What Makes Iraq Culture Unique

Having the awareness of different cultures on what the characteristics that make them unique is what gives us the knowledge we need to interact better with them. By obtaining the knowledge of how different cultures live their lives within their families, dress, religion, and function during time of war is different. The Iraq culture has several subgroups that live within the country. Understanding the history which goes back thousands of years gave us the knowledge and understanding of how this culture is today.
The Iraq culture has several characteristics that make them unique. The families live in extremely private homes to ensure that no one can see inside. Within both immediate and extended families the females are extremely protected.
To ensure their protection while going anywhere, a male from the family escorts them for their security.
They are a very honorable culture. The extended family is where the majority of both social and political force comes from; in having that kind of reputation it makes all the family members very conscious of any wrongdoing happening knowing it can cause shame to the entire family. When guest come to visit, their every need is met without having to worry about giving any form of payment in return.
No matter if you are immediate or extended family, the honor of your family is of the upmost importance. With both the immediate and extended family being such a political and social force; family members are very conscious of any wrong doing as it brings shame to the entire family. One way the Iraqi family keeps watch over their own easier is by having the extended family live within the same home if possible. If the family is not living with them then they are either in the same compound or village. In urban areas families may not live in the same home, just in the same area. Family is so meaningful to them that they come before anything else. From social gatherings to business affairs to even having employment within the family instead of to someone outside of it. They call this “Nepotism” which to them is not a negative view. An example of how both males and females dress would include very conservative clothing. During the summer time the males wear a one piece garment from head to toe that is cotton and made to reflect the light which allows them to stay cooler. During the winter time they wear the same type of piece that is heavier to stay warm. The item of clothing is called a “dishdashah” or a “thoub”. Along with this dishdashah or a “thoub” they also wear a three piece head cover. We can describe these pieces by the “thagiya”, “gutrah” or “shumag” (depending whether it is summer or winter), the last piece is the “ogal”. Breaking down these head pieces so we can understand them better the first piece “thagiya” is a white cap that is sometimes filled with holes and it is used to keep the hair in place. Our second piece which is scarf-like is the “gutrah” which is a light white head cover. However during the winter when it is heavier red and white it is called “shumag”. Finally the “ogal” is a black band which is used to keep everything together.
Females for the most part are fairly similar on how they dress. Some are more conservative the others in their dress though. The women who are conservative wear a head and face cover. They wear a long black garment which is called an “abayah” that covers them from head to toe. Underneath she would be wearing one of two types of clothing. She could be wearing a traditional Arabian dress that is full body in length with long sleeves; or she could be wearing on outfit that is the latest international style.
The main religions in Iraq include Islam, Christian, Sunni, with a small number being Jewish. Breaking down each of these religions we can see which groups of people are in and for how the Iraqi’s are broken down group wise. The Muslims are a predominately Arabs but also include smaller groups which include Turkoman, Faili, Kurds and others not named. Christians include the Assyrians, Chadeans, Roman Catholics, and Armenians. Then finally the Sunni’s would include Sunni Muslims, Sunni Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Sunni Turkoman. With this culture there is a vast amount of different religions within the people. Islam is the officially recognized religion of Iraq and is practiced by 95 percent of the population. Islam itself does not distinguish between church and state. They have what is called the five pillars of faith which would include prayer, alms, charity, fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims gather at the mosque every Friday for afternoon prayer. Ramadan falls in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, which is on a lunar cycle and thus falls during different times of the year. The month entails a period of fasting from all food, drink, and activities such as smoking and sexual intercourse during daylight hours. At night the fast is broken, and on the first day of the tenth month there is a celebration, Id al Fitr, to acknowledge the end of the fast. During Id al Adha, on the tenth day of the twelfth month, there is a sacrificial festival. Both this and the one following Ramadan last for three or four days, and people dress up, visit each other, exchange gifts, and also visit cemeteries. With the Iraqi people in time of war when the United States stepped in to assist, we did encounter several small groups of insurgents who were not interested with our assistance. Contrary to these multiple groups of insurgents we also were working with delegates within the country who were interested in our help and wanted to help us help them. With the delegates’ assistance with teaching us their basic language along with how to train properly, there were two workshops created for those reasons.
The two workshops were called “Prepared for Peace’ and “The Production of Cultural Knowledge in the United States Military”. The first workshop “Prepared for Peace” was held in December of 2004. In this workshop it concentrated on the training, education and the uses of simulations in the operational environment. A couple of years later the second one was held in April of 2006 which was “The Production of Cultural Knowledge in the United States Military”. This one had the personal experiences in theoretical, practical, and ethnical involvement in the production, consumption, and circulation of ‘cultural knowledge’. Using these workshops gave us the knowledge to interact with the Iraqi people that were eager for our help in reinstating their country.
The nation of Iraq is located in an area known as Mesopotamia wear the first civilization began with the Sumerians around 4000 Before Common Era (B.C.E.).
The Sumerians built advanced irrigation systems, developed cereal agriculture, invented the earliest form of writing, a math system on which time in the modern world is based, the wheel, and the first plow. Around 1700 B.C.E. King Hammurabi took control of the area and renamed it Babylonia. He is credited with creating the first recorded legal system. Modern Iraq can trace its roots to the end of World War I were the League of Nations assigned Britain to set up the administration in Mesopotamia following the defeat of the Ottoman Turks in 1918. The British defined the territory of Iraq, and in doing so paid little attention to natural boundaries and ethnic divisions. The monarchy lasted until 1958 when it was overthrown and a republic was established. In, 1968 another coup d 'état occurred, which brought to power the Baath Party. Which stayed in power until the U.S. led invasion known as Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.
Understanding the Iraq culture has given us the insight of they live in their families. We can also see how both males and females dress to what religions are available. We understand the training for war and finally the history of how this country came around to
us.
Works Cited www.lebanon-support.org, Retrieved February 5, 2010
Cultural Awareness in the military, www.watsoninstitute.org/project_detail.cfm?id=71, Retrieved February 3, 2010
Global Security, www.globalsecurity.org, Retrieved February 7, 2010
Culture, www.Salaam.co.uk/themeofthemonth/january02_index.php?1=7, Retrieved February, 7, 2010
Culture, Culture of Iraq - traditional, history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social, dress, marriage, men, life, population, religion, rituals, History and ethnic relations http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Iraq.html#ixzz0eujve6oZ, Retrieved February, 7, 2010 Family and Honor www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/iraq.html, Retrieved February, 7, 2010