Introduction
This paper explores reasons why westerners may experience a cultural shock when they visit Eastern/Arab/Muslim countries. In the face of a totally different and somehow unexpected way of life, people experience feelings of anxiety, fear, disorientation, surprise or just confusion.
The manifestation of this feeling in an individual facing another culture is referred to as culture shock. Culture shock comes with difficult to comprehend why people should behave differently. In often cases, an individual experiences another culture as being mundane and typically unacceptable.
When an individual encounters another culture, at first glance they are mesmerized (Pedersen 26). Everything may look gloss and alluring, however, after sometime, individuals begin to discover more and understand the other culture deeply.
New discoveries lead to differences with own culture emerging. Unless one is used to cultural differences, the emerging differences come to the fore causing very disturbing feelings in the individual (Pedersen 80). For many individuals, mundane differences are experienced as a disappointment or disgusting for extreme cases.
A lot of humility and understanding is needed to negotiate a culture shock well enough. People who manage to negotiate culture shock properly and stay in a foreign culture for sometime become shocked when they return home to their own cultures. They realize that each culture is different and own culture has given epithets that can be very disgusting to a foreigner.
Culture shock when negotiated properly makes individuals more eager and excited about experiencing other cultures (Pedersen 134). Without anything changing in the foreign culture, an openness to learn often leads to discovery of embedded meanings and related understanding.
When this happens, one accepts differences and moves on with appreciation. He or she doesn’t have to agree with the cultural differences but will approach the people of the different culture with more understanding and empathy as opposed to disgust or a nagging indifference. If culture shock is not negotiated properly, if one has to stay for long in the foreign land, the individual will remain homesick, alienated and very bitter
Westerners visiting the East or Muslim countries inevitably experience a cultural shock because the Muslim or cultures of the Eastern countries are very different from their own (Marx 5). Some of the cultural differences between the west and east are in the area of family values, religion, dressing codes and general approach to life.
Globalization & Secularism
Western culture is largely secular with religious intonations here and there. Increasing with globalization, cultures have become more secularized and one would expect the same to be happening everywhere. People in the west have also embraced cultural difference i.e. high degree of cultural tolerance (Cornell 45).
On the other hand most East/Muslim countries have resisted change and kept their religion and culture free from secularization forces. They haven’t changed with the changing world or the modern world. Western civilization has not affected these countries. This practice may seem strange to Westerners who find it acceptable to integrate secular culture into their religion. East/Islamic countries have separated themselves from the West and other countries.
While Western countries are allowing people from all over the world to enter their countries, most Islamic countries shut their doors on non Muslims; especially Christians. This has led to their being left behind socially and culturally. The closing in and not opening up to cultural difference as practiced in the East is odd for westerners. They believe in embracing people from all over the world regardless of their religion and culture as the sure way towards world development.
Marriages
Most East/Muslim countries have arranged marriages. Families arrange marriages for their children. The two who are supposed to get married may not know each other because they might not have met. This practice is very common in these countries and is acceptable to both young and old. It’s a culture that has been there for many years.
For Westerners, this is a real shocker. Westerners are very liberal and young people learn about sex even before starting school. Young people choose for themselves their marriage partners and arranged marriages are not acceptable to them. They believe arranged marriages cannot work because one should marry someone he/she knows and loves. For East/Muslim countries, such marriages are believed to work.
Even Muslims who are born and brought up in Western countries may find this practice very shocking i.e. that in this age young people still agree to forced or arrange marriages. They know one has to find him/herself a marriage partner, someone he/she knows and loves and not one that has been arranged for by his parents. Most Western/Christian countries are liberal and give people freedom to choose what they want and feel is right.
Polygamy and Female Genital Mutilation
There are other cultural practices carried out by most East/Muslim countries that would cause cultural shock on West/Christian countries. These practices include polygamy and female genital mutilation. Muslims living in Western/Christian countries may also be shocked by such cultural practices.
Having been born and brought up in Western countries, they are taught in schools that the practice is risky and might lead to death and it’s also against the law. When they visit East/Muslim countries and learn that some pockets of traditionalists still practice female genital mutilation, it shocks them.
They expect them to understand that the practice is not right and against the law but they get shocked when they learn that it’s their way of life. It’s a shock also because the practice is acceptable by all in given cultural domains, yet Westerners know it’s against the law and risky. To some people in the East/Muslim countries, these practices are acceptable and it’s their way of life. They are practiced and passed from generation to generation.
Polygamy may be another shocker to some westerners. Westerners who are predominantly Christians don’t practice polygamy because they believe a man should have only one wife. This is according to their faith and culture. Polygamy to them is being unfair to women. Such practices are very strange and alien to Western culture and are not acceptable.
Language
Language can also cause cultural shock for Westerners visiting East/Muslim countries. As a result of language barrier, they may not able to communicate and if they are, ways of expression e.g. body language of the easterners differs greatly from that of westerners. The language discordance can make visitors feel lost and uncomfortable and unable to interact well with the people they are visiting (Elmer 48).
English is the common language for most countries and is a language understood by many in most West/Christian countries. Most East/Muslim countries don’t have English as their national language; which means that most people in these countries can’t speak or understand English (Elmer 56). A westerner who believes English is a global language will be shocked to meet people who can only speak Arabic or some other eastern language.
Individualism and collectiveness
In Eastern/Muslim countries, people value cooperation. By their social systems they are able to identify themselves. They encourage cooperation of individuals which they believe brings them success. An individual wholly depends on his/her family or institution.
Additionally, individuals rely and trust in decisions made by a group more than individual decision making. On the other hand, Western/Christian culture values individualism. Each individual competes to make him/herself better than the other. In these countries individuals are not wholly emotionally attached and dependant on families or institutions. Individuals in these countries value and believe each individual has his or her private life, property and beliefs.
Their right to privacy is respected. While East/Muslim people encourage cooperation of individuals and group decision making, West/Christian people encourage individual accomplishment and decision making. This can cause cultural shock to Westerners visiting East/Muslim countries. The culture may come off as strange to them because they value and believe in individualism. They may find it hard and take time to accept the culture of collectiveness.
Conclusion
East/Muslim and Western/Christian countries have different cultural practices. Some practices which are acceptable to East/Muslim countries may not be acceptable to Westerners because they find them strange and foreign. West/Christian countries are liberal unlike most East/Muslim countries that conservative or traditionalist in their outlook.
Cultural shock can be avoided by accepting and appreciating other peoples’ culture. By understanding why they do what they do, it will help a visitor appreciate cultural dynamism. The world of today provides individuals with opportunities to interact with people from different cultures.
Although countries in the East have kind of hedged themselves from the effects of globalization, slowly they are opening up. The way of dressing, language, political system, social life etc, are slowly changing. However, as they remain today, a non informed westerner visiting the East/Muslim countries would inevitably get a cultural shock.
Work Cited
Cornell, Vincent, J. Voices of Islam: Voices of Life: Family, Home and Society
Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007
Elmer, Duane. Cross Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting in around the World. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002
Marx, Elisabeth. Breaking through Culture Shock: What you Need to Succeed in International Business. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2001
Pedersen, Paul. The Five Stages of Culture Shock: Critical Incidents around the World. Oxford: ABC-CLIO, 1995