Politica

The family structure in the Middle East is the basic socioeconomic unit. It is patriarchal, hierarchical, and extended. The extended family’s structure guarantees the maintenance of proper social agreements and determines the social rankings and roles as well as responsibilities of each member, often spanning three or more generations. There are many advantages to an extended family in themiddle east; like stability, coherence, as well physical and psychological support due to the closeness of the family specially in times of need. Of the Middle Eastern families the best known is the Arab family, which has a multi ethnic mosaic population. There is much diversity among Arabs, and one distinctive difference is religion. The essence of Islam as preached by Prophet Muhammad istransmitted through the Quran. Although the Quran does not have specific instructions, it provides guidance for the Islamic community. There are norms that one has to abide by which include the line of passage of political authority, inheritance right custody of minor children, the definition of households vary across the Middle East. The hadith and and sunna provide Islamic families concrete commands onissues related to the rights and responsibilities of marriage, the division of property, and the manner in which people should treat one another. The family is thought of as a hierarchical pyramid when it comes to age and sex. There is a significant amount of pressure put in each member of the family to uphold the name honorably. The actions of the members of the family determine the honor orlack of. The success reflects upon the entire family as well as their failures and shames. One mistake of one member of the family reflects on the whole units hence the need to abide by the rules. The stability of the family depends on stable and productive marriages. Marriage in the Middle East is a highly and scared ceremony central to the growth and stability of society. Marriage legalizes theprocreation of children between a man and a woman. Women especially need children to establish their place in society; children are never seen as burdens but as assets economically speaking. Economic responsibility for maintaining the family falls squarely on the shoulders of the man, irrespective of whether his wife is earning money. The responsibility of children is to restore and maintainthe honor of the family at all costs. The communication style of many Arabic families tends to be hierarchical in nature, which can sometimes lead to miscommunication between people in authority parents and children especially. Unlike the western culture the Middle Eastern culture as norms settled that are learned from a young age about respect and esteem increase with age and dealing with theelderly. Elderly parents are respected due to their life experiences and hierarchy position with the family unit. The opportunity to attend to the needs of the elder is viewed as a gift from Allah the Muslim god. Muslim women are often portrayed as inferior beings, in desperate need of liberation from the Muslim patriarchal culture that prevents their progress. Segregation of the sexes, a practiceencouraged by Islam, is many times seen as proof of the suppression of Muslim women. Even though much can be done to improve the position of women in Muslim culture, the stereotypes that were created in the western media leaves much to be desired. These misunderstandings are mainly due to naive and simplistic attempts to transition or integrate a western set of norms and values onto women with a verydifferent history and culture. TTTTT the family dynamics and the interpersonal relationships in the area are mainly built upon various components such as faith, marriage, and moral values among many others. The husband and wife relationship, particularly as father and mother, are the two very important pillars upon whom the entire structure and basis of the family rests. It is an essential...