don’t they know it’s friday?
Published by Motivate Publishing Dubai:: PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE Dubai Tel: (+971 4) 282 4060, fax: (+971 4) 282 7898 e-mail:
[email protected] www.booksarabia.com Dubai:: Ofce 508, Building No 8, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE Dubai Tel: (+971 4) 390 3550, fax: (+971 ( +971 4) 390 4845 Abu Dhabi: Dhabi: PO Box 43072, Abu Dhabi, UAE Tel: (+971 2) 677 2005, fax: (+971 2) 677 0124 London:: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER London e-mail:
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Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Ian Fairservice Editors: Simona Cassano Moushumi Nandi Senior Designer: Cithadel Francisco Designer: Charlie Banalo Publishing Coordinator: Zelda Pinto First published 1998 by Motivate Publishing Reprinted 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (twice), 2009, 2010 (twice) New edition 2010 © Jeremy Williams 1998 The author asserts the moral right to be identied as the author of this book. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means) without the written permission of the copyright holder. Applications for the copyright holder’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers. In accordance with the International Copyright Copyright Act 1956 and the UAE Federal Copyright Law No. (7) of 2002, Concerning Copyrights Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights, any person acting in contravention of this copyright will be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. isbn
: 978 1 86063 074 3
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Williams, Jeremy Don’t They Know It’s Friday? Cross cultural considerations for business and life in the Arabian Gulf 1. Business etiquette – Arabian Peninsula. 2. Business enterprises – Arabian Peninsula. 3. Arabian Peninsula – social life and customs – 20th century 1. Title 382’.09536 Printed by Rashid Printers & Stationers LLC, Ajman, UAE note on maps
: The maps in this book represent no authority on borders. They have
been specically designed for the sole purpose of illustrating the geographical exten t of such entities as ‘The Middle East’, ‘The Islamic World’ and ‘The GCC’. They have neither any purpose nor any relevance beyond this use.
don’t they know it’s friday? A C R O S S - C U LT U R A L G U I D E F O R B U S I N E S S AND LIFE IN THE GULF
Jeremy Williams OBE
An imprint of Motivate Publishing
For Val, Sophy and Giles
The author: Jeremy Williams Jeremy Williams OBE was the Defence, Naval, Military and Air Attaché in the British Embassies of Abu Dhabi and Bahrain at the times of both the Iran/Iraq (the Tanker) War and the Gulf (Kuwait) War. In an army and diplomatic career of thirty-ve years he spent over twelve years living in ve Gulf locations: Sharjah, Dubai, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. His service includes tours of duty in USA, UK, Germany and Singapore. He remains in contact with many government and commercial organisations throughout the Gulf and wider Arab world. Jeremy Williams is a member of the Saudi-British Society, the Middle East Association, the Bahrain Society, the British Business Group of Dubai & Northern Emirates and the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. He is Middle East consultant to the Portsmouth University Language Centre. He contributes to The Times, BBC, NBC and Sky News on Arab and Islamic matters. His company, Handshaikh Ltd., is based in Winchester in England but he travels throughout the world to conduct business seminars which focus on the cross-cultural aspects of life and work for westerners in or with the countries of the Gulf. He has counselled some 400 companies and organisations at board and other levels. He and his wife, Val, have a daughter, Sophy, and a son, Giles.
Acknowledgements The views expressed in this book are mine alone but my thanks go once again for this second edition to my publisher Ian Fairservice and my editor Simona Cassano, and to Moushumi Nandy, Cithadel Francisco, Therese Theron, Zelda Pinto, Charlie Banalo and Abdul Karim at Motivate Publishing in Dubai. I am enormously grateful to Mike Brennan whose comments on Gulf business practice were invaluable. I also wish to thank for their helpful advice Moukaram Atassi, Fahad al-Atiya, Sir James Craig, Mua’wia Derhali, Kathy Girling, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Jan de Haldevang, Julia Hoey, Dr Dina al-Khayat, Dr Jehad al-Omari, David Pfeiffer, Farah al-Sadr, Sir Harold Walker, Terry Willis, Paul and Nikki Wilson, and Andrew Wingeld. Several distinguished Gulf lawyers and scholars of Islam have also provided many helpful suggestions but prefer not to be named. For this edition Kevin Cook RIBA has added to and coloured his original Edition 1 illustrations. Christopher Phipps wrote the index for this edition.
Contents Foreword by Sir James Craig GCMG 20 Author’s preface to the second edition 22 CHAPTER 1: The scope of this book 25
What does this book cover – and for whom? 25 • Gulf-resident executives and frequent visitors to the Gulf 25 • Non Gulfresident managers or infrequent visitors to the Gulf 25 • General readers 26 • Arab readers 26 • Reading this book 27 CHAPTER 2: General background 28
The importance of Islam 28 • The pace of change in the Gulf 28 • Personality – the main factor? 29 GEOGRAPHY 29 • Complications 29 • The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries 30 • What do you mean by MENA? 30 • ‘The Middle East’ – where’s that? 31 • The Arab world 33 • What is an Arab? 33 • We are not Arabs! 33 • Whose Gulf is it? 34 • The three ‘tiers’ of the Arab world 36 • Other Arab geography 36 • The seven Emirates of the UAE 36 • Map of the UAE 37• POPULATION 38 • Gulf nations’ emergence and wealth 38 • The Gulf is young 38 • The Gulf is small 38 • Arab groupings 38 • Gulf nationals’ employment 38 • Gulf men 39 • Gulf women 40 • Restrictions on Gulf women reducing 41 • A nice government job 41 • FURTHER STUDY 41 • Discreetly study the sensitive subjects 41•Learn Arab opinion on 42 • Common GCC currency and Customs regime 42 CHAPTER 3: Starting out in the Gulf 43
VISIT AND ENQUIRE 43 • Major effort and cost 43 • Business with non-Gulf Arabs 43 • Do you have something for sale that’s really wanted? 44
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BUSINESS TRIPS TO THE GULF 44 • Silly or sensible programme? 45 • Planning a Gulf tour 46 • Targeting your sales pitch 46 • Come now! 46 • Poor visitor, we live here! 47 • Now I see you – now I don’t! 48 • Not just a consumer market 48 • Preparation of documents and presentation material 48 CLOTHING AND APPEARANCE 49 • Mode of dress and demeanour 49 • Western clothing 49 • Modesty is not just a matter of clothing 51 • Visiting managers take heed 51 • Clothing in Saudi Arabia 51 • THE GULF ARAB’S OFFICE 52 • Getting past the gate 52 • How to behave in an ofce 53 • Ofce behaviour: new visitors learn from the locals 54 • A handshake, then sit in the righthand chair 54 • The give and take of Gulf seating 54 • Coffee and tea in the ofce 55 • Young Gulf Arabs 57 • YOUR SALES PITCH 57 • When, how and how not to talk business 57 • Young and busy 57 • Laptop, projector and 220/240 volts 58 • The rst steps 58 • Presentation techniques 58 • A denition? Please write it 60 • See and touch 60 • Don’t tell the client what he wants 60 • We have a very ne chef 61 •Not so expert after all 62 • CHAPTER 4: Your Gulf Ofce 63
TYPES OF BUSINESS 63 • Business status examples 63 SELECTION OF AN AGENT OR SPONSOR 63 • Local knowledge 63 • Sponsorship 64 • I’m very close to the boss now 64 DUE DILIGENCE 65 • Enquire fully 65 • Gulf condence and its risk 66 COMPANY ORGANISATION 66 • Listen to your Gulf Uncle 66 • Not by Sector alone 67 • Relationships between ‘Head Ofce’ and staff in the Gulf 68 • Safety plan 69 CHAPTER 5: The expatriates 70
Gulf-based staff – or none at all? 70 • International presence 70 • Expatriates – national types 71 • Western expatriates – the two types 71 • Skilled Western worker status 71 • Western managerial or professional status 72 • Long-term Western expatriates 72 • Ination and nancial downturn 72
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CHAPTER 6: Selection and brieng 74
Differences and stress 74 • Work permits in Saudi Arabia 75 • Recruitment costs 75 • Culture shock 75 • Brief everyone 76 EXPATRIATE CONCERNS 76 • Patience, resilience and hassle 76 • Patience costs money 77 • Four or ve or more years in the Gulf? 78 • Gulf pre-appointment reconnaissance visits 79 • Destination reception companies 79 • Expatriate allowances 79 WOMEN 80 • Women and the selection process 80 • Guardian in Saudi Arabia 80 PARTNERS 81 • Ability to ignore 82 • Partners and risk of removal 81 • Living together 82 • Other relationships 82 LEAVE THE CASH 82 • Take your leave, not cash 82 • You – not the Gulf – could be the problem 83 CHAPTER 7: Travel 84
Introduction 84 • Travel 84 • Reconrm your ights 84 • Visas (entry permits) 85 • Visa types 85 • Passport validity 85 • Iqama 86 • Copying & retention of passports 86 • Photos 87 • Exiting the Gulf 87 DRIVING IN THE GULF 87 • Driving licences 87 • Driving habits 88 • Fog in the Gulf 88 • Pedestrians 88 • The car horn: only a nanosecond away 89 • Trafc accidents 89 • Camels as road hazards 90 • Are you insured, sir? 90 • Driving during Ramadan 91 TRAVEL AND NEW RESIDENT CHECK-LIST 92 CHAPTER 8: Behaviour and attitudes 93
GENERAL BEHAVIOUR 93 • The West and the Gulf 93 • Patience and the benet of study 93 • Awareness and tolerance of the West 94 • Shaikh Rashid of Dubai 94 • Sense of humour 94 • Personal interest 95 • Gulf Arab grooming 95 • Holy men 95 GULF EDUCATION 96 • Quick and intelligent 96 • On the other hand 96 • Islamic education 97 • Rote learning 97 •Private education 97 GULF NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT 98 • We can do it all – and now! 98 • We expect you to do well naturally 98 ANNOYING TO GULF ARABS 99 • Condescension and the
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dangers of paternalistic attitudes 99 • Reputation 100 • Honour and respect 100 • Photography 101 • Take the blame; take the favour 102 • Careless talk can cost you 102 ANNOYING TO GULF WESTERNERS 102 • ‘We just wanted to make you happy’ 102 • Queue? You mean ‘Form a line’? 103 • I know my rights (but not my responsibilities) 104 • Financial Services sector not welcome? 104 INTRIGUING GULF ARABS 105 • Modern technology 105 • Intrigue everywhere 105 • Clear-sighted 106 • The demands of the desert 106 • Instinct 107 • Falconry 107 • Camel racing 107 • Horse racing 107 • Judging and trusting you 108 • Poetry please 108 GIFTS 108 • Accepting and giving gifts 108 • Sales gifts 109 • Thanks – but not to you 109 • Saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’ 109 CHAPTER 9: Personal behaviour, body language 111
SHAKING HANDS 111 • Man to man 111 • Men and women – Western circumstances 112 • Men and women – Gulf circumstances 112 • Hand over heart 112 • Holding hands 114 RELATIONSHIPS 114 • Kissing 114 • Four wives 116 FLESH, FEET AND FINGERS 116 • Exposed esh 116 • Religious police 117 • Feet, soles and shoes 117 • Beckoning with the ngers 118 • Crossed legs 118 • Shway, shway 119 • The right way 120 • Other gestures 121 CHAPTER 10: Time and timing – the biggest frustration? 122
TIME ITSELF 122 • We leave in two hours 122 • Islam’s inuence on timekeeping 122 ATTENDING MEETINGS ETC 123 • Be on time 123 • Gulf Arabs know the West 123 • No show – no matter? 124 • Mother 124 • Saying no 125 • ‘No one came to our presentation – they all went to the airport instead! ’ 126 THE GULF TODAY 129 • Times are changing 129 • The younger Gulf Arab 129 • Some of us mean business 130 IT’S NOT ‘TIME’ THAT MATTERS – IT’S ‘TIMING’ 130 • When the moment is right 130 WEEKS AND DAYS 131 • Tomorrow has already started 131 • Gulf time zones 131 • The former working day 131 • The working week 131 • Gulf weekends 132 • Telephoning the Gulf
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on a Friday 132 • Business and pleasure all together? 133 • Public holidays (GCC) 133 CHAPTER 11: Language, names & writing 134
ARABIC 134 • Local language 134 • Calligraphy 134 • Study of Arabic 135 • Arabic or not? 135 • Signing Arabic documents – are you mad? 136 TRANSLATION 136 • Control your translator 136 • Business cards 137 • Routine Arabic 137 • Complex Arabic 138 • Check their Arabic 138 JUST A FEW WORDS OF ARABIC 138 • Greetings and Replies 138 • In Sha’ Allah 139 • Ma Sha’ Allah 139 ARABIC WORDS OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD 140 • Allah 140 • Fatwa 140 • Halaal and Haraam 140 • Hareem 140 • Jihaad 140 • Wasta 141 SPEECH 141 • ‘I want’ and ‘Give me’ 141 • Ululation 142 • Loud means sincere? 142 • Arab theatre 142 MUSLIM NAMES AND YOUR NAMES 143 • Muslim name sequence 143 • And grandfather makes three 143 • Names in Gulf forms 143 • Which Abdullah? 145 • No hyphenated names 145 • Gulf genealogy 145 • Tribes and families 145 • Tribal map 146 • Mr Arab, please call me John – may I call you by your first name? 147 • Meaning of Muslim names 147 • Hello Mister John 148 • Names of sons and daughters 148 • Wives keep their fathers’ names 148 • ‘Bin’ or not 148 • How do you like your name, Muslim? 149 • How hotels and airlines cope with Muslim names 149 • Spelling 150 • Muslim names in Western databases etc. 150 • Gulf royal titles 150 • Honoured name s 150 • Servant of God 151 TALKING ABOUT AND WRITING TO GULF ARABS 151 • Don’t say that - say this! 151 • Not good – Better 151 • The title ‘Shaikh’ 152 • ‘Shaikh’ or ‘Sheikh’ or ‘Shaykh’ but never ‘Sheek’? 152 • Shaikha 152 • His Excellency and Your Excellency 152 • Your Highness and His Highness 153 • His Majesty 153 GULF COMMUNICATIONS 153 • Phones 153 •Delivery and collection of mail 154 • Couriers 154 • Examples of formal letters and faxes 154 • Two languages, one page? 156 • Why don’t I get a reply to my letters and emails to the Gulf? 156 • Security of Gulf communications 157 • Censorship 157
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CHAPTER 12: Gulf business – how it all works 159
DECISION-MAKING NOT DECISION-TAKING 159 • Consult – then decide 159 • You’ll never understand the Gulf maze, westerner! 159 • Delay? – not possible! 160 • We’ll move the highway just for you! 161 • Islamic endorsement in Saudi Arabia 161 TRUST AND LOYALTY 161 • Trust the family rst 161 • Trust the useful stranger? 162 • Trusted/Known – Untrusted/ Unknown 162 • Hospitality, friendship and trust 162 • Let me have all your Gulf Arab contacts 163 COMMITTEES AND MEETINGS 163 • Committees are safe 163 • Agenda nibbling 163 • Grazing the agenda 163 • Gulf meetings 164 • Testing the water 164 ATTENDING MEETINGS 165 • Loss of temper 165 • Impatience 166 • Silence 167 • Saying ‘no’ is rude 167 • Never say ‘no’ 168 • Can’t say ‘No’ or ‘I don’t know! ’ 168 • Postmeeting follow-up 168 MAJOR SALES, EXHIBITIONS, DEMONSTRATIONS AND TRIALS IN THE GULF 169 • Sequence of a major Gulf sale 169 • Gulf exhibitions and demonstrations 170 • Trials and tribulations 170 • Offset 171 CHAPTER 13: Gulf business – bargaining and getting paid 173
The sport of bargaining 173 • How to bargain 174 • ‘Oneliners’ always ready 174 • Local authority to conclude deals 175 • Everyone bargains 176 • You can’t raise your price later! 176 • Tough but courteous 177 • Arab bargaining techniques – pure theatre? 177 • Senior bargaining techniques 178 • Concluding the deal – a walk-out? 178 • Contractual obligations v. personal trust 179 GETTING PAID 180 • No prompt or full payment? – where’s the contract? 180 • Get it right – all of it 180 • Copyright? Why should I pay you just for thinking? 180 • Performance, retention bonds, sureties and bank guarantees 181 • Disputes 181 CHAPTER 14: Gulf society - what’s wasta ? 182
The importance of wasta 182 • Gulf societies 182 • Desert democracy 183 • Centralism and its power 183 • If centralism
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is a problem, wasta is an answer 184 • Me deputise? – I think not! 184 • Wasta and the expatriate manager 185 CHAPTER 15: Food 186
The importance of hospitality 186 EATING 186 • Gulf food 186 • Typical food found in the Gulf 187 • Picnics 187 • Right hand 187 • Left hand 187 • Fasting 188 MEAT 189 • The sheep’s eye 189 • The goat’s tongue 189 • Pork 189 • Forbidden food: not just pork; it’s all non-halaal food 190 • Vegetarians 190 ALCOHOL 191 • Gulf countries’ attitudes to alcohol 191 • Selling alcohol 191 CHAPTER 16: Entertaining 192
Abdullah, come to dinner; meet the wife! 192 • Saudi wives’ attendance 192 • Invitations 193 • Ofcial receptions 193 • Attendance and seating 193 • Satiated guests 195 • Be generous 195 • Going Dutch 196 • Smoking 196 • Entertaining Gulf Arabs in a western country 196 • Arab weddings 196 • Henna 197 • Hair and sword dancing 198 • Belly dancing 198 CHAPTER 17: Coping with visitors 200
GULF VISITORS TO YOUR FACTORY IN THE WEST 200 • Large and small companies 200 • Arrival in your country 200 VISIT ORGANISATION AND PREPARATION 201 • Preparation for the visit 201 • A director to direct the visit 201 • Visit escort 201 • The task of the escort 202 • Drivers 203 • Walk the course! 203 TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION 204 • Travel with the delegation? 204 • A three or four-day ‘week’ with you 204 • Before and after you 204 • A smooth, personal airport arrival 205 • Which hotel – old or new? 205 • Who pays for what? Two accounts? 205 • An effortless hotel check-in 207 • The director’s welcome 207 THE VISIT ITSELF 208 • On the day 208 • Arrival at the factory 208 • Reception staff 208 • The factory tour 209 • Good, prepared speakers 210
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HOSPITALITY 210 • Lunch – surely the caterers know about pork and alcohol? 210 • Some more dog meat, sir? 211 • Prayers and prayer rooms 211 AFTER THE VISIT 212 • Evenings free? 212 • Football (soccer) 213 • Escort to withdraw – but not the driver(s) 213 CONCLUDING THE VISIT 213 • Departure discussions in the chairman’s car 213 • The visitors’ own report on your company 213 • Now keep in touch 214 IMPORTANT WESTERN VISITORS TO YOU RESIDENT IN THE GULF 214 • Cross-cultural tensions 214 • Dealing with your visitors to the Gulf 215 • Western arrogance 215 • Stamps as gifts 216 • Welcome visitors 216 • We trust him to sign contracts! 217 COPING WITH A VIP VISIT TO THE GULF 217 • Go visitor, go! 219 CHAPTER 18: Stupid things to do in the Gulf and the desert 220
THE LIST OF STUPIDITIES 220 • Extraordinarily stupid 220 • Particularly stupid 221 THE LIST OF DESERT STUPIDITIES 222 • Acclimatisation 223 • Heat stroke and heat exhaustion 224 CHAPTER 19: Law, death, tax, insurance, bonds and banks 225
Gulf laws 225 SHARIAH LAW 225 • Secular legislation 225 • God’s law 225 • Nature and signicance of Islamic law 226 • Sources 226 • The sections 226 GULF LAW COURTS 227 • The quiet approach is best 227 MODERN BUSINESS LAWS 228 • Impact of WTO rules on Gulf business practice 228 • Bribery and corruption 228 • Transparency of payments 228 • OECD convention 229 • FCPA: go straight to jail? 229 • UK Bribery Act: go straight (and longer) to jail? 229 • Other anti-corruption laws 230 • We pay the invoice – and nothing else 230 • Sponsor’s invoice items 230 DEATH AND TAXES 231 • Death 231 • Coping with a Gulf death 231 • Tax 232 • Withholding tax 232 • Zakat 232 • VAT 233 • Service charges 233 • Utility charges 233 • GCC Customs duty 233
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BANKING 233 • Islamic banking 233 • Islamic nancial products 234 • Islamic nance 235 INVESTMENTS 235 • Sukuk 235 INSURANCE 235 • Islamic insurance 235 CHAPTER 20: Muslim life 236
Introduction 236 • Avoid discussion on Islam 236 • All Arabs are Muslims so all Muslims are Arabs 237 • Islamic nations 237 • Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH) 237 • Denition and background 237 • People of the book 238 • God’s will 238 • The three holy places of Islam 238 • The Qur’an 239 • Respect the Qur’an itself 239 • Pillars or Duties of Islam 240 • Islam everywhere 240 • After the Prophet 240 • The Sunnis 241 • The Shi’a 241 • Gulf Muslim sects 241 CALENDAR 242 • Lunar months 242 • The Muslim calendar 242 • Conversion between AD and AH and vice versa 243 • AH advances ten or eleven days into AD 243 • Fridays 243 PRAYERS 243 • Prayers and their observance 243 • The Qibla 244 • Prayer timings 244 • Five prayers per day – why are six shown in the newspapers? 245 • Worry or prayer beads 245 • The call to prayer 245 • The words of the calls to prayer and their meaning 245 RAMADAN 246 • The holy month 246 • Fasting and other abstinence 246 • Thoughts and deeds 246 • When does Ramadan start? 247 • Dawn, sunrise and the black and white threads 247 • Breaking the fast 247 • Ramadan nights 248 • Non-Muslims’ consumption during Ramadan 248 • NonMuslims’ behaviour during Ramadan 248 • Iftar and other calls 248 • Ramadan hours of work 249 • Tiredness and Ramadan road safety 249 • When does Ramadan end? 249 PILGRIMAGE 250 • Duty of pilgrimage 250 • Pilgrimage clothing 250 •Women travelling alone 251 • The Pilgrims’ route 251 •The Pilgrims’ route 251 • Umrah 251 FESTIVALS 252 • Eid al-Fitr 252 • Special Eid al-Fitr mosque 252 • Eid al-Adha 252 • Eid Mubarak! 253 • Celebration of the Eids in the West 253 • Eid texts and cards 253 HOLY DAYS 253 • Dates 253 • Restrictions 254 • Lailat al-Qadr 254 • Lailat al-Miraj 254 • Mawlid al-Nabi 254 • Ra’s as-Sana – New Year 255 • Ashura 255 MUSLIM RULES ON DIET 255 • Halaal and haraam 255
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ISLAMIC NAMES FOR GOD 256 APPENDIX: Prayers, names for God, Arab groupings and clothing 257
The calls to prayer and their meaning 257 • The 99 names for God 258 • The League of Arab States 261• The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) 261 • The GCC and the European Union 262 • Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) 262 • Muslim World League (MWL) 262 • World population map – percentage of Muslims 263 • List of Muslim countries – The OIC 264 • Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) 265 • Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) 265 • Arab and Muslim clothing 266 MEN 266 • Agal 266 • Shemagh 266 • Taqiyah 266 •Bisht 266 • Thobe 266 WOMEN 267 • Abaya 267 • Niqab 267 • Headband niqab 267 • Half-niqab 267 • Burka 267 • Hijab 267 • Al-Amira 268 • Shayla 268 • Chador 268 • Khimar 268 Further Reading 269 Index 270
Photography, map and illustration credits 1: The GCC countries © Motivate Publishing 30 2: The Middle East © Motivate Publishing 31 3: The Arab World © Motivate Publishing 32 4: Whose Gulf is it? © NASA (http://visibleearth.nasa.gov) 34 5: The three tiers of the Arab World © Motivate Publishing 35 6: UAE Map © Motivate Publishing 37 7: King Abdullah & the Crown Prince with ladies © Afp/Getty Images 40 8: Inappropriate clothing © Handshaikh Ltd 50 9: Business clothing (lady not in Riyadh) © Handshaikh Ltd 52 10: Business clothing (lady in Riyadh) © Handshaikh Ltd 52 11: Getting in © Handshaikh Ltd 53 12: Take the chair to the manager’s right hand© Motivate Publishing 55 13: The twiddle © Handshaikh Ltd 56 14: Coffee cup 56 © Motivate Publishing 15: Coffee pots 56 © Motivate Publishing 16: Tea glass 56 © Handshaikh Ltd 17: Don’t be boring! © Handshaikh Ltd 59 18: Show... don’t talk! © Handshaikh Ltd 61 19: The cultural squeeze © Motivate Publishing 68 20: The expatriate ‘dip’ © Motivate Publishing 77 21: Incense burner © Motivate Publishing 95 22. Insensitive photography © Handshaikh Ltd 101 23: Men must shake hands © Handshaikh Ltd 111 24: Men and women do not shake hands in Saudi Arabia? © Handshaikh Ltd 113 25: Holding hands.© Handshaikh Ltd 114 25 bis: Kissing © Arabian Eye 115 26: Beckoning with ngers, wrong and right © Handshaikh Ltd 118 27: Impatiently ‘bouncing the knee’ © Handshaikh Ltd 118 28: Shway, shway © Handshaikh Ltd 119 29: From the right © Handshaikh Ltd 120 30: Airport networking © Handshaikh Ltd 126 31: Gulf Arab view of westerners’ view of time. © Handshaikh Ltd 128
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32: Telephoning back on Sunday © Handshaikh Ltd 132 33: Calligraphy © Mayassah al-Sadr 134 34: Untranslatable text 138 35: Visa form 144 36: Tribal map of the Arabian Peninsula © Handshaikh Ltd 146 37: Gulf meetings’ styles © Motivate Publishing 164 38: A word with the chairman © Handshaikh Ltd 165 39: Loss of temper © Handshaikh Ltd 166 40: Trial report matrix 171 41: The school of bargaining © Handshaikh Ltd 173 42: One-liner ready – even in the lift. © Handshaikh Ltd 175 43: Courteous © Motivate Publishing 177 44: Bedouin meal © Handshaikh Ltd 188 45: Late – and with three friends! © Handshaikh Ltd 194 46: Sheesha 196 47: Henna 197 48: Hair dance © Alamy 198 49:Al-Ardha dance © Corbis 199 50: Visit organisation © Motivate Publishing 203 51: Old or new hotel? © Handshaikh Ltd 206 52: Dog in car © Handshaikh Ltd 222 53: Driving alone in the desert © Handshaikh Ltd 223 54: The three holy places of Islam © Motivate Publishing 238 55: Lunar (Muslim) calendar. Moon around the Earth © Motivate Publishing 242 56: The Qibla 244 57: The route of the pilgrimage towards Makkah © Motivate Publishing 251 58: Muslim World populations (source: CIA Factbook) © Handshaikh Ltd 263 59: Arab and Muslim clothing © Motivate Publishing 266–268
Foreword by Sir James Craig GCMG President of the Middle East Association, 33 Bury Street, St James, London, SW1Y 6AX Some time ago a professor at the American University of Beirut wrote a book called Towards a Simplied Arabic in which he recommended the removal of various irregularities in Arabic vocabulary and syntax so as to make the language easier to learn. On the day of publication he distributed complimentary copies to his colleagues in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature. One of them looked at the title and protested ruefully: ‘Professor, you’re taking away our bread and butter ’. I feel the same way about this book. Heavens above, it has taken me fty years to learn something of the secrets of Arab society, Arab manners, Arab psychology. Is it all to be revealed in about three hundred pages by Mr Williams? What I particularly like – rather grudgingly – about the book is that it gets the tone right. Some readers may think that it is too kind, too accommodating to the Arab: the westerner, for example, must be punctual at his appointments but suppress his wrath if the Arab is not. Yet the bottom line (if I may be allowed one contemporary vulgarism) is that when you go to another man’s country you have to play by his rules. Ah well then, doesn’t it all boil down to the old proverb: ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do?’. No, the book explains that it is more complex, more subtle than that. If Mr Smith wears Arab dress in Arabia he will be in trouble. Chapter 2 warns that if you use an Islamic greeting some Muslims may take offence. As well as simple rules, you need judgement, discretion, experience. Shakespeare can break the laws of English grammar but Mr Smith had better not – not, at least, till he has written a few plays and sonnets and begun to feel at home with the subjunctive and the conditional apodosis. So take this book as a guide, the best I know. Trust it without fear in your early days when you are new to the region. Be very cautious about departing from its advice, for it is full of information, common sense and good manners, all reliable. But be prepared to adjust, modify and learn, as you
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go along, from your Arab friends, customers, agents, employees, bosses. The Arabs are not one homogeneous entity. Quot homines, tot sententiae, as we used to say when the world was educated.
James Craig Oxford, June 2010
Sir James Craig GCMG. President of the Middle East Association and President of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. Formerly British Ambassador to Syria and Saudi Arabia; lecturer in Arabic at Durham University; Principal Instructor at the at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies (MECAS) in Shemlan, Lebanon; member of the British Diplomatic Service in Dubai, Beirut, Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur; Head of the Near East and North Africa Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Ofce; formerly visiting Professor in Arabic at Oxford.
Author’s Preface to the Second Edition The rst edition of this book, reprinted twelve times, was written in the Ramada hotel in Dubai in 1998. The text developed into a book after an Arab banker suggested that the free handouts I gave to audiences at my cross-cultural seminars were helpful not just to westerners but also to Arabs. He explained: ‘You, as a westerner, can tell other westerners what we Arabs nd odd about you all. But we, as hosts, can’t tell guests in our country how to behave as that would be inhospitable. And there are several things we thought everyone knew about Arabs and Muslims; we didn’t realise that western people don’t understand quite a lot about us. So thank you for telling everyone how we see things’. This second edition written in Winchester remains a crosscultural guide mainly for westerners engaged in business with Arabs of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia. It is not a travel or guide book but a business ‘behaviour’ book, mainly but not exclusively for small to medium size businesses. The text has been adapted to reect the impact of the emergence of many young Gulf Arabs of both sexes highly trained in and exposed to modern international business practice, the increased visibility of GCC women and a hardening, perhaps, of Arab opinion towards ‘The West’ in general. Even though the book’s geographic focus is the GCC, it has relevance to westerners’ business with Arabs throughout the twenty-two different countries that form the Arab world. In the Gulf the pace of change in many spheres is exponential and it is important to keep up to date, not least in terms of the impact of international and local laws on traditional Gulf business practices. Much has happened and continues to happen to the Arab and Muslim worlds since the rst edition was published. Some of it, not all, is negative. But several matters bring extra tension to the ways in which western, Arab and Muslim populations regard each other. It is therefore helpful that
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individual, i.e. personal, relationships should ourish across national and religious divides. One experienced British diplomat said he had been guided throughout his career by an Arab’s remark: ‘I don’t like the British at all but I quite like Bill Smith’. The central advice of this book is that Gulf Arabs prefer to do business with patient, friendly people whom they know and trust, who offer something that is needed and is available now. So do most people, everywhere. Good personal relationships in business are as important in the Gulf as anywhere and are the stuff of this book. They help to bridge the considerable differences of at least language, religion and customs that exist between Arabs and westerners. But trust and cultural awareness should not be regarded as an absolute prerequisite to successful Gulf business. Most Gulf Arabs are rstly practical, here-and-now folk – their harsh heritage of desert (and seafaring) life made them so. They have always sought to make the most of an opportunity that brings benet to them and their families. They usually look rst to their advantages and necessities in any situation, not to its niceties. A colleague, very Gulf-experienced, witnessed an American selling to Arabs in a Gulf ofce. The American broke every possible cross-cultural rule that this book might have offered him. Returning later, my colleague asked: ‘How did you get on with Hank?’. They said: ‘We signed a big deal with him’. He said: ‘But he’s ghastly! ’. They said: ‘Indeed he is – but you should have seen his prices’.
Jeremy Williams Winchester, September 2010
www.handshaikh.com
[email protected]
1 The scope of this book What does this book cover – and for whom?
This book focuses on the cross-cultural aspects of westerners’ 1 life and business with Arabs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)2 countries of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman. It also covers in general terms other Arab nations. It is written mainly but by no means exclusively for westerners from small to medium size companies. It will be of general use and interest to many, but it is written with two main groups of business people in mind and these are shown below. Gulf-resident executives and frequent visitors to the Gulf
The rst group are the business executives who frequently visit, or who are resident in, the Gulf. These include: Professionals, advisers and company executives – with or without their families. 3 ■ Business and government visitors to the Middle East . ■ Men and women who need to know how to behave with Arabs in business generally, in negotiations and in personal etiquette. ■
Non Gulf-resident managers or infrequent visitors to the Gulf
The second group includes managers who do not need to visit the Gulf frequently, if at all, but who nevertheless have 1 The term ‘westerner’ has a limited denition which is generally understood. It is used throughout this book. 2 See ‘The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’ in the Appendix on page 261. 3 For comment on the unhelpful term ‘The Middle East’ see ‘Geography’ on page 29.
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responsibilities for the selection, tasking, evaluation and nancing of company or government staff employed in the Gulf. If company interests are to be realistically advanced, such managers should attempt to understand the nature of what their colleagues in the Gulf frequently encounter. These could include: ■ ■ ■
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Managing directors and personnel directors. Finance directors and commercial directors. Human resources staff, i.e. those who select, administer, fund or deploy personnel to the Gulf. General managers who may, perhaps, have little or no knowledge of the everyday circumstances and tensions of life and work in the Gulf. Tourists to the Gulf (how to behave, what to wear).
General readers
This book will also interest: ■
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Business and other executives who want an insight into the Arab mind, into Arab negotiation and bargaining attitudes, and their techniques. Those who arrange visits by Arabs to their organisations, and expatriates who have to cope with senior and other visitors to the Gulf. Ofce staff and others who need to understand the sequence and usage of Arab/Muslim names; how to show these in lists and databases; the correct layout of letters and faxes and how to greet and look after Arab and Muslim visitors. People who need a basic outline of Islam, Islamic banking, insurance and commerce as well as shariah law. Readers who wish to understand the make up of various Arab groups such as the Arab League, OAPEC and the GCC.
Arab readers
In addition, the book offers comment to: ■
Gulf and other Arabs who may wish to know how they may be regarded in the West.
1. the scope of this book
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Gulf and other Arabs who are to attend education courses or other training in the West.
Reading this book
The rst chapters give information useful to westerners who visit the Gulf on business. These chapters assume that business people will rst visit the Gulf on several occasions to test the market and to take legal and other local advice before setting up an ofce or other presence in the Gulf. The middle and later chapters offer comment on matters that particularly affect western expatriates resident in the Gulf. There are descriptions of the construction of Gulf society, and of Gulf business practice.
2 General background The importance of Islam
So important is Islam in the Middle East that some study or acknowledgement of the religion is now sensible preparation for life in the Gulf. This study should not (perhaps must not) 1 lead to active discussion on Islam with your Arab and Muslim colleagues, but they will sense and appreciate your awareness of a part of their life that is fundamental to most of them. Be different from most westerners in the Gulf: do some research on Gulf history, culture and religion. Chapter 20 (‘Muslim life’) focuses deliberately only on those aspects of Islamic practice that a visitor or resident expatriate will observe or hear in the Gulf. Page 225 gives a very basic outline of shariah law as well as Islamic nance, commerce and insurance, while page 143 addresses Muslim names. Islam is a binding force, not just throughout the region, but beyond. Islam is more than a religion; it is a code of behaviour and a way of life. The power and effect of Islam may be difcult to comprehend for those who have not lived in or known the region for any length of time and it is therefore sensible to enquire into the structure and values of the religion. The pace of change in the Gulf
The Gulf is changing exponentially in many ways. Some Gulf Arabs complain that it is changing too much, too fast. Several, particularly in Saudi Arabia, seek to resist ‘modernisation’ because, for them, this inevitably leads to ‘westernisation’ (which some see as a threat) and therefore the loss of national
1 See ‘Avoid discussion on Islam’ on page 236.
2. general background
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identity and heritage. Some mourn their former less frantic ways and a few even believe that their earlier desert life was better. Many Arabs take weekend breaks in the desert2 to enjoy its tranquillity and to touch their past. They look at the pace and nature of change in some parts of the Gulf and worry. Personality – the main factor?
This book looks mainly at the cross-cultural aspects of life and business with companies and individuals in the GCC countries. It emphasises the behaviour, beliefs, habits, pressures and outlooks of Gulf Arabs, some of which can overwhelm unprepared business visitors and expatriates in the Gulf. However, there will be many examples in the Gulf where the personalities of the individual Gulf national and that of the expatriate will dominate their business and personal relationships – far more than any of the general cross-cultural considerations set out in this book. GEOGRAPHY
Complications
There are many western geographic complications and disagreements concerning the composition and names of various Arab regions and countries, even within departments of the same organisation or ministry. Your solution, in terms of preparing for Gulf business, is simply to enquire into the history, geography etc. of each individual Arab country and city in which you have an interest. Do not be drawn into discussion on which regional terminology is correct, several of which are shown below. Do not say ‘We have an ofce in the Middle East’ but rather ‘We have an ofce in Bahrain’ or ‘We have an ofce in Abu Dhabi from where we cover the GCC ’. The GCC is a useful and non-controversial term in widespread use since it denes clearly a grouping of specic Arab countries.
2 Enjoy the desert – but note ‘The list of desert stupidities’ on page 222.
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1: The GCC countries
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries
The GCC countries are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman. For further information see the appendix at page 261. What do you mean by MENA?
You should avoid expressions such as Middle East & North Africa (MENA) or, worse, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) because these terms patronisingly regard large, varied regions, cultures, religions and nations as though they are a single market or business region. The terms are too broad – too crude – and are therefore unhelpfully confusing. Unfortunately, they are in common use by many western organisations, particularly in America. You should focus on
