Djelloul Marbrook- We also need a better understanding of Arab tribalism. The first step towards such an understanding is to accept that it’s not a pejorative word, it doesn’t imply regression. It’s a cultural phenomenon and needs to be understood. The great Arab empires were created by tribal Arabs brought together by Islam. The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire was a tribal matter. The press, in its desire to couch developments in misleading geopolitical contexts, fails to provide context that would enable us to understand. There is a memorable scene in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia where Sheikh Auda Abu Tayi of the Howeitat tribe says to Lawrence in exasperation (and this is not an exact quote), You talk of the Arabs this and the Arabs that, you talk of Mother Arabia, but I don’t know any Arabs, I know Howeitat, I know Ruwallah, I know Shammari. My mother in Algeria in the 1930s encountered the same response. She lived with the Oulad Nail and one day she spoke to some women of the tribe about the Arabs and one of them said, We don’t know about the Arabs, we are Oulad Naili. Suzette - Same thing in America.. We have our own cultural tribes. Does a New Yorker think like a Texan? Does a Californian think like a Alabaman? Maybe the odd man out. :-)
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 20:14:56 +0000
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