry (first cousins), and expect a great
deal from one another regardless of practicality or ability to help.
Workforce Issues

■ Faith
Biocultural Ecology

■ have dark or olive skin, they may also have blonde or auburn hair, blue eyes, and fair
complexions.
■ major public health concerns in the Arab world include trauma related to motor vehicle
accidents, maternal-child health, and control of communicable diseases. The incidence
of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, trachoma, typhus, hepatitis, typhoid
fever, dysentery, and parasitic infestations varies between urban and rural areas and
from country to country.
■ Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency, sickle cell anemia, and the
thalassemias are extremely common in the eastern Mediterranean region
■ known to have difficulty metabolizing debrisoquine and substances that are metabolized
similarly: antiarrhythmics, antidepressants, beta-blockers, neuroleptics, and opioid
agents.
High-Risk Behaviors

■ Islamic beliefs discouraging tobacco use, smoking remains deeply ingrained in Arab
culture. For many Arabs, offering cigarettes is a sign of hospitality. Consistent with
their cultural heritage, Arab Americans are characterized by higher smoking rates
and lower quitting rates than European Americans.
■ Islamic prohibitions do appear to influence patterns of alcohol consumption and
attitudes toward drug use.
Nutrition

■ Offering food is also a way of expressing love and friendship, hospitality, and
generosity.
■ For the Arab woman, whose primary role is caring for her husband and children, the
preparation and presentation of an elaborate midday meal is taken as an indication
of her love and caring.
■ Lunch is the main meal in Arab households. Encouraging guests to eat is the host’s
duty. Guests often begin with a ritual refusal and then succumb to the host’s
insistence. Food is eaten with the right hand because it is regarded as clean.
■ Arabs associate good health with eating properly, consuming nutritious foods, and
fasting to cure disease
■ Prophet Mohammed, who taught that “the stomach is the house of every disease,
and abstinence is the head of every remedy”.
Pregnancy and Childbearing
Practices
■ Fertility practices of Arabs are influenced by traditional Bedouin values supporting
tribal dominance, popular beliefs that “God decides family size,” “God provides,”
and Islamic rulings regarding birth control, treatment of infertility, and abortion.
Death Rituals

■ Muslim death rituals include turning the patient’s bed to face the holy city of Mecca
and reading from the Qur’an, particularly verses stressing hope and acceptance.
After death, the deceased is washed three times by a Muslim of the same sex. The
body is then wrapped, preferably in white material, and buried as soon as possible
in a brick- or cement-lined grave facing Mecca.
Spirituality

■ Islam has no priesthood. Islamic scholars or religious sheikhs, the most learned
individuals in an Islamic community, assume the role of imam, or “leader of the
prayer.”
■ The five major pillars, or duties, of Islam are:
■ (1) declaration of faith,
■ (2) prayer five times daily,
■ (3) almsgiving,
■ (4) fasting during Ramadan, and
■ (5) completion of a pilgrimage to Mecca