Abstract
In the globalized world, it is difficult to preserve national culture uninfluenced by tendencies and trends that are brought up by technological development or changes in lifestyles. Even such conservative societies as Saudi Arabia or other East Asian nations are subject to dramatic changes in the minds of people. For centuries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s culture was under a great influence of religion, traditions, the way of living of the ancestors, and rich heritage that allows it to be influential and independent. Islam influenced the culture of the country a lot. However, some historical incidents affected women and challenged Saudi society. The number one among all cultural issues that face Saudi Arabia is education. Women’s struggle for education continues till this day. Another side of the education issue is that Saudi students are under a great influence by Western culture, if they study abroad. Education also has impact on labor market in Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi society will remain within its framework of behavior, slightly influenced by world trends, and nothing can change this within a short period of time.
Introduction
The paper addresses one of the many cornerstone questions that are the reasons of misunderstanding and polarity between the East and the West which is Saudi Arabian culture and its response to modern challenges. In the globalized world, it is difficult to preserve national culture uninfluenced by tendencies and trends that are brought up by technological development or changes in lifestyles. Therefore, even such conservative societies as Saudi Arabia or other East Asian nations are subject to dramatic changes in the minds of people. However, the Saudi government tries to filter and limit the influence of Western trends on the way of living in its country and especially on the youth. This task is dedicated to both keeping well-established order and obedience in the society as well as maintaining peace and morality among people.
The main purpose of the paper is to discuss education as the main cultural challenge that Saudi Arabia is facing today. Such aspect as education today is the most controversial and often is subject of dispute inside and outside of the country. The main research questions are what changes are happening in the society and how successful the government is in addressing this issue on the national and international levels. The conservative and reserved society of Muslims, which adapts some global trends and practices, should undoubtedly determine what is subject to change and what should remain stable. One should also take into account the role of religion and the Quran as the main source of morality.
Background Information
Middle East and the countries of the Persian Gulf are known to the world as the Motherland of perfect traders, wonderful philosophers, and talented chefs. Moreover, the Eastern culture and traditions usually have been subjects of admiration and inspiration for other cultures. For centuries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been an example of an insular society with its own view on the global processes and tendentious. Its culture was under a great influence of religion, traditions, the way of living of the ancestors, and rich heritage that allows it to be influential and independent. Islam influenced the culture of the country a lot. The conservative Wahhabi writings contain the term ‘ikhtilat’ that is difficult to translate, but “refer to situations in which men and women meet and in which ‘intimacy’ and ‘informality’ may materialize between them” (Meijer & Aarts, 2012, p.15). This idea formed probably the most striking characteristic of Saudi Arabian society such as segregation of sexes. As such Wahhabi ideology dominates, any ideas about secularization and reforms are heard from the pragmatic Wahhabi reformers or anti-Wahhabi reformers who do not usually gain wide support. Segregation of the sexes remains the most old-rooted tradition in the culture. The issue of women’s rights is the major difference that stays between Shia and Sunni parts of Saudi Arabian society.
If one accepts that Saudi Arabian society remains insular and conservative, it still falls under the influence of external factors. Saudi Arabia needs to be in line with the world progress, so that it sends its students and scientists abroad. Arab states are even more traditional in these aspects. This makes the issue of migrant flows and cultural integration even more challenging for Saudi Arabia, because it may remain influential regarding migrants within its borders, but sometimes fail to have influence of those its citizens who happen to be abroad. Students and employees assimilate to some of the western traditions and bring them to their Motherland. As Inglehart & Norris (2009) write about Muslims, “Migrants do not wholly reject cultural roots, it seems, but neither do they fully adopt the values of their host societies” (p. 14).
Cultural Issues Facing Saudi Arabia
Along the history, Saudi Arabian culture has a number of challenges. The Iranian revolution of 1979 strengthened Saudi Arabian leadership. The first and the second Gulf Wars that included Iran, Iraq and Kuwait that all are neighboring to Saudi Arabia had an influence on the state of affairs inside it. Later, the US started its campaign in Iraq, and as Hamdan (2005) fairly notices, “Each of the incidents mentioned has affected women and challenged Saudi society, a society that until then had experienced very little change in its policies toward women” (p. 43).
The number one among all cultural issues that face Saudi Arabia is education. Its gender inequity is old-rooted and institutionalized that makes any changes in it very complex. Women can still become victims of “honor crimes,” marry in young age and are under a great pressure to produce a son. Moreover, ta woman is sometimes prevented from “being admitted to a governmental hospital unless she is accompanied by her male guardian” (Mobaraki & Soderfldt, 2010, p. 115). However, today due to the use of the Internet and the era of mass media, girls start gathering in their societies where they try to fight for their rights within the Saudi Arabic interpretation of the Islamic tradition. American female soldiers who drive cars in Saudi Arabia when they visit its bases and even Kuwait sisters who also seem to have more things allowed are a great challenge to the centuries-long peace and order in the minds of Saudi Arabian nationals.
Education was definitely the greatest challenge because suddenly women started demanding the level of education and professions that were previously taught only to men by virtue of their nature. Women were supposed to become good wives and mothers, so it was believed that they needed only a basic education and religious teachings called ulama. However, this was not a simple feminist movement because “women’s inequality is traditionally structured in the society” (Hamdan, 2005, p. 45). Historically, Arab women participated in all spheres of life, including politics and economy, but later Saudi Arabian society reoriented this practice into full subordination to the positions of men. In Saudi society after the Iranian revolution women were taught to rely on other women as sources of knowledge. Nowadays they sometimes unite and collaborate in order to prevent male dominance in society. Saudi women realized that they may study and use the word of religion as a tool to protect their rights, and no male authority may question it. Women’s struggle for education continues till this day. They have gained support of some authorities and achieved a lot along the way of fighting for their basic right, but the public opinion was quite difficult to change. King Faisal made girls’ schooling obligatory and mandatory, and thus parents had to take their children to school. Till now, the opening of new schools for girls is met with opposition from some members of society, but the majority accepted this necessity. Girls still are prohibited to study engineering, law and journalism. However, changes in education also provoked a reconsideration of the competence of the religious police.
Another side of the education issue is that Saudi students are under a great influence by Western culture, if they study abroad. Moreover, they are not only influenced by themselves, but change surrounding environment when they are back. Saudi Arabia cannot exercise strict control over its nationals who are outside the country. However, despite all these risks and troubles, Saudi government offers fully funded scholarships, and the number of their beneficiaries increases every year. Saudi Arabian society is rendered to be highly collectivistic because of its strong relation to traditions and customs. Therefore, when Saudi students go to the USA, they are “highly collectivist individuals placed in a very individualistic society” (Razek & Coyner, 2013, p. 107). They may experience difficulties in making friends and adaptation. The study of Razek & Coyner (2013) demonstrated that the continuous increase of Saudi students in the American university campuses causes various cultural implications. The impact is bipartisan. Saudi embraces some of the new cultural features, influencing others to understand his or her own background. Such mixture creates a new cultural construct.
Education also has impact on labor market in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian business is highly interrelated with world trends and traditions of economic activity. Educated male workforce is not enough for developing country and this has its negative impact on management and business activity. Saudi Arabians are greatly influenced by the religion of Islam and this also affects business environment. Multinational companies see it difficult to organize their activities in Saudi Arabia due to impossibility of hiring females even with education. Implementation of organizational structure and troubles with some aspects of organizational culture of Saudis also is a cornerstone. For instance, “most Saudis find it embarrassing to accept positions of labor” (Aydemi-Bello & Kineaid, n.d., p. 5). Business and economy pushes the Saudi government to implement gradually more changes in their educational policy that it had been doing along the history. However, the society remains conservative and these changes face dramatic resistance.
Conclusion
In my opinion, Saudi Arabia is a unique example of a country which managed to keep and preserve their traditions and customs as original. Despite any global trends, the society remains loyal to the code of conduct accepted centuries ago. Even with the acceptance of workforce movement and other realities, the Saudi Arabian government remains in control over all aspects of peoples’ life. Moreover, it accepts that some cultural issues prevent proper development and agrees to change, but not in contrast to the word of religion. For the Western nations, it seems weird and unusual, but Saudis success and influence is a product of this culture. Things that other societies consider discriminating, they see as normal. Therefore, I think that Saudi society will remain within its framework of behavior, slightly influenced by world trends, and nothing can change this within a short period of time.
References
Aydemi-Bello, T. & Kineaid, K. G. (n.d.). The Impact of Religion and Social Structure on Leading and Organizing in Saudi Arabia. East Carolina University. Retrieved from http://www.sedsi.org/2012_Conference/proc/proc/p111014026.pdf
Hamdan, A. (2005). Women and Education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and Achievements. International Education Journal, 6(1), 42-64. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854954.pdf
Inglehart, R. & Norris, P. (2009). Muslim Integration into Western Cultures: Between Origins and Destinations. HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-007, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Retrieved from https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4481625/Norris_MuslimIntegration.pdf?sequence=1
Meijer, R. & Aarts, P. (2012, January). Saudi Arabia between Conservatism, Accommodation and Reform. Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’. Retrieved from http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/20120000_research_report_rmeijer.pdf
Mobaraki, A. E. H. & Soderfeldt, B. (2010). Gender Inequity in Saudi Arabia and Its Role in Public Health. EMHJ, 16(1), 113- 118. Retrieved from http://applications.emro.who.int/emhj/v16/01/16_1_2010_0113_0118.pdf
Razek, N. & Coyner, S. C. (2013). Cultural Impacts on Saudi Students at a Mid-western American University. Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications, 4. Retrieved from http://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=edc_fac_pub
