This study aims to research the Arab people's way of thinking through the underlying cultural data written in Arabic: Arab folk tales, proverbs, songs, films. The first researcher handles some typical motives showing cultural identity in Egypt, Maghr...
This study aims to research the Arab people's way of thinking through the underlying cultural data written in Arabic: Arab folk tales, proverbs, songs, films. The first researcher handles some typical motives showing cultural identity in Egypt, Maghreb and Levant areas complementarily. The most important subjects in this three-year research are expressions that show the border between the sacredness and secularity, difference between women's traditional clothes and islam-oriented clothes, Arab's passage rite, honor killing, prediction and fortune-telling, an amulet, saint worship, taboo in religion and culture and others in a consolidated way. Among the traditional and cultural influences on the Islam in these days there are Coptic christianity and African fork in Egypt, multi-cultural elements in Maghreb, nomad's culture in Levant area. This research shows how deeply the multi-cultural elements surrounded the Arab influenced on the modern Islam.
In the study of the Arab's way of thinking through Arabic folk tales focusing on the motifs of sex, social life and religion, the research reached a conclusion that though most of them are Muslims, the Arabs are not always in pursuit of Islamic holy values, but they keep balanced life between religious holiness and secularity. Firstly, the folk tales show common people's intents to quench their primitive sexual desires. Secondly, as for the women's position, there is a big gap between the real life of women and the ideal creeds of Islam on women. And some stories prove that the problem of hatred and feud between Muslims and the members of other religions have been serious. Thirdly, the Arabic folk tales represent aspects of folk beliefs connected with popular customs such as worship of saints and practice of shaman ritual, which are essentially opposite to Islam.
In the study of Arabian proverbs, the researcher concentrates on the three motifs-gender, social life and religion-which have an effect on the Arabian daily life. The gender describes the major constituents-marriage, male as a driving force, making light of female and female as a driving force. The religion describes the having a dread of Allah, faithful belief and blessing of Allah. The social life describes the interpersonal relation and view of money. Thirdly, the researcher concludes that the different secular and sacred elements in the Arabian proverbs play important roles in their daily lives.
In the study of Arab songs,the researcher tried to illustrate characteristics of Arab songs and find the Arab people's way of thinking through the texts of songs by classifying motifs of Arab songs focused on religion, and social life and sex. Most of the songs express happiness and sorrows and religious beliefs of the people. We can devide several categories of Arab songs. They are religious song, pilgrim songs, lamentation, songs of joy, love-songs and songs of celebration. Finally, we can say that most of Arab people keep balanced life between religious holiness and secularity. The Arab Cinema shows true character of popular society through motif of omnipresent daily life. Arab Cinema awakens the Arab that the most proper is the most world famous. Egyptian Cinema is not an exception of this trend. The changes of Arabs through the Maghrib Cinema are not largely contrary to the traditional Islamic living style. It seems that the outward changes of the Maghrib society are big but the internal ones are nearly not found. The most of films in the public sector of Syria and Lebanon treated the ravages of war and patriotic sentiment.