Understanding Arabs: A Contemporary Guide to Arab Society

You will find this to be one of the very best overviews of the main values and ideals that westerners find unusual or uncomfortable. This book gives tremendous help to move beyond "this is wrong" towards "this is different."

I'm an American Christian woman, and I've been married to an Arab Muslim man for the last four years. This book caused some light bulbs to go off for me. It clarified past events that were puzzling to me. It's a well written book that clearly hopes to offset the bad press that Arabs have been getting these past few years. However, the author is fair in her assessments of those areas in which the West and the Arab world need to make changes to improve relations and, perhaps, prevent another 9/11. It's an even-tempered discussion. It includes wonderful summaries of Arab countries, including economic, political, and religious information about each country. A great resource!

Having been to the Middle East twice, I found this book to be a very good general overview of how to try to "understand Arabs." Nydell keeps things pretty basic and hits all of the important points. Also, this book is very up to date with some data coming within the last year. The commentary towards the end paints a rosy picture of Arabic view of America/the West that I am not sure I completely agree with, but in contrast to some other books, at least Nydell has some facts to back up her statements. I highly recommend this book for anyone travelling to the Middle East for the first time or anyone looking to gain some cultural insight into the Arab mindset.

A book that combines scholarship, personal insight, clear and sparkling writing, and human warmth is rare indeed. Margaret Nydell's "Understanding Arabs" is just such a marvel. And this fourth edition serves, as its subtitle promises, as "a guide for modern times", to counterbalance the terror and hatred stemming from the events of September 11, 2001. Dr. Nydell's familiarity with Arabs is apparent in the unusual insights of an early chapter, "Beliefs and Values". Bullet points emphasize important observations about basic Arab values, religious attitudes, and self-perceptions. Several chapters give the newcomer to an Arab country many useful pointers about suitable behavior in various interpersonal encounters. Chapter 5, "Men and Women", for example, should be required reading for any Westerner likely to mingle socially with Arabs. So should Chapter 6, "Social Formalities and Etiquette". Chapters on Arab social structure, family, and religion lead to discussions of Islamism. Nydell emphasizes that the terms "Arab" and "Muslim" are not synonymous. Although many Westerners perceive all Arabs as extreme fundamentalists, those who perpetrated the violence of 9/11 account for only a tiny percentage of Muslims (which, unfortunately, is growing, largely because of America's actions in the region). Without dismissing the real dangers, she makes a very good case for "understanding Arabs" as essential to combating terrorism effectively. A new chapter in this fourth edition discusses Arab and Muslim migrants to Europe and the United States. Of more than three million people of Arab origin in the United States, up to 70 per cent are descendants of early Christian migrants from Lebanon and Syria, while Arabs who arrived after 1960 are mainly Muslims. These migrants and their families intend to make their future in America, and they have a large stake in its safety; they are appalled by terrorist attacks. This new edition, then, addresses a much broader readership than did earlier ones. And, given the trend of current events, it is more essential than ever to understand Arabs.

Interest has suddenly peaked, reviews are more numerous, and I want to say something about how the book is intended. It is a handbook, not a scholarly academic product, written to help people with personal interactions, and to explain differences and reasons for differences. I made every effort to have many Arabs and Muslims read it, checking for anything false or negative, and by this time, to my knowledge, everybody approves. I urge Arab readers not to assume that this is yet another negative evaluation of their society and culture. I speak Arabic, and collected information over the years from many people who do not speak English; I traveled and lived in the Arab World for over thirty years. The publisher gave the book its title; it does sound Orientalist, how "we" understand "the Arabs," but... I keep looking for anything in Arabic written by an Arab to help Arabs/Muslims/Mideasterners understand some of the behavior they observe in the West ("Understanding Americans/ Understanding Westerners"). I have never heard of anything like this, to date. There are so may misperceptions on both sides, we need anything we can find to explain, explain, explain. I welcome any comments about points which readers think need to be changed or modified, added or subtracted. My entire career has been devoted to writing Arabic-language materials, and directing Arabic-language classes, hoping to get as many Westerners as possible interested in the Arabic language and the Arab way of life. I hope there is nothing in the book that can be taken as gratuitous criticism or a value judgment as to whose way is better in any aspect. Having lived among Arabs my entire adult life, I do not think it impossible to have a genuine feeling for both Arabs and Westerners, how both groups think, live, what they care about, what they believe. We certainly need mutual understanding right now -- too many people are forming conclusions based on very wrong perceptions.