The Arab Mind is a powerful and comprehensive description of Arab culture that has been widely acclaimed and vehemently criticized throughout the years. This book helps develop a better understanding of common and sometimes bizarre Arab behavior in the public and private realm.

Rapheal Patai provides an explanation for the Arab proclivity to make verbal threats and the tendency toward extremes of behavior. He also reveals Arab sexual mores as well as certain absurd practices like honor killings. He then wraps up the book with an explanation of ambivalent Arab reactions toward the West and Westernization.

I have to say that through two tours in Iraq I have personally experienced most of the behavioral traits on numerous occasions discussed by this publication.

These behaviors were exhibited by average Arabs responding to apparently common events. Now to simply observe an event is not to measure it and I can’t claim to have scientifically validated Mr. Patai’s claim. However, I can certainly say the book is onto something more than a superficial and racial observation.

The Arab Mind was first published in 1976 and a lot has happened since that time.

However, Mr. Patai’s observations cover inherent cultural attributes and belief structures that don’t easily change even with technology and exposure to modern media. Many aspects of the book’s validity have been criticized and some of the criticisms are valid while others are not.
 

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Arab and liberal critics have been the harshest, as Mr. Patai probably hit a nerve. Of course, the usual retinues of moral relativist excuses have been applied and they don’t render any credible attacks against the publication.

Mr. Patai’s observations at certain points in the book are definitely over generalized and absurd.

He states that Arab mothers effectively masturbated their infant boys to make them feel good. I would suppose that some Arab mothers do this, but as a common and widespread practice, I don’t think so. He also seems to underestimate the affection Arab fathers have for their daughters. No, I am sure that many Arab men are despicable fathers for their daughters but I have seen many Iraqi fathers embrace and cherish their daughters publicly.

Despite some obvious shortcomings with various aspects of Mr. Patai’s argument, most of his profound observations are powerful description of Arab life.

He describes the Arab cultures love of the Arabic language while ignoring essential problems.

There are two types of Arabic language. The first is the pure Saudi version that is grammatically challenging and difficult to use. This type of Arabic is used by educated Arabs and the kind most westerners would study. The other kind of Arabic is the guttural vernacular that normal people speak and is far less complicated than high Arabic. The problem is that uneducated people can’t even understand their leaders when they speak in high Arabic because it is that different.

Dr. Patai also covers Bedouin cultural roots that have a significant influence even to this day. These tribal customs and beliefs are so powerful that Islamic theology was built around them and complements them. Muhammad was a Bedouin himself and his life perspectives would certainly have influenced the development of his religion. Many issues the Quar’an deals with like inheritance and family relations clearly deal with specific facets of Bedouin life.

It is also important to note that not all Muslims are Arabs and not all Arabs are Muslims.

For instance, Afghans and Iranians are Muslims but not Arabs. There are also numerous Arab Christians and there are even some Arab Jews. So while Islamic values are important facets of Arab culture, Islam is not a monolithic force that drives the decisions of Arab people.

Reading The Arab Mind can help you understand why Arabs do certain things like hold a series of meaningless and unproductive conferences in response to crises.

It will also help you understand how Islam motivates Arabs to act in certain ways and how it can be incorrectly used to explain behavior.

One thing my time in Iraq has taught me is that the media’s explanation of events are not even close to accurate. Journalists often only scratch the surface of a situation looking for easy answers. More importantly they often view events from the perspective of Western thought and not from and Arab paradigm.

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