UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS DIVISION SCHOOLS CAMP PENDLETON, CA 92055 (760) 725-8683 IRAQI CULTURE OUTLINE 1.

Greetings A. Handshakes given at introduction and when leaving. Handshakes may be loose or limp wristed. Iraqis will hold the handshake for longer than US. Do not pull away. Females may just touch the fingertips, but generally, no contact between men and women. B. If an Arab does not touch someone they meet, either they do not like the person or is restraining himself because they think the person is not accustomed to being touched. C. May also have two-handed shake. D. After shaking hands if they place their right hand to their heart it is a sign of respect or sincerity. E. To kiss the forehead, nose, or right hand of the person shows extreme respect. F. Conversation about family is good, and shows trust. G. Building trust and relationships is done before business, as is other small talk. Having pictures to show of your family is good and appreciated. H. Courtesy is valued and is not a weakness. Show courtesy at all times to show respect. General rule, treat every Iraqi as if he were a Colonel. 2. Naming Convention A. Example: Dr. Ghazi bin Abdul Karim al Uteibi B. Ghazi is the personal name of this individual (like Jim or Bob) C. Bin: means "son of". (Bint is used for the female, "dauthter of") D. Abdul Karim: Is the father of Ghazi. Abdul Karim is a two name first name (like Billy Bob) ** Sometimes the grandfathers name is also used to add status. E. Al means "of" F. Uteibi: The name of the tribe, region where a family is from, or the profession of the individual. Like Smith or Jones. Conclusion: The person is Dr Ghazi, son of Abdul Karim, from the Uteibi family NOTE: All names start from the small (personal) and end in the larger grouping (tribe, location, etc.). G. 85% of social status comes from your name H. All people have a title; sometimes many. Use them to show your respect. EX: "Ya"=O (as is "O dear Lord, we ask you for ..........) "Hajji"=older person "Shake"= Chief/ Sir To say "Ya Shake" is to be very respectful to an elder. H. "Abu"= father The person above has a son named Meti, so his friends would call him Abu Meti or Father of Meti. "Umm" = Mother of **NOTE that Abu or Umm only refer to the oldest living son's name. Never refer to someone by the name of their daughter. 1

3.

Physical Contact A. If you move back they will just close the distance again. B. They keep no distance between individuals, even when sitting. C. No tolerance of cross gender items, such as earrings in males. D. Very offensive to take the Lord's name in vain. Avoid profanity of any kind. E. Touching among same sex is not considered homosexual. Good friends often hold hands as a sign of friendship. Gestures A. Yes = downward nod of the head. B. No = (1) tilt head back and raise eyebrows, (2) move head back and tilt chin upwards; (3) move head back and make clicking sound with tongue, (4) or use the open palm moving from right to left with palm facing person. C. Thats enough, thank you patting heart a few times. D. Excellent open palm toward the person. E. Ok touch outer eye with fingertips. F. The OK" sign that American's make is considered bad. It is an evil eye. G. The thumbs up" used to be obscene, but children are accepting it and using it. They also know the thumbs down. H. Left hand is considered unclean (used for wiping your rear end) and so everything should be done with right hand. I. To signal "come here", face your palm to the deck, them bring fingers to palm. It is upside down from what American's use. J. To signal a vehicle to stop, place arm in front of you, palm down, and then move entire arm up and down. If you simply face the palm toward a person, it means hello, not stop, as in America. K. The bottom of the foot is considered very unclean and should not be shown (careful of how you sit, as Americans tend to sit cross legged, showing the bottom of the foot).

4.

5. Arabs are very generous and will do anything possible to be a good host. They expect the same and you may be judged on how well you accept their hospitality. What is listed below is general social rule, and will clearly be modified by commanders based on threat level. A. Always accept beverages or anything offered to you. B. Hold cup in right hand. C. Food is given in large proportions. Coffee being served means, meeting over. D. Gifts may be given when you arrive at a meeting, etc, but are not important. The host will not make a fuss over it, and will never open it in front of you. A good gift has no practical value, and little commercial value; e.g. a fancy gift is like saying to the recipient that "I knew you couldn't afford this, so I bought it for you." 6. DRESS A. Even manual laborers will dress nicely on the way to work and change upon arrival. B. Cover your arms and legs. They see us as "naked" if in PT gear. C. Women will not undress even in the presence of another women.

7. RESPECT A. Respect and courtesy show strength and masculinity. B. Do not shame or humiliate a man in public or in front of others. C. Show no fear, stand your ground.. D. Look into eyes (no sunglasses to be worn when speaking to Iraqis). E. Shaming a man will cause him and his family to be anti-Coalition. F. Loyalty is important, so speaking badly about your unit, CO, America will cause you to lose respect. G. Respect and status increases with age. H. Gray hair or baldness is equated with age and respect. I. Amount of facial hair is considered directly proportional to religious faith. J. Placing a detainee on the ground or putting a foot on him implies you are God. This is one of the worst things we can do. K. Shame is given by placing hoods over a detainees head. Avoid this practice. L. The most important qualifier for all shame is for a third party to witness the act. If you must do something likely to cause shame, remove the person from view of others. M. Avoid if at all possible the body search of women. 8. Family is the cornerstone of Arab society. Arabs value family honor and their personal actions and achievements reflect the entire family. Men are the head of the household. A. Men and women only interact in their homes. In public they segregate themselves. B. Women hold the honor of the family and therefore you should not stare or try to interact with them. A simple verbal greeting will suffice. Do not try to touch, even with a handshake. C. If you must talk to a female do so through her husband. If this is not possible try to get an American female. D. Do not ask the Men how their women are doing; instead ask how the family is. E. Mother and son relationship is very close F. Being married and having children gains you more respect. G. Elders highly respected due to maturity and intelligence. (Both sexes). H. Showing of family pictures is a good way to open relations. Arab women do not show arms, legs, and a picture of your wife in shorts, will say to an Arab that you do not respect women.. I. Arabs make group decisions. Do not try to force an individual to make a decision without consulting the group first. 9. Marriage A. Marriage at early age is common. B. Marrying a cousin is normal. C. Done by contract and payments to family of bride. D. Can only divorce after the contract is paid off. E. No premarital sex.

10. Friendship is valued. A. Favors are an expectation of friendship. B. A request should never be flatly refused, instead say you will try. C. Arabs do not discuss salary or monetary issues. D. Arabs operate by personal rather than professional relations. E. Criticism is an attack on their honor and they may deny or twist words to protect it. Just like USMC counseling, "praise in public, criticize in private". F. Problems can often be solved by talking to the senior member of the group and asking him what he would do is a specific case. For example, if your Iraqi students are falling asleep in a patroling class, ask him what he would do if "hypothetically" his students didn't pay attention. The problem will probably go away quickly. G. The group will set the tone/pace, not individual accomplishments. Arabs to not want to "out-do" the other guy, so they may hold back to stay with the group. 11. Reality A. Arabs do not believe in cause and effect, rather isolated incidents, or will of Allah. Speeding on a winding road did not cause the wreck, Allah willed it to happen, etc. B. May exaggerate to sound more appealing. C. Small problems with a plan will mean terminating the entire plan. D. Arabs perceive problems as someones plot to make their life more unpleasant. We may view this as paranoia. 12. Pork, rabbit, and unscaled fish are not eaten, and all meat is killed by cutting throat of animal and draining all blood. Do not offer the pork chow mien MRE. 13. Arabs do not consider it rude to be late. A 0900 meeting may start at 1100. 14. Arabs consider the following things Unclean A. Feet or soles of feet. Do not put feet on detainees during searches. B. Bodily fluids (because of this they love tissue paper). C. Using the bathroom around others. Unlike Marines who are used to open air toilets, etc, Arab men will not shower/use the bathroom together. 15. Law Based on the Koran, but the Koran does not cover all events, so other sources are used. A. Hidith: Stories of Mohammed. B. Analogy: Comparing the current situation to another one in order to reach a decision. C. Concensus: Muslim scholars meet to interpret the teachings of Mohammed D. Spilling blood in a Mosque is considered the highest crime. E. The penalty for rape is death.

16. The five pillars of Faith A. Shehadda: The profession of faith. If said in front of witnesses you are then considered to be Muslim. B. Salat: Ritual prior to washing. Men do this on their knees in public; women do this in private. C. Zakat: A charity tax. Paid on anything owned. Paid during Ramadan to any entity chosen by the payer. Receiver cannot know who it is from. D. Hajj: A pilgrimage to Mecca. Done at least once during lifetime, if you have means to afford it. E. Sawm: Fasting to create gratefulness for what you have. 17. Miscellaneous A. Koran is covered under another lesson, but the book is considered holy. Do not set on the ground, or any dirty spot. English translations are not considered holy. B. They never forget a wrong done to them or a good deed done for them. D. If forced to make a quick decision without consulting with others, they feel no commitment to abide by it. E. Society is specialty based. People don't do "home repair" they call a specialist, even if they could do the task (fix a faucet, etc). F. Because of "E" above, many Arabs lack basic skills that most Americans have (use of hammer, screwdriver, changing oil in a car, etc. G. Safety is a foreign concept (remember that everything happens because of Allah). H. Littering is a big problem. People think nothing of throwing trash around the street. 18. Key Words A. Shura: any group for a consultation/discussion. B. Haram: Forbidden C. Hallal: Required D. Ma'Shallah: God Bless you. E. Ma'Bruk: God has blessed you. 19. Important Values A. Loyalty: (in order of highest), family, clan, friends, region, nation, Arabs, Muslims B. Generosity C. Avoidance of Shame. This is a key. To shame a man is to create an enemy of him and his family/clan. D. Sensitivity to Language. At least try to use basic words/phrases, as a show of respect. 20. Suggested Readings A. John Esposito, "What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam" B. Marragite Nydell, "Understanding Arabic