There’s a rule in Western etiquette that goes, ‘Never discuss religion or politics’ at the dinner table. The rule was meant to apply to social engagements, not the family dinner table (which had its own rules), and was intended to avoid discomfiting guests. Dinner tables in Saudi Arabia are coming under some strain, though, particularly in the home.
I think it fair to say that Arabs, in general, are greatly interested in politics. Saudis, as Arabs, are interested. Satellite news programs are always on the TV, often multiple channels at the same time.
But politics is seen as a dangerous thing in the Kingdom, for better or worse. The system of government does not include political parties and is, generally speaking, a patriarchal monarchy, one that tells the people what they’re going to do and think. This is a more-or-less natural extension of the family structure in which the patriarch—be he father or grandfather, older brother or uncle—is the one who lays down the rules. To argue is to disrespect. To disrespect is to threaten the social order.
It’s probably wiser for expat workers to keep their political views to themselves, purely for their own personal safety. It’s a pity, though, that Saudis feel the need to watch what they say—or, more properly—who might be hearing them speak.
And the Egyptian, who thinks his 21-y/o son is too young to have political opinions? Unless he raised his son in a box, there’s no reason why that son’s opinions about Egyptian politics shouldn’t be available to argument. And if he did raise his son in a box, then there’s a far deeper problem at hand.
Parents seek to quell blooming Arab Spring — at the dinner table
DIANA AL-JASSEM | ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: With the Arab Spring blossoming all around, talking politics has reached the Arab dinner table. Over are the times when families avoided discussing the affairs of state. The new generation talks about politics openly and doesn’t shy away from heated discussions.
Interviews in Saudi Arabia show that many families are divided on how to deal with the challenges facing this part of the world.
One camp comprises families that are fine with discussing politics, but only in the privacy of the home. Others try to ban the younger family members from discussing the topic altogether, even going as far as monitoring the youngsters’ e-mail and Facebook accounts, or asking teachers to steer clear of political topics.
Mahmoud Farag, an Egyptian teacher working at a private school in Jeddah, said that discussing the winds of change has very much become part of Arab daily life — but he tries to keep his son from talking about revolution.
“Discussing what has happened in Egypt and what is going on in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria is important, I think,” he said. “I would prefer for my son not to talk politics because he is only 21 years old, but, honestly, what do I do? After January 25, we as Egyptians got complete freedom to discuss and criticize, so my son should know what is going on — but he shouldn’t discuss it in public.”
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May:27:2011 - 15:18
The phrase “Talking Politics” has a very distinctive place in the Arab consciousness. It is held in equal parts of both fear and fascination. It’s almost like a vice. Something to be enjoyed in private, and treated with revulsion in public.
May:27:2011 - 22:53
While this thread has focused on conversation at eating tables, there is another matter that those planning to eat at the home of someone in KSA or pretty much anywhere in MENA and somewhat beyond that should know: do not use your left hand for anything. This is both a practical and theological matter. For the latter it is that in both the Christian and Muslim traditions the saved sit on the right hand and the damned sit on the left hand, the sinistral in Italian (more or less).
This divine judgmental matter manifests itself in the social norm that in a culture without toilet paper, one eats with the right hand and deals with the output of that activity with one’s left hand. That is why the injunction maintained in KSA that thieves have their right hand severed means that they are expelled from eating from social eating groups where one removes the group food with one’s right hand only.
May:28:2011 - 05:40
As a left-hander, I’m aware of this. But I note that there are quite a few left-handed Arab, Saudis among them. We all (left-handers, that is) seem to manage, even if it means swapping something from one hand to another before passing it along to another. And I’ve never seen anyone flinch when a lefty hands his pen, for instance, to a righty. I think there’s an assumption being made that civilized people wash their hands after doing their business.
A real oddity: In my experience, the number of left-handed US Embassy officers assigned to posts in the Middle East is wildly disproportionate to the general population. I’ve never seen less than 20% (twice the US norm) and as high as 75%. The numbers are too small to interest researchers in left-handedness–I know, I’ve tried!–but there it is. We joke among ourselves that in writing Arabic, we’re not dragging our sleeves through the ink, something too common in writing English.
May:28:2011 - 08:41
Maybe something to do with the greater creativity and artistry of the left-handed, and brain hemispheres–necessary skills for crossing from West to East or vice versa.
May:28:2011 - 08:51
In the K.S.A….Don’ count on soap in bathrooms or paper towels for drying. When I was at PNU I saw more flyers on swine flu and finally I had had it and said, “Stop wasting damn paper and ink and use that money for some soap, waste paper garbage bins and toilet paper for crying out loud.”
Moral Tip of the Day:
Don’t take a dump in an uncivilized bathroom!
May:28:2011 - 11:26
Talking about left handed people..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o82e-eU_9g4&feature=related
I am proud to be left handed even if I once had a problem playing golf!!
May:28:2011 - 14:45
I remember when GHW Bush, Clinton and Perot were the major candidates years ago — all left-handed.
And Obama and McCain as well.
But how much creativity does it take to be the President of the United States? All you have to is rubberstamp what every.other.administration.has.ever.done – with few exceptions!
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Yes, I think – and HOPE – most people nowadays wash their hands thoroughly after using the restroom so which hand you use to hold your fork and spoon does not matter.
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This article was very interesting! It seemed all the ones being warned not to talk politics were foreigners within Saudi Arabia, right? Maybe it is because Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese and Yemeni parents knew Saudis didn’t want their population to take to the streets so they would not tolerate foreign Arabs discussing it at school or work. Why put a thought in their heads?