Cultures of the

Middle East
What’s your image of the people of the
Middle East?
The Many Cultures of the Middle East

The Middle East consists of

approximately 20 countries, with
many different religions and a
variety of ethnic and linguistic
groups. Given this diversity, we
should not be surprised to see the
difficulties Middle Easterners may
have coexisting in the region.
What are some stereotypes you have
about this region’s people?
At your table please look to your
shoulder partner and discuss
common stereotypes about the
people of the Middle East.
                                
Hamas considers all of Israel as
Crossroads of Civilization
Situated between Africa, Asia, and Europe, the
Middle East has been a crossroads for
traders, travelers, and empire builders for
thousands of years. It is a melting pot of
ethic backgrounds. Major ethnic groups in
the Middle East today include Arabs, Iranians,
Turks, Jews (Israelis), Kurds, and
Caucasians. Most of the countries in this
region are multiethnic. But even as diversity
enhances the cultural richness of society, it
unfortunately may lead to political conflict.
 Arabs
 Most people in the region are
Arabs, and most Arabs are
Muslims. Both Islamic culture
and Arabic, the language of the
Arabs, have had a significant
impact on the region. Although
the area is primarily Islamic,
Islam itself can be broken down
into 2 sects: Sunnis and Shi’ites.
 
   
                               
 Iranians
Iran is home to about 66 million
people, most of whom speak
Farsi and are Shiite Muslims
 Jews (Israelis)
 About 6.1 million people in the region
are Israelis living in Israel. Of these,
about 82% are Jews; the remaining
18% are mostly Arabs. In 1948, Israel
was founded as a Jewish State.
Tensions between Arabs and Jews
resulting in four wars that have brought
severe hardship to the area’s people.
 
   
                               
3 Major Religions of the Middle East
 Judaism
The oldest monotheistic faith
Origin traced back to the ancient
Israelites, who made Jerusalem
their religious center
Jews eventually settled in other
areas, taking their beliefs with
them
 Christianity
 Developed from Judaism
 Based on the life and teachings of
Jesus Christ
 Spread throughout the
Mediterranean world into Asia,
Africa, Europe, and eventually to the
Americas and the South Pacific
region
 Islam
Major religion of the region
Acknowledge Muhammad as
the last of a series of great
prophets
Spread from the Arabian
Peninsula to other parts of Asia,
North Africa, and Europe
What do they all have in common?

 All believe in one God

 Each has a holy book
 All call for regular prayer, certain
periods of fasting or eating special
foods
 All observe certain holy days
 All require attendance at worship
services
What’s different about the religions?

The rules of each

faith are different.
 Many ethnic groups
have always lived side
by side in this region.
Why have these groups
not been able to settle
their differences?
Answer: Cultural identity is
very strong. No group is
willing to be ruled by a group
whose culture, language, and
customs are different.
Religious beliefs differ, and
religious beliefs often result in
serious disagreement.
Everyday Life in the Middle East
Has changed greatly in the last
century, with improved health
care, rapid population growth,
and the introduction of
technology. People’s activities,
however, still center on home,
family, and religion.
 Common Thread
A common thread that runs
through many lives is the
importance of family and the
values that derive from having
a strong extended family:
respect, honor and loyalty.
 The Family
The family is an important part of culture
in the Middle East.

In traditional Arab societies the family unit

is an extended family—cousins,
grandparents, second cousins, cousin-
in-laws, nieces, nephews, and more—
all living together. Migration to cities
has broken up some of these extended
families.
 The Urbanization of
the Middle East
 The difference between life in the
village and life in the city
sometimes seems to be as great or
greater than the difference between
living in the Middle East and living
in America.
 The largest cities of the region have
modern high-rise buildings side by
side with small houses that are
hundreds of years old.
 Much of the rural population lives in
stone or wooden housing, some
without running water or electricity.
 What problems
could arise from
these large cities
growing too fast?
 Answer:
 Lack of jobs
 Lack of housing
 Unimproved infrastructure such as
roads and utilities

* All of these factors have led to

poverty, snarled traffic and
pollution.
Foods in the Middle East
 Staple foods include wheat and barley,
fruits and vegetables, dairy products,
lamb and mutton.
 Rural people grow their own food and
shop at village markets. Urban dwellers
shop at supermarkets, but bazaars, or
traditional markets, are also popular
gathering places in the cities.
   
                                                                 

                                                               
 

 
A fruit vendor at a market in Alexandria, Egypt
The Urbanization of the Middle
East (continued)
 Over the past 200 years, and
increasingly more now, more and
more Western goods, everything
from clothes to computers have
appeared in Middle Eastern
markets.
 Not only goods, but culture as well,
have been imported from the West.
   
                                                                 

                                                               
 

 
A busy street in Cairo, Egypt
The Urbanization of the Middle
East (continued)
 There is an active debate in most
Middle Eastern communities
about how much Western culture
and technology can and should
be adopted before such
influences begin to compromise
their culture, traditions and
identity.
 Education
Most of the region’s youth
male and female attend high
school
Some attend universities
Literacy rates in the region
vary, but have improved
greatly in the past 20 years
 Health Care
 Health care has improved
and expanded, but there is a
shortage of hospital beds
and doctors, particularly in
rural areas.
Average life expectancy is
low throughout the region.
Leisure and Entertainment
 A caller, called a muezzin, calls
for prayer 5 times a day in areas
with large Muslim populations.
 People visit with friends and
family during leisure time.
 Soccer, board games and chess
are popular in many areas.
 Muslim Women
 Not all women of the Middle East are
restricted. The ones who are restricted
by Islamic law.
 Some have begun to resist restrictions,
and have begun to win greater freedom
both in dress and activities.
 Women can participate in sports, but
can only participate where there are
female spectators.
                                                                                                          
                                             

                                     

                                                       
                                                       
                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                

                 
                                                                                                                                                                                

                 
                                                                                                                                                                                

                 
                                                                                                                                                                                

                 
 
Partygoers wear western clothes and enjoy western music