﻿ARAB 
  VILLAGE 
  COMMUNITY 
  — 
  TANNOUS 
  525 
  

  

  Mediterranean 
  coastal 
  area. 
  Varieties 
  of 
  eye 
  color, 
  pigmentation, 
  

   hair 
  texture, 
  and 
  stature 
  can 
  be 
  readily 
  observed. 
  Such 
  a 
  situation 
  

   can 
  be 
  expected 
  as 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  region 
  under 
  consider- 
  

   ation 
  has 
  been, 
  since 
  time 
  immemorial, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  strategic 
  meet- 
  

   ing 
  places 
  of 
  races, 
  cultures, 
  and 
  nations. 
  A 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  ancient 
  

   peoples, 
  Babylonians, 
  Assyrians, 
  Hebrews, 
  Persians, 
  Hittites, 
  Phoe- 
  

   nicians, 
  and 
  others, 
  met 
  there, 
  intermixed, 
  and 
  succeeded 
  one 
  an- 
  

   other. 
  Then 
  followed 
  the 
  Greeks, 
  Romans, 
  Arabs, 
  Crusaders, 
  and 
  

   Turks, 
  each 
  contributing 
  its 
  racial 
  strain 
  to 
  the 
  already 
  existing 
  mix- 
  

   ture. 
  What 
  is 
  of 
  primary 
  significance 
  in 
  this 
  connection 
  is 
  the 
  out- 
  

   standing 
  fact 
  that 
  racial 
  consciousness 
  is 
  practically 
  nonexistent 
  

   among 
  the 
  people. 
  This 
  is 
  primarily 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  predominant 
  

   religion 
  of 
  Islam 
  which 
  accords 
  equality 
  to 
  all 
  Muslims 
  in 
  this 
  life 
  

   and 
  the 
  life 
  to 
  come, 
  irrespective 
  of 
  color 
  and 
  lineage. 
  It 
  is 
  well 
  

   known 
  that 
  under 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  their 
  religious 
  message 
  the 
  Arabs 
  

   intermarried 
  freely 
  with 
  the 
  various 
  races 
  they 
  conquered. 
  

  

  A 
  fourth 
  aspect 
  of 
  the 
  population 
  is 
  its 
  rural-urban 
  composition. 
  

   Here 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  situation 
  that 
  is 
  heavily 
  biased 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  rural 
  cul- 
  

   ture. 
  A 
  genuinely 
  urban 
  way 
  of 
  life 
  is 
  limited 
  to 
  the 
  few 
  main 
  cities 
  

   of 
  the 
  region 
  : 
  Baghdad, 
  Basrah, 
  and 
  Mosul 
  in 
  Iraq 
  ; 
  Aleppo, 
  Damas- 
  

   cus, 
  Antioch, 
  Horns, 
  and 
  Hama 
  in 
  S.yria 
  ; 
  Beirut, 
  Tripoli, 
  and 
  Sidon 
  

   in 
  Lebanon; 
  and 
  Jerusalem, 
  Jafa, 
  and 
  Haifa 
  in 
  Palestine. 
  Conse- 
  

   quently, 
  between 
  65 
  and 
  80 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  these 
  coun- 
  

   tries 
  can 
  be 
  considered 
  rural. 
  A 
  small 
  minority 
  of 
  these 
  are 
  still 
  

   in 
  the 
  nomadic 
  stage, 
  whereas 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  are 
  fellahin, 
  agri- 
  

   cultural 
  people 
  settled 
  in 
  villages. 
  

  

  Finally, 
  with 
  respect 
  to 
  the 
  cultural 
  composition 
  of 
  the 
  population, 
  

   one 
  encounters 
  a 
  situation 
  similar 
  in 
  its 
  diversity 
  of 
  elements 
  to 
  that 
  

   of 
  racial 
  composition 
  discussed 
  above. 
  For 
  thousands 
  of 
  years 
  this 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  center 
  of 
  dynamic 
  cultural 
  contact. 
  As 
  

   nation 
  followed 
  nation 
  on 
  that 
  stage, 
  from 
  the 
  ancient 
  Babylonians, 
  

   Assyrians, 
  and 
  Egyptians 
  to 
  the 
  western 
  powers 
  of 
  today, 
  cultures 
  

   developed, 
  met, 
  selected 
  and 
  borrowed, 
  invented, 
  and 
  passed 
  on 
  their 
  

   heritage 
  to 
  future 
  generations. 
  Thus 
  the 
  past 
  lays 
  a 
  heavy 
  hand 
  

   indeed 
  upon 
  the 
  culture 
  of 
  the 
  Middle 
  East. 
  Within 
  this 
  diversity 
  

   of 
  cultural 
  origins, 
  the 
  Arabs, 
  who 
  have 
  occupied 
  the 
  region 
  since 
  

   the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  seventh 
  century 
  A. 
  D., 
  have 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  achieve 
  a 
  

   stable 
  integration, 
  giving 
  the 
  prevailing 
  culture 
  a 
  predominantly 
  

   Arab 
  orientation. 
  Their 
  religion 
  of 
  Islam 
  is 
  now 
  embraced 
  by 
  about 
  

   85 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  population. 
  Arabic, 
  the 
  language 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  

   Muslims 
  believe 
  that 
  Allah 
  revealed 
  the 
  Qor'an 
  (Koran), 
  is 
  the 
  

   mother 
  tongue 
  of 
  each 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  countries. 
  Dialects 
  may 
  differ 
  

   from 
  locality 
  to 
  locality, 
  but 
  written 
  Arabic 
  is 
  the 
  same 
  for 
  all. 
  

   Other 
  main 
  cultural 
  values 
  and 
  practices 
  have 
  been 
  either 
  modified 
  

  

  