Project 3 essay

 

Why Different Parts of Saudi Arabia have Different Cultural Conventions

Introduction 

The cultural differences in Saudi Arabia are greatly influenced by the Islamic and Arab culture, and the whole society is generally traditional, religious, conservative, and family-oriented. Most of the traditions and attitudes in different parts of Saudi Arabia are centuries-old and have been derived from both the Islamic heritage and Arab civilization. However, cultural differences in different parts in Saudi Arabia has greatly been affected by the rapid change, as the country was transforming from being an impoverished nomadic society to being a rich community producer within a short period of time. The purpose of this project is how Sasudi Arabia is like different culture conventions. When describing why different parts of Saudi Arabia have different cultural conventions, it is important to describe the different causes of the local cultural differences. 

  This essay is divided into five parts. First, I will introduce my artifact. Second, I will give background information of Third, history,  background information describing why the topic is important, literature review, the preside sites, the problems that are still existing, potential solutions, and finally, a conclusion on future directions.  

 

Background Information 

Saudi Arabia has been facing complex cultural differences in different parts. The Saudi government has been making attempts to bridge the already existing cultural differences within the country. Despite the fact that the country has implemented some educational reforms, the change process has been taking place slower than anticipated. Cultural differences are an issue that the government has been trying a lot to address over the last decade. Cultural differences are an issue that needs more research for it to be understood better and will as well give the researcher insight into the different cultural practices that are present in Saudi Arabia.  

 

History of  Different Cultural Conventions (Literature Review)  

Saudi Arabia considers Islam as the correct belief and a principle, a constitution, and an integrated way of living. The Islamic law that governs all the parts of the country is used as a way of bridging the cultural differences within the country. Despite the fact that the place of women in most of the cultures within the country has been discussed in different publications, the social status of the women in the different parts of the country is not mentioned (Al-Asfour et al. 2017). One of the key causes of such cultural difference between different parts in Saudi Arabia is because of the number of challenges peculiar to Saudi society. The different challenges that the women face in different parts in Saudi Arabia could be attributed to their gender, while in other parts, the challenges could be attributed to the education levels of the women.  

The Wahhabi Islamic movement that arose around the 18th century can sometimes be described as an austerely puritanical, and it is now predominating most parts of the country. Based on the principle of “enjoying good and forbidding wrong”, there are several prohibitions and limitations on both the behavior and dressing that are some of the cultural differences instilled both legally and socially in different parts of the country (Malas & Bruce 2017). However, most of the cultural restrictions in different parts of Saudi Arabia have been lifted recently, especially the female-related issues.  

 

Present Sites of different Cultural Conventions

The different social constraints that are placed on women in different parts in Saudi Arabia have been acting as barriers in cross-gender communication is some parts, while in other parts, acting as a barrier to cross-gender interaction. That issue can be described as gender segregation where a man and a woman are expected not to be alone, not unless they are related in one way or another. Both the conventional and Islamic individuals in Saudi Arabia try to confront the philosophical foundation by harmonization of sexes in different parts of the country and excluding the natural interactions that can take place between the unmarried and the unrelated males and females (Al-Bakr et al. 2017). Traditionally, different religions within the country used to have different dresses, but that is an issue that has already been addressed through the re-establishment of Saudi rule. Most of the women today wear an abaya, which is a long black cloak that usually covers all the parts of their body except the face and the hands in public, although that is not required. Whatever the social status and the job of Saudi men and boys, they are now required to wear a traditional dress which has been described as the "Arabic dress."  

 

Problems Still Present of different convention  

Religious influences have still been found in many parts of Saudi Arabia. To start with, the religious police in some parts of Saudi Arabia monitor social institutions to make sure that they are properly enforcing the value of Islamic law. Hence, the academic institutions in such parts are expected to implement and develop policies that strongly align with Islamic law (Al-Bakr et al. 2017). There are some instances when religious authorities are usually ignored in such parts. People living in such areas in Saudi Arabia are therefore expected not to engage themselves in any form of argument or appeal on the decisions that have already been made since the religious authority has the final judgment in the whole process of making decisions.  

 

 

Potential Solution  

To avoid humiliation by the religious police, most of the institutions should base their work on the four different Sunni's schools of jurisprudence: Hanbali, Maliki, Hanafi, and Shafiai.  

Conclusion  

In Saudi Arabia, differences in the cultural conventions in different parts of the country are usually influenced by both religious and social factors. It is, therefore, important to describe the different causes of cultural differences in Saudi Arabia. The role of women in society is one of the significant causes of the cultural differences that need to be addressed.   

Works cited  

Al-Asfour, Ahmed, Tlaiss, Andrew, Khan, Ali, Saudi women’s work challenges and barriers to career advancement. Career Development International. 2017

Al-Bakr, Bruce, Davidson, Schlaffer, Kropiunigg, Empowered but not equal: Challenging the traditional gender roles as seen by university students in Saudi Arabia. In FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education (Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 3). 2017. 

Malas, Jamel, Bruce, Seraj. Wahhabism in Disguise: A Radical Islam Master Thesis on the Global Spread of Wahhabism by Saudi Arabia. (2017)