  Where is the Arab world?
The Arab world is a mosaic of nations stretching from North Africa through the Middle East to the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula (see enclosed map). In 1945, the League of Arab States was formed to create a cultural, political, and economic sense of unity among its 22 members: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Since Arabs are spread across 22 different nations, what do they have in common?
The Arabic language is the one common thread that ties together over 200 million Arab people. As the native language, Arabic unifies the region and preserves the culture’s heritage, religion, and values. The language has three variations: Classical Arabic is the language of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam; Modern Standard is used today in books, newspapers, on television and radio, and in most conversations; and Colloquial Arabic, is the local spoken dialect.  What type of visual art is characteristic of Arabic nations?
Some conservative Muslims believe human and animalrepresentations in visual art are sacrilegious because such depictions are forms of idolatry, clearly forbidden in the Qur’an. For moderate Muslims, as long as the visual art is not worshipped, representational forms are permissible. For this reason, much of Arab art is decorative, used as a means of beautifying books, buildings, and objects. The visual art displayed on manuscripts, mosques, or bowlsobjects, are colorful, repetitive, intricate geometric patterns, or tessellation, that form optical illusions. Arabesque, or the intertwining of flowers, leaves, or vines are also forms of ornamentation with no set beginning or end. Calligraphy, or beautiful writing, is yet another highly regarded art that illustrates the unity and power of the Arabic language. What kinds of traditional instruments do Arab musicians play?
Arab music is played on percussive, string, or woodwind instruments that can be traced back to ancient times. Some Arab instruments include the tebel, (teh-bell), a double skinned drum made from goatskin and played with either sticks or hands; the oud, (rhymes with hood), the forerunner to the lute, a fretless wooden instrument shaped like a pear; and a rabab (rah-bob), a fiddle-like instrument played with a bow, often used to accompany a poetry reading. Arabs favored playing their music in small ensembles. That tradition lives on today. |
What is one trait that Arabs are known for?
Whether you’re invited for a cup of coffee, a meal, or to spend the night, you’ll find that Arabs are hospitable people who display great affection toward their visitors. A half hour visit can easily turn into a long afternoon; rest assured that you’ll never leave hungry. Whatever the reason for your visit, all guests are guaranteed special treatment.  What religion do Arabs practice?
Islam is the predominant religion in the Arab world. Although many Arabs are Muslims, there are also many who are Christians and Jews. How did poetry become the voice of Arab identity and culture?
Imagine Arab poets in centuries past, competing with each other to attract audiences in crowded marketplaces and delighting guests at both special and informal occasions. Like all great poets, they labored over each word, crafting a highly sophisticated union between message and language. Poems praised the living or the dead, described nature or love, or delivered a moral. Arab poetry today is still vibrant, reflecting and chronicling the rich and changing Arab experience. Many of today’s Arab poets view themselves as political activists, voicing concerns of men and women about a myriad of contemporary issues. How does Arab dance represent their folk and contemporary culture?
Like all cultures, Arab folk dances were created to mark or celebrate important events. Religious and secular dances celebrated a rite of passage, a rich harvest, or a changing season, while others congratulated a successful warrior. In traditional Arab dance, men and women danced separately. Arab men often danced with swords to celebrate victory. Women wore veils and flowing scarves as they danced before weddings. Today, many of these traditions live on in theatrical dance. You can see the influence of Western dance styles such as modern dance and ballet in contemporary Arab dance.  What are the roots of today’s Arab theater?
Like many other ancient cultures, the Arab experience was initially passed down orally by storytellers who journeyed from deserts to villages, telling tales and reciting epic poems of past generations. Often accompanied by music and exaggerated hand gestures, these public performances varied each time they were performed. Today’s Arab theater transforms this traditional storytelling into drama and comedy told with actors, lights, sets, music, and costumes. Performances now focus on contemporary themes such as politics, isolation, and changing social roles. |
We have the Arab world to thank for many of civilization’s significant discoveries and inventions. To name a few: the zero, clear glass, and libraries.
The Babylonians, led by king Hammurabi (who formed the world’s first empire in what is now Iraq and Iran), was the first to use the zero as a placeholder to make sure that numbers were correctly interpreted. After giving the worldintroducing “zero,” “zero” to the world, Arab thinkers went on to higher math contributing to the study of algebra and trigonometry.
The desert sand—the abundant natural resource that covers much of the Arabian landscape—has played an important role in Arab history. Did you know that sand is the main ingredient in making glass? Around 1500 B.C.E., Egyptians first used glass as a coating on beads, pottery, and jewels. That makes sense because 90 percent of Egyptian land is covered by desert sand.
When travelers arrived on the shores of Alexandria, Egypt’s major port city in third century B.C.E., they had to hand their books over to scribes, writers who copied the books before returning them to their owners. Why? Because the Arab people valued books and learning, and they wanted to create a great library. Sadly, fire eventually destroyed the Great Library of Alexandria that housed somewhere between 40,000 and 700,000 books.
