u------‘ w...“ ~ " DEARBORN ARAB-MOSLEM COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF ACCULTURATION Thesis for the Degree of Ph. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Afif Amin Wasfi 1964 masts IHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIHHIIIIIHI 3_ 1293 00069 5969 ___-4u—._— This is to certify that the thesis entitled DEARBORN ARAB—MOSLEM COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF ACCULTURATION presented by ATIF AMIN I-IASFI has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Sociology and PI'LD. degree inAnthrogoIogy fies ? Major professor Date May 22: ”361* 0-159 J LIBRARY Michigan State University )V153I_J RETURNING MATERIALS: PIace in book drop to LlBRARJES remove this checkout from your record. FINES wiII ‘ be charged if book is . I returned after the date ~— stamped beIow. . , 78‘é‘15 ; «Jo-.9”: .' . II} I' ""1 K I, (fiffl 1111.1? 5. ;¢,P(- is“ 'zi};ii;iri Qegiis 3'2901 A I AP 1 092016 gogngl .iUI‘I 2 1 2015 v JW 1 I ' r I '- I \ l . ‘ ,I j .‘ . . . is ,, I . J l 1 I ABSTRACT DEARBORN ARABsMOSLEM COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF ACCULTURATION by ATIF AMIN WASFI. The main problem of this study is centered around the attempt to analyze the acculturation process of one of ‘the smallest and most recent ethnic groups in the United\ States, the Arab-Moslem community in the city of Dearborn, Midhigan. The study deals with the cultural patterns of this group in general, and specifically with marriage patterns. Consideration is given to marriage patterns in order to examine in more detail the mechanisms of accultur- ation. In order to conduct such an analysis, descriptive accounts of the cultures in contact, and the community in question were presented. Four main tedhniques were conducted in data collection: participant observation, a field interview, unstructured interviews, and literature. The basic method was the participant observation. During a field work of six months, the writer fully participated in the various life activities of the community: recreation, invitations, visits, festivals, parties, business, worship, and gossip. In analysis, a comparative method based on analyti- cal tools was applied to the data that were both quantitative 0.. 5...; , '.;I‘.:b..' I“ o ‘ A «more :5 Juififi' ' V. 31; states A A: are ~- ‘ a ' . 0' "--. D 'N'DO‘. a..- U Q Q, ~ szuveh'il' an“ y~ "n’ ”a a 0‘. I inn-5 I» u hue O {‘3’ ”Me-u. M. ’5‘...‘." :l C n' ' ~ h . A‘. I‘be I. 0 .J'f‘ .p‘..t 5. ~53. Are :1. He 0.. b. .e- ‘ v a. E. as 1: ‘ ~01“; : .I. ~~~s ‘ \‘z “a .s t“! a. \I. .A.‘ \ 9. “'3it‘-~ ‘ a a.“ ‘ ATIF AMLQ wuss: and qualitative. The method was also utilized in relating the outcome of the study to other anthropological and socio- logical studies on acculturation of American ethnic groups. Some of the conclusions of the study are: This case of culture contact has resulted in four cultural processes. These are acceptance, adaptation, reaction, and cultural creativity. In tedhnology, the impact of American culture was great upon the community. The only technological element that strongly retains the indigenous pattern was the matter of food habits. Symbolic behavior, especially religion and art, are the least changed. Social structure patterns were greatly influenced by the new culture, but not the same way as in technology. Conflicts in values and sentiments were the source of most of the social problems between the immigrants and their descendants. Although most of the descendants were mainly in- fluenced during childhood by the indigenous culture through their immigrant parents, the American educational system of compulsory education has been the starting stage in nunimizing the influences of the indigenous culture by enculturating the American patterns of behavior. American schools seened to be the most responsible factor for the tugher degree of acculturation among the descendants than that of their immigrant parents. I" o .1» s. . ( 353.251 3.‘ :59 car-.1 DC. 10'. 1- in ‘4!- ‘Oiu A ‘5 .‘OC‘ I :w- c '01.!“ sau- Lebov' 4- O z; the grate: first the, a \ a iu° Ou'afig‘ ’ ‘ .M.-.‘.‘301 . £2951 Ant-ta" AT IF AMIN WASP I The study emphasized the significance of religion as a basis of the unity in the community. This indicated that the community retained the indigenous cultural focus. Last of all, comparing the outcome of the study with basic findings of relevant studies on acculturation among American ethnic groups has contributed in elaborat- ing the generalizations involved by providing, for the first time, a whole descriptive, and analytical study on acculturation in the Dearborn ArabQMoslem community, the largest Araquoslem community in the United States and Canada. \.\a. a mums-W's DEARBORN ARAB-MOSLEM COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF ACCULTURATION By Atif Amin Wasfi A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Sociology and Anthropology 1964 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My appreciation is directed to the Arab-Moslems in Dearborn whose trusting and c00perative attitudes made the study possible. I owe a great deal to the community leaders Imam Hussian Karoub, Imam Jawad Chirri, Mr. Mike Turfe and Mr. Mike Karoub who have contributed in time and information during the frequent prolonged interviews. I wish to eXpress my deepest gratitude to the guid- ance committee members, all of whom were generous in giving of their experiences. To my major adviser Dr. Charles C. Hughes I give sincere thanks for the time he Spent in visiting the commun- ity during the field work and for his constructive sugges- tions all through the develOpment of this thesis. The other co—advisers whom I am indebted are: Dr. Jay W. Artis for suggesting the study and advice on family. Dr. Hans Wolff for his continuous inepiration and advice on linguistics. ' Dr. Charles R. Hoffer for moral support and insight- ful suggestions on community structure. I should like at this point to acknowledge the finan- cial assistance of the United Arab Republic government that smonsored me during the four years of graduate study at Ikuversity of Michigan and Michigan State University. Finally, I deeply thank my wife for patient and in- telligent c00peration throughout my graduate study. ii _ TABLE or CONTENTS IHEGWOWLEDGMBNTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST'GF FIGURES ...o. . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . P rObl m . . . . . . . . . . . . Purm 8 0 e e e e e e e e e e e e nethOd e e e e e e e e e e e e Limi taticn e e e e e e e e e 0 II. CULTURAL BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . Habitat, Technology, and Economics: Settlement pattern . . . . Land and Agriculture . . Division of Labor . . . . Food habits . . . . . . . Houses and Furniture . . Clomeaeeoeeeee 0 Conduct and Social Relations . a Kinship and kin groups . Festivities and social occ s o a Political organization . . Greeting e o e e e e o o e e The village as a social unit Symbolic Behavior . . . . . . . Language 0 e e e e e e e 0 R91 191011 e e e e e e e e e Magic e e e e e e e e e e e Arts 0 e e e e e e e e e 0 Values 0 e e e e e e o e 0 L1 fe Cycl a e e e e e e e e e 0 Bi “h and ChilmlOOd e e e e Circumcision . . . . . . . Youth Culture and Marriage . Death 0 o e o e e e e e e e swat-y . O O O O O O C O O O 0 iii 1 e e e e e e e e n Page ii vi vii viii q.‘ nan '0. D.. ,e U.- “a. p / s .; Il- .. Q CHAPTER III. VI. GENERAL DESCRIPTION 0 . . . . e A Ghetto-like Community . sex/TheZHistorical Background . . . . . . Spatial Description 0 e e e e e e e 0 Communication . . . . . . . . . . . 6;.Economic and Occupational Aspects . . o/'K1n8hip and Kin Groups 0 e e o e e 0 Education 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O ¢/'P011tical ASpeCtS e e e e e e e e 0 Religion, Magic, and Values . . . . . Voluntary Associations . . . . . . . Recreation and Arts . . . . . . . . . Food Habits, Clothing, Houses and Furniture e e e e e e e e e e e e 0 L1 fa cyde O O O O O. O O O O O O The Community and Others . . . . . . smary O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O MARRIAGE PATTERNS IN THE LEBANESE VILLAGE ‘Marriage Steps 0 e e e o e e e o e e Spouse selection . . Engagement . . . . . . . . . Marriage Contract . . . . . . Wedding 0 e e e e e e e e e 0 Marriage Forms . . . . . . . . . . . Some Relevant Interpersonal Relation- Ships 0 O O O O O O O O O O O The Termination of Marriage . . . . . summary 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 AMERICAN MIDDLE-CLASS MARRIAGE PATTERNS Marriage Step8 e e e o e e e e o e e Spouse selection . . . Engagement . . . . Wedding 0 e e e e 0 Marriage Forms . . . Husband-Wife Relationships The Termination of Marriage swat-Y O O O O O O O O O C MARRIAGE PATTERNS IN THE DEARBORN mMMtJN ITY O O O O O C O O O O C O O O 0 Marriage Steps . . . . . . . . . . . Spouse selection . . . . . . . . Engagement . . . . . . . . . Wedding . . . . . . . . . . . Marriage Forms . . . . . . . . . . . iv Page 72 72 76 81 88 102 107 120 125 128 144 154 162 165 172 178 181 181 181 197 200 204 210 212 216 220 222 222 222 231 235 242 243 247 250 252 252 252 265 270 286 out“. o... ... p/ 'n... 4‘. b- q. 3" ’v' CHAPTER Husband-Wife Relationships . . . . . . The Termination of Marriage . . . . . summary 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 'VIItg; ACCULTURATION ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . General ASpect of the Culture Contacts-eeeeeeeeoeeo Situations of Acculturation . . . . . Acculturation Processes . . . . . The Order of Selection of Patterns Factors of Accelerating Acculturation . . . . . . . Factors of Delaying Acculturation. Identification of Differential Patterns in Acculturation . . . smmaIYOOOOOOOOOOOO... VIII. CONCLUSION O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O The Study and Other Relevant Studies . General Conclusions . . . . . . . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY e o o o o e o o o e o o o e 0 APPENDIX A e o e e O o o o o o o o o e o 0 APPENDIX B o o o o o o o e o o o e e o o 0 APPENDIX c O C C O O C . C C O . C C C C O Page 290 298 300 302 303 309 312 312 315 318 323 337 339 339 345 352 358 360 371 ‘ID .5. “on- a 5.4‘; 'rable: l. 2. 3. 4. S. 6. 8. 9.’ 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. LIST OF TABLES House-Ownership of the Interviewees Languages Used in the Field Interview . Languages Preferred with Wives . Languages Preferred with Fellow Workers Languages Preferred with Friends . Languages Preferred with Children Familyélncome in 1963 . . . . . . Occupations of the Interviewees . ‘Arabic and English Literacies . School Attendance and.Highest Grade Completed.......... Ancestry of Interviewee's wives Preferable Qualities for a Wife Preferable Qualities for a Husband . Circumstances of Husband-Wife First Meeting . . . . . . . . . Person Who Made the Pr0posal . . . Engaga'nent Party 0 e e e 0 Types of Wedding Ceremonies vi Page . 89 . 90 . 92 .103 .105 .120 .121 .252 .255 .256 .261 .266 .267 .273 fl . "' - .‘- LIST OF FIGURES Map - Page 1. Arab-Moslem Area of Concentration,South End of Dearborn . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 vii Appendix LIST OF APPENDICES Contact Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 Field—Interview Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . 360 Constitution of Islamic Center Foundation Soc1etYO00.00.00.0000000371 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCT ION One of the smllest and most recently arrived ethnic groups in the United States is the Arab-Moslem immigrants. A few of their pioneers began to migrate to America at the beginning of the twentieth century, sometime after the Arab-Christians. The Christians had started to migrate to the 0.8. around 1875. The reason why the Arab-Moslems came to the U.S. later than the Arab-Christians was par- tially due to the fact that they belonged to a different faith. _ With respect to their number in the United States, an authentic estimation is 30,000. The largest concen- tration of them is found in the city of Dearborn, Michi- gan, in Detroit's Metropolitan area. They have lived in a ghetto-like community in the shadow of the Ford Rouge plant at the south end of Dearborn. This ghetto-like community is the subject of this study. Its location in Dearborn necessitates a brief description of the city. With a population of 115,000 (in 1962), a land area of 25.3 square miles. and a density per square mile or 445. the city boasts of more than 200 industries. The most important is the Ford Motor Company, which em- plays 25 per cent of Dearborn. workers and pays 51 per 1 cent of Dearborn taxes. Chief among Dearborn's points of industrial and civic interests are the mighty 1,200 acre Ford Rouge plant, Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Dearborn.is, therefore, known as the home town of Henry Ford. In addition, this industrial city is characterized by the following: a. b. 0. d. 8. A rapid growth of population: 63,584 in 1940: 2:.i9221n 1950; 112,007 in 1960; and 115.000 9 . The city is sometimes called a home owners' community. More than 85% of its homes are owner-occupied. The industrial city has no slums, even in those neighborhoods in the shadow of the Ford Rouge plant where the Arab-Moslem community is loca- tea 0 More than 45% of the population (in 1960) were from a foreign stock. The countries of their origin are listed in order from.higher to love er on the basis of numbers of immigrants and their descendants as follows: Canada, Poland, Italy, England, Germany, Russia, Asia (most of them are Arab-Meslems), Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Ireland, Rumania, Greece, Lithuania, Sweden, Mexico, Finland, Denmark, Norway, France, Netherlands, Switzer- land, Portugal, and others. This illustrates the great variety of the city's ethnic structure. Many ghetto-like communities are found within the city, especially in the shadow of the plants, such as Mexican, Italian, Polish, Greek, and Arab-Moslem communities. The city is characterized by a complete strict housing prejudice against the Negroes. 21221.22 The.Arab-Moslems came to the U.S. as carriers of the Middle East culture. They have established their commun- o...“ A. ‘ ofllxta .1 v-‘a a”; ‘~Ov'.. EL! be 3;; :-~--‘+u...4 .. “'Mbga ~.~ ‘5‘ . ’ ’ A ? 3* A :v-u 2.5:: :- ’v eh \ ; -.. t'.‘ b n.1,“ V t‘e“ ity and adapted to the culture of the new land; therefore they provide a case of acculturation. The intercultural contact, the basic aspect of acculturation, is clearly represented by the coexistence of the Middle East culture and the American culture in the same community. The analy- sis of the interplay of the two cultures, as manifested by the community members, is the main problem of the study. This analysis necessitated descriptive accounts of the cultures in contact. Moreover, it was felt that selecting a point of focus would be appropriate to analyze in detail the mechanisms of acculturation. Marriage patterns were selected to be the point of focus. In addition to my interest in studying these patterns, marriage patterns were related to some basic problems that threatened the whole future existence of the community. I was convinced that selecting such patterns would persuade the members to respond seriously ° to the structured and unstructured interviews. Exploratory visits to the community showed that its numbers were originally from Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Egypt. Although they partially belong to the Middle East culture, they differ greatly in their subcultures. The largest group, therefore, was selected to represent the community and to be the main concern in description and analysis. This largest group was the Lebanese which included about 75% of the community members. In summary, the problem of this study is to analyze the acculturation process in which the Dearborn Arab-Moslems e a... 'lva: ,a. 23 ob" ‘v: '39 “a. “s . w 122 Laure 'I EE #1:: . “a LBJ: ‘Ige .\. an. Iv0_‘ “‘3. E1 9"“ A; . 'H'b ' 0 n‘ R‘ ‘v we E.‘l V“ “ ‘ b I ~§ t‘ev‘."‘s ‘ ' e N k:: ;. . L: hi M " d \ .1 & “~Er ‘ N “:3. ‘ 4 have lived during the period of 1963 and 1964. harass The basic objectives of the study are to: Describe the Arab-Moslem subculture that was carried by the Lebanese immigrants, the founders of the community. Provide descriptive data concerning the marriage patterns as found in the old culture, the adopted culture, and the Dearborn.Arab-Moslem community. Determine the main historical, spatial and cultural aspects of the community. _ Analyze the types of culture contacts involved in the way of life of the community in question. Analyze the situations of acculturation as found in the community. Discuss the factors that accelerated the process of acculturation and that delayed the culture contact. Analyze the adjustment of cultural patterns in accul- turaticn. Infer general conclusions and relate them to the re- sults of other relevant studies. when Several techniques were conducted in order to fulfill the previously mentioned objectives. These techniques are: l. £§£§i§ip§g§_2h§§;ga§igng In this form of observa- tion the writer took on, to some extent at least, the role Of a member of the community and participated in its func- tions. The fact that the writer is an Arab-Moslem has two 0...... 1“.- .. ~«u: .:.: u .'I‘.. “.“‘ Koo... U“- " .'O§.-\J. “"u‘ . I 2";a. .agu.. : as ‘ e " M .~ to... ..:‘i u 32' W; ‘1... .6 “Sui: v 7"; .V.‘ '3‘, . V ‘II... n,“ ".3 a: ‘5." II.‘ o" Opposing effects on the research. On one hand this helped him to be accepted by the community. On the other hand, the possibility of bias, as originated either by the writer or by the informants, became a considerable problem. The awareness of this possibility during all the stages of the study and the attempts to control its effects played an important role in minimizing such possibility. This technique was conducted during the field work period that, altogether, lasted for six months. About thirty days were spent in eXploratory visits to the com- munity. During these visits the objectives of the study were defined. The writer moved, with his family, to the community in June, 1963. Four months were spent in con- tinuous field work. I introduced myself to the community members as ”a teacher at Cairo University conducting his Ph.D. field work.“ The reference to my position gave me some prestige and at the same time encouraged the communi- ty members to trust and to have confidence in me. Two identification cards were printed; one was in Arabic and the other was in English. On each, my name, Position, address in Dearborn, and phone number were list- ed. By distributing these cards to every member I met for the first time, I became a known character in the community. Friendly relations were the only pattern of contacts be- Ween the members and the writer; Participating in the community activities took many forms. Some of these were: attending their weddings, entertaining at parties, picnics, prayers, coffee-houses, . .1:O‘r ' I. | 6...:’ ...p' guy so ‘L ' :.:..c‘.', ...c Jw-s 9“... . Mud, :boétéu DICAQ.‘”‘-I‘I ubv:-¥‘;':‘ ‘ M26 In ‘ AA‘. ~' I“ ‘5'... fin. ' Dun}. ‘ iE‘“ chp a. ‘ '5 4A4 Uh“. .“c ‘z‘ ‘2‘:= .I'. . K“. 9-0936 .I ;fi.c: u.‘ IIQVVU" 5" b :0 ., .b In 'vktct:F~ V‘. n: 3 I ""' c Q‘ ‘3. p ‘e. a '32. ‘ ‘ \ Riga? h \ v 'I‘ I". 4 1".e a ‘ E a," fi. 0 "n “5“- U" a. u 1h 'c;‘. 0". akalvh“ H‘- \ L». p , . ‘ “a. .“E :5!- | u‘: 5‘.- n". and funerals. Exchanging social visits and dinner invita- tions, playing cards and backgammon in the coffee-houses, writing and reading some of their Arabic letters, and reading English and Arabic newspapers for the illiterates were additional forms of the participant observation. Mereover, the writer participated in some of their reli- gious, political, and social debates and arguments. ”What should be observed?” was an important question during this period. ”Everything” was an unachievable goal. .A list of topics was devised and observations were concentrated on these subjects. It is important to note that no recording of notes was ever done during these con- tacts. A detailed daily recording, however, took place at home. The daily field notes covered about 500 large-size cards. These data were rearranged on the basis of the selected subjects. During the write-up, thirty days were spent in several visits to the community in order to-col- lect recent data. aW at collecting quantitative data with respect to marriage This structured interview aims Patterns. The quantitative data as representing the cul- tural patterns and trends practiced by the interviewee were conducted as a complementary method in addition to partici- Pant observation. Although consistency was found between most findings of the two techniques, some differences were #— 1The schedule of this interview is presented in Appendix B. .- .. any a: :::.sue0 .' I. . .... :.c' g“; I..." “5' a be. and e O t ~---- can u be.’ we. -. 332‘“. "“ A ~OOD.=..U: : U A. ‘ ‘n _ “‘35 a: '3: 'e bl “at; I 5, ‘ I J‘ V; ‘ I ‘- n “F- c~ '.‘w “P e i he d :1» .| t \5 ‘ E‘ES niq‘ "I:- "A '77'6. ‘ 15“ 0 e ‘\Z “.6 ‘3 VI tt‘dl‘ ‘ K: ‘ v 5:9 1 u, presented. The most importnat was the ”husband-wife-_ problems” area. Although all‘the interviewees reported that such conflicts were nonexistent, participant observa- tion and unstructured interviewing revealed many problems. Thus, each method was roughly conducted as a control tech- nique with regard to the data collected by the other. A list of 173 Lebanese adult males who experienced marriage was furnished through the lists of voluntary association members, personal contacts, and checking the houses in their area of concentration at the south end of Dearborn. This list represented almost all the Lebanese adult males (either by birth or origin) who were married at least once. Their names were arranged alphabetically and they were regarded as the universe. .A random sample of 70 units was selected from.this universe. The large size of the sample (more than 40%) was intended in order to increase the reliability of the data as the universe was relatively small. Wm As the study was limited to the largest Arab-Moslem 81‘oup, the Lebanese group, the sample represented only the adult males of this group who had experienced marriage at least once. The adult females were excluded on purpose. During the exploratory visits it was found that inter- vlexvring the wives would jeepardize the progress of the research. Generation differentiation was clearly felt during the exploratory visits and was emphasized by Elkholy who com- pared the degree of religiosity of this community with that of another Arab-Moslem group in Toledo, Ohio (Elkholy, 1960: 121-153). Nevertheless, this generation differentiation was misleading with respect to certain cases. Some members of the second and third generations were sent by their parents to the old land to be reared as Arab-Moslems. Those were hardly differentiated in their patterns of behavior from the first generation members. Therefore, the generation differentiation was not followed in this study. A more representative technique of differentiation was devised by dividing the sample into two groups: GROUP A: This represents the members who spent their childhood and adolescence in the old land. The period between the ages of four and fifteen was roughly selected to represent childhood and adolescence. Spending this period in the old land indicated that these members were mainly influenced by the Middle East culture; or that Arab-Moslem culture was their first culture. GROUP B: This includes the community members who Spent the period of their life between the ages of four and fifteen years in the United States. These are regarded 843 influenced by the American culture in a greater degree 1"ham the culture of their origins. Among the 70 units of the sample, 50 members belonged to Group A. and 20 persons were members from Group B. 9| fi,75.rhllr >‘IOI ’ I A s . . . r This difference in size between the two groups in the sample was regarded as representative of the universe, and in turn, of the community. Most of the community members belong to Group A type. Their descendants, most of whom did not go to the old land, preferred to live outside the community for reasons that were discussed in another sec- tion. The 50 Group A members of the sample belonged to three generations. Most of them.(47 persons) were from the first generation, two belonged to the second generation, and the last one was from the third generation. All the 20 Group B members of the sample were from the second generation. The almost non-representativeness of the third generation in the. sample was due to the fact that most of the third generation members were either children or un- married youth. Groups A and B are used in this study as two different types of cultural influences. Each has a different first or original culture. Group A had been influenced at first lW'the Arab-Moslem culture and then came to the United States. Group B members might have parents from Group A, but they lived all their lives in the United States; and therefore they were mainly influenced by the American cul- ture. ' These two types were used in the study as an analyti- ca1 technique to analyze the interplay of the two cultures in contact. In addition, a hypothesis might be formulated . "1th regard to Group A and B types. As soon as the writer 10 began to meet and to talk with the community members, he felt that Group B members were much more acculturated than Group A. The data presented in the following chapters ap- proved the validity of such a tentative hypothesis. The writer's interest, however, is to apply the differentiation of Groups A and B only as an analytical technique in order to illustrate the influences of the two cultures in contact upon the community members. 3. We: Purine his social visits. the writer had no set questions to ask; but he tried to direct the discussions toward certain major topics selected before going to such meetings. No recording of notes was ever done during these interviews. In addition, non-directive interviews were frequently followed. A systematic recording from memory was carried out immediately after each meeting. 1+. W: Some sections of the study are heavi- 1y dependent on studies conducted by others. In order to analyze the acculturation process, we should identify the Draperties of the cultures as autonomous systems and then as in contact. The limitation of space prevented us from Presenting in detail the American culture properties. How- ever, a brief account of its general characteristics was mentioned . 5. W: All the previous techniques were mainly used in collecting data. The comparative meth- od was conducted in analysis. Comparing the cultural pat- 11 terns in the community with both the American culture and the indigenous culture was the main technique used in de- fining the mechanisms of the process of acculturation. In addition to these five main methods, some other techniques were followed, such as meeting the officials, taking pictures, and analyzing the writings of some of the community.members. emigrant. The writer was aware of the following limitations: 1. §2§g§, A complete presentation of American cul- ture is excluded because of space. Such a presentation night provide a more comprehensive comparison. 2. Time. It was felt that a field work of one year night be more effective in understanding the way of life of the community in question. Cutting this period in half was enforced by uncontrolled circumstances. 3. m. The six months field work was conducted Without any grant. If there had been enough money, the writer would have been able to travel to Lebanon in order to make a field study of the original culture, instead of depending on literature. In addition, any grant might have helped in increasing the writer's participation in the com- munity activities. CHAPTER II CULTURAL BACKGROUND All the first generation members of the community came from the Middle East, which has been regarded by many anthro- pologists as a culture area. Patai (1952:1-21) defined the general characteristics of this culture area. At the same time he stressed some cultural variations in the area. The most important is the presence in all parts of the area of pastoral nomadic and seminomadic, as well as agricultural settled papulation elements (1952:20). Bearingflinfimind thefacts that mostwof the founders of theigommunity came before 1930. and that they came from Lebanese villages, especially the two mountain villages of Tebneen andee t Gabal, it would be more appropriate to re- ' gard£thewcultural-backgroundof the community as the Lebanese Moslem,traditicnallvillage-subculture. Although some Lebanese villages are partly westernized today, the writer emphasizes the traditional way of life because of the following factors: 1. Mountain Lebanese villages, the origin of most of the founders of the community in question, are still retain- ing most of their traditional subculture (Khayat and Keatings, 1956:41). . 2. While the clear effects of Western civilization on the Lebanese village has taken place after the World War II, the founders of the community came to the U.S. - in the period 12 13 from l900wt91192011 Thus these founders came to the U.S. as ea_v,_,~ii carriers of the traditional Lebanese village subculture. This cultural background is divided into four major areas. The only reason for this division is to organize the data in categories to be used in analyzing the acculturation process. These major areas are: Habitat, technology and economics, organization of be- havior relating man to things. Conduct and social relations, organization of behavior relating man to man. Symbolic behavior, the organization of expressed ideas and sentiments. The life cycle. Before dealing with these areas as related to the subculture in question, some general remarks should be presented, these are: 1. There are no clear cut lines among the previous four areas of culture and interdependence is an important aspect of these areas. 2. Only some of the cultural complexes of the subcul- ture in question are represented in the study. The writer's main objective is to give a general idea of the cultural background of the community in order to analyze the process of acculturation. 3. Although the following aspects may be presented in almost all Arab villages, the writer's main concern is the Lebanese-Moslem mountain villages that are the origin of the majority of the founders of the community in question. All 14 4. As marriage patterns are the point of focus of the study, the marriage patterns of Lebanese traditional villages are studied in detail in chapter three. HABITAT, TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS Settlement Patpern A compact, nuclear form of structure is the first striking impression one gets of the village. It is a con- glomeration of houses standing close to each other, divided by winding alleys and paths that do not have any regular design. Each alley is called ha;§_or he , and it is usually the.habitat of one lineage. The mosque stands as the physical center of the village. Around the mosque there are dwellings erected by the original families of the village. As a family multiplies, its dwel- ling place also multiplies by a process of ”budding" which. is developed by the Middle East patrilocal system. For gen- erations this process of budding has been going on, resulting in the entangled mass of houses. Next to the mosque is the w, an open space used as the village weekly market, and as a place for social gatherings. The few village stores are located around the gang. In villages that have two re- 1iglous sects, two mosques exist and these villages are re- garded as bicentral settlements (Tannous, 1943a:527-529). Agricultural land owned or cultivated by the farmers begins just outside the village proper and extends in all directions from it. A‘regular and outstanding feature of the village territory is its extreme fragmentation. ' 0:! 'V‘ m ~d u 0"- u .0 u! '\ .... . s.o... -~ on. 'l’evs .‘*‘loe. .'~_‘. . to . at :5. " .V“:’ .~‘.h [I 9 I I I I \ ll! 15 Land agd Agricgture One of the strongest ties exists between the Arab far- mer and his land. For countless generations it has been the only source of life for him and for his ancestors. He calls it the ”blessed earth" and refers to it with reverence. The Masha system is the prevalent land ownership sys- tem. Under this system each family owns a certain number of shares which entitle the owner to cultivate a certain amount of land for a period varying from one to five years. At the end of such a period a rotation of cultivators takes place (Tannous, 1943a:531-533). Although farming is the basic and dominant occupation of the village, some simple industries exist, such as silkworm culture, spinning, weaving and lime burning (Crist, 1953 :414 ) . In the village the growing of cereals predominates. Wheat comes first, followed by barley, maize, dug; (grain sorghum), and rice. Fruits are rather plentiful in Lebanon, with oranges, grapes, figs, apricots, melons, dates and olive leading. Agriculture is based on simple and ancient tech- niques such as the hard sickle, wooden plow and yoke, thresh- ing board, the sieve and the brush broom. Most of these are hOmSmade and their materials are locally found (Tannous, 1943a: 523 and Grist, 1953:409-411). In addition to human power, farm aonimals are the only sources of energy in agriculture. One of the important economic activities of the Lebanese Village is that involved with the production and consumption Of °11Ves. Winter is the season of harvest. Certain tra- ditions and rules are strictly observed during this season. 'a IV: 5:. n wav- V a. ‘I O": on o.‘ 'IIH '- LAP." I " l '1 "vi... . . .'"I. 'h I "I1. . .‘ ‘I 16 No one can start before the elders decide upon the time and Place of picking. This decision is announced at the mosque or by the village crier. Picking the fruit is done mostly by beating it down with long sticks. This is exclusively a man's activity. On the other hand, only women and children gather the fallen fruit and put it in baskets or sacks. Also sorting is done by women. Each housewife then pickles enough olives to last the family the whole year. Besides, a year's store of oil is furnished through the olive. With enough oil and cereal to last the year around, the Lebanese farmer feels secure. It is important to note that economic activities take Place through the cooperation of the members of the extended family under the supervision of the family head, who is usu- ally the oldest male. Cooperation in cultivation has other larger forms found among the members of the same patrilineage or village . Division 9; Labo; ang Degree of Spggialization: A clear division of labor between the sexes is noted. TWO generalizations may be made in that men handle the heav- ier tasks, and that they take up those tasks that carry more prestige. Taking care of the children, preparing meals, get- ting water from the spring or well, and washing and mending 010thes is done exclusively by women. They 8180 do the 1181117- er ta'Sks in the fields such as weeding, gleaning and fruit Picking. Men do very little at home. In fact, they would be looked down upon by the community, including their wives, if they should handle any of the jobs assigned to women. In the 17 fields, they do the heavier jobs such as plowing, pruning, harvesting and threshing (Tannous,l943a:335-336). A division of labor by age is clearly found. In the two previous sex areas, old persons handle the lighter tasks. Division of labor by specialization is not clearly found in the village. very few families may be specialized in certain industries, such as making jars, or burning of lime. In agriculture there is some type of specialization, some villages use the land exclusively for raising cereals and grazing. Others specialize in raising fruits, and leave practically no space for vegetable gardens or for grazing. good Habits: Bread is an important and a daily food for the villagers. No meal is considered complete without bread, even bread alone is acceptable. It is literally ”the staff of life" to these people. Consequently people have a great respect for bread and consider it reverently. Another cereal which is very common among those people, is the bagghul. It is made of wheat through a process of boiling, drying in the sun and removing some of the bran. It is used in preparing the well known Lebanese kgbpg. This consists of purghu; and lean meat pounded together into a-thick paste in a large stone mortar. The paste may be eaten raw, with olive oil or gamn,(clarified butter), or it may be cooked in a number of ways. Regarding the consumption of meat only male sheep, Hale goats, and chicken are used for meat.‘ Seldom do the People kill a female goat, a female sheep, a cow or an.ox i v- ‘ ’v' ”In “one - "- v N ‘I O 18 for the meat. The‘Moslem religion has placed an effective taboo upon pork. The animal itself is repulsive to the Mos; lems, and they would rather go hungry than touch its meat. A similar Moslem taboo covers alcoholic beverages, therefore, nwst Moslems do not drink these beverages. Another practice related to the consumption of meat is that animals should be slaughtered in a specified manner, called‘ggbh,h§;§, by cut- ting the throat and letting the blood drain out. No one would touch meat from an animal that has been killed in a different way. A further observation is that those people are fond of eating raw meat, especially certain cuts of it. Most villagers eat meat once a week, usually Friday. Some of them do not have it more than once a month. Dairy products are important and are consumed mainly in the form of lgpgn (fermented milk), lebnah (cream cheese), white cheese, and gagg_(clarified butter). Milk is obtained from sheep, goats, cows, buffalos, and camels.. Coffee is the most important beverage, and it is related .to a body of traditions. It is the symbol of hospitality and honoring a guest. Refusing it is taken as an insult or a sign of enmity. In homes the timing of the serving of coffee is a nmasure of the hospitality being extended. Tradition has always required that men be served before women and old men twfore young men (Khayat and Keatinge, 1956:89). Pickled vegetables are an important part of their food. These are cucumbers, green pepper, small egg plants, turnips and green thyme. Favorite fruit always are figs and grapes. In general we can say that the important items of food are 9' 5‘ I01. I I J -.v- I .- 'u‘. 19 wheat, sheep (once a week), 011, milk, vegetables, pickled vegetables, fruit and coffee. The main meal at mid-day usually consists of meat (only once a week), vegetable stews, potatoes or rice, pickled olive and bread. They are fond of pickles such as pickled olive, w (a puree of chick peas and sesame oil), and W (the broiled eggplant puree). All or some of them are often served at meals or between meals. They also like fried or hard boiled eggs. A favorite salad called ta};- nglgh is very common in their main meals. It is a succulent salad of mint, parsley, onion, and tomato all chopped together and combined with soaked W, olive oil and lemon Juice. In the evening they take a light meal similar to the break- fast (Khayat and Keatinge, 1956:22-23). Houses and Mniture: In Lebanese mountain villages most houses never rise above one story. Stone (mostly limestone), which is the most common building material, is used generally in constructing the foundation, the walls, the ceiling and the roof. Roofs Of the simple houses are beamed of rough timbers covered with Stones, and then plastered with clay or cement. A solid dome Shaped structure with a flat or a convex roof is the result. Better houses have red tile roofs which made the red dotted nlountainside which is so typical of Lebanon. A typical house consists of a courtyard which may or may not be surrounded by a wall, and two or more square rooms, one of which is occupied by the farm animals during the short c=Old season. In the basic floor there is a common main room 20 which may have one or two small anterooms at the back. Just outside the front door is a flat, cleared space which may be roofed but more often is open to the sky. This veranda serves as the family outdoor living room. The principal piece of furniture in the main room is the backless sofa. It has separate back cushions filled with straw to make them firm. Besides the sofa, the room may be furnished with several large armchairs. Usually some framed Kbranic statements are hanged on the wall. They prefer to sit upon large cushions on the floor, these cushions are called tarrghah. Carpets, goat or camel hair rugs and straw matting cover the clay or tiled floors. Pallet beds and cot- ton mattresses are used in some villages. An important piece of furniture is a portable wash tub made of copper, called gigp; this is indispensable on laundry day. They use a cheap homemade hearth called ggnka . It consists of a hollow clay vessel of any size, but generally about a foot high, with holes in its sides. The charcoal is burned inside the magka; during winter. A low table, called tabliah, is used for serving food. The family sits crosslegged on the flopr dur- ing taking their meals (Khayat.and Keatinge, 1956:13,70-7l). Plothes: Men wear baggy black trousers known as the shegngl, braid embelliShed Jacket and flowing headscarf fastened round their head with a black cord. On special occasions, such as feasts and marriage ceremonies, they wear their long gambaz (outer gown). In winter, men are warmly wrapped in their Wool %, the native cloak. It is a significant point to -a. ad VP— ..00 .- u .1“ N - ... . .h ,.;..| . 0":- v-.v¢ .‘ It I .- . 21 note that no veiling is practiced in any of the Lebanese vil- lages. Veiling is done among the women of towns and cities (Tannous, 1943a:538). A young village girl likes rich, bright colors, and if left to select her own materials, usually will select rich velvets, rustling taffetas, or brightly flowered rayon prints. She likes to mix several colors. Against this often flamboyant background, she displays her jewelry. To complete her ensemble, she puts on a bright headscarf called a mandeal. Older women prefer the black or white nandeal and another longer type called a tarhah of lace or thin silk, usually black, worn over it. Older women usually wear black dresses. In winter women are bundled into heavy woolen coats and hand knitted wool socks (Khayat and Keat- inge, 1956:32 and 105). Conduct and Social Relations Kinship and Kin Groups: Life within the village is dominated by three foci of interest whose influences on behavior tend to be interwoven I with each other. Stated in a most abbreviated fashion, kin-J Ship, religion and devotion to the land compose village life. Gulick sees that kinship is the most important of the three .\ (1953:367). Although the writer emphasizes the importance of} kinship in the village social structure, he sees that religioh is the most important of the three. This point is presented in the section dealing with religion. The importance of kinship is clearly represented by the fact that almost everyone has some kinsmen in the village. "C-O "-. ‘7‘. 22 Kin relationships are recognized on both the father's side and the mother's side. But the matrilateral relationships are weak as compared to the strong authority of the patrilin- eal kin. Arab descent is reckoned patrilineally. Inheritance of property, exercise of authority, economic aid, defense, narriage and residence are defined according to the father connections (Sweet, 1960:163-164). In the village the functions of patrilineal kinship re- lations are presumed to predominate in the organization of the village into patrilineage segments. In fact the village is divided into several sections, and each section is usually cmcupied by a certain lineage. The kin groups, through which the kinship relationships operate, are the basic unit8«of the village social organization. 1. Patrilineage This is the largest kingroup and it consists of a group cm‘patrilineally related extended families. The village popu- lation is usually divided into several lineages or patrilineal kin groups. The size of these groups depends on the number of extended families that make them up. The number of the exten- ded families varies from village to village according to the age of the village and the occurrence of disruptive factorS‘ Which may split the group at a certain stage in its develOp- ment or retard its growth (Tannous, 1943a:539). A. Basic Characteristics: The descent rule affiliates the child with the consan- guineal kin group of the father. In case of marriage the wo- an-leaves for good her family name and adopts her husband's 23 surname that is his lineage name. The name is the means by which each lineage identifies its members. There is a cer- tain procedure concerning naming children. This is to name the first son after the grandfather. This serves to preserve the tie with the ancestors on the father's side. The patri- lineal group includes those individuals who hail from the same ancestry. The name of the final ancestor, who is believed to be the origin of the patrilineal group, is continued to be the last name of the male descendants and their wives (Tan- nous, l940:1l9-121). The patrilineal group has no special term in the native dialect and usually is called gig, which unans family, and sometimes is called pggt, which means house. These two terms are also used to refer to the extended family. Choice of a spouse within the kin group is preferable to marriage with an outsider. The most preferable form is the marriage between a man and his father's brother's daugh- ter,‘pigt_§gg, in Arabic. In fact this marriage pattern is Clearly found in all the Middle Eastern culture. It is Closely related to the unwritten law that a man has the right to marry his pip; m, and that nobody else is allowed to mar- ry a girl until and unless her ign.ggg, that is her father's brother's son, gives his consent (Patai, 1955:371). This patrilateral parallel cousin marriage is the basic factor in regarding the patrilineal group as an endogamous group. But it should not be overlooked that this pattern is the preferable form. In practice a villager marries a matri- 1ateral first cousin or any other cousin. In addition, the °h010e of a non-relative from the village is encouraged. The m4!" '. n. ..-n v .4: unIV' . 'ffll '4'- "l o 0.1. 0'. - u at I..- he. 0"- .u h“ u-‘ ‘ - ‘kh, 24 choice of a spouse from outside the village is tolerated, but not encouraged (Tannous, 1942:239). Each patrilineal kin group occupies a contiguous segment of the village or the same alley of the village. Within the patrilineage members, it is the general rule that the female respects the male (of her age or older), and that the younger member respects the older one despite the 'sex. B. Basic Functions: In general, lineage affiliation gives direction to be- havior in special or crisis situations, and not so much in day-to-day living. "This is presented in the following func-' tions. Contact, in the form of work, visiting, sharing a meal, tmrrowing, etc., takes place daily within the extended fami- lies of the same patrilineage, and presents are frequently exchanged. When an extended family is in need, the other branches rally to its aid. Tannous (1940:125) mentioned that there had never been one single case of begging in the history Of‘his Lebanese village. In weddings, funerals and situations Of'sickness, all relatives attend and give a hand. The patri- lineage as a social unit, may be emphasized by the fact that the child, from the start, learns that he should address every member of the patrilineage as cousin or uncle or grandfather or grandmother (Tannous, 1943a:539). Quarrels among individuals of the same village are not limited to the individuals concerned. They start with two individuals, but soon they tend to precipitate a redefinition i 1 $1.1}. u'..‘ .5..‘, to: \‘-| u...' ‘0'" "§.. I u,“ n...' '- u "I v v.' 3“ '\ 25 of the field in terms of lineage lines (Tannous, 1940:128). The individual identifies himself with his extended fam- ily, not as such, but as a branch of the patrilineage. In- dividuals acquire the social status of their patrilineages by birth. It should not be overlooked that the identification with a certain patrilineage involves the males, their wives and the unmarried females. As mentioned previously, married women identify themselves with the husband's patrilineages. Concerning leadership within the patrilineage, the old- est head of the extended branches may be regarded as the pat- rilineage head. Sometimes the heads of the extended branches form a council which is regarded as highest authority in the patrilineages. The patrilineage head or council plays a crucial role in settling the differences among the patrilineage nmmbers and between patrilineages. Sometimes these leaders settle the differences among members of the extended branches. The significance of the patrilineage in the social life of the village is clearly represented by Tannous. He listed many proverbs that stress this significance such as ”blood never becomes water” (1940:130). . In exceptional cases, a villager may run away from the Village and change his name, but he has to suffer a great deal for this. He is referred to as one ”whose origin is not known” (1940:119). Tannous (1940:124) showed how the swearing referring to the family and patrilineage was more Violent than that indicating an attack upon the personal characteristics of the individual. up. V's-x in o‘,’ . _ h... u... .- .01. “ .“‘. ; I. ".. .._. ., "uc ‘ ‘ ’§ "a- . 0' v. *r . I 'n. .- ~ 0 ’ a a g o ‘h' .I ~ I a - v|‘ ‘. . .‘o ‘4 "M, t‘ ‘ I 'I "- .~' i I . 5,. '.. h .a ‘v i K 26 2. Extended Famil Considering the ego as a married man, a typical exten- ded family consists of the ego, his parents, his wife or wives, his married brothers and their wives and children, his unmarried sisters and brothers and his children. Membership in this group is very stable. The three living generations stick together as one solid unit. Behind them are the remote traditions of their ancestors. They re-live these traditions and strive to perpetuate them. The newly married couple, who are usually in their teens or early twenties, do not by any means constitute a signifi- cant unit. They live with the extended family compound, they work on the common extended family farm and they possess no land of their own. The relationships among the extended fam- ilies of the same patrilineal kinship group is characterized by cooperation and solidarity. The size of the extended fame 11y varies from 10 to 30 people, living together within the same compound of dwellings. Socially and economically, they function as one unit (Tannous, 1940:124). A- Basic Characteristics The chief of the extended family is the grandfather, who is revered by the rest of the family. He is the symbol of authority and family solidarity. His oldest son assumes leadership after him. The dominant role of the children is .to Obey and respect, even in their personal affairs such as the choice of a spouse (Tannous, 1940:123). There are clear differentiations of status-role based °n Sex and age in the family organization. In general the 'W ”.4 . ' s «’Q' . I , on . e.’ .. I c r-A‘p' I'D.- n '1. I (.1 27 female's status role is a subordinate to that of the male. The following indications emphasize this subordination: 1. Islam, in general, admits this differentiation, as presented in the holy Koran (1958: Surah IV:34): ”Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property. So good women are the obedient“ guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. 2. Although the right of a female child to inherit land is recognized, normally she foregoes that right in fa- vor of her brothers. An implied explanation for this situa- tnon may be found in two other cultural complexes. One of these is the rule of patrilocalism, whereby a girl, upon mar- rying goes to live with her husband's people and becomes com- pletely identified with them. In case she should inherit land, undesirable complications for both family groups would inevitably arise. Such complications become accentuated when the girl marries into another village. The other cultural' complex is the emphasis of the culture on marriage. Prac- tically every woman has a chance of getting married and her economic security is attained through that of her husband's (Tannous, 1943az533). 3. Parents are named after the first son, but never after their first daughter. As soon as their first boy is born, the parents cease to be addressed by their own names. They are now addressed after the name of their son, such as A432 Ah__me_<_1_, this means "the father of Ahmed,” or film W, means ”the mother of Ahmed." No such naming of the parents after their daughter occurs. It is always the son. 28 4. The desire expressed by the parents and their rela- tives is always for a male child. "May God give you a son" is the usual saying. One never hears, ”May God give you a daughter” (Tannous, 1943a:538). 5. In some localities, women of the household eat only after men have finished their meal.(Tannous, 1943a:538). Residence is strictly kept on the husband's parents' side. Therefore, upon marriage, the bride moves to the house of her husband's people and becomes completely identi- fied with them. In case the girl does not marry at all, which is rather exceptional, arrangements are made for her.to live with one of the brothers when the original extended family splits. Upon divorce, the woman normally returns to live with her people. The patrilocal system of residence has resulted in the mentioned spatial organization of the village. The village is a conglomeration of houses standing close to each other, divided by winding alleys and paths. Each alley is called hagg, and it is the habitat of one patrilineal group. Orig- inally one or more extended families are regarded as the founders of the village. As these families multiply, the\ dwelling place multiplies by a process of ”budding" which is developed by this system of residence (Tannous, 1940:128). Membership in the extended family is very stable. The three living generations stick together as one solid unit. Imhind them.are the remote traditions of their ancestors. “mey re-live these traditions and strive to perpetuate them. 29 B. Basic Functions Economically the extended family members function as one unit. They own the land collectively, cooperate in its cul- tivation, and share equally its produce. At the death of the grandfather, the family splits into as many units as there are sons, each one of whom becomes the nucleus for the devel- opment of a separate extended family (Tannous, l943a:588). A clear division of labor by sex is observed within the ex- tended family. In general men handle the heavier tasks and they take up those tasks that carry more prestige. Taking care of the children, preparing meals, getting water-from the spring or well, and washing and mending clothes is done exclusively by women. They also do the lighter tasks in the fields, such as weeding, gleaning, and fruit picking. Men do very little at home and do the heavier jobs, such as plow- ing, pruning, harvesting, and threshing (Tannous, 1943a:538- 539). Children should acquire an immense amount of traditional knowledge and skill, and should learn to subject their im- pulses to the many disciplines prescribed by the culture be- ibre they can assume their places as adult members of the society. The burden of this socialization falls upon the extended family with or without the participation of the off- sPringparents. Older siblings and cousins, too, play an 1nlPortant role in the process of socialization through daily interaction in work and play. Education and socialization are a-collective responsibility of the whole extended family. 30 Social function includes all the other types of behavr ior of the members of the extended family. Day-to-day so- cial life of the members is a matter of the family concern. Social visits, shopping, taking walks and going to the mosque or the coffee houses-all these activities and others are ful- ly or partially organized by the extended family as a whole. In addition the influence of the extended family reaches the spouse selection. The final decision in marriage is made by the extended families concerned. The parents, the aunts, the uncles, and the grandparents must have their say. Such an apparent interference may be explained by the fact that the newly married couple will not establish an independent home, but will live with the rest of the husband's family. 3. W Although it is a unit of the extended family, it is not regarded as the smallest unit of the social organization. The smallest unit is the nuclear family. The polygynous family consists of several nuclear families linked through a common husband. The existence of the polygynous family is based on the fact that Islam, the religion of most Arab villages, per- mits polygyny within certain limits. The moslem can marry one, two, three, or.four women and cannot marry at the same. time more than four women. These wives should have equal rights and duties. The polygynous Moslem should treat his wives equally concerning the food, the dwelling, the clothes and all the other possible areas. In case that the Moslem could not treat his wives in this strict equality, he should not marry more than one (Wofi, 1958:68-69). In respect to ‘0‘ .Mfii 3.. 31 this point is the following quotation from the Koran (1958: Surah, IV:3). ”And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot do justice then onefi It should not be overlooked that this justice, as defined by the Koran, does not include love because this is impossible. In spite of these limits on polygyny as defined by the Koran, many Moslems do not respect the justice condition. But they respect, as enforced by law, the maximum number of four wives. Polygyny is not the prevailing pattern of marriage in the Arab-village but it is the occasional one. Monogamy is the prevailing pattern (Patai, 1955:371). The polygynous family provides the same functions as the nuclear family. These are presented below. 4. Nuclear Family It consists typically of a married man and woman and their offspring. " It should not be overlooked that the nuclear family is not an independent unit but it is the basic unit from which the previous kin groups are compounded. The nuclear family members usually live with the extended family compound or house, work on the common extended family farm and possess no land of their own (Tannous, 1940:124). The nuclear family basic functions are: a. The relationship between father and mother in the rumlear family is solidified by the sexual privilege which all societies accord to married spouses. 32 b. Sexual cohabitation leads inevitably to the birth of offspring. No birth control limitations are followed in the nuclear family. Abortion, infanticide, and neglect are prohibited religiously and socially. The mother and/or the father are not the only persons who nurse, tend and rear their offspring to physical and social maturity. Many members of the extended family may participate in these activities. c. The psychological relationships such as love and sympathy between husband and wife, between parents and off- spring and between siblings are provided by the nuclear fam- ily. Beyond these three functions, the nuclear family does not figure much in life's situation. Therefore Tannous (1943a: 537) regarded the nuclear family in the Arab village as the least significant kin group. 5. Kinship Tgrms Most of the traditional village kinship terms as repor- ted by the old first generation members of the community are identical with the Syrian Moslem kinship terms presented by Davis (1949:244-252). The same terms are found by Gulick (1953:368) in his study of a Lebanese village. Therefore there is no need to repeat these terms here. However, some .kinship terms were not mentioned by Davis; these are: mart abi my step-mother zoog ummi my step-father dorriti my husband's wife (in the case of polygyny) With respect to the general characteristics of these terms, Gulick (1953:368-369) said: 'c 'o I 33 ”The system is bifurcate collateral in type and so it makes possible the specific designation of all types of first cousin, male and female. Of these, only patrilateral parallel cousins are necessarily members of ego's lineage, with all the rights (in- cluding, theoretically, the inheritance of property) and obligations which this involves.” The prevailing pattern of the terms employed for cousins, p. (3 __.§£1£: Mm: 231.32%: 2mm, flaw: 332%: b p :3 Egglp'and pgpp,;§§lp_are derivative rather than elemen- tary . Some of the previous kinship terms are applied to non- relatives who live in the same village. For example, the term "amm" is regularly used as a respectful form of address by any villager to any other male villager of his parents' age (unless the older man is a mother's brother), It is a prevailing pattern that an older person must be called §2p43_ if it is a woman. To use the personal name alone would be disrespectful, and so, in a different but very significant way, one would use the Arabic titles (Mr.) or (Mrs.). These titles are addressed only to complete strangers or outsiders (Gulick, 1953:370). Kinship Terms;Ana1ysis Nurdock (1949:101) presented nine criteria which in- clude all the principles actually employed by human societies in the linguistic classification and differentiation of kins- men. These nine criteria are selected to be the bases of analyzing these kinship terms. These criteria are: l. The criterion of generation rests on a biological foundation. The facts of reproduction automatically align Im0p1e in different generations. As it is stated by Davis 34 (1949) the kinship terms are differentiated by generations in the first five categories. There are, however, some terms which ignore this criterion, these are: gpp,§pm;, p;pp,ggp;, lineman. inseam. unseen. Elsizsali: iea___ixaa1t . and pipp_xaalti. It is a point of significance to indicate that these eight terms are represented in English by one term, cousin. The previous eight terms as well as the English term ignore the generation criterion; for example, a term may sig- nify the first cousin once or twice removed. 2. The criterion of sex derives from another biological difference, that between male and females. All the Lebanese village kinship terms recognize this criterion. 3. The criterion of affinity arises from the universal social phenomena of marriage and incest taboos. In conse- quences of the latter, marital partners cannot normally be close consanguineal relatives. Some Lebanese village kinship terms ignore this criterion, these are: a. app; - is applied to my father's brother and to my father-in-law. b. p;§,gmmi - is applied to my father's brother's wife and to my mother-in-law. c. pipp’apmi - is applied to my father's brother's daughter, to my wife-~even if she is not a consan- guineal relative-~and to my wife's sister. d. ipp,§mp; - is applied to my father's brother's son, to my husband (by a female Ego), to my wife's brother and to my husband's brother (by a female Ego). . 35 The previous non-differentiation between the consanguin- eal relatives and affinal ones may be explained by the fact that the Arab-Moslems prefer the patrilateral parallel cousin marriage; that is a man prefers to marry his father's brother's daughter, and a woman prefers to marry her father's brother's son. ‘ 4. The criterion of collaterality rests on the biologi; cal fact that among consanguineal relatives of the same gener- ation and sex, some will be more closely akin to Ego than others. A lineal descendant, for example, will be more near- ly related than the descendant of a sibling or cousin (Murdock, 1949:103). Although most of the Lebanese kinship terms recog- nize this criterion, there are some cases where the same terms are employed for consanguineal kinsmen related to Ego in dif- ferent degrees. The eight terms, discussed above, which ig- nore the generation criterion, may be regarded as examples. 5. The criterion of bifurcation applies only to secondary and more remote relatives, and rests on the biological fact that they may be linked to Ego through either a male or a fe- male connecting relative. This criterion is completely recog- nized by the kinship terms in question. One, however, may object to this generalization by referring to the terms gggg;_ and §;p_i, the first means my father's father or my mother's father, and the second means my father's mother or my mother's mother. This is true, but it should not be overlooked that there are other terms to distinguish a particular grandparent, these are gp3,ab , my father's father, applpppi, my father's mother, m m, my father's mother, and m gm_m_i, my mother's 36 mother. This clear cut differentiation of terms by the sex of the connecting relative may be explained by the fact that the Arab-Moslem culture is characterized by a clear status- differentiation by sex. 6. The criterion of polarity arises from the sociologi- cal fact that it requires two persons to constitute a social relationship. Linguistic recognition of this criterion pro- duces two terms for each kin relationship, one by which each participant can denote the other (Murdock, 1949:104). Most of the kinship terms in question recognize this criterion. The fact that two brothers, two sisters, two brothers-in-law, or two sisters-in-law apply the same term to one another is really an incidental result of the recognition of other cri- teria. The terms ignoring this criteria are those involved in the following relationships: ipn gap- ipn imp, peg; 1mm - arisen. neaan- ibaraLli. andhiaixaan- Masks- 7. The criterion of relative age reflects the biological fact that relatives of the same generation are rarely identi- cal in age. Of any pair, one must almost inevitably be older than the other (Murdock, 1949:105). The Lebanese village kinship terms do not recognize this criterion. 8. The criterion of speaker's sex rests on the biologi- cal fact that the user of a kinship term as well as the rela- tive denoted by it, is necessarily.either a male or female. Kinship systems which recognize this criterion will have two terms for the same relative, one used by a male speaker and the other by a female (Murdock, 1949:105). The Arab kin- ship terms do not recognize this criterion. ‘ 37 9. The criterion of decease is based on the biological fact of death. This criterion is not recognized by the vil- lage kinship terms. Discussing the factors that have led to selection or rejection of particular criteria is beyond the study. How- ever, at this stage of investigation, it is the present wri- ter's impression that the most important factors in question are the pattern of preferential marriage which is the patri- lateral parallel cousin marriage and the social structure of the kin groups which is studied in other sections. Festivities and Social Occasions ,. There are many social occasions when the village as a whole comes together for celebration and entertaining. Some of these occasions are presented in the following: 1. Feast§: The most important are the Islamic. In addition to the religious rituals of the Islamic feasts, these are occasions for celebration and recreation by the whole Lebanese-Moslem village. These feasts are E;Q_Elfptp, Lesser Bairam, and EigiEladha, Greater Bairam. On these occasions people stop working and put on new clothes which are bought especially for the occasions. In the early morning of the first day of the Eid, men and boys attend the religious cere- monies of these feasts in the village mosque(s). Then they go home to enjoy a special meal. USually they invite their relatives and friends to participate in these meals. Social Visits and meal invitations are a clear aspect of the occasions. During the feast days, it is a sacred greeting to congratulate the others on being alive and in good health. The traditional 38 feast greeting is: Kol sanna we enta teib, which means (I hope you are in good health every year). These feasts, in addition, are occasions for amusement and recreation activities such as singing, dancing,.and play- ing native games, Japeeg and‘Kelmek that were described in detail by Tannous (1940:82-85). An important event during the feast is a fight. Usually it is not taken very seriously. 2. Vigiting and Hospitality: Visiting one's relatives, neighbors, or friends, is such a common recreation in the village that housewives are always prepared to receive callers. Refreshments are always served, whether guests are present by invitation or at their own initiative. In mountain villages, visiting is more common during winter than during summer. Visits begin with exchanging greetings for a long time. Greetings over, the guests exchange news of the village. There is no such thing as a secret in the village. Women sit together in a corner to exchange feminine gossip such as en- gagements, match-making, bride-wealths, and babies. an speak about the details of the latest death, sickness, quar- rels, political issues, and economic problems. Hospitality during the social visits is an important aspect of the village social life. Lebanese women are brought up to show a smiling face and offer gracious hospitality to any and all callers. It has been always considered disgrace- ful conduct not to offer food and considerate conversation t0 a visitor. It is the women who arrange the frequent fam- ily gatherings. In Lebanese villages families get together as often as possible and they compete in hospitality demon- 39 strations (Khayat and Keatinge, 1956:102). 3. prfgg;flpp§p§3 Each village has at least one, and perhaps two coffee-houses located in the papa, These are the second center of getting together, gossiping and exchanging political views. In fact conversation is the core of Leban- ese social life and recreation. In these coffee-houses men gather to enjoy conversation and playing cards and backgammon. 4. Cgpgmpnipg: The ha , pilgrimage to Macca,is a dom- inating factor in the life of the Moslem villager. He may never be able to accomplish such a religious trip, but he is always planning for it. When he succeeds, his departure and his return are occasions for celebration by the whole village. Food, soft drinks and coffee are served on this occasion. In addition, the people enjoy dancing the pip-kg and hearing the Arabic music and songs. In marriage and circumcision, the same celebration takes place and the whole village enjoys the occasion. In the traditional Lebanese village, the only education is the religious one. The boy six years old is sent daily to the village Sheik house. The sheik teaches him how to read the Koran. At the end, when the boy finishes reading all the Koran, by repeating the Sheik's reading, a celebra- tion is held in the village. At the boy's parents' house, food and coffee are served, and dancing circles are held. Political Organization: Leaders develop gradually and spontaneously, by measur- ing up to certain qualifications. These are ideally, land ownership, old age, good family background, generosity, good 4O moral character and intelligence, which they express as "wis- dom." Naturally, very few individuals ever attain all of these points and a compromise has to be made. Usually, there is a formally organized or informal village council consis- ting of leaders from the various lineages. This representa- tive body settles disputes between individuals and decides upon various village affairs. In some villages, under the influence of the central government, municipalities have been established, members of which are elected. Recently, the government has been represented by the moukhtar (mayor) who is usually elected by the people. Politics are a chief conver- sational topic. Greetlng: The friendly way of greeting and of conversation is the typical aspect of almost all the interpersonal relations of the people of the same village. Each villager knows the others personally and the basic way of communication is face to face relationship. This friendly type of interpersonal relations is clearly represented by the extravagant phrases of greeting which crowd the Arabic Language. These phrases make an occa- sion of even the most casual meeting of two old friends who regularly see one another at least once a day. No such thing as a brief "hello" exists in the language; the word is embellished into an extensive greeting. Even the briefest exchange of greetings that is allowed by ordinary Politeness is a warm and sincere questioning into the health and welfare of the individual. 41 This friendly aspect is clearly represented in most areas of interpersonal relationships, even in business deal- ings. These dealings always begin on a note of profuse cor- diality and good will. Each individual asks of the other's health and the health of each of his immediate relatives. After such an exchange has gone on for some minutes, the mat- ter of business will be introduced gently into the conversa- tion (Khayut and Keatinge, 1956:102). The Village as a Social Unit: In spite of the fact that the Lebanese village is divi- ded into several patrilineages, there are many indications emphasizing its social unity; However, it seems that the identification with the village (although very significant) has never been as intensive and extensive as with the extended family and the patrilineage. The following indications stress the village social unity: 1. Tannous (1942:283) presented some proverbs that stress this unity such as "every tree has its shadow, and every village has its own customs.” 2. The application of some kinship terms to village- fellows, whatever the nature of the personal relationship might be, indicates the village in-group (Gulick, 1953:370). 3. The choice of a spouse from the same village is very common. Gulick (1953:371) therefore regarded the Lebanese village as a type of kinship structure which may be defined as an endogamous local group that is segmented into patrilin- eages which are preferably endogamous but often exogamous in Practice. 42 4. Islam provides the rationale for rites of passage and intensification which generally play an important part in periodically reinforcing feelings of village unity. 5. In situations of conflict, village identity is clear- ly demonstrated. When quarrels take place between individuals from different villages, usually such quarrels do not end with the individuals concerned. They tend to implicate the two village groups (Tannous, 1942:239). 6. Also in situations of competition, village identity is clearly presented. When the young men of one village par- ticipate in religious festivities in a neighboring village, they do so as the young men of, for example, Farhona. They try to outdo other villages in group dancing, horse racing or singing. 7. Villages have consciously developed some distinctive identifications. All the people of every village are proud of a certain virtue of their village. For example, the Bish— mizzeen people are conscious of their entity as the "Bishmiz- zeen group" in respect to learning. They have always been proud of their fine village school. Amyoon is conscious of itself as being strong. Kafer-Akka is proud of the fact that its farmers are the most industrious and successful (Tannous, 1942:239). Symbolic Behavior Language The mountainous Lebanese villages, as well as all the people of the Middle East speak Arabic. Arabic belongs to the Semitic group of languages. Of this group, Arabic is not 43 only the best known, but the most characteristic, the most copious and, in many respects, the most conservative. The medium of daily expression for some fifty million people, it stands in marked contrast to its sister languages many of which are dead. The living ones are spoken on a much smal- ler scale (Faris, 1944z5). The characteristic feature of Semitic languages is their basis of consonantal roots, most- ly triliteral. Variations in shade of meaning are obtained, first by varying the vowelling of the simple root,and secondly by the addition of prefixes, suffixes and in-fixes. Thus, from the Arabic root salima, to be safe (literally, he was safe) we derive sallama, to receive; istaslama, to surrender; salamun, peace; salamatun, safety; well-being; and muslimun, a Moslem. Word forms derived from the triliteral roots, and retaining the three basic consonants, are associated with meaning patterns (Haywood and Nahmad, l962:2). -- As an evaluation of Arabic, Sapir (1921:207) lists it as one of the five languages which have had an overwhelming significance as carriers of culture. The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters, which are all consonants: three of them, however, a, w, y, are also used as long vowels or diphthongs. The transcription of ' Arabic alphabet is, a, b, t, 11;, j, h, Q, d, g, r, z, s, 31;, s, d, t, z, E, gh, f, q, k, l, m, n, h, w, and y. Haywood and Nahmad (1962:496-497) classified Arabic into: 1. Classical Arabic which dates from the sixth century A.D., if not earlier. It is the language of the Koran and is therefore not permitted to change to any marked extent. 41+ 2. Modern Literary Arabic. 3. Modern Spoken or Colloquial Arabic. The main dialect areas are: Egypt The Sudan (and Upper Egypt) The Maghrib (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco) The Levant Coast (Syria and Lebanon) Iraq The Arabian Peninsula Lebanese villagers speak the Levant Coast Arabic dialect. Some of the first generation people of the community could recognize the villages of each other on the basis of their dialects. According to them, each village has a special dialect. The discussion of the characteristics of the Levant Coast dialect is beyond the study. Moreover, such a‘discus- sion needs a full presentation of Classical Arabic language. Religion Islam, the prevailing religion of the Middle East, is the religion of the Lebanese-Moslem village. Islam, in the village, is so old and so deep-rooted that it has permeated all aspects of the village life and become inseparable from them. The basic beliefs and rituals of Islam are briefly presented in the following: Beligfg: Few dogmas should be accepted by the believer on their face value. First in number and importance is the one per- taining to the oneness of God, expressed in the euphonius formula La Ilaha illa Lah, which means "No god whatsoever but 45 God." This is one of the most repeated phrases in the Arabic language. Its concept is the cornerstone of Islamic struc- ture. The second dogma is closely associated with the first and relates to the prophethood of Mohammeg rasulu-iyigp, (Mohammad is the Messenger of God). In the koranic system of theology, Mohammad is no more than a human being, but in folklore he is invested with a divine aura. The third dogma makes the Koran the word of God. This holy book embodies the final revelation. Closely connected with the Koran is Ga- briel, foremost among the angels, bearer of the revelation and the spirit of holiness. Belief in angels is essential. The last dogma asserts the reality of life after death, en- tailing resurrection of the body and involving reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked (Hitti, 1962:18-19). Rituals: Islamic acts of devotion or worship, also called the pillars of faith, can be summed up under five categories. First in number and importance is the profession of the unity of God and the messengership of Mohammad, expressed in the double-formula: No god whatever but God; Mohammad is the messenger of God. Belief is not enough; profession is obliga- tory. In fact Islam is satisfied with a verbal profession of this doctrine in the case of a new convert. The double-formula is repeated by the muezzin thrice, from the minaret, in each of the five prescribed daily prayers. At the muezzin's call the believer should observe his ritual prayer (Hitti, 1962: 19-20). The ritual begins before the prayer by ablution. With running water the Moslem rinses his mouth, rubs his teeth, —— 46 snuffs water into his nostrils, splashes his face, hair, and beard, and washes his ears, orifices, hands, forearms, and feet. Now he may address God. He turns toward the Prophet's city, Mecca, and lays his hands on his hips as he formally declares his intention to worship God with a sincere heart. Then he places both thumbs to his earlobes, opens the hands on either side of his face, and praises: "God is most great.” Next he places right hand over left and holds both at navel height while reciting the .EEEQE the Koran's opening surah, and a section of any other surah. Then he bows and falls on his knees. He presses his face to the ground and extols God (Honigmann, 1963:167-168). Each prayer of the daily five prayers has a certain number of genuflections and prostrations. In addition to the five prayers there is, of course, the spontaneous individual prayer, subject to no regulations. A weekly congregational prayer is conducted on Friday noon. Two annual congregational prayers are conducted in the early morn- ing of the first day of each of the two Islamic feasts, Les- ser Biram and Great Biram. Fasting is the third pillar of faith. Islam enjoins it from dawn till sunset throughout the month of Ramadan. It involves abstinence from food, drink, smoking and conjugal relations. Almsgiving, the fourth pil- lar of Islam, is a legal tax raised and spent by the state for support of the needy, building mosques and other general purposes (Hitti, 1962:20). Pilgrimage is the last among the pillars. At least once in his life time, if he can afford it, the Moslem should go as a pilgrim to visit the sacred places of Mecca and Madina in Saudi Arabia. However, few of the 47 world's moslems sabout 450 million) can afford this ritual. Pilgrimage involves many ceremonies, such as the Kaaba seven- fold circumambulation, Kissing the Kaaba Black Stone and of- fering sacrifice (Hitti, 1962:21). A significant point is the fact that the community in question, as well as the Lebanese-Moslem village, especially those located on the mountains, includes members of the big Islamic sects, the Sunni sect (followers of the sunnah (cus- tom, use, path), the theory and practice of the orthodox Moslem community), and the Shi'ah sect (the followers of Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law). In the Middle East the Sunnis number at present is about 380,000,000 and the Shi'ahs some 50,000,000. Today Persia and Yemen are predominantly Shi'ah, Iraq is about fifty-fifty (Hitti, 1962:18). In Lebanon, there are many more Sunnis than Shi'ahs. The Lebanese Shi'ahs concentrate in the mountain area at the south end of Lebanon. However, in Dearborn there are more Shi'ahs than Sunnis. Guillaume (1956:119-120) presented that the outstanding difference between Sunni and Shi'a doctrines of infallibility and superhuman knowledge is that with the former, infallibility is not a quality inherent in the prophet by virtue“ of his be- ing, but a special grace from God. His superhuman knowledge is given him from time to time by God, whose message he re- peats to men. His merit was to be chosen by God to be his mouthpiece. Thus the Sunnis kept much closer to the Koranic texts like, "Say; none in heaven and earth knows what is hidden but God.” 0n the other hand, with the Shi'ahs sinless- — 48 ness and infallibility are in the imams and of them. They possess a secret knowledge inherited from their superhuman forbears by which they know Resurrection Day. Therefore they cannot err. Among the Shi'ahs themselves, the very question of the Imamate produced a schism, thus the Isma'eliyeh, the Druzes and the Assassins emerged. The Two Sects in the Lebanese Village: Some differences in rituals and other activities are found among the Sunnis and the Shi'ah in mountain Lebanese villages. Some of these are summarized in the following: I. In the profession of faith, the Sunnis recite the confession: ”No god whatsoever but God,and Mohammad is His Prophet." The Shi'ahs add another statement, they recite the confession: "No god whatsoever but God, and Mohammad is His Prophet and Ali, verily, is God's saint." 2. Many Shi'ahs repudiate the first three caliphs, Abu Bakr, 'Omar and 'Othman. They hate especially 'Omar. 3. Each sect followers have their own mosques, reli- gious leaders (sheiks), cemeteries, courts and sharieahl. 4. The Sunnis highest judge is called A;,mgf§i, the Shi'ahs highest judge is calle‘d gym Al'glgbg; or Ai'nogtahed Arm- 5. While many Sunnis swear with an appeal to Mohammad's life, many Shi'ahs swear with an appeal to the Iman's life; Imam here refers to Imam 'Ali. 6. In the marriage ceremony, the Sunni sheiks ask the Eride and groom or their agents to repeat: 1Islamic laws concerning marriage, inheritance and divorce. 49 "I ... married ... on the basis of the precept (commandment) of God and His Messenger.” The Shi'ah sheiks add the following statements, "...and the Imams Ali, and so on to the twelfth Imam's name.” 7. There are also some differences in the ritual of ablution before prayer. For example, the Sunni lets the water run from his hand down the arm to the elbow; the Shi'ah reverses the process, so that the water runs from the elbow to the hand. 8. The Shi'ahs tend to combine the noon prayer with the afternoon prayer and the senset prayer with the evening prayer. This convention is not followed by the Sunnis. 9. While the Sunnis favor praying in a group, the Shi'ahs favor praying singly. The Significance of Religion: " There are many indications‘which stress the signifi- cance of Islam in the village way of life. Some of these are presented in the following: 1. Islam Stability: Everybody in the village is born into its faith and is expected to remain in it for the rest of his life. A con- vincing manifestation of this stability has been found in the extreme reluctance of the village people to yield to conversion. The same attitude has been shown toward the energetic attempt at conversion by Western missionaries dur- ing the last hundred years. It is a well-known fact that not more than ten to twenty Moslems in the whole Middle East have been converted (Tannous, l943a:54l). 50 2. The Mosgue as the Center of the Village: The mosque as the holy place and the God's house, is the center of the village and the symbol of the existence of Islam in a certain village. The basic function of the mosque is to provide a clean place for single and group prayers. Some ceremonies of the feasts are conducted in the mosque. The village people build it in a cooperative way. They choose their imam or sheik, who leads them in prayer and performs for them certain ceremonies, especially the religious cere- mony of the funeral. He is paid a certain unassigned wage, mostly in kind. Those religious leaders are not full-time sheiks, they do some farming. People consult the Sheik about their personal problems from time to time. 3. Tannous (1942:236) presented some proverbs that Istressed the importance of religion in the village social life. Some of these are stated in the following: a. God helps each one in his own faith. b. Never accompany him who has no religion. 4. The most violent swearing expressions are those aimed at religion, such as: a. May God curse your Mohammad! b. May God curse your religion! These expressions create the most violent reaction. The reaction is even more violent than that produced by a curse aimed at the family group. The violence of the reaction is also relative to whether the curse comes from one of the same faith or of a different faith (Tannous, 1942:236). H I. C .- ~- I. 0: ‘a..l,.-. " ' C '. ‘g o H v- ‘. -.. ‘- "’tc n ..l ,1 ...... c -— l -‘ N r .. .“ l'~‘.--.. ~ b‘.‘ A .: ... ‘ In." U ~I .. . “‘2 T51“ -. U ".. ' ‘2‘ ’. .A"c.s 5v: -. T. .. “‘ hf. . U ‘1,“ th“ M “‘.., ‘ V» I‘;IGY\° 1’ "§~ “‘ v i.‘ "‘5 21" ¢. .1 'v Q a. i ‘ r O “.E ." 'p I uh. ... - K . "‘VI‘G :3,- ' p~‘ ‘ ‘ 5% "2.5.3 we, ., I V ”:I. [\“:~:“~ ‘0 \ p ~'\~ c f. U I p‘ n n‘ ' e Q‘N“ A 'UQ c; 51 5. Some other significant points are stated in the following: a. Villagers prefer to use Moslem names, such as Moham- mad, Ali, Ahmed, Fatma, etc. b. All the villagers marry Moslem girls. 0. In conflict situations, when the participants be- long to different faiths, the conflict field tends to com- prise a wide area and to take on a violent character. 6. The bearing of Islam on the other cultural aspects: Although interdependence of the different culture aspects of the Lebanese village is presented in some sections, the most important influences are those presented by Islam. Full analysis of these influences and interrelations is beyond the study. However, some of these influences are briefly pre- sented in the following: Economic Activities: A. Every Friday and during the religious festivals of the year, village people stop work and indulge in religious rituals and recreational activities (Tannous, 1943a:540). B. When nature fails him and his crops are threatened with ruin, the villager turns to the village mosque. In his prayers he can ask God to bring down rain, to bless the pro- duce and to ward off the evil eye (Tannous, 1943a:540). C. The Moslem believes that everything is done by God. Therefore when the weather has been propitious, and the grass- hoppers may come to cut the yield by one-third or more, the villagers accept these crises with patience, becauSe these are ”acts of God" (Crist, 1953:410). 52 Kinship: A. The stress for solidarity and the cooperation among the kinsmen is expressed by many Koranic statements such as: 1) God said, ”It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West, but righteous is he who be- lieveth in Allah and the Last Day and the Books and the Proph- ets; and giveth his wealth for love of Him, to Kinsigik and to orphans and the needy and the warfarer and to those who ask” (1958. Surah 11:177). 2) God said: ”And serve Allah. Ascribe nothing as partner unto Him. Show kindness unto a ents, and unto agg; kingged, and orphans, and the needy and unto the neighbor who is of kin and the neighbor who is not of kin, and the fellow- traveller and the wayfarer and those whom your right hand pos- sesses" (1958, Surah IV:36). B. The patriarchal type of family organization and the subordination of women to men are illustrated by Koranic statements (1958, Surah IV:34). C. The polygynous family is recognized and regulated by the Koran. D. Islam recognizes divorce, but there are many restric- tions. It is conducted only after the failure of several reconciliating attempts. Prophet Mohammed said: "The worst legal procedure according to God is divorce" (Wofi, 1947:182). E. All the laws concerning the family relationships and inheritance regulations are Islamic laws. 53 Marriage Patterns: A. Islam admits polygyny according to certain regula- tions. B. Islam assigns two basic duties to men before-mar- riage, paying the advent bride-wealth and preparing a suitable settlement. The second duty may explain the residence rule of patrilocality. C. The religion defines the relatives whom a Moslem cannot marry. First-cousin marriage is recognized by Islam. Festigities ang Recreaiions: The only feasts which are the important occasions of recreation are the religious feasts. Typical Conversation: Never would a villager talk about his children, livestock, land, or produce without uttering at frequent intervals the name of Allah in a variety of phrases (Tannous, 1943a:540). The most repeated phrase is Enghgygyiiigh, God willing. This phrase is used always in speaking about any future action. Magic and Values: many religious influences are found in magic and values. These are presented in the following pages. These examples show the extent and the intensity of the interdependence of Islam and the other cultural aspects of the village. Therefore, the writer sees that religion is the culture focus in the Arab-village. However, it should not be overlooked that some of the previous influences of Islam had been found in the ancient Bedouin-Arab culture before Islam (Grandefroy-Demombynes,‘1954:127). Islam has played an im- u fleece. “‘- 0'. 4“.“ ‘ " . I. u!3?3?~.’j .- .uovh V £3232. y. .1, l. .D «.5 _ IQ‘VrA . 'oov c I5. 9.. '-P ' ..". - U u IUI.VV‘ J.- e A, f; It! Uh 0v ‘ h h P Q .5 ‘: :‘e: .‘ngt' A.“‘ ‘ e- F \- V-u p B ‘ \ Q ‘- "' a“ I; .1! age ‘2 AA‘ .g ‘V‘ «I. V‘-‘: ‘1 ”I 9:! t: V‘ i “‘85 ""‘4 Jr ‘ " ll irrlv. ‘ a - v “A &. ‘0 .C‘E ‘.r v ’ U'ee 3f +L ..‘e 5“! ‘1 ":9. uh, a “c." s, M w KEV u t r' “J 23‘. 6 “U... A‘ § 54 portant role in elaborating these ancient cultural aspects, in preserving, and in carrying them to new places such as Lebanon. £423.19. Although the writer sees that there is a very thin line between magic and religion, he disagrees with Norbeck (1961: 35) on regarding magic as a part of religion. Magic and re- ligion are used in this study as different terms. Within the domain of supernatural, magic is defined as a ritual consisting of acts which are only means to definite ends, expected to follow later on; religion as a body of self-contained acts being themselves the fulfillment of their purpose (Malenowski, 1954:88). In addition, the two concepts are clearly differ- entiated by the Lebanese-Moslems. This differentiation may. be related to the fact that the Koran deals with magic as something different from religion. Moreover, practicing magic is opposed by Islam (1958, Surah XX:58 and 73). In the Lebanese village there are two types of magic, one is conducted by part-time or fulletime specialized magi- cians, the other is conducted by the ordinary villagers. The first type is usually related to diseases and birth problems. Bearing in mind that children are strongly desired in the vile lage, the childless couple are regarded abnormal in the eyes of the villagers. The rare existence of medical services in the village and the pattern of avoiding medical examination, which may be due to prudishness, force the childless couple to ask for magical services (Tannous, 1940:66-68). 55 The second type of magic may be called folk magical rituals. These may be divided into two sections: 1) Non-Religious Rituals. Many examples are presented by Khayat & Keatinge (1956:1h7-148). "Spilling a cup or a pot of coffee brings good luck", and "a quivering eyelid means bad news are on the way" are some of these examples. 2) _Religious Rituals. The second is the type which involves religious dagmas or rituals. In spite of this involvement, it is more related to magic than to religion. Many examples illustrate this type, some of them are summarized in the following: A. The Evil Eye. Its existence and its harmful effects are stated in the Koran, especially in the following Surah (1958 Surah CXIII). "In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful. a. Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak, b. Fromthe evil of that which He created, c. From.the evil of the darkness when it is intense, d. And from the evil of malignant withcraft, e. And from the evil of the envier when he envieth". In.the Lebanese village, there are many rituals and ideas that are related to the evil eye. Some of these 56 are stated by Khayat such as; a. If you have blue eyes and widely spaced teeth you possess an ”evil eye". b. Always say "Ism! Allah" when looking at a child otherwise he may be cursed and become ill. Hang a blue bead on a baby's hat or cradle or as a charm around his neck to ward off the evil eye. c. To remove the curse of an evil eye burn a piece of clothing belonging to the person who brought the curse. d. Always mention the name of ”Allah” when visit- _ing a rich family, when looking at a beautiful person, when seeing a cow that gives much milk, or when in an orchard full of fruit so as not to cast an evil eye upon his bounty. B. Koranic Charms. These are little leather bags in which there are small pieces of paper or soft leather. Koranic statements are written on these small pieces. The practitioners hang their charms around the neck, around the waist or under the shoulder. Some of the practitioners believe that these charms either keep evil off them, or protect them from diseases, bad luck and accidents, or make a person fall in love with another. Although the magical effects of these charms are clearly implied in the previous examples, other practitioners deny the previous direct effects and believe that these charms remind them of God. In this situation, 57 the practice is considered a religious ritual. C. El-ors. This term is an.Arabic name and refers to a small dish-like charm.made of clay. While the Koranic charms are used by all the Islamic sects, El-ors charm is used by the Shi'ahs. They believe that this dish-like charm is made of a stuff taken from one of the Twelve Shi'ah Imams tombs. In their prayer, they put this charm in front of them.and during their prostrations, their fore- heads touch the charm. The same as in the Koranic charms, Isome of the practitioners believe in its direct and def- inite effects, and others deny these effects and regard it as only a reminder of the Imams and their teachings. In fact, the Koranic charms and the El-ors charms stress that there is a very thin line between religion and magic. Aggg The term art covers a wide variety of processes and objects. Anything in culture becomes art if it fulfills some conditions, that is, if control is exercised to ex- press or arouse emotion (Honigmann 1953:214). The pre- sentation of all the Lebanese village arts is beyond this study. Some of the most significant arts are summarized as follows: - 1) Folk Music ci and Si 1 . The Lebanese villagers express their joy in life . With singing and dancing. Their favorite dance is the 58 Debka. This is a group dance uniting participants in a close fellowship. It offers possibilities for endless variations at the whim of the dancers. Some informants claim that every village has a special way in performing this dance. In spite of this degree of variation, there are some common features. Khayat and Keatinge (1956:52-5h) described this dance as follows: ”The dance is always performed in a semi- circle with dancers holding hands. The dancers' movements vary from.a foreward stamp to a simple prOgressive step, a knee bend endlessly repeated, a combined leap and kick, and the beating out of a rhythmic pattern with one foot. The mood of the dance is set by the musicians, particularly the flutist or piper playing the nay, and by the leader, the res, who is the most talented and experienced dancer of the group. The leader always stands at the right end of the half circle and holds a kerchief used for improvisation". The dance plays an important part in village recrea- tion. In feasts, weddings, pilgrimage and circumcision ceremonies most of the village people participate in the dancing, either by dancing or by watching the dance and clapping in a rhythmic pattern. Such participation stresses the social unity of the village. In addition to the Debka there is the Belly Dance. This is a solo dance and involves a controlled swaying movement of the body muscles. Music for this dance is usually furnished by the 'ood and.tambourine or daff. Many women and men know this dance 0 Folk songs are usually related to love emotions, beautiful girls and farming activities. They are the 59 simple tunes of appreciation for the pleasures of their daily lives. 2) Poetgy. Every village has a part-time poet and occasion- ally, a full-time poet. Feasts are the most important Opportunities for the village poet to express and to dem- onstrate his talent. Usually during these occasions peeple of close small villages come tOgether to bigger villages. In these big villages, on one side of the Open space gagg, in the cool shadow of the oak or olive trees, sit the group of village poets and singers. They represent the various villages, and each of them is anxious to beat the others and secure first place for his village group. Around each poet gather a group of his village people doing their best to back him up and cheer him. The village poets play an important role in preserving the traditions and the mores of the village. This may be explained by the fact that the poet always composes songs to praise the individuals or the lineages of the village who are generous, helpful, modest, brave, and virtuous. At the same time, they compose other sarcastic songs to humiliate and to ridicule stingy, deceiving and opportun- istic persons. Village poets usually depend on farming and contributions as their source of living. However, contributions may be the only source. '3) Folk Tales. During social visits story telling, folk singing, 6O jokes and poetry recitations are common recreations. A favorite folk tale which widens the eyes of children and grown ups alike, is the love story of iggggand Agig. It has innumerable variations, but its main plot is the courageous wooing and winning by Antra of his beautiful cousin Abla (Khayat & Keatinge 1956:105). It is a sig- nificant point to notice that this common story stresses the preferable cousin-marriage pattern. In addition to the Antra and.Abla story, there are many other common stories. Most of them are parts of the known.Arabic book, The Thousggd_Nights and a Nighg, which has been translated into English. Some common folk tales are used as a way of disci- plining children. Youngsters who refuse to sleep when their parents ask them, are frightened into going to bed at night and urged to falling promptly asleep by telling them that a big beast called ghggi will devour sleepless children. If it is raining, the thunder may be described as the wicked Umm Riad, the Mother of Thunder, who will come down from the sky to kidnap disobedient children (Khayat and Keatinge 1955:54—55). The previous examples of the Lebanese village art emphasize the social unity of the village and the stability of its basic values. Some of these values are stated in the following. values. The term ”value" refers to an explicit or implicit 61 socially standardized conception of what is desirable or undesirable. values, in turn, influence selection from available means or ends of action (Honigmann 1959:595). values underlie most of the previous cultural aspects of the village. Some of the important positive values are summarized in the following: 1) Under devotion to the land may be subsumed a number of some other values such as; that farming is re- garded as the set of acts which gives reality to the powerful feeling of identification with nature, land as the only source of life, and land ownership as the prefer- able economic security (Gulick 1953:371). 2) Heavy dependence upon bread as the main staple in the diet and the existence of some reverant attitude . toward it (Tannous l94hz529). 3) Hospitality and generousity in giving and Spending (Tannous l9#3:526). h) Lineage and family solidarity, and nepotism (Tannous l9h3:526). 5) Cousin marriage. 6) Chastity of girls before marriage. 7) The predominance of the personal touch in all types of social relationships. 8) Group consciousness and identity rather than individualism. 9) Respect for elders and parents. 62 10) Conservatism and cultural stability. 11) Wealth and male children. . 12) Subordination of women to men. 13) Modesty. in) Intensive religiosity. 15) Skills of speaking, singing, dancing and telling stories. 16) Equality of all human beings. 17) Health and strength. 18) Exaltation of individual prowess (Tannous 1943:526). It is a significant point that some of these values are recognized by the Koran, these are listed above under the following numbers; 3, 9, ll, 12, 13, 1h, 16, and 17. Life Cycle Birth and Childhood A child is strongly desired in the village. From the day of their wedding, newlyweds and their relatives look forward to the day when the first child will be born to the couple. In wishing for a child they always emphasize the male. Children are regarded as God's greatest gift (Khayat & Keatinge 1956:55). During the day of delivery, the mother-to-be is con- fined to her room. She keeps on doing her work until the day of delivery, and she resumes her work a few days after. Usually, the village midwife is there, with a group of 63 elderly women to help. The midwife, called nggh, has been trained by previous midwives of the village. The midwife wipes the newborn with salt and rubs his body with olive oil and rihan. She carries the baby ceremoniously out of the mother's room and places it in the arms of the eldest male member of the family, usually the grandfather. Then the baby's father inspects his child. The midwife stands around while her work is being admired and receives her tip, baksheesh. She expects a much larger tip for her services if the baby turns out to be a boy. She stretches the baby's arms and legs straight and ties him sandwich" style and immobile in a square of cotton material called _I_._a_f_‘_f_‘§ (Khayat & Keatinge 1956:59). Lebanese mothers nurse their babies if they can. Friends and relatives nurse a baby if its mother falls ill. Lebanese babies used to sleep in cradles with rockers. Grandmothers and aunts are anxious to give advice on how the child should be disciplined. The new mother may find she is the last person to command authority in training her child. The child is always the object of much love and tender care. The family's anxiety is to protect it from the evil eye (Khayat & Keatinge 1956:63). Mothers stop nursing the child when it competes his first year, but some of them continue nursing their child- ren until they are two years old. Toilet training begins when nursing stops. Children are an asset on the farm 6k and not a liability. They can give valuable help to the mother at home and the father in the field as soon as they begin to scamper about. Children are trained to respect the older people and to obey their parents, uncles, and grandparents. There are no schools for girls. Boys Of ages 6 or 7 years spend one year or more in attending the village Shiek's house or the village Kuttab (Islamic Elementary School) to get religious teachings. At school the boy learns to read and then to write some parts Of the Koran by a mechanical effort Of the memory. On a small wooden board, Laggg, covered with white clay or chalk slaked in water, he tries to reproduce a passage from the Koran. This he oftentimes learns by heart, without under- standing its meaning because the meaning is usually beyond his childish understanding. Circumcision. Circumcision is observed only for boys. It is per- formed either on the seventh day, the fortieth, or in the seventh year. Old women hold the boy while the Operation is performed. The circumciser is usually a barber who lives in the closest town to the village. The foreskin is wrapped in a bit of gauze and is put around the boy's neck or hanged on the wall. The child is nursed and com- forted while the wound is dressed. Circumcision day is a special occasion and a celebration is held before the Operation. In this ceremony, coffee and sweets are served 65 to relatives and friends. Guns are shot, songs are sung and the ngkg is danced. Usually the child is dressed in new clothes. Relatives bring him presents and food. Youth Cuiggge and Margiggg. After puberty, clear out line begins to appear between boys and girls. They stop playing tOgether and the girls begin to spend more time at home with their mothers. From her mother a girl receives her education in the many accomplishments of homemaking and housekeeping needed in married life. Free time, if any remains after exhausting rounds of household chores, is taken up with learning to crochet, knit and embroider. Mothers keep their daughters within sight at all times. The girl is brought up to respect and Obey her future husband, and to give his wishes priority over her own. She learns how to economize in the household and to conserve her future husband's money. The boy begins his life as a man at the age Of seven or eight years. His relation to the male members Of his extended family becomes very strong. He helps them in the field where he learns all the farming activities. He begins tO have a group Of boy friends Of his own age. These are usually from his patrilineage. To have a girl friend is something unknown tO these young men. However, love is an important aspect of youth. The boys and girls are free to love each other from afar. The preference of cousin-marriage makes love 66 develOp automatically between cousins when they are young. Whether there is love or not, the final decision on marr- iage is the extended family's work. When love has already started between the boy and the girl, the girl will keep quiet about it and the boy makes the next move. He in- forms his parents of his choice and then the whole matter will be decided by the two families (Tannous 1940:153-154). ‘As the point of focus of this study is the marriage patterns, these patterns with respect to the Lebanese village, are studied in detail in Chapter Four. 22am- When a death occurs, messengers are sent immediately to relatives and friends, not only in the home village but in nearby ones. In the home village, women drOp their work, dress in black mourning and go in groups to the home of the deceased. They enter the house waving their hand- kerchiefs, wailing, crying and moaning; A1 awad bisalamitkum meaning, may this tragedy be replaced by your well being. They sit around the body which is laid out on a mattress on the floor or on a bedstead in the middle of the room. The family turns the head of the deceased to face the gipigl and recite the shahada2 in his name. Professional wailing women called naddabah are an integral part Of 1Gibla is the direction to Mecca. 2Shahada is the statement of "I confess that no God whatsoever but God and Mohammad is His Messenger". 6? village death ceremonies. They are hired to lead the wailing and to work the emotions of the mourners to a feverish pitch of unhappiness. The body is washed in accordance with the requirements of the greater ablution.ggg§i, by a professional person (may be two persons) of the same sex as the deceased. These persons are called nughassil. It is significant to note that they are not Sheiks. The orifices of—the body are closed with plugs of perfumed cotton, and the body itself wrapped in one or two pieces of seamless cloth. An immediate male relative of the deceased covers the dead with the cloth and ties it in the shape of a knot. Moslems believe that it is in this garment, kgggg, that the dead person will appear before God on the Judgement Day. The form the funeral takes depends on the status of the dead individual. An infant is buried quietly. If he is a very old person, the funeral is relatively simple. In case of a young man, especially if he is the only son, or a young woman, or a head of a family or village group, the funeral is very elaborate. Burial takes place on the same day if death occured in the morning, or on the next day if the death occured at night. An important part of the death rites is the funeral procession. At the head of the procession is the body, carried in a simple wooden bier called gaggh. The bier is decorated by yellow or white cloth. Constantly changing relays of four men 68 carry it on their shoulders, for this is a pious act which will be rewarded in the next life. Behind the body walk the Sheiks, village leaders and the deceased's relatives. Sheiks usually chant the Moslem confession Of faith and fragments of religious poems. Most of the village men walk in the funeral procession. Sunni women do not participate in the funeral procession according to the Sunni teachings. Shfah women, according to the Shi'ah regulations have the right to participate in the procession. The body is carried first to the village mosque where the religious rituals that constitute the salat al- janaza, which means prayer for the dead, are performed in the middle of the hall of prayer. After these rituals, the body is carried in the same procession to the cemetery' to be buried. The tomb is a chamber so fashioned as to permit the body to lie on the right side, with the head pointing toward Mecca and the feet in the Opposite direc- tion. Many of the Lebanese Shi'ahs use each tomb once. On the other hand, many of the Lebanese Sunnis use the same tomb several times, by burying in it several persons, usually relatives and of the same sex.. Long interval periods among burials is a condition to apply this last burial type. Just before the burial takes place, the Sheik uncovers the face Of the deceased and recites some reli- gious advice concerning what the deceased should say when 69 the death Angels visit him at night. The moment of the burial is characterized by high wailing and crying. After the burial, the people shake hands with the deceased's immediate relatives, saying, Alikel awad, which means, may this tragedy be replaced by your well being. The mourners return to the home of the deceased, where they eat what is called taam e1 rahmg. This is a funeral banquet, the raw kgbpg is an important item. The funeral banquet and visits paid to the cemetary accompanied by the performers Of certain rites, such as animal sacrifice and recitation of parts of the Koran, are repeated several times after the burial. The most important occasions are the seventh day and the fourtieth day after the death. In addition, there is an annual ceremony. The mourning period is usually one year. During this period, the ex- tended family Of the deceased do not participate in any joyful celebrations. Sometimes they conduct quiet wed- ding ceremonies. They destroy all the clothes that belonged to the deceased. The cometary is often frequented by the villagers, especially the women. Visits are paid to the cemetery during the Islamic feasts. 70 Summary This chapter deals with the traditional Lebanese Islamic village, the background of the community founders. The components Of the village culture are loosely divided into fOur categories. In technology, farming is the dominant occupation and land is highly valued. Agriculture is based on simple and ancient techniques. Human power and farm animals are the only sources of energy in agriculture. A clear divi- sion of labor by sex and age is noted. Bread is an impor- tant daily food. Most houses are made of limestone and never rise above one story. In respect to social structure, kin groups are the basic units; almost every villager has some kinsmen in the village. Descent is patrilineal. The residence system is patrilocal. The most important kin group is the extended family. The nuclear family is usually a part of the extended family. Some families are polygynous. The patrilineage, the largest kin group, plays an impor- tant role in defense, economic cooperation, and determin- ing social status. Kinship terms are described and analyzed. Hospitality is highly valued. The social unity Of the village is represented by many examples. In symbolic behavior, some characteristics of their language, the Arabic language, are presented. Islam is 71 the religion of this village. The differences between the two Islamic sects, the Shie'ah and the Sunni, are defined because of their continuous existence in the new land. Different types Of magic are found in the village. The villagers are fond of Arabic music, dances, songs and poems. In respect to the life cycle, the desire for male children is emphasized in many aspects of their behavior. Clear cut lines are found between the two sexes, especially the youth. Boys have more freedom than girls who are con- tinually under their mother's strict supervision. Youth love each other from afar. In the crisis of death, as well as in other crises, the village acts as a social unit and cOOperation is Offered and expected by every villager. This descriptive account indicates the importance of kinship, religion, and devotion to the land in the village. Religion is regarded in this study as the cultural focus. CHAPTER III GENERAL DESCRIPTION This section aims to identify the community in ques- tion, and to define briefly its general aspects. These aspects are presented in the following: A Gh t - L e t There are about 4,000 American Arab-Moslem people in Dearborn, Michigan. They are American because most of them have their American citizenship. At the same time they are Arab-Moslems because their religion is Islam and they are Arabs either by birth or origin. About 2,500 of those people live very close together at the south end Of Dearborn. They constitute more than half Of the population of the area. Many Americans live within the area but there is some social distance between the Americans and the Arab-Mbslems. Those Arab-Moslems have sought this type of isolation. It has not been imposed upon. them. Metropolitan Detroit turns out, upon examination, to be a mosaic of segregated peoples, differing in race, in culture or merely in cult; each seeking to preserve its peculiar cultural forms and maintain its individual and unique conception of life (Meyer, 1951:27-73). These Arab-Moslems live in a contiguous area, that is the south end of Dearborn, Dearborn and Detroit. In addi- tion they have many common interests such as the Middle East 73 culture area as their cultural origin, Islam as their reli- gion and the strong desire to preserve their religion. According to many of the definitions of the community, those people constitute a community. The following recent definition of "a community” is presented as an example: ”A community cOnsists of the people living in a contiguous area and having a common interest or interests as a conse- quence of living in the area" (Hoffer, l963:7). The existence of some indications of cultural segrega- tion between the community and its surroundings led the writer to define the type of this community as a ghetto- 1ike community (Wirth, 1962:viii). Within the community there are several groupings based on the original Arab nation of each grouping. These are Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni, and Iraqi groupings. The Leban- ese group is the largest, including about 75% of the come munity. The Iraqi group is the smallest. In addition, there are two or three families from Egypt. There is a Turkish group living very closely to the Arab-Moslem'coms mmnity at the south end Of Dearborn. The Turkish group is not included as a part of the community in question because they do not speak Arabic and they constitute a separate ethnic group. g////M08t of the Lebanese group, as well as the other groups of the community, came from Arab-Moslem villages. Two South- ern Lebanese mountain villages, called ”Tebnien” and "£222? 9418;,” have provided the community with‘more than 50%Iof its members. In spite of the existence of these groupings, all IIIIIIIIIIII 4. 7L» the members of the community identify themselves as Syrians. In addition, the community is known in the Detroit area as the "Syrian community." This may be explained by the fact that the majority of the community who are Lebanese (by ori- gin) came from Southern Lebanon which was in the past a part of Syria. One should bear in mind that the pioneers of the community came to the U.S.A. during the period from 1900 to 1920, and that the southern part Of Lebanon was separated from Syria in 1924 (Longrigg, 1958:130). It is significant to indicate the criteria used in ident- ifying the members of the community. These are: 1. TO be Arab-Moslem, by birth or origin. 2. To live at the Southern end of Dearborn, or the contiguous areas Of metropolitan Detroit. 3. To participate in one or more of the common inter- ests of these Arab-Meslems as a group. This participation is identified by one or more of the following activities. a. TO be a member of the religious and social as- sociations of the Arab-Moslems. b. To attend parties, funerals, group prayers, and weddings conducted by the Arab-Moslems. c. To contribute to projects and services arranged by the Arab-Moslems. d. To attend Arab coffee-houses. e. TO identify oneself with these Arab-Moslems. Depending on these criteria, the writer found out that the number of the community members, including men, women, and Children, is around 4,000 persons. About 2,500 members live 75 at the southern end Of Dearborn, the area of concentration Of the members. About 1,500 of the members live in Deer- born, Highland Park, and metropolitan Detroit. The less in- tensive concentration of these members is found at Highland Park where the Arab-Moslems had concentrated when they origin- ally came to metropolitan Detroit for the first time. It is noticed that many of the members, even the lead- ers of the community, live outside the southern end of Dear- born. This may be explained by many factors, such as: 1. Some members did not move from Highland Park to Dearborn, as they preferred to stay at Highland Park. 2. Others became wealthy and they moved from the south- ern end of Dearborn because Of the unhealthy conditions there. 3. In order to become better acquainted with the Amer- icans, some felt the need to move. 4. Some Of these members, especially the second and third generations did not find a convenient apartment or house in the area of concentration. It is a significant point to note that the majority of the members who live in the concentration area are Of the first generation, while most of the members who live outside this area are of the second and third generations. It should not be overlooked that almost all the members who live outside the area of concentration, own cars and they can reach the area in a short period Of time. 76 stor ca Back und The founders of the community migrated to U.S.A. in the beginning of the twentieth century. They came to the U.S.A. about 25 years later than the Arab-Christian immigrants. The difference of faith was one of the basic factors of delaying the Arab-Moslem migration. The Arab-Moslem migration to the U.S.A. as well as many other migrations, has been a result of a combination Of ”push” and ”pull” factors. These factors are presented in the following:8 Push Eggigyg These factors have been originated and developed in Lebanon. They have forced or encouraged the Moslem-Lebanese to leave their native country and to migrate to foreign countries. Some of these factors are discussed below:' 1. Pressure from increased pOpulation in a mountainous land, such as Lebanon, whose soil was less fertile than its women, found a safety valve in migration into foreign lands. The growing child costs less to be brought up than he or she could produce. NO taxation, school fees, medical expenses, etc., were involved. In addition, their great desire for children and the positive value Of big families, encouraged the people to go on multiplying and increasing, and concomitantly, dividing and subdividing the land without concern for the point to which the process was leading them. The village population went on increasing until the land population balance was stuck. The soil could no longer feed the rising generations. 77 Old methods of agriculture could not rehabilitate the soil to the desired extent. Therefore migration seemed to be the only solution (Tannous l9h0:63). 2. Lebanese peOple were known to have an unusual recuperative power and a dynamic vitality. These qualities ‘reasserted themselves in the form of migration (Hitti 1957:473)-- The previous two factors explain, in general, the migration movement of Lebanese people. In fact, the factors are more related to the Christians than the Moslems. In 1853 some Christian Lebanese migrated to Egypt to work at the Suez Canal Company. In the late seventies few Christian Lebanese migrated to America. These Christians came in large numbers to the U. S. A. in the period between 1875 and 1920. The Moslem-Lebanese began to migrate to the U. S. A. in the beginning Of the twentieth century, be- tween 1900 and l9lh. The population of the mountain (in ILebanon) is said to have been diminished by One-fourth or 100,000 through immigration to the four quarters of the habitable globe. Today hardly a village or a town of the .1,600 in Lebanon does not exhibit a red-tile roofed house Tmuilt from money provided by immigrants from abroad. The Eastimated number of the Arab immigrants with their des- c>endants in the U.S. is a quarter of a million. Most of tflnese are Christians, as not many Moslems sought relief through immigration. Of the 30,000 Arab-Moslems in the u 78 United States most are Lebanese (Hitti 1957:1t73-475). 3. Lebanon suffered most, especially during World War I, under Turkish rule. In fact, it is doubtful whether any other Turkish province suffered as much (Hitti l957:#84—#85). This depression related to Turkish colonization and war times, was the most important ”push” factor, which forced the Lebanese Moslems to migrate, especially to America, where there was no Islam. a. Although most of the old first generation peOple stressed the previous factor as the basic reason for their migration to the U.S.A. some of them added that they migrated, basically, to escape from military service under the Turkish rule. An old man said: ”When a young man was taken, usually by force, to military service under Turkish rule, his parents and relatives cried over him. He was regarded as dead. This military service was unlimited in period, and full of cruelty. The people who were forced to be in service didn't show up again". 5. When America was discovered, an outlet was pro- vided, and many frustrated individuals took up the newly offered choice. Political and religious discriminations Imight play an important role in originating such frustra- tion. It should not be overlooked that the Shi‘ahs who are religious minorities in Syria and Lebanon (in compari- nson to the Sunnis), migrated in larger numbers than the E5'unnis. 6. In Lebanon, between 1890-1939, cash was becoming IIlore and more significant in value as a new form of pres- 79 tige and as means for the satisfaction of newly arising needs. PeOple became conscious of it and began to search for ways of Obtaining it (Tannous 19h0:65). Pull Factors. These have been originated and developed in the new land, America. These factors have persuaded the Arab- Moslems to leave their original country and to migrate to the United States. Some of these factors are presented in the following: 1. Stories about that wonderful new country, where gold could be had for the asking, were sent and told by the Christian immigrants to the Moslem village-fellows. These stories stirred the imagination of a few adventur- ous souls. They sailed away, they sent gold back and they returned home with gold. Consequently, numbers of the Moslem immigrants increased. 2. The establishment of the Ford Highland Park Plant arm.the universal announcement of the "five-dollar” day, Inere an important factor in increasing the number of Arab- Dfioslem immigrants. The "five-dollar" day was put into Gaffect at this plant on January 12, l9lh. The announce- ment declared that any worker at the plant would be paid fifive dollars per day, regardless of his color, religion, 01‘ original nationality. Although few Arab-Moslems came tC> the United States before l9lh, the announcement was a baSic factor of increasing their number. In addition, 80 the non-discrimination policy, applied by Ford, played an important role in attracting the Arab-Moslems. Pioneers. The few Arab-Moslems (about 10) who came to the United States before 1914, were living in Michigan City, Indiana, and working at a plant called "Huskel Railroad Companyf. In 191b, most of these pioneers and many other newcomers came to Detroit to work at the Ford Highland Park Plant and their number increased. Migration began to be influenced by kinship, relations and by village solidarity. Therefore most of the newcomers were either kin of the pioneers or from the same village. Most of these newcomers came to make money and to return to the Old land afterwards. They did not intend to live permanently in the United States. An Old man estimated that about 50 percent of the pioneers, who came in the period between 1900 - 1917, returned to the Old land after saving some money. Most of those pioneers worked at the previous Ford plant and they constituted a small ghetto-like community at Highland Park. In 1916, the Ford Rouge Plant at the south end Of Dearborn began to need workers of any type. Many of the Highland Park pioneers moved to the South end of Dearborn to work in that new factory. They sent letters to their relatives, friends, village-fellows, persuading them to migrate to Dearborn, where they could work and save money. There were two 81 big flows Of Arab-Moslem immigrants. The first came in the period between 1918 and 1922, to work in the Rouge Plant and they, in addition to the original pioneers, constituted the nucleus of the actual Dearborn ArabgMoslem community. This flow included the families and the rela- tives of the pioneers. The second flow of immigrants came to the community between 1930 and 19 . This may be ex- plained by the fact that many of e pioneers who had children that had reached the go of marriage, accompanied or sent them to the Old-land tquét ,rried and to return atio s iglof the Dearborn hasiz en strengthened since the second flow. (:7 f/x,, with their Spouses. The re 1/ community and the homeglan, g If” f f§pétial Descr tion The community is located at the South end of Dearborn city, Wayne County, Michigan.. Although there are no clear out boundaries, the cone ntr ion Of the majority of the community members is aroun the Islamic Mosque, which can 'be regarded as the center of the community. This concen- tration is bordered on the North by Eagle Street, and on the West by Industrial Road. As a matter of convenience, this area of concentration will be called the community. The community is very close to the Ford Rouge Plant and the whole area is considered a mixed area, both housing and industrial. Continuous flows of colorful smokes coming from the plant, characterizes the area with a bad u 82 smell, and the buildings by a smokey color. In spite of these unhealthy conditions, the area will continue as a mixed area," said the Dearborn Housing Department Manager. During a meeting with the writer, he said that the Housing Department conducted a survey in 1962 to know the possi- bility of any potential urban renewal in the south end of Dearborn. The Italian ethnic group, who inhabited the northern part of the area reported that they wanted to move out. The Arab-Moslems, who inhabited the southern part refused to move out, in spite of the previously men- tioned unhealthy conditions. The area, therefore, will continue to be a mixed area because, as he said, the Hous- ing Department philosophy is to move out the people who agree on the relocation. Ford Managers are aware Of the problem, and there is at project to install an apparatus to eliminate the unhealthy Eispects of the smoke. The refusal of the Arab-Moslems to Enove out may be due to the fact that many of them work at the plant. In addition, many of them prefer to continue living contiguously. With respect to the degree of concentration of the <30mmunity members within this area, it is noticed that the . Inost intensive concentration is on Saline Street. About 80 percent Of the houses on this street are Occupied by Arab-Moslems. Very few Arab-Moslems live on Eagle Street, Where they occupy only about 10 percent Of the houses. 83 None of the Arab-Moslems live on West Fort Street or on Industrial Road. These streets were mentioned before only as rough limits Of the area of concentration. On the other streets the percentages of the houses occupied by Arab-Mos- lems range from 70 percent to 30 percent. Most of the Arab-Moslems own their houses in this area. This point is clearly represented in the sample. The foll- owing table shows that 73 percent of the people of the sample own, at least, the house where they live. TABLE 1 —- House Ownershipof the Interviewees House Group A Group B Groups A&B Ownership NO. _% No. % No. Owners 35 7O 16 80 51 73 N on-Owners _i5 __3_g ____l_+_ ___2_O_ ___l_3 31 Totals 50 100 20 100 70 100 ~ iSiggificant Places Within The Community. (Map l). Dix Street. It is the community "down town" or ”business district". lklmost all the stores, coffee-houses, restaurants and bars tare located on this street. The street cuts the community eat the middle. It plays an important role in the community social life. They call it e1 sooa, or §gg§ Dix, the Arabic ‘word sggg means market or shopping center. In addition to ShOpping, Old men of the community always take walks on Dix, whenever weather is suitable. "You can find him S Ea e §_;__,,_.i :4 FM I) +> _ , U) omar S c mpeef‘flsggfrafl q . ",4 M at. ,1 § is _i381314»’f”“ a: i 4 ...- m . ) ~ "fit/’11, TB. 2 Vi" Bur}?¥-§§3.s "were“ "" 1" fl ‘ .~ . I 2 is O _ V ‘M I I‘ .3 Whittin ton St I as , Wag/f A; r——————.”H‘J ’1' Map l Fredrick Syyv gfi' Arab-Moslem Area 1 ,f/XPQ of Concentration. re 3).,” 49,19 South End of Dear- ' a} born / W. Fort Ave. Some Significant Places 1 - Islamic Mosque 7. Arabic Coffee-houses 2. Hashimite Club 8. Nasser Coffee-house . The Arabic butcher shop 9. Patten Park 4. Food stores 10. Swimming pool 5. American library 11. Arabic restaurants 6. Salina Elementary School 12. Hotels 85 'smelling air' on Dix", was the answer repeated to the writer several times when he looked for somebody. During Spring, Summer and Fall, the youth gather in small circles, chattering and joking, on Dix. These youth ‘crowds become intensive on Sundays. Most of the casual quarrels take place on Dix. Once an old lady talked to me about her son, who was suffering a neurosis, she said: "Oh, my son, he was the strongest young man on Dix! No one can bother you when he stands by you!" The fact that the Hashimite Club, where many weddings and funerals are conducted, is located on this street has incresed its importance. The children enjoy taking walks on Dix, where they may notice some event, which may be worthy of repeating to their parents. In fact, these child- ren are very good informants. In turn, the parents circu- late and exaggerate this news as subjects of gossip. The Iglamic Mosggg. It is located on Vernor Highway, a central location in the community. It was built by a Sunni religious associa- tion called Manaret el-Hoda. The association, founded in 1936, built the basement of the Mosque in 1938. In 1952, they built the first flat which constitutes the rest of the Mosque. It is significant to indicate that in the same year, 1952, the name of the association was changed to "The American Islamic Association". The Mosque cost about $75,000. All the money was contributions, paid by the 86 community members. The Mosque is a holy place for prayer and a secular place for educational and social gatherings. The HashimitelClub. It is located on Dix, in a spot very close to the Is- lamic mosque. The building was a bank, and it was bought and remodeled in 1936, by a Shi'ah association called the Hashimite Renaissance Society. The club, as well as the Islamic mosque, has a combination of religious, educational. and social functions. Food Stores. There are five food stores, two are owned by Arab- Christians, two by Arab-Moslems and the last one by an American of Italian origin. Although the community members buy some of their food from the first three stores, they buy most of their food from the Eastern Market2 in Detroit. Coffeegfiguses and Restagrant§g In the Summer of 1963, there were 5 coffee houses. Two are run by Arab-Moslems, the other three by Americans of Italian origin. It is significant to indicate that there is an Italian community located very close to the Arab- Hoslem community. Almost all the attendants of the Arab Coffee-Houses are members of the community. They go there lThe term "Hashimite" refers to Prophet Mohammad's family, and it implies the significance of the Prophet's family according to the Shi'ah sect. 2It is held on Saturdays and Tuesdays on Vernor High- way in Detroit. Many of the Middle Eastern foods are sold there. It is a big market, arranged by Arab-Christians. 87 to chatter, to drink Arabic-coffee, to play cards and back— gammon, and to discuss politics. There are four restaurants, two of them are run by Arab-Moslems, one by a Turkish,anu3 the last by an Italian person. In those owned by Arab-Mos— lems, many Lebanese dishes are served Salina Schools. It is an elementary American school, located on Selina Street. All the children of the community attend this school. Hotels. The area is full of hotels, most of them are without a considerable number of occupants. The competition among these hotels has played an important role in reducing the rent. The writer rented a clean single room for $1 per night. The existence of many hotels (about 10, and some of them are big hotels) may be due to the fact that 20 years ago the number of the Rouge Plant workers was about 100,000 and this area was very crowded. The number has been reduced to 40,000. This may also explain the contin- uous existence of vacancies in these hotels. Dearborn Library. It is a small American library, located on Salina Street, behind the Hashimite Club. Many of the Arab-Moslem youngsters go there to enjoy American books. Very few of the adult members of the community, who know English, go there to read American newspapers. While the writer was living there, in the Summer of 1963, there was a dentist 88 provided by the Mayor of Dearborn, to serve children of the ‘area. There was no charge and the location of these ser- vices was in the library. mag... The area is characterized by a relatively large number of bars, eight in all. However, very few of the community members frequent these bars. Most of the attendants are persons living outside the area. One of these bars is owned by an Arab-Moslem. - Recreation Areas. The community is characterized by many recreation areas. There are five playgrounds in the community where youngsters play American games such as football and baseball. There is a public swimming pool for children and adults. In addition, there is a large park, called Patten Park, 10- ‘ cated in the community area. In the park, many Arab-Moslems take their dinners (Sheesh Kabab is a preferable item) on Spring and Summer Sundays. Communication Language. Most of the community members are bilingual, they under- stand and speak Arabic and English. They, however, differ greatly in the degree of this bilinguality. Some of them understand and speak more English than Arabic. Others the reverse. Very few members of the community do not know English and these are largely old housewives of the first 89 generation. Instead of using the generation differentiation in dis- cussing the linguistic aspects of the community, Groups A and B differentiation, which is more appropriate than the first, is applied to this section. Group A members are proud of retaining their original language and they try to teach their children Arabic. While most of Group S members understand Arabic, few of them can master speaking it. They speak English almost all the time, but they usually use Arabic words within the English sentences. It is noticed that, in general, the place of childhood and adolescence of the member, whether it is America or an Arab country, de- termines which language he masters more adequately. This point is clearly presented in Tables 2 - 6. In addition, these tables indicate some other linguistic aspects. TABLE 2.-- Languages Used in the Field Interview Languages No. Group A I;=%' No. GEBEBIB Z Arabic an 88 -- _- English -- -- 16 80 Arabic & English ___6_ A; J 20 Totals 50 100 20 100 90 In the preceding table, while 88 percent of the members who spent their childhood in Lebanon preferred to be inter- viewed in Arabic, 80 percent of the members who spent their childhood in the U.S.A. selected English. While none of Group A selected English, none of Group B selected Arabic. TABLE43.-- Languages Preferred with Wives Group A Group B Lgnggages No. l% No. Arabic 37 74 l 5 English ' 6 12 13 65 Arabic & English 2 14 6 :0 Totals 50 100 20 100 In the above table, the persons from Group A, who speak English or English and Arabic with their wives, are ‘ those who married either Americans or Americanrborn Arabs. Some of Group B (35 percent) speak with their wives either Arabic or Arabic and English; these persons married Arab- born wives. Table 4, on the following page, shows that very few persons speak Arabic and English during work. These are the persons who work in the Arab-Moslem community, such as running stores, restaurants and coffee-houses. It is sig- nificant to note that the majority speak English during work. 91 TABLE U.-- Languages Preferred with Fellow Workers Group A Group B Languages No . 1 No . f Arabic -- _- -- . -- English #2 8h 19 95 Arabic & ‘ English 5 12 l 5 Persons have not worked yet in USA 2 h -- -- Totals 50 100 20 100 TABL§g5.-- Languages Preferred with Friends Group A Group B Languages No. _%E No. Arabic 26 52 -- -- English -- -- 10 50 Arabic & English 24 48 10 50 Totals 50 100 20 100 The above table refers to the influence of the language of the original culture. In Group A, while 8% percent of them (Table h) have to speak English with their fellows during work, none of them use only English in speaking with their friends. The table also shows that the person of Group B who has to speak Arabic during work (because work 92 is under the supervision of persons of Group A, Table h), he stops speaking Arabic with his friends. The table shows that #8 percent of Group A and 50 percent of Group 3, speak Arabic and English with their friends. This may refer to the existence of friendship ties between the two groups. 9 TABLE 6,-- Langgages Preferred with Children Group A Group B Languages No. %’ No. (3 Arabic 13 25 —- -- English 6 12 16 80 Arabic & English 27 5h 1 5 Not applic- able (no . _ children) 4 8 3 15 Totals 50 100 20 100 The above table indicates some significant points, these are: 1. While 25 percent of Group A use only Arabic with their children, none of Group B use it. This shows that the continuity of Arabic in the community is not due to the efforts of the new generations. Therefore, the writer sees that this continuity is due to the continuous flow of immigrants who come to marry American-born Arabs, and stay permanently in the community. 93 2. At the same time, 10 percent of Group A use only English with their children. This is probably due to the fact that their spouses are Americans. In mixed families, where one of the parents is Arab-Moslem of Group A, some problems between the parents may develOp. Some of these problems are related to the fact that the American parent refuses to allow the Arab-Moslem parent to teach the child- ren Arabic. There are many stories circulated in the comm- unity related to these problems. One of them tells that a mixed marriage was broken because the American wife was nervous when her husband spoke in Arabic during their social visits with Arab friends. 3. While 80 percent of Group B, speak only English with their children, only 12 percent of Group A do so. This linguistic difference may partially explain the social conflict between the first generation members who are brought up in the old land, and their children who are brought up in the United States. The existence of such a linguistic barrier may reduce the communication opportuni- ties between these parents and their children. Consequent- ILy, avoidance and social conflict may be developed between them. A general look at the previous tables show the follow- ing conclusions . The degree of bilinguality of each person is not always 13he same on all occasions. For example, while 84 percent 94 of Group A speak only English during work, 52 percent of the same group speak only Arabic with their friends. The language of the place of childhood is preferred only when the person has the right of choice. In addition to the previous aspects, there are other linguistic aspects in the community. Some of these are presented below: 1. While most of Group B members understand Arabic, many of them cannot answer in Arabic. 2. Most of Group A members use Arabic words within English sentences, such as; a. Are you going to the hafla (party)? b. I like to eat kgbbg, hgmgg, mahshi, etc. 0. Few people go to the old gamgg (mosque). 3. Many of Group B apply English grammar to some ,Arabic words used in English sentences, such as; We have two haflas this week. They apply the English grammatical rule of plural by adding the English suffix s. The Arabic plural of the word is haflat. According to the previous 1186, they say imgmg, instead of the Arabic plural ggmgh, Sheiks instead of shiouk, and so on. b. On certain occasions some of the previous group have to speak complete Arabic sentences such as when they Speak with their Arab-Moslem relatives who just arrive in 'tlue United States and do not know English. In these com- Efilete Arabic sentences, they apply English grammatical 95 rules. For example, they say; Mohammad zahaba ela al Kahwa, Mohammad went to the Coffee-house. In this sentence, the subject comes before the verb, which is a correct English syntax rule, but it is wrong according to the Arabic syn- tax rule. In Arabic, the verb should come before the sub- Ject. Therefore, the previous Arabic sentence should be, zahaba Mohammad ela a1 Kahwa. 5. Many of Group B began to replace the Arabic phonems with phonetically similar English phonems, such as; Instead of}? they use (h). Instead of q they use (k). Instead of they use (2). 'N Instead of they use (t). 'd' Instead of they use (d). '94 Instead of s they use (s). 6. On the other hand, almost all Group A use English words in the Arabic sentences, such as, (darrafa) Ali el gaggg, which means Ali dgggg the car; (faxana) Mohamed el radio, which means Mohamed fixed the radio; (kaished) Siamila el sheek, which means Gamila cashed the check. 7. These Group A members, in addition, apply Arabic egrammatical rules on the English words used in Arabic sen- 13ences. The present tense of "to drive” is illustrated by 13he word yo darifo. “They add the prefix yg which charac- tSerizes regular Arabic verbs in present tense. The past tzense of the verb "to drive" is darrafa, which goes along VVith the Arabic grammatical rules. The future tense of 96 "to drive", is not shall or will drive, but it is sayodarrefo. They put a second prefix ga which character- izes the Arabic verbs in future tense. According to the linguistic rules of English and Arabic, we can say that the community members speak in three different ways: 1. Correct Arabic language. 2. Correct English language. 3. A combination of Arabic and English which is neither correct Arabic nor correct English. c/, In the community, there are two types of factors re- lated to the linguistic aspects. The first type includes the factors which play an important role in the dominance of English. The second type include the factors which con- tribute to the continuous existence of Arabic. Some of the first type factors are presented in the following; 1. American schools. 2. Working with American people. 3. Television (almost every family owns at least one television set.) a. Mixed marriage. 5. Moving out the area of concentration at the south end of Dearborn. - 6. Spending the childhood period in America. 7. American newspapers. 8. The American library of the community. 97 The second type factors include the following: 1. The existance of Islam. Islamic prayers should be recited in Arabic, whatsoever the native language of the Moslem. 2. The continuous migration of Arab-Moslems to the community. 3. The existence of the community as a ghetto-like community. 4. The Arabic neWSpapers. 5. The continuous attempts to establish Arabic schools. 6. The existence of short-wave radios which receive Arabic broadcasts of the Arab countries. 7. The Arabic broadcast of an American radio station in Detroit for one hour every Saturday evening. 8. Marrying spouses from the old land. 9. The recent Arab-Nationalistic movement in the Arab countries attracts the attention of young generations, who try to know Arabic to follow the Arab countries broad- casts. According to the writer, the most important factors zare those listed 2, 3 and 8. 'These three factors explain iuhy the majority of the community members still prefer to :Speak Arabic, although the community is more than 40 Erears old. And last, it is significant to indicate that language lias played an important role in establishing the community :1tself. Most of the newcomers do not know English. This 98 linguistic barrier has forced them, at least for a short period of time, to cluster around the pioneers' settlements in Dearborn, and gradually the community has develOped. However, it should not be implied that this is the only factor explaining the development of the community. In addition, there are many other factors such as, kinship relations, economic inadequacy of the newcomers, and the establishment of the Ford Rouge Plant. Newspapers In addition to American newspapers such as The Free Press and The Detroit News, there are several Arabic news- papers circulated among the members. The most important of them are printed and published in Detroit. It is sig- nificant to indicate that there is an Arabic printing company, called A A Printing (17530 Woodward Avenue, Detroit 3, Michigan). The Sunni religious leader owned the company for a while, and then he gave‘it to his first son. Most of the Arabic publications in Detroit are printed by this company. The Arabic newspapers play an important role in communicating the Middle East political, economical and social news to the community members. These newspapers are Ipresented in the following. 1. Al Resale, meaning "The Message”, is a weekly Jirabic neWSpaper, edited and published by the religious ESunni leader, Sheikh Hussien Karoub. Its subscription rate 11s $10.00 per year all over the world. Its motto is: "a {general patriotic, informative, and scientific weekly newspaper". It has been published for sixteen years. The first page always deals with the political news of the Arab nations. Second and third pages cover some patriotic arti- cles emphasizing the strong relation between the immigrants and the Arab nations, the death news, the names of generous people who contribute to the newSpaper, and usually a column for ”The Personality of the Week". The writer had the honor of being one of these personalities. This column refers to the famous Arab peOple who visit Detroit, the generous contributors for the community, or the persons who have just had children or have just earned their college diplomas. The last page, the fourth, includes a column called Menber Al-Aklam, which means ”pablit of pencils", and it is usually written by readers and represents a point of view and a series of debates pro and against this point of view. There are three or four advertisements in every issue, these are usually related either to Arab music and/or dinner parties, to travel agencies, or to McFarland Funeral Home, emphasizing his observance of Islamic rituals of death. This newSpaper favors Islamic subjects and ,Arab—Moslem affairs. 2. Nahdat Al-Arab, meaning "The Arab PrOgress", is a semi-weekly Arabic newspaper, published by Mr. Said D. Fayad, sand printed by the A. A. Printing Company. Its subscrip- ‘tion rate is $20.00 per year. It has been published for 317 years. Its motto is: "We don't believe except in truth, 100 We don't desire except justice, we don't like except Arabism". It includes four pages, the first page deals with the news of Arab countries. In the other three pages, there are many articles about the political and social life of the Arabs in Detroit. This newspaper differs from the first in several points: a. ‘It takes care of the news of all the Arabs in Detroit, the Moslems and the Christians. While the first one is basically concerned with the Arab-Moslems. b. The fact that the owner of this newspaper is Moslem-Durzil, attributes to the special interest of the newspaper in the Durzi affairs and news. 3. Al-Alam Al-Jadid, meaning "The New World", is a weekly Arabic newspaper, published by Mr. Wasuf Antone, a Christian lawyer. It is printed in Detroit. A subscrip- tion is $12.00 per year. Its motto is: "Its aim is to serve the great Arab Nation and the Arab immigrants". It has published for one year. It is similar to the previous one in the general organization of information. However, it has some special characteristics, such as: a. It is interested in Christian subjects. b. In the last page, there is a column called, IBrief Statements. This deals with famous sayings of great Iphilos0phers, politicians and prophets. E 1An Islamic sect concentrated in Southern Lebanon. 101 c. It shows special concern for the political news of the United States and the world. d. I It has a special section for world sports news. It is significant to mention that all these newSpapers are sent by mail to the people who pay the subscription. They are not available to the public the same as the American newspapers. Concerning the rate of distributing newspapers in the community, the American newspapers get the highest rate. Nahdat-el-Arab gets the highest distribution rate among the Arabic newspapers. Although many of the first generation members do not read English, they buy American newspapers for their children. The low distribution of Arabic newspapers is due to many factors, such as; 1. They always publish past news, because they depend on other newspapers. 2. The existence of short-wave radio provides the community with fresh news about Arab countries. 3. Many of the old first generation people and their children do not read Arabic. Telephone. This means of communication plays an important role in receiving and/or giving information among the community :members. Almost every family in the community has a tele- ;phone. Women talk to each other and circulate the community gossip by phone. Television. Almost every family in the community has a television. 102 It plays a crucial role in communicating the American cul- ture to this community. ma 1]. o This refers, especially, to the letters sent to and from the community members and their relatives to the old country. These letters contain news concerning their rela- tives, prOperties and problems. The knowledge of writing Arabic gives the person some type of prestige in the commun- ity. The illiterate members welcome this person at their homes to write letters for them. This reminds the writer ‘ of the hours he spent in writing Arabic letters for some Inembers. Arab Coffee-Eggses . They may be regarded as the best place to collect the Ilatest information about any person or subject related to fflie community. In addition, they are centers of circula- tiaig news. Notes of death or wedding news are hung on the Ifalls of these coffee-houses. Political debates always tsflte place there. As the majority of the attendants of these coffee-houses are first generation. members, the Prevailing language of communication is usually Arabic. H(Dwever, on Sundays, in the evening, many of the Group B Ineunbers attend the coffee-houses to play cards and there- fOre, the preferable language becomes English. Economic and Occupational Aspects ‘ Some questions of the interview refer to the economic .w‘h‘. _.u 103 and occupational characteristics of the community. Bearing in mind that the sample covers more than 40 percent of the family heads who are Lebanese by origin or birth, and that these Lebanese constitute about 75 percent of the community, it is regarded that the following table represents, to a certain degree, some general aspects of the community. It is significant to indicate that while Elkholy (1960:59) found that 71 percent of his sample own their homes, this study gives a very close figure, that is 73 percent, although the sampling techniques of the two studies are different. This percentage is eduivalent to that of the American middle class. Almost every family has at least one of the following: vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, washing Imachine, television, telephone and radio. In Elkholy's sammle, 80 percent have private cars. The following table presents a distribution of family iaicomes per year. ¥ TABLE Z.-— Family Income’in 1963 GroupgA iggoup B Groups A & B Income in 196; flat. )5 No. I“: No. 4% 530 - $31,999 1 2 -- " " 1'5 $32,000 — $3,999 21 42 -- -- 21 30. 53143000 .. $57,999 23 1L6 10 20 33 1+7. 358.000 - $11,999 5 10 9 as up 20. $12,000 - £515,999 z; .2 ..i '__5 ...l. ___1_._§ Totals 50 100 20 100 70 100.0 \ 104 Looking at the preceding table, in general, it is found that h7% of the families earn $4,000-$7,999 per year. The average family income is $5,657, this is close to $5,706, which is the average given by Elkholy (1960:58) in his study of the same community. These two figures are close to the average family income for all of the United States which goes around to $5,966 (Economic Almanac 1958:350). y‘ The previous figures indicate that the average family income of the community is very close to the general average family income in the United States. In addition to the family income, the percentage of home owners of the commun- ity indicates that the economic status of the community may 'be equivalent to the economic status of the American lower- Iniddle class. According to the previous table, while the average fEUnily income of Group A is $4,6U0 per year, Group B feunilies earn 38,200 per year. Therefore, the general cOnclusion is that the members of the community who spent their childhood and adolescence in the United States earn Ifluxzh more money than the members who spent the same period 1):I the Arab countries. With respect to the sources of the family incomes, tkbe sample represents some relevant data. It is noticed tkuat 63 percent of the whole sample depends on their Jobs for a living, 31 percent depends on Social Security, Just one family lives on welfare and two families live on the contributions of their relatives because the family heads are unemployed. Some wives work to increase the family in- It is sig- come, these are lb percent of the whole sample. nificant to note that while 30 percent of Group B have work— ing wives, only 8% of Group A have working wives. While all Group 3 members depend on their jobs for a living, #8 per- cent of Group A depend on their jobs, and the rest, 52 per- cent, are either retired or unemployed. It is noticed that 23 percent of the sample run some kind of business in addi- tion to their jobs or to Social Security pensions. Most of this business involves renting a flat or one room or _more of their homes. Occupations. The following table represents the occupations of the 70 family heads of the sample TABLE 8.-- Occupations of the Interviewees __g Group A Group B Grou s A & B Sagcupations No. 5_%7' No. in No. % Laborer at Ford 12 2L» 5 25 17 214' .Léiborer -other Factories L'« l 5 3 1‘ Salesmen -Clerks 1+ 8 l 5 5 7 Business -(Stores 01‘ Offices) 5 10 8 1&0 13 19 Professional 1 2 5 25 6 9 Not applicable .. REitired or Unemp.)g_§ 52 _: -- _2_§_ 32 TPotals 50 100 20 100 70 100 X 106 The table on the preceding page shows that the pre- vailing occupation is "laborer" at the Ford Rouge Plant, #5 percent of the working persons of the sample work as line laborers at Ford. This finding is consistent with Elkholy's findings (1960:23). It should not be overlooked that most of the retired pe0p1e, who constitute 34 percent of the whole sample, worked at the Ford Plant. It is sig- nificant to note that, while 2 percent of Group A are professionals, 25 percent of Group B are professionals. The table also shows that very few laborers work outside the Ford Rouge Plant. In general, the writer concludes that Group B peOple occupy more advanced occupations than those of the members . from Group A. This is consistent with the previous con- clusion that Group B earns more money than Group A. Concerning the occupations of the working wives who are represented by in percent of the wives of the members of the sample, some of them help their husbands in his business (such as food stores) and the rest work as cashier, waitress, cook or secretary. It is noticed that none of the Group B wives work either as waitress or as cook. The fact that just two persons of the sample are unemployed reflect that unemployment is not a serious prob- lem in the community. The kinship relations play a crucial role in finding jobs for the newcomers. In addition, one of the two unemployed persons found a job in the Fall, 1963. The second person is not serious in finding a Job, and his 107 many sons, who have good jobs, support him. The above findings and discussions indicate that the community families enjoy economic security. This has been an important "pull factor" to persuade the relatives who live in the Arab countries to migrate to the United States. The high percentage of home ownership (73%) indicates that the members could save a large part of their incomes. The writer notices that the members enjoy their life, by pre- paring expensive delicious Lebanese food, by contributing generously to their projects and by their overwhelming generosity with guests and visitors. With respect to the Islamic point of view related to acquiring wealth, it is significant to note that Islam emphasizes building a better charitable life, as a means both to itself and the ultimate happiness in the hereafter. Islam encourages its followers to fully participate in life and to acquire wealth through legal and moral means (Koran, Surah LXXIlelz). Kinggip and Kin Ggoups Kinship Belatiggg. These have played a crucial role in the community existence. The pioneer immigrants sent for their relatives to come to this new land. The economic cooperation among kinsmen has persuaded many of the Lebanese peOple to migrate to the community. 'It is significant to note that there are few members who have no relatives in the community. These 108 few suffered much in finding jobs and some of them are forced to return to the old country. The importance of these relationships is emphasized by the fact that the whole community may be divided into five patrilineages, the largest one in number is Berry patrilineage, its members number about #00 persons. In addition to the patrilineage, there are two other kin groups, the nuclear family and the ex- tended family. The polygynous family is not existent in the community because it is prohibited by law. However, there are a few’ cases where polygyny was conducted. The following case is presented as an example. A member of Group A, who was separated from his American wife, went to the old country and married a Lebanese girl. When he came to the United States he was accused of bigamy. The judge explained to him that the American law prohibits polygyny. The man, who tried in vain to defend himself on the basis that his religion Islam recognizes polygyny, was forced by law to divorce one of his two wives and con- sequently he could keep the Lebanese wife. The kin groups of the community are discussed in the following. Nuclear Family. This is the prevailing kin group in the community and the most important one. The basic four functions of the family - sexual, reproductive, educational and economic - are conducted by this family. 109 In the sample, it is noticed that 82% of the families are nuclear. There is no significant difference between Group A (78%) and Group B (80%) concerning the spread of nuclear families. The majority of the interviewees (67%) reported that they do not like to live with any relatives except their nuclear family members. While 80% of Group B reported the previous answer, 62% of Group A agreed on the answer. This shows that the members who spent their child- hood in the United States have stronger tendencies toward favoring the nuclear family than those who spent their childhood in Lebanon. Concerning the size of the community nuclear family, the sample presents that the average family size is 5.6. It is noticed that Group B have smaller nuclear families, while the average family size of Group A is 5.8, that of Group B is 5.1. In the sample, 10% of the families are childless. Five of these seven childless families (3 from Group B and 2 from Group A) intended not to have children for a while. The other two childless families, all of Group A, have certain physical conditions prohibiting reproduction. They are very unhappy and feel.that God has deprived them of his greatest gift. It is significant to note that almost all the families having children have at least one male child. There is only one family in Group A having only one girl 2 years old, and the two parents h0pe to have a son in the future. 110 In addition, the nuclear family is characterized by theifollowing: ' 1. Neolocal. There is no limited rule of residence. The convenient residence‘of the newly married couple may be in the area of concentration at the South end of Dearborn, in another city in MetrOpolitan Detroit, or in any other place in the United States or Canada. The most important factor is the place of the husband's work. Many members of the community have married children living in Toledo, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California. Somtimes the important factor may be the inheritance of a house or an apartment in a certain place. The significance of the neolocality system is clearly emphasized by the fact that the great majority (80%) of the members of the Dearborn area of concentration are of the first generation. Very few of Group B live in this area. 2. wen-ngggsggggggy.' The wife in this nuclear family insists on her American right of being equal to her husband. Even the wives who were brought up in the old country insist on this advantage. At the same time, the husbands of the first generation are not convinced of this right. Most of the (nuxrrels between the husbands and their wives are related, directly or indirectly, to this claimed equality. Some of the unconvinced husbands beat their wives to ensure their superiority. But the wives who refuse to be beaten some- 111 times call the police, and the husbands are put in jail. Old men of the first generation, who are very upset, always say that America is for women and not for men. The American law gives the wife many privileges, such as the right of divorcing her husband, the right of taking the half of his wealth in case of divorce, and the right of being the only wife. She will never be a second or a third wife. Consequently, all the decisions in the family are made by the wife and the husband. In fact, she has became the boss of the family, because the husband is always busy in making money. This conflict is almost non-existent when both the couples are brought up in the United States. 3. Individualist;g Style of Life. Within the nuclear family every member began to be interested only in his own affairs. The husband of Group A has his own friends who are usually relatives and he spends most of the day in the coffee-house chattering in.Arabic with them. The wife has her own female friends and no one interferes in her housekeeping plans. The children, going to the American schools and speaking English all the time, have their special life and the parents know very little about it. #. Parents-Children Conflict. This is related to the families where the father or the two parents are from Group A and their children, who are usually from Group B. In these families, two different ways of life exist together under the same roof. These 112 parents want their children to obey them without arguments, to conduct Islamic prayers, to recite some sections of Koran, to go to the mosque, to desert American dances and not to date the other sex. 0n the other hand, the children, who are influenced by the American culture through tele- vision and the American schools, do not respect the previous orders of their parents. The children regard themselves as Americans and they refuse to be reared as Arab-Moslems. This conflict is the basis of all the frequent quarrels between the parents and their children. The parents are very sad about this situation and they repeat; ”In America we got money, but we lost our children". When I asked them to explain how they lost their children, some of them gave the following answers; a. ”They don't visit us frequently". b. "They don't give us money, although some of them are very rich". 0. "I don't know anything about three of my married children, they live in Chicago and they do not send me letters”. d. "They do not respect me". e. "My daughter married a Christian.American :although Islam denies this. I will never see her again”. f. "My son lives on the other side of the street ‘Where I live, and he does not talk with me“. The writer noticed that some of these children look . Although these two conditions are observed among all the Moslems in the world, the rituals involved in settling this contract vary greatly from place to place. In the Lebanese village there is a special ceremony for this occasion. The ceremony usually takes place in the after- noon at the bride's family home. The ceremony is exclusive- ly attended and conducted by men - the "superior sex” - because of its great importance. Male relatives of the two families involved gather in the main room around the village Sheik who sits at a small table. The Sheik always belongs to the religious sect of the two parties. He brings with him the contract forms. The ritual begins when the Sheik asks the two families 'to present shohood el;keran, the marriage witnesses. 1A drachma is an ancient money unit worth less than one cent. 202 These should be two adult males of good reputation, and they usually are relatives of the two families. The role of the witnesses is to meet the bride in an adjoining room and to ask her about the person who will be her wakeel, (representative for marriage). The girl usually assigns her father, patrilateral grandfather, brother or patri- lateral uncle as her m. Then the witnesses return to the meeting and declare in a loud voice: "we asked the girl about her representa- tive for marriage, and she answered of her own free will that her representative will be her father". The Sheik gives~a short exhortation about the impor- tance of marriage according to Islam. Then he asks the groom or his tutor and the bride's tutor to put their right hands tOgether and to recite el-fatha. After finishing this recitation he asks every tutor to repeat after him a special statement declaring his consent to the :marriage. The statement includes the exact amount of the two parts of the bride-wealth. They usually exaggerate this amount to increase the prestige of the two families. The signatures or the thumb prints of the tutors and the ‘witnesses are necessary to validate the marriage contract. As soon as they sign, the groom and bride become Imusband and wife, women sing and yodel, and the shobash 203 ritual begins. The ritual consists of collective coopera— tive behavior in which the guests, who include most of the household-heads of the village, contribute money to the bride. These contributions are called nokoot. The pro- cess is usually organized by an old woman who stands on a chair to announce loudly the name of the contributor and the exact amount of money. It is a strictly observed duty that the bride's father or his brothers should repay these contributions with at least the same amount of money in similar occasions. These contributions are for the bride, who depends on them in setting up her house- hold. This ceremony of settling the contract may be followed by the wedding ceremony at night. However, it is also common that the wedding takes place several weeks or Inonths later. Further delay is usually due to financial jproblems or familial disputes. Although the couple become Iwusband and wife by the akd Keran ceremony, they neither live together nor stay alone in the same room until the 'wedding ceremony. If the wedding is not held on the same day, guests eat candies and spend the evening singing sand dancing. The ceremony ends at about 7:00 PM. A quiet Katb Ketab is held in special circumstances EfllCh as the remarriage of the bride and during mourning 204 periods. 4. Wedding. A. Preparation for the Wedding. 1) Families of the bride and groom meet fre- quently to discuss wedding preparations especially elgehas, the bride's troussea . They reach an agreement on the trousseau items which are bought by the bride's father or family. It usually costs more than the advent bride-wealth paid by the groom or his family. 2) Inviting the guests to the wedding is a pleasant task of the parents of the bride and groom and close male relatives. They go from home to home in the village inviting everyone to attend the wedding. 3) Planning the entertainment of the wedding ceremony is another aspect of the preparation. The two families have to arrange an entertainment program, which is tisually performed by the musically talented members of the families or of the guests (Khayat & Keatinge 1956zhh). In subdition to these talents the drum of the gypsies plays an important role in entertainment. Tannous (1940:63) ex- ;plained the status of these gypsies in the village as :follews: "No wedding and no feast is really complete with- cnxt the drum of the gypsies. The gypsies do not live in 205 the (Lebanese) village, nor do they prOperly belong to its organization, yet they have definite status in its life. They live in their tents outside the village, and the people acknowledge their normal status of beggers, thieves, fortune tellers and drum heaters". #) The wedding banquet is an important subject to be planned by the two families. The items of food in- cluded and the volunteers who will cook the food should be arranged. Decision should also be made on the sugar almonds, whether to be simply passed on trays or to be distributed in individual cut glass or carved wood boxes. . 5) The Bride's Bath gitual. During the night before the wedding, the bride's girl friends and relatives come to her home carrying perfumes, soaps and local cos- metics for skin and hair. In addition, hot water is carried indoors in small pans to be used in the ”bride's bath". The bride should be pure and clean in all ways for her wedding. After her bath the bride is dressed in one of her trousseau gowns, and the village hairdresser, elmashta, comes to comb, curl and part her long hair 6) The Groqgls Entertainment Ritual. While the "bride's bath" ceremony is held at the bride's parents home, another ceremony takes place at the groom's 236 parents home. This is the "groom's henna" ritual. Male relatives and friends assemble at the groom's home to en- tertain him. This includes eating, telling jokes, singing and dancing the Egbgg. As the village men celebrate lgggp el aris la'ouna, all for the entertainment of the groom, yodels pierce the night. The groom is usually led to the ‘center of the crowd where he performs a belly dance while his friends clap and sing loudly. The ceremony ends with the henna ritual: the groom's mother daubs the groom's fingernails and toe nails with the henna, and she repeats the rite on the rest of the men. The groom's best friends spend the night with the groom (Khayat & Keatinge 1956: 48 & 49). B. The Wedding. In the early morning of the wedding day, the grooms' male friends, most of whom are relatives, begin the important day with dressing the groom. At the same time, in the bride's home, the girl friends, especially the bride's dearest friend called shabanah, dresses the bride. A white wedding gown.with veil and high decorated wooden clOgs complete her dress. .At noon begins the‘claiming the bride" procession. The groom and all his relatives go to the bride's house in a long procession. They go there to claim the bride, 207 who should show great grief in leaving her parents. The groom's relatives bring with them the strongest man of the village to give the impression that he would carry off the bride if she refused to come of her own accord. The strong man, surrounded by most of the village pe0p1e, would dem- onstrate his strength by lifting high such weights as the heavy stone pestle used in pounding. This ceremony is called el Kimeh. At last, the bride decides to leave her parent's house, and she is lifted on a gaily saddled horse for her ride to the groom's parents home where she will live. The procession is a colorful, crowded and joyful one. This procession is called el saffa. ' On the bride's arrival at the groom's home her mother-in-law, holding a brass tray of burning incense to dismiss the evil eye, embraces the bride and greets her warmly. Usually she gives the bride a large cake of yeast to fasten above the house door. After that, the bride steps upon a pomegranate to scatter its many seeds over the floor. The two latter practices are fertility rituals which express the hope that the bride will bear many children (Khayat & Keatinge 1956:51). Indoors the bride and groom are escorted to a place of honor in the main room. The women ask the bride to walk slowly around a table so that everyone can see and IDS admire her beauty and her wedding gown. This ritual is called jalwait el-arou . During this display the women sing special songs, one of them is presented by Khayat and Keatinge (1956:52). During all these festivities, the bride should be shy and silent. She does not speak with anybody except through her shabanah, maid of honor. Usually the bride keeps silent for several days after the wedding. Around midnight the ceremony ends and most of the guests go home. It is significant to note that some girls never see their husbands until the wedding (Khayat & Keatinge 1956:37). The newlyweds as well as all the villagers know that. consummation of the marriage should take place at the 'wedding night. Usually the groom and the bride's family are the parties most anxious for the fulfillment of the sexual intercourse. The following two factors explain this intense anxiety: 1) The girl's family wants to prove the bride's 'virginity. In very rare cases, the bride might not be 'virginal. What a great sin and great shame a girl can ‘aring to her family by such an "immoral" situation. In ‘this case, the groom has the right to divorce the girl on the same night. A common punishment to the sinner is to 2&9 be killed by one of her original patrilineage members. 2) The groom wants to assure his virility. While the couple are spending their first two hours together in their bedroom, the bride's family standabeside the room waiting for the news. After a while the groom comes out to tell them that the bride was sharifa, (virginal). Immediately, yodeling and singing take place and the bride's father returns proudly to his home. Usually what happened several hours earlier will be known to everyone in the village by the next morning. However, the villagers will have already been busy preparing and conducting other important ceremonies. Consequent Ceremonies. The most important ceremony is elsabahia. The morning after the wedding friends and relatives visit the newlyweds to repeat their congratulations according to a certain ritual. This time they contribute money, nokoot, to the groom. Their contributions are put in the saucer of the coffee cup served to them. These contributions are special for the groom, and the groom's family is responsible for repaying these contributions on similar occasions. A significant aspect of the previously mentioned ceremonies is the collective way of planning, financing, 210 and conducting them. Marriage is not only a family affair, but a village social event. Quiet Wedding. This occurs in certain situations discussed above, mainly during mourning periods of any of the families re- lated to the couple, and if the bride is either a divorcee or a widow. As in the case of engagement and "marriage contracts", wedding festivities would be cancelled if a death took place on the wedding day. marriage Forms Monogamy This is the prevailing form of marriage in the Leban- ese village. Polygzny This is occasional and it is usually limited to the well-to-do members of the village, who constitute a very small part of the pOpulation. Islam permits polygyny 'within certain conditions: A. The man who marries more than one wife should have the apprOpriate economic means to support his wives and children and to enable them to live on a satisfactory economic and social level. 3. The polygynous man should treat his wives in 211 complete equality as regards to food, clothing and housing. Affection is excluded (Wafi 1958:176). C. The Moslem should be sure, before marrying more than one wife, that he has the ability to fulfill the previous conditions concerning the economic support and the equality in treating the wives. If the Moslem is not sure of having this ability, he should marry only one wife. D. The Moslem should not marry more than four wives at the same time even after fulfilling the previous three conditions. In practice, the first three conditions are not strictly observed in the village. The fourth is strictly carried out by law. There are some frequent reasons for polygyny such as: A. If the newly-weds do not have children during their first two years, the husband usually marries a second wife. Always the woman is regarded as the cause of sterility. B. If the wife is ill for a considerable length of 'time, the husband usually marries a second wife. C. In some cases, the husband may marry a second Iaife in order to punish his first wife who does not obey him, his mother or his sister. 212 Sororate. When a man loses his wife through death, he custom- arily marries her unmarried sister. This tendency may be explained by a belief that the new wife will be more kind and faithful to her deceased sister's children than any other woman. Levirate. On the other hand, when a woman loses her husband through death, it is common that the deceased husband's brother marries the widow. This is explained by the bond of solidarity linking brothers. In addition, according to the partilineage system the children are regarded as belonging to the patrilineage and they should not be reared under a man of another patrilineage. Some Relevant Interpersonal Relationships Husband-Wife Relationships. \ According to Islam the husband is superior to his 'wife, as he has the duty of supporting her. The wife has 'the right to be supported by her husband and to live in the same social standing as that of her original family. iAt the same time, it is her duty to obey him and to sacri- :fice her own leisure, comfort and rest for his needs. In the village these religious rights and duties are 213 practiced with slight change. Supporting the wife is usually the responsibility of the husband's extended family, which is headed by the husband's father, patrilat- eral grandfather, or patrilateral uncle. However, the husband works in a collective way with the other members of the family in order to to have food, clothing and housing for himself and his nuclear family. The wife, in her obedience and respect to her husband and her in-laws does not feel any humiliation, because she is brought up to respect her husband and her in-laws (Khayat & Keatinge 1956:23). Moreover, she is reared in a house where her mother respects her father and her father's family. Usually the wife helps her farmer husband in his work in addition to doing her housework. She tends the animals and chickens and makes long forays into the countryside to gather wood for the fires. It is interesting to mention that while the wife helps her husband in farming, he never helps her in the housework. It is a big scandal if a man cooks, does dishes, or makes clothes. This inequality may be accounted for by the traditional superiority of men to women. All the economic activities of the newlyweds are done as members of a collective team, that is, the extended family members. As an independent unit, the couple has 214 no economic function. In their conversations the husband addresses his wife by the kinship term bint ammi which reflects the belief that the father's brother's daughter is the ideal person for marriage. The wife addresses her husband by the kinship term ibn ammi which reflects a similar belief. In reference they may use the same terms of address or they may use others such as the husband may refer to his wife by the terms gal; and awladi which mean ”my child- ren". The use of these terms has two implications: 1) This reflects the importance of the children as the basic purpose of marriage (according to them). 2) This expresses the reluctance of the villa- gers to mention their wives' names. Minor arguments and disputes between the couple are common, since they live in an extended family. Usually these problems are related in some way to the husband's mother or unmarried sister. The husband, preferring blood relationship to affinal ones, usually puts the blame on the wife and orders her to be more patient and to adjust to his family. However, the traditional obedience of the wife does not mean accepting any type whatever of severe treatment, such as hard beating. When the disputes become more serious, it is a custom 215 that the head of the extended family arranges a "confer- ence" consisting of the wife's father, brother and patri- lateral uncles and the same relatives of the husband. They sit tOgether to make a reconciliation. The failure of such a ”conference", which is called maglgp solh, means that the marriage is at stake. Villagers sometimes beat their wives although hard beating is prohibited by religion. While Islam dictates that the woman should preserve her maiden name and her own money after marriage, the practice in the Lebanese village differs greatly. As soon as the girl marries she takes the surname of her husband and-usually gives him her personal prOperty. In addition, she becomes a member of the husband's patrilineage, and consequently she is not regarded as a member of her origi- nal family and patrilineage anymore. flife-Parentszianaw Relationships. Girls are brought up to adjust their lives to the husband's extended family where they eXpect to live. They grow up to serve their mother-in-law and to respeCt and obey their father-in-law. They use the term.§mmti which originally indicates to the father's sister, and they call their father-in-law 322$: a term which mainly refers to the father's brother. 216 Lge - sgstefln-Law Reilajionships. The most difficult role for the new wife is her adjustment with her unmarried sister-in-law. Living so close together and being near in age, jealousy arises, and fights are unavoidable. These disagreements might be so serious that they might split the extended family (Khayet & Keatinge 1956:22). The Termination of Marriage Marriages end in the following three ways: 92mm- In case of the husband's death, the widow lives with her original family if she has no married children, with one of her married children if she has any. A young 'widow is usually remarried by her deceased husband's 'brother or any other member of his patrilineage, as was :nentioned before. With respect to her inheritance, Islamic law assigns one quarter of the deceased's property to the widow if they do not have male children and one eighth if there are such male children (Wafi 19h7:l79). Ehawever, in practice women do not inherit any preperty. In case of the wife's death, the widower may marry Iqis deceased wife's sister. According to the religion, true widower inherits the half of his deceased wife's 217 property if they have no male children and the quarter if they have some. However, in practice women usually own neither land nor money. The usually own few jewelry. Annulment. This is issued either by an Islamic judge or by the village Sheik in the case of incestuous.marriage. Annul- ment returns the couple to their previous status with their pre-existing rights re-established as if the marr- iage had not taken place. Annulment is very rare in the village and it is almost non-existent. Divorce. Although Islam gives the wife the authority to di- vorce her husband under very limited conditions, in the Lebanese village in practice, the husband is the only one who has this right (Wafi 1958:30). Islam has regarded divorce as a most distasteful act that should be done only after trying all possible means of reconciliation (Wafi l9fl7:182-188). Dissolution of marriage is regarded legal if the husband pronounces, at any place or any occasion, a certain phrase embodying his repudiation, enti talik, you are divorcee, addressing his wife. However, the hus- band could return to his wife after divorcing her two times. In the case of the third divorce he could not return to his divorcee unless she married another man 218 called mohallel. The mohallel should divorce this lady in order to give her the right to be remarried by her original husband who divorced her for three times. Divorce involves some obligations which are enforced by law. These are: l) The man pays the balance of the bride-wealth, which is usually listed in the marriage contract. If it is not specified in the contract it is fixed according to the social rank of the divorcee. 2) The repudiated wife is kept under observa- tion for three menstrual periods, and if she is found to be pregnant, the paternity of the child is assigned to the husband and the wife receives prOper maintenance until her confinement. But if she is not found to be pregnant the repudiation becomes final and the husband maintains her during the waiting time of three menstrual periods, which is called Adda. 3) The man maintains his children. M) The divorcee takes care of the children until they reach the ages of 10 or 12. When divorce occurs, the divorcee and her young child- ren (under the age of lO)usually live with her parents or any of her brothers. The children, however, always belong to the husband's patrilineage. 219 The prevailing grounds for divorce are: l) The most important purpose of marriage is reproduction, which is the only means to maintain the continuity of the patrilineage and the name of the family. As was mentioned before, women are usually regarded as the cause of sterility. Childless couples try the aid and advice of the village magicians and old people. Stay- ing a whole year without children is a very justified reason for divorce or marrying a second wife. 2) The wife's mother-in-law, sister-in-law and father-in-law have the authority of influencing the husband to divorce his wife if she does not obey and respect them. 3) The disputes between the husband's extended family or patrilineage and the wife's family. Such diaputes sometimes result in divorce. M) Sometimes sickness and old age are accepted as grounds for divorce in the village. Finally, it should not be overlooked that although men have unlimited authority in divorce they should have strong grounds to justify such action before the villagers, who represent village social pressure. If the villagers are not convinced of the justification, they usually des- 220 pise the divorced man and regard him as a cruel person who has no respect for religion and village tradition. Summary In this chapter, the marriage process from its beginning to end is described. In spouse selection, cultural directives define that a certain person, the father's brother's son or daughter, to be the preferable spouse. Religion plays an important role in this selec- tion. Second to religion is kinship ties. iarriage between relatives is preferable. Family arrangement, love and matchmaking are the techniques of spouse selec- tion, with family arrangement the most common. In this contract the views of the person to be married are the last factor to be considered. I An important aspect of engagement ceremonies is the collective participation of the extended family, the patri- lineage, and the whole village. The young man is complete- 1y dependent on his family for sponsoring and arranging the ceremonies. The marriage contract is defined by religion, and no civil marriage is permitted. In this contract the woman is unable to represent herself. The collective participation characterizes the wedding ceremonies. Economic contributions are exchanged among the families during these_occasions. A clear taboo between the two sexes is clearly found throughout these 221 ceremonies and even between the engaged couple. A great emphasis is found on children. This indicates that reproduction is the main purpose of marriage. Al- though polygyny is permitted under certain conditions, monogamy is the most common form in the village. Sororate and Levirate systems are found. Male superiority was stressed in all the patterns of behavior, especially in those involved in husband-wife relationships. It is noted that the newlyweds do not constitute an independent economic unit. In respect to the termination of marriage, annulment is almost unknown and the divorce right is limited to men. All the ways of ending marriage are regulated by religion. CHAPTER V AMERICAN MIDDLE-CLASS MARRIAGE PATTERNS In the United States marriage patterns vary greatly from place to place and from time to time. Factors such as race, religion, social class, and the state are res- Ixnisible. However, there are some general features which override, in different degrees, the previous barriers. These are clearly found in the American middle-class. In this section, these general features are briefly presented as found in Michigan during the fifties and sixties. Selecting this state is based on the facts that the communi- ty members have lived in Michigan and that marriage laws differ in America according to the state where marriage is performed. The American marriage patterns are classi- fied into four divisions. These are presented below. Marriage Steps The first step faced by a young American who wants to get married is that of selecting his future spouse. The selection process is followed by engagement and wedding. 1. Spouse Selection. In general, selecting a spouse is not completely a Imatter of personal choice even in America, where the ‘personal aspects of marriage are emphasized more than social importance (Gavan 1959:15). While personal choices 222 223 are mainly involved in selecting certain persons, cultural limitations determine the groups of legitimate persons. These cultural limitations differ greatly in the degree of strictness and in the intensity of sentiments involved. In addition to cultural limitations the ways of spouse selection are stated in the following A. Cultural Limitations. Lay. Legal regulations related to spouse selection are based on the fact that marriage in general is regarded as a legal contract which is organized by law. American laws define marriage as "the legal union for life of one man and one woman to discharge toward each other and to- ward the community the duties imposed by law on persons related as husband and wife" (Francis 1963:59). Some of these imposed duties should be taken into account by Americans who look for a spouse. These are: 1) Age, the spouse should be eighteen years old or more (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 1957:101). 2) Competency, insane and idiot persons are not allowed to get married (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 1957:100). 3) Consanguinity, man is forbidden from marry- ing his mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, step- mother, grandfather's wife, grandson's wife, wife's mother, 224 wife's granddaughter, sister, brother's daughter, sister's daughter, father's sister, mother's sister, or cousins of the first degree. The same relatives are regarded as incest taboos with respect to women. With respect to first cousins they can leave the state and contract a lawful marriage in another state which will subsequently be held valid when they return (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 1957:102). h: Non-existence of certain types of venereal diseases, the future spouses must be examined within thirty days prior to applying for a marriage license. Persons having certain venereal diseases are forbidden from marriage (Michigan Law, Vol 16, 1957:110). gage. Studies show that racial mores place strong limits on the American as to whom he may or may not marry. Al- though inter-racial marriages are legal in most American states, including Michigan, they are rare (Hollingshead 1952:92). Kinship Relations. Americans usually do not marry their relatives. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that many American states have laws prohibiting cousin-marriages. 225 Age. Empirical data indicate a very strong similarity between the age of the husband and the age of the wife at all age levels. This is strongest when both partners are under twenty years of age, and it is widely believed tha a youig woman should not marry an old man (Hollingshead 1952:92). Religion. Text to law and race, religion is the most decisive factor in marital choice. Hollingshead, in his study of the families of er Haven, found that 91% of his sample group involved partners from the same religious group. In the case of Protestants, this percentage was 74.43; among the Catholics it was 93.3%; it raised to 97.1% for Jews. The difference in percentages reflect the relative inten- sity of in-group sanctions on the individual in the three religious groups (Hollingshead 1952393). —- Ethnicity. \ The influences of ethnicity on the selection of a marriage mate are related to religion. Hollingshead noted that ethnicity within a religious group has been a very potent factor in influencing the mate selection (Hollings- head 1952:93). 226 Class. The class or residential area in which a man's or a woman's family home is located has a very marked influ- ence on his or her marital Opportunities. Education has similar bearings (Hollingshead 1952:9Q). Personal Qualities. American culture defines the highly valued per- sonal qualities which are involved in spouse selection. Some of these preferential qualities are beauty, vivacity, intelligence, health, stability, disposition and wealth. Each of these qualities is weighed and recognized by certain indexes provided by American culture. For example, having a slim figure and using modern cosmetics and fashions are basic criteria in rating girls as beautiful. The previous limitations work tOgether in an inter- woven pattern which at the end define the category or the group of persons from which an.American can select his future spouse. ffection plays a basic role in selecting a certain person from the category defined by culture. At the same time, love or personal selection rarely function across the previous limitations. Moreover, the emphasis on love or personal selection within a certain group of people is in itself a cultural limitation in a sense that it is a highly valued technique of spouse selection accord- 227 ing to American culture. The idea of the interdependence and interplay of the previous limitations is clearly illustrated by the follow- ing quotation: ". . . American culture, as it is reflected in the behavior of newly married couples in New Haven, places very definite restrictions on whom an individual may or may not marry.‘ The racial mores were found to be the most explicit on this point. They divided the community into two pools of marriage mates and an individual fished for a mate only in his own racial pool. Religion di- vided the white race into three smaller pools. Age further subdivided the potential pool of marriage mates into rather definite age grades, but the limits here were not so precise in the case of a man as of a woman. The ethnic origin of a person's family placed further restrictions on his marital choice. In addition, class posi- tion and education stratified the three religious pools into areas where an individual was most likely to find a mate. When all of these factors are combined they place narrow limits on an indi- vidual's choice of a marital partner” (Hollings- head 1952:9Q). B. Selection Technigues. Dating_and Romantic Love. In America, it is taken for granted that one should marry for love, which is a sentiment characterized by devotion to another's welfare (Nimkoff 1947:375). The type of love which is regarded as a central prerequisite to American marriage today is romantic love (Lee & Lee 1961: 139). This is defined as: 228 "that complex of attitudes and sentiments which regards the marriage relation as one ex- clusively of response. This romantic attitude pictures the marriage relationship in terms of love-sexual attraction in large part - and sets up a standard according to which marriage is measured by the satisfaction of a highly ideal- ized desire for response" (Truxal & Merril 1952:108). This love grows through a prevailing pattern in Ameri- can youth culture called dating. Generally, a date is a social engagement between a boy and a girl or a man and a woman. Its purpose is recreational and each date is supposed to be an end in itself. In addition, dating is an informal training course of education in personal and social relations between men and women. However,its final objective, whether conscious or unconscious, is —- marriage (Gavan 1959:68). In America, dating is an almost universal teenage practice. It usually begins in early adolescence, and for some, before adolescence, approximately in the ages of 13 and 14 for both sexes. Gavan distinguishes several types of dating: (a) casual dating, (b) steady dating, and, (0) going steady. The third type, however, is the most relevant to this study because it is considered as the way to marriage. Going steady is a temporary agree- ment between a boy and a girl to date only each other for a stated or an indefinite period of time. This date is 229 no longer simply a way of getting into social activities. t becomes a personal relationship, a way of sharing many activities together, a little taste of what marriage will be. However, steady dating does not bring lasting committments for engagement and marriage (Gavan 1959: 72—31). A di:tinguished characteristic of dating is the free- dom of either one of the couple to withdraw, without too much loss of face for the other, at any stage in the relationship (Burgess, Wallin and Schultz 1953:27). Parents do not impose definite authority over their sons' or daughters' selection of a date or a mate. They are not willfully neglectful; they simply do not share the social contacts of their children. This lack of parents' participation is illustrated by some social research (Popenoe l952:l§4). Parents influence on dating and in turn, spouse-selection comes indirectly through the earlier training of their children in choice of friends and marriage ideals. In addition to dating there is another relevant tech- nique which is not very common in the United States and that is marriage brolers. Karriage Brokers, In the U. S. the interest in mate selection is 230 eXploited commercially by several techniques. he most widespread are matrimonial agencies and advertisements. The first is discussed below as an example. Karriage brokers turn over to the applicant, if a man, the address of all the women members of the "club". 'They may recom— mend one or two specified persons who seen most nearly to fulfill the qualifications desired. Then the direct correspondence begins. In their advertisements these agencies stress the financial bait by listing what these people are worth, for example: a blond of 20, worth $M0,000; a brunette of 22, worth $60,000; a widow of #0, worth $125,000 (Baber 1939:187-188). The techniques conducted by such agencies in pairing up people are clearly presented by a director of one of these agencies in the following: "In pairing up pe0p1e, whether they come in person or correspond, we try to apply the same principle of compatability that leading marriage counselors endorse. A congenial marriage can be made only with basically congenial peOple. The closer they are alike in intelligence, cultural and economic backgrounds, outlook on life, rec— reational enthusiasms, and religious beliefs the more likely it is that their union can endure" (Lane 1952:107). It should not be overlooked that the basic function of these agencies is to introduce eligible men and women to each other. hen dating takes place and through this 231 the couple determine whether the choice is satisfactory or not. Thus the function of these agencies is arranging ”blind dating".l The next marriage step after selecting the future spouse is engagement. Engagement. Although there is a large degree of variations in engagement patterns in.America, a broad definition of engagement determines it as a period in which a couple have a private and often a public committment that they plan to wed. Where association with others of both sexes previously may have been fairly general, after becoming engaged, the couple tend to focus their social activities within their own group. Today engagement patterns are characterized by the following general aSpects: 1) Engagement types or stages, there are four degrees of quasi-engagement and engagement, these are: going Togetheg. This involves more than occasional dates. It is a frequent dating over a period of time, but it is not an exclusive relationship. The boy may ask the girl 1”Blind dating" refers to such dating, arranged by a third person, which takes place between a man and a woman who did not know each other before. 232‘ to wear his school class ring, club pin, or fraternity pin, but they may both still date others. This relation- ship usually implies some degree of intimacy on either side. As it is viewed socially, it may begin and end in- formally, or it may lead into more formal engagement or into marriage (Lee & Lee 1961:166). Steadies. In this relationship, the couple go out to- gether regularly and exclusively but without having announced themselves to be engaged to be married. The man may give the woman.some personal item of his own Jewelry to wear (Lee & Lee 19613167). Formally Pinned. This is equivalent to engagement, and it may or may not be followed by a ”formal engagement“. In some colleges, social sororities insert formal announcements of "pinnings" in the campus newspapers. In other places the organization makes the announcement at a special dinner or dance. Parents usually do not announce a ”pinning” (Lee &Lee 1961:167). Egrmal_§ngagement. This is announced by various ways such as a notice in the local press, a dinner dance, buffet supper, luncheon, tea, "beer blast”, or cocktail party. 233 Whatever form is used, the news of the engagement prOperly comes from the parents of the bride-to-be. by other close relatives or by the couple themselves. Formal engagement is a family matter, and it is usually preceded by exchang— ing calls between the two families. However, the young man meets the girl's father to ask permission to marry his daughter (Lee & Lee 19618167). Formal engagement is usually characterized by the "engagement ring“. The man buys the ring which is or appears to be a diamond. The girl puts it on her left ring finger. A family in mourning would not entertain formally to announce an engagement. Sometimes engraved announcements are sent to intimate friends. 2. Although the four previously mentioned re- lationships may be conducted as sequent stages of engage- ments, they also may be regarded as four different types of engagement. Each one may lead directly to marriage (Lee & Lee 19613168). 3. Engagement relationships are becoming somewhat fluid (Lee & Lee 19613168). Today even formal engagements are more easily broken than at previous times. Burgess and Wallin, in their study of 1000 engaged couples, found that a third of the young men and about half of the young women had one or more broken engagements (1953:273). 4. During the engagement period the couple have greater freedom in love-making. Many times the novelty and 234 excitement of petting and sex play lead the couple to have coitus prior to marriage. Roughly half of those engaged have such relationships (Lee & Lee 19613169). 5. It should not be implied that the formal engagement is the prevailing type in the U.S. Informal and quiet engagements are more frequent than ceremonial ones. Although no statistics are available on this question, the enlightened estimates of well-informed social observers show the increasing tendency toward in- formal engagemente. Lee & Lee (19613164) said: "Engage- ments, wedding in the presence of a large assortment of relatives and friends, and carefully planned homes have never been the lot of some half or more of the couples who Join in matrimony in our society.“ This decline of formal engagements may be explained by several factors such as. a. Older pe0p1e, pe0p1e being married a second time or peOple in mourning often prefer a quiet informal engagement. b. The dominance of the idea that engagement is a private agreement between a man and a woman to explore marriage possibilities intensively without the involvement of their families. Therefore the formal engagement. whidh is a family affair, has begun to be undesired by many of the American youth. 235 6. "Bridal shower" takes place two or three weeks before the wedding. It is arranged by a close friend or a relative of the bride-to-be. The shower is usually supposed to be a surprise for the bride-to-be, hence all arrangements are made without her knowledge. The hostess arranges a luncheon, tea, or some pleasant social affair, and she invites almost all the intimate friends of the bride-to-be. Those invited bring presents of varying worth, but most of them are inexpensive. The function of the ritual is to show interest in the new home about to be established and to express the happiness of the friends for the pleasant occasion. At the same time the ritual is a type of reciprocity in which gifts are exChanged on similar occasions. The bride may have several such Showers. Wedding The last step in marriage is the wedding. Many aspects of wedding in America are presented below. 1. Legal procedures Michigan law necessitates the acquisition of .Michigan marriage license for any couple wanting to marry within the Michigan state borders. However, the marriage license was not required for common-law marriages con- tracted prior to January 1, 1957. The validity of common- law marriages is based on subsequent cohabitation which Ineans dwelling together in the usual manner of married people (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573105). A marriage license is obtained from the county clerk of the county in 236 which either the man or woman resides, and it should be delivered to the clergyman or magistrate who is to officiate the marriage. Within 30 days prior to such application the applicants for marriage should be examined as to the presence or absence in such persons of certain types of veneral diseases. Persons who have such diseases are not allowed to obtain a marriage license. (Michigan Law‘Vol. 16, 19573110). The license contains a space for the names and residences of two witnesses to the marriage (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573108-109). A marriage license is delivered after at least 3 days including the date of application. Every such license issued is void unless a marriage is solemnized thereunder within 30 days after the date of the delivery of the marriage license to the licensee by the county clerk (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573112). The most important legal requirement is the consent of the two parties, which should be declared by them in front of the state representative and the two witnesses. The importance of "consent" in marriage is represented by the legal definition of marriage. This 153 "Marriage is a civil contract to which the consent of the parties is essential" (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 1957397). 2. flgggore the weddingfl_£i§ggl§_ There are several rituals practiced prior to the wedding, some of these are: 237 a. Farewell luncheon. This is given by the bride's mother before the wedding. Friends and relatives gather as a last farewell to girlhood days. b. Bachelor supper. A festive meal is arranged by the groom's friends as a last farewell to bachelor days. c. Wedding gifts. Those who receive invitations to a wedding breakfast or reception send a gift. All the wedding gifts are sent to the bride usually two weeks be- fore the wedding. These gifts include those presented to the groom. It is common that an invited family unite in giving one handsome present rather than small things. 3. Prgparations for the wedding In the case of elaborate and formal weddings many preparations take place. Some of these are3 a. Invitations. The young couple as well as their families make a list of those they wish to invite. Invitations are sent by the bride's parents. The costs, as well as most of the other wedding costs are sponsored by the bride's family. b. ngding ring. The groom takes his fiancee to select the wedding ring. c. Bridesmaids and ushers. The bride selects ‘her maid of honor and bridesmaids. The maid or matron of ‘honor is usually the bride's sister or the bride's dearest friend. The groom chooses his best man and ushers. Usually 238 the groom asks his brother, his most intimate friend or his father to act as best man. d. Church arrangements. The groom asks the minister to officiate, but if he is a friend of the bride's family her parents make the request. The groom pays the fees. e. Dresses and flowers. The bridal adornment usually consists of white dress, white veil and orange blossoms. The white bridal costume has been symbolical of the virgin bride. It is customary for the maid or matron of honor to wear a dress different in color from those worn by the bridesmaids. The groom, the best man and the ushers wear tuxedos, gloves and boutonnieres. The groom's tie is characterized by a different color. Flowers are an important aspect of formal weddings. In addition to the bride's bouquet, bridesmaids carry flowers. There may also be flower girls and pages. 4. ngding ceremonies There are two general types of weddings in America, the quiet informal weddings and the ceremonial formal ones. Although there is an increasing tendency toward informal weddings, the estimates show that cere- monial weddings cover about 50% of the American weddings (Lee & Lee 19613164). In the case of informal marriage the magistrate officiates the marriage license and the solemnization ritual. Some informal weddings may be followed by a small dinner party in a restaurant arranged 239 by the couple's friends. Formal weddings are performed either in a church or the bride's family home. A‘summary of the patterns of behavior involved in these ceremonies is as follows3 A. Church wedding In spite of the great variation found in church weddings some characteristics are prevailing. Some of these are3 1. Wedding processional. First in line are the ushers two and two: followed by the bridesmaids in couples. The maid or matron of honor walks alone Just before the bride. Sometimes between the maid of honor and the bride is a flower girl or ringbearer. The bride is last, leaning on the arm of her father or a relative. The groom with the best man meets her at the alter. At the chancel the ushers divide to stand on either side, permitting the bridesmaids to pass through and separating they stand in front of the ushers. The maid of honor steps to the bride's left to arrange her veil and take her bouquet. 2. Wedding recessional. This differs according to the religion of the couple. In most Protestant church ceremonies the order is3 First, the bride leaning on the right arm of the groom. Next, the maid of honor alone. Sometimes the maid of honor and the best man walk together. The next in line are the bridesmaids, two and two, followed 240 by the groomsmen, also walking in couples. Sometimes the bride and groom are preceded by a child strewing flowers, which is symbolical of a happy future. Music is an important aspect of the ceremony. While guests are assembling about half an hour before the service there will be attractive music. The triumphal wedding march peals forth as the recessional starts. In most services the change of music into the processional march is the signal for guests to rise. They stand during the processional and recessional (Taylor 19643 32-36). It is held usually at 3. Wedding breakfast. immediately after the church ceremony. It takes 1300 PeMe place either at the bride's home or at a hotel or club. This is generally for the immediate families of the bride and groom with intimate friends. The menu is that of a luncheon and may be simple or elaborate according to the decision of the hostess. During the ceremony the bride's mother receives the guests, who pass on to wish the bride happiness and con- gratulate the groom. It is customary for the bride to cut the "bride's cake" and to divide the first piece with the groom. 4. Wedding reception. This may replace or accompany the wedding breakfast. Buffet refresMents are Usual ly the father served while the guests are standing. 241 and mother of the bride receive the guests somewhere near the door. The bride's parents are the host and hostess,the groom's parents are honor guests. Dancing may be included. At the end of the reception or the wedding breakfast the bride usually tosses her bouquet to her bridesmaids or, if she has no bridesmaids, to a group of young women present. Legend says the one catching it will be the next bride. 5. .Taking pictures' A strictly observed ritual is to take pictures on the wedding day. Some of them usually include the maid of honor, the bridesmaids, and the best man and the ushers. B. Home wedding Unless the house is large the wedding party in this case is much smaller than for the previous one, and often the only attendants are the best man and the maid of honor. There may be flowers and branches of flowering shrubs and trees especially at the farther end of the room where the minister stands. The groom and best man enter first. the same as at church and await the bride before the minister. The guests gather informally about, reserv- ing a space in front for the two families. The bride's mother receives the guests who after the ceremony greet the bridal company as they remain in front of the floral decorations. The refreshments are those of any reception, although if a breakfast there are hot dishes and richer food. 242 5. Hpneygoon. After the reception the groom and Iris‘bride go alone to have their honeymoon. There are many rituals related to the departure of a newly married ‘pair, such as throwing an old shoe, Sprinkling them with rice, decorating their car with flowers, tieing some cans at the rear of the car and hanging a ”just married" sign. They usually spend their honeymoon in hotels and motels which prepare special rooms for the occasion. These rooms are called ”bridal suites". The place of the honey- moon is supposed to be a secret and only very few peOple know it. The length of honeymoons differs but in general it lasts from one to two weeks. After the honeymoon they move to their private apartment or house and begin their normal life as a husband and wife. W With reSpect to the number of marriage parties, monogamy is the only marriage form in America. All the American states prohibit bigamous marriages. For example Michigan law announces that “no marriage can be contracted while either of the parties has a husband or wife living pursuant to a marriage which has not been dissolved" (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573102). American laws distinguish between licensed marri- ages and non-licensed marriages. The first type involve the application of a marriage license according to certain 243 statutes. The latter is called common-law marriage which does not require a marriage license. According to Michigan law common-law marriages contracted prior to January 1, 1957, are valid. With regard to the existence or absence of religious apsects in marriage, Americans have two typeS3 Civil marriage. This refers to marriages conducted by a magistrate and has nothing to do with religion. Religious marriage. This is always officiated by a clergyman, and it follows the religious regulations of the denomination of the couple. Relying on the estimates of church weddings shows that about 50% of the American marriages are religious . marriages. Conducting a religious marriage is based on the personal decision of the couple intending to get married. Usually conservative and well-to-do Americans perform religious marriages. Husband-wife relationships As the newlyweds live in a private dwelling which is usually far from their parent's houses, the most import- ant interpersonal relationships involved in their new life are the husband-wife relationships. These relationships are characterized by the following general aspects. 1. Typical family roles. A typical arrangement of, family roles of husband and wife are briefly stated in 244 the following: Family roles of husband a. b. C. Head of family Chief wage earner or the "food provider", the central role of most husbands Secondary homemaker Father, usually a secondary role but of ex- treme importance to children. Husbandly role, meeting the wife's personal and sexual needs. Fgmily roles of wife a. b. C. 8. 2. Partner, social arbiter and hostess Secondary wage earner from Choice or neces- sity3 often part-time or intermittent. Chief homemaker Mother, dominant role when children are young. Wifely role, meeting the husband's personal and sexual needs. ngal aspects In America husband-wife relations are regulated by the civil law. Michigan law includes 135 rules concern- ing these relationships (Michigan Law, Vol. 13, 19573452- 583). Some of these statutes are presented to give a general illustration of how law handles these relationships. These are3 245 a. The husband is the head of the family and therefore has the privilege of selecting the family domi- cile and the duty of supporting the family (Michigan Law Vol. 13, 19573454). b. Although common law regards the husband and wife as one, and the wife by her marriage lost all the incidents attaching to a person acting in her own right, statutes and constitutional provisions have removed some, but not all, of the married woman's disabilities (Michigan Law, Vol. 13, 19573484-486). c. The wife's right to her own earnings is now protected by statutes. Statutes now protect the wife's rights to her separate prOperty (Michigan Law, Vol. 13, 19573494-506). d. The wife's services in the home belong to the husband, and she must have his consent to charge others (Michigan Law, Vol. 13, 19573508). The previous laws reflect the increasing tendency of equality between husband and wife. Regarding the husband as the head of the family is limited to selecting the family domicile and the duty of supporting the family. The patriarchal authority of the husband has become very weak as follows: 3. Eggality Uuring the last thirty years wives have come up from a subordinate position in the home to one of 246 complete equality with the husband and in some cases of domination over the husband. Often the management of the house and children is turned to the mother entirely (Burgess, Wallin and Shultz 1954322). Concerning decision making Merican wife has now almost the same influence of her husband. It is expected that the working wife has more influence in decision-making than the housewife. There are two other indications to such equality. These are: a. American husbands help their wives in the house and usually working wives have greater help. On the other hand many American wives work in order to increase the family income. Thus both wives and husbands have equal roles in earning money and conducting housework. b. Sexual satisfaction recognized equally for both husband and wife. This is related to the increasing importance of the sexual aSpect of marriage in America (Burgess, Wallin, and Shultz 19543356-357). 4. ReSpect and Courtesy American Spouses treat each other with res- pect and considerate acts. Michigan law dictates that extreme cruelty, false accusations, abusive and humiliating conduct including imprOper language, either physical vio- lence or threats, and cumulative misconduct are legal grounds for divorce (Michigan Law, Vol. 16,' 19573474-483). 247 5. Mipg£_and serious;problems American Spouses usually solve their minor problems by themselves without any interference of rela- tives or friends, as they regard such problems as private affairs concerning only themselves. When these problems develOp into serious ones , they either get a divorce or ask the advice of counselors. These counselors may be their relatives, friends, clergymen of the various denomi— nations, or professional counselors. Marriage counseling as a Special profession dates from the late 1920's (Lee & Lee 19613187). The Termination of Marriage In general marriages end in: (l) annulment, (2) divorce, or (3) death. These are discussed briefly as follow33 1. Annulment This is defined and regulated by civil laws. According to Michigan laws the grounds for annulment are: a. Marriages prohibited by law on account of consanguinity or affinity between the parties, or an account of either of them having a former wife or husband then living. All marriages solemnized where either of the parties is insane or an idiot are absolutely void without any legal process. b. Where the consent of the parties to a marriage is obtained by force of fraud, and there is no subsequent 248 voluntary cohabitation of the parties. This marriage may be deemed void without any decree of divorce or other legal process, or it may be annulled. c. Where a marriage is solemnized between parties either of whom is under the age of legal consent and they do not cohabit together (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573118- 122). 2. Divorce Divorce is practiced in the U.S. On the aver- age, about one divorce or annulment is obtained for each four marriages performed (Lee & Lee 19613303). Divorce is wholly statutory, and ordinary equitable principles do not apply. A husband, a wife, and the state are the parties of divorce proceedings. Either the wife or the husband has the right of filing for divorce (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573466-467-496). Michigan law assigns the grounds for divorce as followS3 desertion, nonsupport, habitual drunkenness, extreme cruelty, false accusations, abusive and humiliating conduct including imprOper language, either physical vio- lence or threats, absence, neglect and denial of conjugal rights, impotency at the time of the marriage, cumulative misconduct, the securing of a divorce in another state by the opposite party and sentence to imprisonment for three years or more (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573469-486). 249 There are two types of divorce, absolute and limited. Public policy, particularly with reapect to the interests of the wife and children, determines whether an '- absolute or limited divorce is granted. Obligations based on divorce a. Alimony. Any agreement between the parties as to alimony is ineffective unless approved by the court. The amount of an alimony rests entirely within the Judgment of a court. However, the divorced parties may exclude any alimony (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573560-561). b. Disppsition of prOperty. The division of prOperty between divorced Spouses rests largely within the discretion of the trial judge. However, the major consideration should always be security for the wife (Michigan Law, Vol. 16, 19573581-582). c. Suppprting the children. A father's obliga- tion to support his children is not terminated by divorce, and the court provides for such support in the divorce decree. After separation the mother, if she is fit, is entitled to the custody of children under 12 years of age, and the father, if he is regarded by the court as fit, is entitled to the custody of children of 12 years of age or over (Michigan Law,‘Vol. l6, 19573626-642). 3.22% The great expansion and acceptance of life insurance as well as the Opportunities of jobs for women 1 “1“] “(It'l‘ I'll 250 in America have played important roles in minimizing the financial loss incurred by the death of the husband, even if he is the only breadwinner in the family. With reSpect to inheritance laws, the diSposition of the property follows the will of the deceased who is at liberty to make whatever diSpoSition he chooses. However, prOperty held by a husband and wife, whether it is by entirety or joint, is inherited by survivors whether hus- band or wife (Michigan Law, Vol. 13, 19573351-461). In the case of death usually the surviving Spouse lives alone with the children if there are any. Summagy This chapter presents some general aSpects of marriage patterns as found among the American middle-class and as regulated by Michigan laws. Cultural limitations plays an important role in defining the group of legitimate candidates from which a boy or girl chooses his or her future spouse. These cultural limitations are defined as law, race, kinship taboos, age, religion, ethnicity, class, and personal qualities. These elements work together in an interwoven web. It is found that dating and romantic love are the basic techniques of Spouse selection. 251 Types and functions of dating are defined. The increasing number of quiet engagements represents the dominance of the idea that engagement is a private agree- ment between a man and a woman without the involvement of their families. Freedom, variability and individuality are found in the American patterns. Social barriers between the two sexes become very thin through dating. A prevailing aspect throughout these patterns is the bearing of civil laws on marriage as religious rituals became Optional. This stresses the secular a3pect in American marriage patterns. Men-women equality is clearly represented. CHAPTER VI MARRIAGE PATTERNS IN THE DEARBORN COMMUNITY These patterns are divided into four sections: marriage steps, marriage forms, husband-wife relationships, and termination of marriage. Marriage Steps The first step in marriage is selecting a candidate to be the future Spouse. Engagement and wedding follow the selection step. How these steps are practiced among the Dearborn Arab-Moslem members is presented below. §pouse Selection The ancestry of the wives of the 70 interviewees, the preferable qualities for Spouses, and the techniques of spouse selection, as reported by the respondents, are presented as follows. A. Wives' ancestry The following table represents relevant data. TABLE 11. --Ancestry of Interviewee's Wives Group A Group B Wives' Ancestry Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Arab-Moslem (relative) 19 38 3 15 Arab-Moslem.(non-relative) 2h AB 5 25 Arab-Christian 1 2- 1 S 252 253 TABLE 11. --Ancestry of Interviewee's Wives (cont'd) Group A Group—B Wives' Ancestry Number Per Cent Number Per Cent American&0hristian _p_ 12 ll. 55 Totals 50 100 20 '100 The table shows that while 86% of Group A married Arab- moslems, only 40% of Group B did. Moreover the table indi- cates that cousin marriage is more common in Group A than in Group B. With reSpect to the specific relationships of these cousins, 20% of Group A and 15% of Group B married their patrilateral parallel-cousins, 10% of Group A married their patrilateral cross-cousins and 8% of Group A married their matrilateral cross-cousins. This reflects the pref- erence of patrilateral cousins to matrilateral ones. The table also indicates that Group B is more interested in marrying American Christians than Group A; compare 55 Per Cent to 12 Per Cent. A few members marry Arab-Christians. Group A members who married Americans reported that they had to marry Americans because of the non-existence of Arab-Moslem maidens in the twenties and thirties. A few of these pioneers had migrated with their wives to the United States. The majority were single, and they spent several years in saving money to finance the trip to Lebanon to get married. Those who did not have enough money had to marry Americans. Group A members, especially 254 old men, always repeat that "Women in America are stronger than men", "America is only for women", and "American woman could divorce her husband when she wants". They always dream of the superior status of men in their villages and of the patriarchal authority of their fathers. On the other hand, Group B members who married Ameri- cans reported that they chose them because'they loved them in spite of the existence of Arab-Moslem maidens. There are three cases where an interviewee married from the other sect, two of them in Group A and one in Group B. It is important to note that while 27% of the sample married Christians, only h% married Arab-Moslems from the other sect. The previous percentages do not show whether the rejection of sectarian intermarriage was done on purpose or that this was just a coincidence. While some informants approved the existence of this prejudice, others denied it. Some Shi'ah informants reported that ten years ago many Sunnis did not agree on permitting their daughters to marry Shi'ah men, but they agreed that their sons might marry Shi'ah women. This is confirmed by the fact that the previous three cases of sectarian intermarriages represent Sunni men who married Shi'ah women. At the same time the Sunni informants accused the Shi'ah of the same charges. There are many stories about cases of such prejudice which took place several years ago. Today it seems that this discrimination has deteriorated; almost all the inter- 255 viewees reported that they approve sectarian intermarriage. The establishment of religious associations combining the two sects has played an important role in minimizing this prejudice. B. Preferable qualities for future spouses Some questions of the field interview deal with these qualities. The percentages of the responses are listed in the following two tables. TABLE 12. --Preferable Qualities for a Wife Group A Group B Qualities Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Being Moslem he 96% 6 30% Being Arab-Moslem 35 70% l 5% Being American - 0% 12 60% Being Beautiful 36 72% 15 75% Being loyal MO 80% 10 50% Being attractive 3 6% 10 50% Being rich 3 t% 5 25% Mutual love 30 60% 20 100% Having good reputation AS 90% 6 30% Having a job 10 20% 8 h0% Descending from a good family no 80% - h 20% These percentages indicate the following: 1. Both Groups A and B stressed mutual love, beauty and loyalty as preferable qualities for perfect wives. 256 2. While most Group A stressed Islam, Arabic culture, politeness and descending from a "good family" (as defined by the 01d culture), a few of Group B agreed on these qualities. Zia 3. Although many of Group A emphasized American culture, attractiveness and richness as preferable quali- ties, none of Group A reported American culture and few of them mentioned the other qualities. TABLE 13. --Preferable Qualities for a Husband Group A Gr oup F Qualities Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Being Moslem so 100% 20 100% Being Arab-Moslem 25 50% 2 10% Being handsome 5 10% .10 50% Being young 3 6% lb 70% Mutual love 35 70% 20 100% Having a good job no 80% 18 90% Having a new car 5 10% 6 30% Approving husband-wife equality 10 20% 18 90% The above percentages reflect the following tendencies 1. There is general emphasis on Islam as the religion of the perfect husband. This emphasis would be accounted for by the fact that Islam strictly prohibits marriage between Moslem women and non-Moslem men. The same expla- nation may be applied to the differences in their responses 257 on husband-wife equality. 2. Both Groups A and B stress mutual love and having a good job. 3. Group B members are more interested than Group A in physical appearance. The importance of Islam as the religion of preferable husbands is illustrated by the fact that those whose daugh- ters have married Christians were very angry with their daughter. Most of them cut off all their social relation- ships with them. They feel that these daughters would convert to Christianity under the influence of their husbands. Such conversions have occurred several times. Besides, the children of such mixed marriages always became Christians. Many stories Show what scandal and shame a girl would bring to her family by engaging in such a marriage. Some of these stories tell that a man (from Group A) tried to commit suicide several times to prevent his daughter from marrying a Christian American. Another member of Group A- could not face the community members when his daughter had married a Christian. The ashamed father went to the 01d land where he died after a short while. A woman from Group A who married an American Christian reported that she had to marry a Christian because none of the Moslems pr0poses to her. This woman as well as the others waited until they reached the age of 25 years and then they could not wait longer. Treating such daughters as sinners is found only among —:—' 258 Group A parents. It is interesting to note that Group B men feel that Group A parents are reSponsible for the situation, because they prevent their daughter from dating and at the same time they give permission to their sons to date American girls. These parents underestimate dating as a way to marriage. "While their bodies live in America, their minds still think according to Lebanese traditions," said some parents from Group B describing those from Group A. -. In respect to the best age of marriage, 56 per cent of Group A chose the ages of 21 and 22 years for boys and 58 per cent selected the ages from 16 to 18 years for girls, only 5 per cent of Group B chose these ages for girls. The same difference between the two groups is emphasized by the findings that while 65% of Group B regarded the ages of 25 and 26 years as the best ages of marriage for boys, only 5 per cent of Group A reported the same ages. In addition, while 56 per cent of Group B selected the ages 19 and 20 for girls, only 10 per cent of Group A approved that these ages are the best ages of marriage for girls. Thus the general trend is that Group B prefer older ages than thoSe selected by Group A as the best ages of marriage for boys and girls. Another related point is the reasons for selecting the previous ages. The two Groups emphasized in the same degree the factor of maturity, which means understanding marriage responsibilities. The two Groups, however, 259 differed with regard to other factors such as: a. Many of Group A (36%) regarded "protecting the girls from dating boys" as a reason, a few from Group B (5%) gave the same reSponse. b. While some of Group B (30%) considered "finishing high school" as a reason to select the best age of marriage for girls, almost none of Group A (2%) answered in the same way. c. Although some of Group B (30%) regarded "having the opportunity for finding the right man" and "getting a job" as factors in selecting best age of marriage for girls, none of Group A gave such factors. d. "Protecting boys from going out with girls" was considered by 20% of Group A as reasons. None of Group B gave these reasons. The previous findings indicates that the problem of preventing the youth from dating is found only among Group A members. C. Techniques of Spouse Selection: The findings represent some differences between the two groups with regard to these techniques. These differences are: 1. While 90% of Group B selected their wives by them- selves, only h0% of Group A did. I 2. Many of Group A (h2%) married the women selected by their parents, very few of Group B (10%) depended on their parents in such selection. 260 3. Some of Group A (18%) married through professional matchmakers in the old land, none of Group B conducted such a technique. Thus in general, while almost all Group B men selected their spouses by themselves, Group A members conducted both self-selection, and other-selection methods. Other related points are the approval or objection of parents on the self-selected Spouses and the reasons involved. It is found that only one from Group A faced his parents' objection because he selected a widow. The majority of Group A (88%) obtained their parents' approval that was based on several grounds. Many of their parents (u0%) approved because they selected their sons' wives. Some other parents (30%) agreed because the wives were Arab-Moslems. Few parents (18%) approved because they gave their sons per- mission to marry whom they liked. Among Group B 30 per cent of their parents objected to their sons' marriages. Marrying a Christian woman was the only reason for these objection. In this group 70 per cent obtained their parent's approval. Some parents (10%) approved because they chose their sons' wives. A larger number (35%) agreed because they gave their sons permission to marry whom they wanted. Other parents (25%) accepted their sons' selection because the wife was an Arab-Moslem. In weighing the significance of these finding it Should not be overlooked that while most Group A members were far away from their parents who lived in the old land, 261 all Group B members were living with their parents when they selected their spouses. There is a hypothetical question related to this subject. This is whether it was possible or not for the interviewee to object to his parent's selection. While 95 per cent of Group B approved of this possibility on the basis that marriage was a personal matter, fourty-four per cent of Group A gave the same answer. Many of Group A members (3h%) reported that it was impossible to object to their parents' selection because they respected their parents and did not want to irritate them, only five per cent of Group B reported the same response. The previous data show that the possibility of rejecting the parents' participation in selecting the sons' wives is much stronger among Group B than among Group A. (I A relevant point is the circumstances involved in husband-wife first meeting. These are the subjects of the following table. TABLE lu. --Circumstances of Husband-Wife.First Meeting Group A 'Group B The Circumstances Number Per Cent Number Per Cent In a relative's house (the wife is a relative) 17 3h 3 15 In his parent's house when the wife (a relative came from the U.S. to visit them.) h 8 - r In his original village (the wife is not a rela- , tive) 5 10 2 10 262 TABLE lu. --Circumstances of Husband-Wife First Meeting(cont'd) Group A Group B The Circumstances Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Accidently In 26 6 30 Through a marriage-broken in the old land (the wife is not a relative) 9 18 - - In an American youth party - - S 25 In high school or college - - h 20 On the engagement day (the wife is a relative) _l 2 .4: - Totals 50 100 20 100 The table shows that while kinship relations are involved in this first meeting for uu% of Group A, such factors are much weaker among Group B members. These are found only among 15% of Group B. It is interesting to note that a member from Group A saw his wife for the first time on the engagement day. Parties and school opportunities for selecting a Spouse are found only among Group B members and they are so widespread that MS% of Group B met their wives in this way. Dating Here dating represents the inV01VLment of love as the basic technique of spouse-selection. MOst of Group A (8h%) did not date their wives before engagement and the rest (16%) dated their wives for a period lasting from one week to six months. On the other hand 75% of Group B dated their wives 263 before the engagement and the periods of dating lasted from two months to three years. Thus Group B dated for a longer time than that of Group A. Note that while dating among Group A took place only when the spouse was American, among Group B this occurred in the cases of Arab and American wives. According to the two Groups the cases of non-dating are only found with regard to Arab-Moslem wives. The previous findings show that dating as a way of spouse selecting is wideSpread only among Group B members. In fact dating, in general, is one of the important factors of conflict among the community members. All the interview- ees reported that the Arab boys date girls, many of them American girls. Most of them (100% of Group B and 96% of Group A) reported that about 50% of the girls of the community date boys, most of whom are Americans, and the rest do not date. The girls usually date secretly and therefore they prefer to date Americans, because, as the in- formants reported, if they date Arab-Moslem boys, these boys may reveal their secrets to their parents. An important subject of gossip is secret datings performed by the Arab girls. The only girls who date publicly are the working ones, their economic independence gave them courage to disregard the community gossip, the parents' anger and the threats of the conservative brothers. Some of these girls introduce their dates to their families. Exluding working girls, the participation of female teenagers in dating is considered as a big shame if their parents are from Group A. 264 "How to protect my girls from dating is the biggest dis- turbing subject in my life," a member from Group A said. Most Group A regard dating as "a devil act" or "a polite name for sexual relations." Some of them have sent their daughters at the ages of 12 and 13 to the old land to pro- tect them from going out with boys. The basic reason for this behavior is (according to them) to preserve the daugh- ter's virginity until marriage. Moreover, sending the daughters to the old land is stimulated by their desire to provide Arab-Moslem suitors for their daughters. Many conflicts between Group A parents and their daughters arise because of gossip that the daughters date boys. Scolding and heating are ways of discipline used bv those parents to prevent their daughters from dating. "If you will not stOp dating, I will send you to the village in the old land," this is a common threat used by parents. Group A parents give their sons permission to date American girls and not Arab girls because this may hurt the community feeling. This differentiation in male-female rights has phayed, unconsciously, an important role in fostering the biggest problem faced by the parents: how to get Moslem Spouses for their daughters. When the parents encourage their sons to date American girls, and prevent their daughters from dating, they unconsciously push their sons to marry Ameri- can girls and at the same time prevent their daughters from the opportunities of marriage. This is one of the important cultural conflicts faced by the community. 265 Group B parents permit their daughters and sons to date, but they insist on knowing all the details involved in dating. If there are any attempts to perform sexual relations, they force their daughters to change their dates. Group B parents are conscious of their reSponsibility for protecting their daughter's chastity, but at the same time they regard dating as a recreational right of their children and as the only way to marriage. They began to encourage their children to date Arab-Moslems and to participate in the Islamic Youth Association where Arab-Moslem girls and boys can get acquainted. They hope that these attempts might solve the big problem of the increasing number of inter- marriages between Moslems and Christians. Group B parents frequently ridicule Group A parents who prevent their daughters from dating and they regard these old-fashioned parents as responsible for their biggest problem. Engagement A. The proposal After selecting the future spouse through either family arrangement, dating, or marriage brokers, the young man asks for the girl's hand. Whether this prOposal was made by the future fiance or by others is presented in the following table 0 266 TABLE 15. --Persons Who Made the Proposal Group A Group B The Persons Number Per Cent Number Per Cent The proposal was made by the interviewee him- self 30 60 17 85 The prOposal was made by the interviewee's mother 13 26 - - The proposal was made by his father .1. lg _2. 15 Totals 50 100 20 100 This table shows that while many of Group A members (u0%) did not make the marriage prOposal by themselves and let their parents do the job, only 15 per cent of Group B reported the same answer. At the same time the pattern of addressing the marriage proposal by the fiance himself is more common among Group B (85%) than among Group A (60%). With respect to the person to whom the marriage proposal was made we find a clear difference between the two Groups. While 92% of Group A reported that the pro- 'posal was made to the girls' parents, only u0% of Group B gave the same response. At the same tire while 60% of Group B made their porposals to the girl herself, only 8% of Group A did. The general conclusion is that the involve- ment of the parents in their children's marriage prOposal is much stronger among Group A than among Group B. 267 B. The engagement ceremony There are different patterns of behavior involved in the engagement party as illustrated by the following table. TABLE 16. --Engagement Party Group A Group B Types of Parties Number Per Cent Number Per Cent No engagement party in Lebanon 8 16% l 5% No engagement party in the U.S. 18 36% 17 85% A traditional Lebanese. village party in Lebanon 13 26% - - A modern Lebanese village party 7 lb% 2 10% An informal house party in the U.S. _& 8% _; - Totals 50 100% 20 100% This table indicates that while most ofGroup B (85%) concluded their engagement in the U.S., many of Group A (56%) performed their engagements in the old land. Almost all the engagements conducted in the U.S. are quiet ones. All Group B members who married Americans had no formal engagement. Some of them reported that the problems involved in their mixed marriages had prevented any Opportunity for formal engagements. These problems were related to the objections of both their parents and their parents-in-law. Others reported that most Americans have quiet engagments and they 268 just followed this pattern. With respect to Group A members we find that h0% of them had quiet engagements. Those who married Americans gave the previous explanations for the lack of ceremony. Those who conducted their engagements in the old land reported that their quiet engagements were due to the following: a) Mourning periods. b) The big difference in age between the man and his fiance. This difference might reach uO years. It is impor- tant to note that a clear difference in age is found between many of Group A members and their wives who came from the old land. c) The man was in a hurry, as he usually took a short vacation from his employer. d) Usually when any of the engaged parties has married before, the engagement is conducted quietly. There are three different ceremonies involved in these engagements. These are: l. The traditional Lebanese village ceremony. This was mentioned before. 3 It is important to note that the golden ring ritual was not always found in this ceremony. However, a golden bracelet, earrings and necklace were common engagement presents. 2. The modern Lebanese village cerem‘py. This takes place in the girl's family house during the afternoon. The guests usually are the immediate relatives and friends of 269 the boy and the girl. They all sit in the widest room of the house, and usually the boy and the girl sit beside each other in the place of honor. The boy gives his fiancee a golden ring on her right hand and sometimes there is a present such as a watch or a bracelet. Women yodel, sing and dance after the departure of men, who leave immediately after the ring ritual. Coated almond, Lebanese delicacies and jucie or coca cola are served during the ceremony. Usually there is a small dinner party for the nuclear families of the boy and girl. The "23353" dance is per- formed at night. It is important to note that men and women sit separately during the ceremony. 3. The "house ceremony" in the U.S. This is usally held in the girl's parents home and it is very similar to the previous ceremony. The only difference is that the engagement ring is always a daimond and the golden present is excluded. Such parties are held only when the two parties are Arab-Moslems either by birth or origin. The diamond ring ritual is found among all the Arab- Moslems who conducted their engagements in the U.S. in spite of the ancestry of the fiancee. C. Engagement period The length of these periods differ greatly; they range from one week to more than two years. However, most of Group B (60%) and many of Group A (u0%) Spent from more than one month to six months as engagement periods. While most of Group B members (90%) went out with their fiancees with- 270 out any supervision or chaperones, only Sh% of Group A had the same type of dating. Those who had no such dating with their fiancees reported that their in-laws who are Arab-Moslems, all of them in the old land, prevented them from going out with tkeir fiancées. Such behavior is inappro- priate according to village traditions. Only Group B mem- bers indulged in a certain degree of sexual freedom with their fiancees (such as necking and hugging). Many presents were offered to the fiancees during this period. It is interesting to note that while Group A members gave jewelry, clothes and candies, Group B members offered compacts, flowers, perfumes, and modern beauty aids such as hair dryers as presents. Most of Group A gave these presents on Islamic feasts. Group B members offered their presents on birth- days and Christmas. Wedding A. Before the wedding_preparations and rituals Before conducting the wedding ceremonies there are some preparations and rituals to describe: Bride's family preparations All of the members who married Christians, either Americans or Arabs, reported that their in-laws had not participated in their daughters' marriage preparations. To explain this attidutde, some said that their American in-laws refused to help their daughters in marriage because they disapproved the marriage. The rest reported that their American in-laws regarded the couple as reSponsible for 271 these preparations. All the members who married Arab- moslems (86% of Group A and h0% of Group B) reported that their in-laws participated in the bride's trousseau. The Arab-Moslem in-laws had bought some pieces of furniture for the newlyweds' house. These in-laws had usually received a high bride-wealth. Groom's family preparations Most of the members who received aids from their fami- lies are those who had married in the old land before migrating to the U.S. Some of Group B who married in the U.S. received some aid from their parents. These aids are eitter money or merchandises. Groom's preparations The general trend is that the groom depended on himself in all marriage preparations, such as paying the license fees, financing the wedding ceremonies if there were any,'and buying new clothes. Most of those who went to the old land to get married Spent many years, sometimes twenty or thirty years, to save enough money for the trip, and for attracting a young Lebanese girl that would marry an old man. The bridal shower Almost all the interviewees who married in the U.S. reported that their wives recived at least two bridal showers from the Arab-Moslem women. On the other hand all the pe0ple who married in the old land answer d that there had been no bridal shower. It is an important point to note that bridal shower ritual has become a widespread pattern 272 ‘ among the Arab-Moslems. These\showers are arranged by female social leaders of the community. Most of the women of the community participate in the shower, especially when the bride and groom are Arab-Moslems. Such showers are charac- terized by the big quantity and the high quality of gifts. When the groom is an Arab-Moslem and the bride is Christian, whether Arab or American, the number of the participants decreases to the half (an estimation) and the presents become less expensive. If the bride is an Arab-Noslem and the groom is Christian, the women express their objection and sadness in several ways: A complete boycott .This act has been weakened by the new liberal attitudes of the new generations. Conducting a very small bridal shower with few presents is a new growing attitude justified by the idea that boy- cotting the girl usually pushes her to convert to Christi- anity. Retaining her identity as a community member will help her to maintain her religion. Known and rich people give elaborate and lavish bri- dal showers for their daughter. Exhanging presents at the bridal showers is an important aspect of the widespread economic co-operation in the community. Presents are always acknowledged and registered so that similar presents may be sent to the senders when they have a shower. Bridal showers are usually conducted one month before the wedding in the bride's family house and it is exclu- sively arranged and conducted by women. The number of such 273 showers per bride ranges from two to six. B. Wedding_ceremonies A distribution of wedding ceremonies and a brief des- cription of these ceremonies are presented as follows: TABLE 17. --Types of Wedding Ceremonies 4r —— I! —Group A Group B Ceremonies Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Quiet wedding in the U.S. 3 6% 6 30% Quiet wedding in Lebanon 2 u% - - Lebanese traditional "Akd keran" and "Erse" 8 16% - - Lebanese modern "Akd keran" and "Erse" 1h 28% h 20% Mosque "Akd keran" and "Erse" in the U.S. 6 12% 7 35% Home "Akd keran" and "Erse" In the U.S. 16 32% 2 10% Church wedding - - 1 5% Totals 50 100% 20 100% The table shows the distribution of wedding ceremonies conducted by the interviewees. Although most of these cere- monies are a combination of the old land and the adopted culture ceremonies, some of them are new patterns. As all Group B members are from the second generation, none of them had the traditional Lebanese weddings which were clearly I found in the Lebanese villages forty years ago. While many 274 of Group B (35%) had mosque ceremonies, a few members of Group A (10%) conduct such ceremonies. This is due to the fact that the mosques have been used for marriage ceremonies only since 19h5. Before this time Arab-Moslems conducted their religious wedding ceremonies either in halls or in their homes. The table shows also that while almost all Group A (9h%) had religious ceremonies and only 6% had civil ceremonies, many'cd'Group B had civil ceremonies and 5% of them had a "church ceremony" in Spite of the Islamic religion of the groom. The previous ceremonies are briefly described as follows: 1. Quiet wedding in the U.S. This means the lack of any formal ceremony. The couple file for the marriage license and the magistrate conducts the solemnization of the marriage. All Group B members who had quiet weddings married Americans. Two of the three members from Group A who had quiet weddings in the U.S. married Americans. The third member who married an Arab- Moslem did not conduct any ceremony because this was the second marriage for the wife. 2. Qgiet wedding in the old land This means the performance of only the marriage con- tract, Akd Keran, without any musical and recreational aspects. The guests were few and all of them were the immediate relatives of the couple. These quiet weddings occurred because one of the involved families was in mourning. It is almost the only circumstance of quiet 275 weddings in Lebanese villages until today. The "Akd Keran" was conducted by the village sheik who officiated the marriage contract. The parties of the contact were, the sheik, the bride's representative for marriage, the groom or his representative for marriage and two witnesses. The details of these rituals were mentioned in Chapter Four. It should not be overlooked that although the previous two types of weddings have the same name, they differ in the following aspects: a) While American quiet weddings are usually civil, the Lebanese ones are religious. b) American quiet weddings represent about 50% of the American weddings (Lee & Lee, 1961:16u) and they are not always based on mourning. Lebanese quiet weddings are very rare and they are always related to mourning circumstances. 3. Lebanese traditional "Akd Keran" and "Erse" These were held in the village. These are character- ized by the collective participation of the patrilineage and most of the villagers, the big number of religious and secular rituals involved, the complete dependence of the groom and bride of their parents in supporting and conducting; the wedding, and the serious stress on the bride-wealth. The details of such ceremonies were mention in Chapter Four. h. Lebanese modern "Akd Keran" and "Erse" These are much more simple than the traditional cere- monies. "Akd el Keran" is held in the bride's family home. The ceremony is usally observed by the male close relatives 276 of the couple. The sheik officiates the marriage contract in the same way as the traditional ceremony. The amount of the bride-wealth should be announced and listed in the con- tract. Refreshments, such as coca cola, Beklawa and coated almonds are distributed after the ceremony. The "EEEEJ" which is the true wedding ceremony, occurs in the bride's parents home on the same day of the_lggd_ Keran" or later. This exclusively is a recreational cere- mony. The groom and bride put on western clothes and parti- cipate in the dancing and the wedding dinner, and at the end they receive contributions from their relatives and friends. The couple may spend their honeymoon.either in a hotel, their private house, or the groom's parents house. These modern ceremonies are prevalent only in Lebanese cities. In the village there are the traditional and the modern type with the wideSpread of the first. 5. Mosque "Akd Keran" and "Erse" in the U.S. Conducting wedding ceremonies in the mosque is a new pattern which is only found in the U.S. In Lebanon as well as all the Middle East countries wedding ceremonies never take place in mosques. This new pattern started in the Arab-Moslem community after ‘wOrld War II and it is origi- nated and conducted by the members of the second generation who are convinced to Change their traditional ways of life to adjust to the new land. At its beginning, the mosque wedding ceremonies were Opposed by the religious leaders and the old members of the community. Their objection was 277 based on the following: a) The mosques, which are regarded as God's house, are primarily places of prayer and they were never used for conducting such ceremonies in the Middle East. b) One of the two wedding ceremonies, the_"gggg" always involves music, songs, Debka, and belly dances. It is illegal according to Islam to conduct such noisy and funny acts in the sacred mosques. The oppositions of the conservative members have gradually faded, and finally these members were forced to accept the new pattern in order to save the existence of the mOSques. This needs some explanation. As mentioned before the subscriptions of the members of the religious associations that maintain the mosques has begun to decrease in such a way that these associations could not find enough money to finance the mosques. An attractive source for increasing the funds of these associations is renting some of the halls of the mOSques to members who want to conduct wedding ceremonies there. Each hall in the two mosques is rented for $50 per night. "Akd Keran" takes place on either Saturday or Sundays between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. in the basesment of the Islamic mosque or the first floor of the Hishimite Club.‘ Many of the members of the community attend such ceremonies without receiving any invitation. Although there are invi- tations, it is common to write a note in the Arabic news- 278 papers about the date of the wedding, the qualities of the bride and groom, and at the end of the note they say that all the Arab-Moslems shoukiregard themselves as invited quests. Chairs are arranged into two groups with an aisle in between. In front there are plenty of flowers ordered in an artistic way and a small table at which the sheik stands. While the Shi'ah sheikz¢3fficiates for the Shi'ah's in the Hashimite Club, the Sunni sheik performs the ceremony for the Sunni members in the Islamic mosque. Although sheiks put on western clothes, they cover the head with a certain religious symbolic head scarf called the EEE£° During the ceremony the immediate nuclear families of the couple sit in the front seats. The bride and groom atten- dants are important aspects of the ceremony. The number of the ushers and bridesmaids ranges from four to sixteen. Sometimes there is a ringbearer or a flower girl. In addition, there should be a bestman and a maid or matron of honor. The couple, their attendants and all the guests put on the special American clothes appropriate for the occasion. The groom is characterized by a white tie. The bridal processional starts with a Special music for the occasion. The order of the processional is, at first the flower girl and ringbearer (if there are any), then the ushers and the bridesmaids walk in couples, which is followed by the bestman and the maid of honor walking together, and then the bride leaning on her father's arm or any patrilateral uncle if the father is dead. In front 279 at the small table there are the sheik and the groom. As the processional reaches the sheik, the father leads his daughter to the groom, who holds her right hand and stands beside her in front of the sheik. Around them are the bride and groom's attendants. The sheik usually conducts the "Akd Keran" first in Arabic and then in English. There are two patterns prac- ticed. The first is conducted between the bride's father as her representative for marriage and the groom. Usually each holds the other's right hand, and the two hands are covered with a handkerchief. The sheik asks each to repeat that he accepts the marriage which is based on certain amounts of bride—wealth. The second form is conducted between the groom and the bride in a similar way. The second which recognizes the bride's right to represent her- self in marriage is more common than the first form. According to the Sunnis, the sheik announces that the marri- age is held on the bases of the principles of Allah and His PrOphet Mohammed. The Shi'ah sheik uses the same formula and he adds the principles of Imam Ali and the other Shi'ah Imams as basis for the marriage. The same ritual is repeated in English. The sheik also asks two of the groom's attendants to be the marriage witnesses. The sheiks have the authority to officiate marriages the same as the clergymen of other denominations. Sometimes this religious ritual is held after the solemnization of the marriage by the county judge. In many occasions the sheiks 280 conduct this solemnization by the previous "Akd Keran" ritual, and they and the two witnesses sign the marriage license. After these signatures, the sheik takes the wedding ring (either gold or diamond) from the bestman and gives it to the groom, who puts it on the bride's left hand. Then the sheik asks the groom to kiss his bride. This signals the end of the ceremony. The guests, including the relatives, rush to congratulate both the groom and bride. The bride is kissed by her parents, siblings and female relatives and friends. There is no bridal recessional. On their way to get in the cars, the guests sprinkle the couple with rice and flowers. After that comes the bogmg el aroos ritual. This refers to the tours of the groom, the bride and their attendants in the community. These drive decorated cars through the community several times. They blow the horns during these tours. Then they go to the photographer. All the costs are paid either by the groom or his parents. The "E322? is conducted on the same day and starts with the wedding dinner at 5:00 p.m., immediately after the groom andbride return from the photographer. Usually the food is Lebanese, fighbg-dish, lamb-vegetable dish, EEEQE salad, grape leaves, and rice are the basic items in the menu. The wedding cake is the last item and it is cut by the bride and groom. Sometimes American food is served if the ceremony is conducted in American halls. After enjoying the festive meal, dishes and tables are 281 removed and the chairs are rearranged in circular lines to leave an empty space in the center. At the front there is a stage reserved for the Arabic orchestra. They play Arabic instruments such as the lute, tabla, cod and tar. All the music and songs are Arabic. The guests dance the 23353 several times. Men and women, whether old or young dance together. Even the children participate in the dance. From time to time an Arab-maiden performs belly dances and while she is dancing, the guests give her their nokoot (con- tributions) for the groom and bride. Some guests put the dollar bills on the girl's head, shoulder, or feet. Some- times the money falls down, but the bestman, the person who is reSponsible for the nokoot takes care of the fallen money. At the end of each dance he takes the contributions from the dancer. Suddenly the music becomes very loud and a receptionist announces that the bride will dance. The guests express their excitement by clapping. During her. dance, guests throw money, either on her or on the floor. The groom usually dances with the bride. Both perform belly dances. The bride's mother may dance to collect contributions for the newlyweds. The ceremony ends by the ritual of the bridal bouquet . The bride stands on the stage, and many maidens stand behind her to catch her bridal bouquet when she throws it. It is believed that the first maiden who catches the bouquet is the next bride. The ceremony terminates at midnight when the couple go home to change their clothes in order to begin their honeymoon. 282 Note that there are no "wedding gifts". 6. Home "Akd Keran" and ”Erse" Before l9u5, most of the wedding ceremonies were con- ducted in the bride's parents' home, and the rest took place in a big hall rented for the occasion. Old home ceremonies were very similar to the previous ceremonies with the excep- tion of the bridal processional. Modern home wedding cere- monies now include bridal processioral. These ceremonies are less formal than those conducted in the mosque. Mosque and home ceremonies take place when both the bride and groom are Arab—Moslems. However, some few cases of marriage between Arab-Moslem men and American girls were conducted according to the previous ceremonies. When the girl is Arab-Moslem and the groom is Christian, none of these ceremonies are conducted unless the Christian man converts to Islam.in front of a sheik. Even in this last case, it is rare that such marriages include elaborate ceremonies. 7. Church weddigg_ It is a very rare case that an Arab-Moslem who marries a Christian girl accepts having a church wedding. This was conducted once by a member of Group B whose American wife had insisted on the church wedding. It is interesting to note that the same couple had also a home Islamic marriage ceremony. Details of American church wedding were presented in the previous chapter. 283 In all the religious ceremonies, Akd heran the bride- wealth amount is declared. It is important to note that in many cases these amounts do not represent the truth. They are either an exageration or an imagination. Sometimes the bride's parents allow the groom to buy the bride's trousseau and furnish their new apartment instead of paying a bride— wealth. The announced amount is usually divided into advent and late bride-wealth that were discussed before. While almost all the members who married Arab-Moslems reported that they paid bride-wealths, most of those who married Americans gave a negative answer. Consequently the general tendency is the decreasing importance of bride-wealth ritual, while 86% of Group A paid bride-wealths (26% in the old land and u0% in the U.S.), only 35% of Group 8 did (15% in Lebanon and 20% in the U.S.). A relevant point to this subject is the on—going debate in the community (in the summer of 1963) concerning the significance of the bride-wealth system. Group A people, especially the old, see the ritual as an Islamic prerequisite for marriage and as an effective factor for marriage stability. Besides, some p rents accept any amount of money to facilitate their daughters' marriages. Group 8 members see the ritual as obsolete and which has played an important role in discouraging the young men to marry girls from the community, because some parents ask for a high bride-wealth. Marriage stability is protected in a more effective way by American laws, some of Group 8 reported. 284 With regard to the costs of the wedding ceremonies, there are some differences. Grooms and their parents pay almost all the costs of mosque and home weddings in the U.S. Traditional Lebanese weddings are sponsored by the groom's extended family. Those who saved money in the U.S. and travelled to Lebanon to gut married paid all the wedding costs. \ At last it is irportant to examine the functions of elnokoot, marriage contributions ritual. This is a type of economic aid offered by the community as a whole, in spite of its social and sectarian differences, to the newly- weds. Emphasizing the social solidarity and economic co- Operation among the communitv members are some of its func- tions. In addition, these contributions help the couple in establishing their new home and financing their honeymoon trip. The ritual also may be regarded as a social pressure that encourages marriages among the community members. This is explained by the fact that these contributions become very high if the couple are Arab-Moslems, lower in the case that the bride is Christian and nothing if the groom is Christian. Although trese contributions usually range from $200 to $1000, sometimes they reach more than $2000. There is an interesting circulated stdry about a family which took advantage of the ritual by encouraging their daughter to remarry several times in order to collect a large amount of contributions. iany community members ridi- cule this family by saying, "They made business of their 285 daughter's remarriage!" C. Honeymoon Honeymoon ritual is more common in Group B than in Group A. While 72% of Group A reported that they did not have any honeymoon, including some of those who married in the U.S., 85% of Group B reported that they had such a ritual. It should not be overlooked that those who married before 19h5 had no honeymoon whether they married Americans or Arabs and whether they had their marriage in Lebanon or the U.S. Those who married after that date had honeymoons. It is important to note that today the ritual becomes—common in the community as well as in‘the old land. Hotels in cities of Detroit, Chicago, Toledo, Niagara Falls and Beirout (in Lebanon) are the places where these honeymoons take place. Some of Group A (3h%) and very few of Group B (10%) had a sabahia ceremony, that is the dinner and offering of gifts ceremony on the first day after marriage. The cere— mony has vanished in the U.S. All the previous cases took place in Lebanon during the twenties and thirties. While almost all Group B (95%) lived in a private dwelling immediately after the wedding, only some of Group A (u8fi) did. Thirty per cent of Group A and 5% of Group B lived in their parent's homes and 22% of Group A lived in their in-law's homes. Those are the persons who migrated recently to the U.S. and had to get married there in order to get an immigrant visa. They usually did not have enough 286 money to establish private dwellings. Marriage Forms Monogamy This is the only form of marriage, on the basis of the number of the parties involved, permitted by American law to all American citizens in Spite of their religious rules of marriage. With reSpect to the community in question, a clear conflict between religion and civil law presents it- self. While Islam recognizes polygyny, American laws pro- hibit it, to the extent that any polygynous marriage is annulled and the offenders may spend several years in jail as a punishment. Group A men feel that they were deprived of an important religious right that emphasizes male superi- ority. Many of them gave the following comment "American laws are always for women". 0n the other hand Group A women are very pleased to live under American laws where they have privileges not found in the old land. Something has already been said about the few cases where some members of Group A have practiced polygyny by marrying a second wife in the old land. The American authorities forced them to divorce one of their wives although they justified their behavior by referring to the Islamic regulations in marriage. Group B members, men and women are not consciows of the conflict and it seems that many of them are not aware of the Islamic permission of polygyny. 287 Sororate Another aspect of marriage forms in the community is the existence of the sororate form; h% of Group A married the sisters of their deceased Arab-Moslem wives. They reported that they Spent a lot of money to travel to the old land to marry their wives' sisters in order to guarantee a kind treatment for their children. Mixed Marriagg Regarding the ancestry of the wife as a basis of classi- fication, marriages in the community may be divided into endogamous and exogamous marriages. The first term refers here to the marriage which took place between two Arab-Mos- lems. In exogamous marriage one party is an Arab-Moslem and the other is either American or Arab-Christian. This last type is also called mixed marriage. Among the seventy marriages studied as a sample, fifty-one are endogamous and nineteen are mixed marriages. Mixed marriages are more common among Group B (60%) than among GrOUp A (lh%). Mixed marriages involving American wives are more frequent than those involving Arab-Christian wives; among Group A 12% married Americans and 2% married Arab-Christians; 55% of Group B married Americans and 5% married Arab-Christians. This form of marriage is recognized by Islam and religious freedom of the wife should be granted.‘ Another form of mixed marriage is found in a very limi— ted number, this is between an Arab-Koslem woman and an American Christian man. This type is unrecognized by Islam 288 and in turn is strongly opposed by the community members, especially Group A. This last form needs some explanation. When an Arab-Moslem girl falls in love with an American to the degree of thinking of marrying him, her parents do their best to convince their daughter to change her mind. Some- times their attempts take dramatic forms, such as trying to commit suicide or threatening her with boycott forever. Many other members of the community, such as the patrilineage leaders, the religious leaders and women leaders, participate in the attempts to persuade the girl to give up her love. The story becomes a common subject of gossip everywhere in the community. When all the previous attempts fail, they usually convince her to tell the American to convert to Islam in order to marry her. Usually the American man accepts the idea and he goes to one of the sheiks WhO‘ explains the princigles of Islam during several meetings. In the last meeting the sheik conducts the conversion ritual, the Christian man announces in front of two witnesses that there is only one god, that is Allah and that Mohammad is His Prophet. The community sheiks reported that they always advise the girl to be a good Moslem wife, to keep her hus- band in Islam and to insist on rearing the future children as Moslem. These religious leaders estimated that about 50% of those Christians keep up their new religion and the other 50% reconvert to Christianity and many of them try to impose their religion on the wife and children. This is a common reason for divorce. 289 The previous two types of mixed marriages are regarded by the members as the hardest problem facing the community. The problem has two interdependent sides. The increasing number of male members who marry American Christians repre- sents the first side. The second side is the increasing number of female members who marry Americans. The increasing pattern of mixed marriage is clearly illustrated by the following findings. While 12% of Group A married Americans, 55% of Group B did. Bearing in mind that most of Group A (9hfi) from the first generation all of Group B from the second generation, the above percentages represent an increasing tendency toward mixed marriage. It is significant to note that while all Group B sons chose American wives, 75p of Group A sons have American wives. Mixed marriages are more common among male members than among women. While 75% of Group A sons married Americans, only 20% of Group A daughters did. Most of the American husbands (75%) of these daughters converted to Islam. None of Group A women married Americans. The significance of the problem lies in the increasing number of conversions, all of which are related to mixed marriages. Sometimes American wives insist on rearing the children as Christians. In other cases some American husbands force their wives and children to become Christians. The increasing number of conversions, which is still very small, represents, according to the informants, an overwhelming danger that threatens the future existence of 290 the whole community. Group A members deal with the problem in authoritarian ways, yelling at and scolding their sons and ostracizing their daughters when they marry Americans. Many of Group A become pessimistic and frequently comment that "Islam is in danger." Group B members, who experience the problem with its two sides, charge Group A parents with being the source of the problem. Group B members see that the problem can be solved if Group A parents "change their old-fashioned mind." Some believe the solution can be reached by encouraging their children to get acquainted and to date teenagers from the community. The last important point related to mixed marriage is the ancestry of the Americans who are involved. The sample findings and the field notes show that most of these Ameri- cans are in fact members of other ethnic groups. In Detroit there are many ethnic groups in addition to the community in question, such as Italian, Mexican, Polish and Greek ethnic groups. The proximity of an Italian ethnic group to the community has played an important role in increasing inter— marriages among members from the two communities. Many of the children of the Italian community go with Arab-Moslem children to Saline school. Husband-Wife Relationshipg In considering the significant interpersonal relation- ships involved in marriage, it is particularly important to bear in mind that most of the community represents 291 nuclear families that live in independent dwellings. There- fore the important relevant relationship is the husband- wife relationship. Many different behavior patterns are included in this relttionship, some of which follows. Address and Reference Terms All Group B husbands address their wives either by first name or by the term "honey". Only MOE of Group A address their wives by first name and none of them use the term "honey". Many of Group A (60%) address their wives either by the Arabic kinship term ggnt ammi (my fatfer's brother's daughter) or by the term Em_X (the mother of X), X indicating the name of the first son. All these members (60%) of Group A married Arab-Moslem wives from the old land. The others who use the wife‘s name married either Americans or American born Arab-Moslems. Those who use the term ”honey" have American wives. A similar differenti- ation is found in the terms used by the wife in addressing her husband, but the Arabic terms change. Fifty-eight per cent of the wives of Group A address their husbands either by the term "Ibn ammi," my father's brother's son or by the "222," the father of X. All Group B husbands refer to their wives by name while none of Group A do. The majority of Group A (58%), all married Arab-Moslems from the old land, refer to their wives by the Arabic kinship term ”bint ammi". Some of them (ZMZ) married either to Americans or American born Arab-Moslem, refer to their wives by name. The rest of 292 Group A who married Arab-Moslem from Lebanon differ in the following way. Some (16%) refer to their wives by the Arabic term "3113," family, and 6% of the same Group use another Arabic term "hormite," my woman. The wives refer to their husband in simialr way to that used by the husband in referring to them. ‘ FousekeepinggAffairs Almost all the interviewees reported that they do not per- iknmwany housework, which is regarded exclusively the wife's job. Many of Group A feel it is a shame to them to perform any housework. In respect to selecting the daily menu and keeping the touse budget some differences are found between the two Groups. While 95% of Group B let their wives select the daily menu and only 5% select it themselves, among Group A 66% let their wives select the menu, 8% choose it by themselves, 18% participate with their wives in selecting the menu, and L% reported that their parents or their parents-in-law select the menu as they live with them. The previous findings show that Group B wives have more freedom than those of Group A in selecting the daily menu. House- keeping budget findings represent another difference between the two GroUps. While 95% of Group B reported that their wives keep this budget, only 26% of Group A did. This 26% married either Americans or American born Arab-Moslems. Social and Recreational Activities While most of Group A (88%) accompany their wives in most of social visiting and 123 of the same Group-reported 293 that they do not accompany their wives in social visiting, all Group B husbands visit their relatives, neighbors, and friends with their wives. It was noted that;these 12% of Group A represent old immigrants who have Iebanese wives. Although all the interviewees reported that they dance tte "Egbkg," they differed in their responses concerning hestern dances. Most of Group A (80%) never danced with their wives any Western dance, but 903 of Group B performed such dances. All the members who reported the performance of these dances married either Americans or AmeriCan born Arab-Voslems. A few of Group B (15%) give permission to their American wives to dance with other men. All the rest of the sample (100% of Group A and 85$ of Group B) did not accept this pattern of behavior. Most of the community members (72% of Group A and 100% of Group B) offer presents to their wives on occasions such as Christmas, Islamic feasts and birthdays. Many of Group A (h6%) do not receive presents from their wives, but all of Group B do. Wedding anniversary celebrations are only common among Group B. A similar differentiation is found with respect to the wife's or husband's birthday celebration. Reactions to Wives' Working and Driving The pattern of wives‘ working is more common among Group B than in Group A. With respect to the feelings involved, a difference exists between the previous two Groups. While all Group B approve their wives' working outside the o of house, some of Group A members who have working wives (28p) 294 reported that they hate to see their wives working outside the touse. These, however, accept the situation because of economic neCessity. With regard to the use of automobiles, driving wives are more common among Group B (90%) than in Group A (hu%). Most of these wives are either Americans or American-born Arab-Moslems. All Group B and some of Group A whose wives do not drive explained this by saying that their wives dis- liked driving. Some of Group A forbid their wives to drive because "the Moslem woman should not drive a car" or "driving cars is a man's job, women are not strong enough". Differences and Problems Unfortunately, the interview findings are unreliable with respect to ttese patterns of behavior. It was found that the community merhers regarded the husband-wife differ- ences as private and sensitive areas that should not be revealed in such an interview. Although the interviewer introduced his questions, by eXplaining that problems occasi- onally emerge between husbands and wives everywhere in the world, almost all of them reported that there are no problems. Participant observation and unstructured interviews played an important role in providing some relevant information. While the community members did not like to speak about their personal problems, they were willing to chatter about others' diSputes. Their strong interest in gossip was a great help. Differences and problems between husband and wife are diff- erentiated according to the ancestry, religion, or age of 295 tie couple. These are: Arab-Moslem Spouses Group A husbands argue and quarrel with their Arab- Noslems wives from time to time. Those who married Arab- Moslems from Group A do not recognize men-women legal equality provided by American laws. At the same time, most of these women are aware of these privileges and they use them at proper times. An example is their refusal to be beaten by their husbands, and many of them called the police and filed for divorce in such cases. 0n the other hand men do not recognize or believe in such equality and they always refer to Islamic laws of mens' superiority and describe American laws as biased for women. The problems take another form when the husband is from Group A and the wife from Group B. This type of marriage is common in the community, as many parents ask for their nephews (especially their brothers' sons) to migrate to the U.S. through marrying their daughters wlo have American citizenship by birtt. Differences in language and customs are partially responsible for many domestic problems. American-born wives insist on their rights as equal part- ners in the family. Some divorces occurred because of this conflict. In general, there are few quarrels and differences between Group B man and their wives who came from the old land. This may be due to the lack of the previous problem of equality as Group B men believe in husband-wife equality. 296 A common aspect among Group A members who went to the old land to get married is the considerable difference between the ages of these members and their wives. Most of these husbands are much older than their Spouses. The differences of ages range from 10 to 50 years. These men spent a considerable period of time in saving money to afford the trip and to persuade the Lebanese girls by offering a high bride-wealth and a lot of gifts. iarrying an immigrant is the greatest dream of many Lebanese maidens, especially the poor one. Therefore old immigrants do not find any difficulty in marrying a young girl. But several years later many problems arise between the old men and their yound wives. Some of these problems are jealousy, mis- conduct and continuous quarrels. Some of these young wives divorced their old husbands as soon as they obtained citizenship. In the summer of 1963 the community gossip included a story of a young Lebanese wife who lost her mind because of the restrictions of her old husband (from Group A) who was very jealous of her. The wife was in a mental hOSpital in Detroit. Mixed Marriage The basic problem in miXed marriage is religion. Although most of the American and Arab-Christian parties accept, orally, the Islamic principle that the children should be Moslems, many of them change their minds later. The problem of rearing the children either as Moslems or_as Christians might be regarded as the source of most of the 297 ‘ Spouses' arguments and quarrels, and in turn the source of many cases of divorce. Americans who insisted on rearing their children as Christians see that "something is better than nothing.” They mean that Islam in the community is weak and may be dead, for that reason they intend to rear their children as Christians. Very few of the Arab-Moslem husbands accept the previous justification; most of them fight with their Christian wives to prevent them from con- verting the children to Christianity. Many stories of this conflict are heard everywhere in the community. For example, when an Arab-Noslem husband caught his American wife accom- panving their children to the Church, he became mad and beat the wife, who in turn filed for divorce. Another story is that of an Arab-Moslem husband becoming very angry when he noticed his son wearing a "chain with a cross" and he pulled it off, hurting the boy‘s neck. In addition to religious differences, there are some other sources of problems within mixed marriages. Some of these problems are: 1. Food habits Almost all the community members like Lebanese food and prefer it to American cooking. Although some American wives have learned how to cook the Lebanese favorite dishes, Kebbe, Mahshi, Homas, etc., many of them prefer American dishes. The difference in food habits has been a source of many arguments and quarrels. Some husbands of Group B Who married Americans reported that they eat their dinners in 298 Arabic restarurants, since their wives do not cook Lebanese food. 2. Language differences While all Group A parents insisted on teaching their children Arabic, some American wives cppose these attempts. This has resulted in conflicts between some American wives and their husbands from Group A. horeover, some American wives became embarrassed when their husbands talked Arabic with his relatives, and Phey could not participate in the talks. 3. Wife's freedom Generally Arab-Foslems are more strict with their wives than American husbands. They consider the gossip and com- ments of the conservative members in the community. Some Americans wives do not accept conservative restrictions on their clothes, behavior in public, cosmetics and movement. Some such differences resulted in divorce. It'should be emphasized that these problems are not existent in every mixed family. There are many cases of successful mixed marriages. The emphasis on the disintegra- tive side of the husband-wife relationships is presented as a possible way to terminate the marriage. That is the sub- ject of the next section. The Termination of Marriage The marriages presented before end in one of the ttree following ways: 299 Annulment The community members are subjected to Michigan laws with respect to annulment. These were mentioned before. Divorce Although there is no direct date about divorce, some questions give indications that divorce is not common in the community. Its rate is lower than the American average. While 78% of Group A and 855 of Group B married once, 18% of Group A and 15% of Group B married twice, and b% of Group A married three times. With respect to the problems leading to divorce, all the problems discussed before would lead to divorce. The legal grounds and procedures of divorce are defined by Michigan Law3they were presented in Chapter Five. The legal right of wives to divorce their husbands under certain conditions bothers Group A husbands, who believe that women sro ld not have such a right. On the contrary Group B husbands are convinced of the rightness of the law. Many community members (especially in Group A) conduct an Islamic divorce after receiving the divorce certificate. This includes a simple religious ritual conducted by the sheik in which the man announces his desire to divorce the wife and to pay her late bride-wealth. The sheiks estimated that one divorce occurs in every six or seven marriages. They reported that they do their best to reconcile the disputing Spouses and that sometimes their attempts succeed. According to them, marriages among Arab-Moslems of the 300 second generation are more stable than other marriages. 22222 Legal procedures are regulated by Michigan law. Some widows from the old country return to Lebanon if they do not have children and if their children are young. Few cases of. sororate are found in the community. Kinship relationships among the patrilineage of the survived Spouses play an important role in helping these Spouses in overcoming the death crisis. Summary In the fourth and fifth chapters, the focus of study centered on the marriage patterns determined in reSpect to the two involved cultures as prior to the culture contact. In this chapter theSc patterns are defined as in contact. The same general categories of the patterns were fol- lowed in the previous three chapters in order to apply an inclusive method of comparison. Data provided in this chapter were mainly collected through structured inter- viewing, a technique that was not applied in the other two ssctivns. Quantitative data provided evidence of differences between the patterns of behavior of Groups A and B. While the immigrants are mainly oriented toward the Lebanese traditional cultures, their descendants follow many patterns of the American culture. The mechanisms of involvement in this coexistence of two different cultures are determined in the following two chapters. 301 In addition to this coexistence, this chapter pre- sents many aSpects of culture conflicts that have many clear features on the social level. While Group A members dream of their past superiority to women in the old land, Group B members are convinced of the rightousness of women—men equality. The immigrants do what they could to prevent their daughters from dating. Their d scendants recognize that this pattern is the only way to marriage in America, and they should modify both their religion and the American pattern. A feeling of ethnicity is found to be much stronger among Group A than among the other group. While the first group view the increasing cases of mixed marriage as a fatal threat to their in—group existence, Group B members look at it as a problem that needs a solution, and they regard the orthodox immigrants as reSponsible for all their own problems. MIR VII ACCULTURAT mi ANALYSIS Although there are several definitions of accultura- tion. the following definition is the most useful for these purposes: ”Acculturation is a type of culture change that is initiated by the conjunction of two or more autonomous cultural qstens. A cultural system is composed of cultur- al units that have their own mutually adjusted and inter- dependent parts. An autonomous cultural system does not need to be maintained by a complementary, reciprocal, sub- ordinate, or other indispensable connection with a second system“ (Barnett, Broom, Siegel, Vogt, and Watson 1956: 974). The Dearborn Araquoslem community has involved two cultural systems. the Islamic Lebanese Village subculture, and the American urban subculture. These two cultural systems were completely autonomous prior to the migration of some of the first subculture carriers to the second subculture home. This migration has resulted in a con- Junction of the two cultural systems and, in turn, an acculturation process. How these immigrants had lived in the old land was presented in the second and fourth chapters. The limitation of space prevented any detailed descriptive 302 303 account of the host culture that would be meaningful with respect to the immigrants' new way of life. However, a rough list of some general asPects of the American culture was mentioned in this chapter, and a detailed account of the American middle class marriage patterns were presented in the fifth chapter. The way of life of these immigrants ‘ and their descendants as practiced in the summer of 1963 was described in the third and sixth Chapters. These pre- vious chapters have provided us with the necessary materials in order to analyze the process of acculturation. This analysis, the subject of this chapter, is limited to the cultural level that mainly concerns with the patterns of overt and learned behavior. The acculturation analysis is divided into three subjects: general aspects of the culture contact, situations of acculturation, and the processes of acculturation. These _i‘_______,,__, are discussed as follows: General Asgects of the;¢ulture Contact The culture contact in question has resulted from the migration of some Arab-Moslems, the recipient-culture carriers, to the United States, home of the donor-culture. This culture contact is characterized by the following: A. With respect to the size of the parties of the contact, the emigrant group is one of the smallest ethnic groups in the United States. These immigrants represent only a small part of the Middle East pOpulation. The host culture is represented by a much larger pOpulation, the 304 United States pOpulation. The difference in the sizes of the carriers of the two cultures in contact is very large (compare 180 million, including American ethnic groups, with 4,000). B. Another aspect of the contact is the fact that the interpersonal relationships involved have been, generally speaking, friendly. Some aspects of hostility were reported by the old emigrants who faced religious discrimination in employment in the past. This hostility has completely vanished with the increased number of literate and educated descendants in the community. Moreover, the decline of self-inferiority feelings has played a partial role in ending this hostility. The fact that almost all the members are white Caucasians may attribute to the absence of any racial discrimination in the culture content. None of the very few members who have brown complexions reported racial discrimination. It seems that the absence of any Indian or Negroid physical features among the brown complexioned members may explain the lack of such discrimination. Thus we can say that the culture contact has become a friendly one. C. In this case of culture contact, the donor-culture carriers are numerically, politically, and economically mush more dominant than the recipient-culture carriers. D. This aspect deals with the nature of the cultures in contact. The characteristics of the indigenous culture 305 were previously mentioned in chapter two. A full present- ation of American culture is so wide and complex that a whole study might not be enough to cover it in full. Be- cause of space limitation, only a brief presentation of some general aspects of the American culture are stated below. Bearing in mind that the community is located in an indus- trial city, and that most of the immigrants have worked in factories, the following presentation is mainly concerned with a rough outline of the urban-industrial subculture._. 1. In general, the American economic system be- longs to modern capitalism. The aim of American modern economic institutions is to produce ever-finer goods in ever- increasing quantities at ever-lower prices, under a system which insures the freedom and welfare of all members of the society. This conception is the raison d'etre (Graham 1957: 232). Mass production and employment,a high degree of specialization, automation, and applying scientific methods are the basic characteristics of modern American industry. Satisfactory conditions of work are maintained by cooperation between management and labor. ' 2. Americans furnish their permanent, closed dwellings with beds, tables, chairs, rugs, curtains, clocks, and kitchenware. Almost every American family has at least a refrigerator, a range, a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine, a television, and a car. Americans are known as “push- button" peOple because of their strong dependence on madhines in their daily life. 306 3. The American food features bacon and eggs, cow's milk, steaks, mashed potatoes, vegetables, bread, pies and ice cream. Popular as snacks are hamburgers, hot dogs, Coca-Cola, and candy bars (Mason 1955:1269). 4. Nuclear family is the most important kin group. The system of residence is neolocal. Descent is bilateral, the father's side is slightly favored in that his wife and children take his surname as their own. Marriage,‘husband- wife relationships, and other intra-family relationships are administered by local governmental units through Special laws. As Special institutions have develOped to cater to needs for education, religion, recreation and economic activity, the family, whiCh formerly satisfied them, has been displaced (Graham 19573209). Many other aspects of the American family were presented in Chapter five. 5. Social relationships outside the family have become casual and conventionalized. Americans of Caucasian ancestry are differentiated in an Open hierarchy of social classes that are established on differences in occupation, income, education, and social behavior. Americans of non- Caucasian ancestry, Negroes, Indians, and Orientals, con- stitute most of the minority groups in the U.S. against which discrimination is applied by some Caucasian Americans in employment, marriage, and social participation (Mason 1955:1270-71). 6. The clock is a major technique of organizing 307 the social interaction in the American culture. Punctuality tends to be strictly observed by Americans. 7. Detailed specified civil laws regulate almost all the impersonal and interpersonal relationships of Americans. ‘ 8. Protestantism is the prevalent religion. Catholicism and Judaism are in subordinate positions, numerically. The basic Protestant tenet of state-dburdh separation has allowed the develOpment of numerous Protes-' tant denominations and a climate which has been hospitable enough to minimize religious prejudice (Graham 19572405). Christian principles are taught by professional clergy every Sunday in organized church services. In addi- tion, there is the Sunday school class in which youngsters and adults receive religious indoctrination. During the week, Church members arrange opportunities for social and recreational activities (Mason 1955:1272). Americans are interested in religion mainly with respect to the problems of the unknown, such as death and the hereafter. 9. American government is a federal system that reserves certain sovereign rights to the states and dele- gates. The central government was carefully organized so that each of the three major brandhes of government, exe- cutive, legislative, and judicial, should have cheeks on the powers of the others. The Congress itself was split into a bicameral structure (the House and the Senate) in part to prevent the gathering of too mudh power into one 308 group (Graham 19573348). Equality of Opportunity is the democratic principle upon whidh the government, a strictly secular institution, was founded. Public officials are elected to legislative and executive posts. Honest, educat— ed, practical, and civic-minded persons are sought for public services (Mason 195531273). 10. The two American major parties appear to appeal to voters of different social characteristics. The Democratic party contains larger prOportions of the lower socio-economic groups, such as Negroes and Jews. The Republican party includes higher economic status: persons who are well-educated, and those of north-western EurOpean derivation (Graham 19573376). 11. American culture, with the great contribution of its immigrants from a large variety of other countries, has borrowed a great deal of elements from other cultures (Graham 1957338). 12. Education is compulsory for the two sexes be- tween the ages of six and sixteen years. In the school the Child's regular attendance is required in these ten years. In school the pupil is introduced to conformity of behavior and the value of individual enterprise and competition. There is almost complete isolation between religion and school (Mason 195531271). 13. Some of the American positive values are free- dom, equality, and individualism (Graham 19573147). In addition, Americans are strongly motivated to achieve. 309 personal success, which is measured mainly by the income they earn. A conflict is found between some American ,- ideals—-such as between aggressive competitiveness on one hand, and middleclass virtues of honesty, charity, brother- hood, chivalry, and group loyalty on the other hand. Science, punctuality, and education are strongly admired by Americans (Mason 195531955). Comparing these general characteristics of American culture with the indigenous culture of the community in question emphasizes basic differences between the two cultures in contact. Borrowing Redfield terms, we can generally say that while the recipient-subculture represents the peasant way of life that stresses the moral order more than the technical one, the donor-subculture belongs to Western industrial culture that emphasizes the tedhnical order over the moral one (Redfield 1959339). In addition, clear differences in religion, language, residence and descent systems, kinships systems, technology, values, etc. are easily observed. The only basic similarity between the cultures in contact is their civilized aSpect.' Thus we can conclude that the two parties of acculturation are very different. Situations of Acculturation Forced Situations Some culture elements of the donor culture are forced upon the community members. Some examples are pre- sented as follows: 310 The most clear example of this situation is legal compulsory regulations. The community members have to respect Michigan laws. For example, the members have to send their children to American\schools for at least ten years, from the ages of six to sixteen years. The child- ' ren have to speak English in the schools. The members who intend to get married have to apply for a marriage license, which should be solemnized by either the authoriz- ed magistrate or the sheik. The members should not marry more than one wife in spite of their Islamic rules, which recognize polygyny. The members who work in American institutions should speak English during work. Members are prohibited by law from beating their wives, and from representing their daughters in marriage contracts. A second forced situation is presented by social pressure. The community members, for instance, deserted atheir native villages' clothes and put on American clothes. Although American laws do not impose certain dress on the citizens, the widespread conformity in clothes, and the intense social pressure involved, may contribute to the immediate acculturation in this complex. . The lack of the existence of some‘Lebanese cultural items have forced the members to substitute them with American equivalents, such as the case of furniture and housing. Moreover, many pioneers reported that they were 311 forced to marry Americans because of the absence of enough Arab-Moslem women in the community. In the latter case, the nonavailability of the native culture elements may be regarded as an imposing force in the process of acculturation. . Voluntagy Situations Situations in which elements of the donor culture have been received voluntarily by the community members are found in many patterns of behavior as presented in the following3 1. Religious activities represent some of these situations. The big change in the functions of the mosque, illustrated by the extension of its functions to include their wedding, dinner and entertaining parties, may be regarded as an unconscious attempt to borrow some func- tions of the American church. In the old land none of these functions are related to the mosque, which is ex- clusively confined to religious activities of prayer and teaching. 2. The Sunday School institution as conducted by the members in the mosques. 3. The use of English among the members who 312 knownArabic in their social meetings. 4. The increasing number of intermarriages of the descendants, especially the males, in spite of the existence of many legitimate candidates from the community, is another instance of voluntary acculturation. 5. The increasing interests in voluntary associations as represented by the considerable number of such associations, presents a type of association which was not found in the indigenous subculture. 6. The community members, especially Group B, have begun to be so interested in American politics that some of them won offices in the major American parties. 7. The youth are interested in American music and dances. 8. The increasing significance of dating and love as a basis for marriage is another example. A tu ation P esses This section aims at defining the factors that influence the culture contact and the mechanisms through which the processes of acculturation function. These are discussed as follows3 The Order of Selection of Patterns The following analysis arranges the selected cultural elements on the basis of time. Which elements. 313 were selected first and which came later is our interest. Bearing in mind that the pioneers began to come to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century and then began to constitute an identified group in the twenties, our order begins with 1920. From 1920 to 1945, the community was characterized by the dominance of Group A, as the members of Group B were either children or youngsters. In this period a rough order of the selection in question is represented in the following3 1. Putting on American clothes, living in American houses,and using American furniture. 2. Learning to speak some American sentences. 3. Working as common laborers (unskilled) in American factories. 4. Changing their Arabic names as a reaction to religious discrimination in employment. 5. Marrying American wives (very few cases) according to American laws. 6. Voluntary associations based on sectarian differences. The second period, from 1945 to 1963, was character- ized by the decline of Group A authority and the existence of Group B as a liberal movement in the community. Some of Group B grew up, got married, and occupied advanced positions. Although many of them left the community 314 because of labor demands, the small number of the adults who stayed in the community began to move up to leadership positions. During this period many cultural elements were selected from the donor culture. The big differences found in the patterns of behavior of Groups B and.A indi- cates that the following cultural patterns have been main- ly selected by Group B members. These patterns are3 1. Attending American schools. 2. Conducting lavish funerals with expensive caskets. 3. Conducting wedding and recreational parties in the mosques. 4. Dating between males from the community and American girls. 5. Dating between males and females from the community. 6. Love as a way to marriage. 7. Marrying American women (many cases). 8. Interest in American music, songs, and dances. 9. Interest in American politics. 10. A limited interest in American food. 11. Civil weddings and divorces without religious ceremonies. 12. Accepting the principle of husband-wife 315 equality. 13. Weakness in the degree of religiosity. 14. Dating between girls from the community and American boys. ' 15. Marrying from the other sect. 16. Marrying American men who converted to Islam. 17. Marrying American Christian men who didnot convert to Islam. 18. Voluntary associations including the two sects. The previous order shows that the elements enforced by law, social pressure, unavailability, and utility were selected first and those based on voluntary selection came later. Moreover, it is noted that the elements prohibited by Islam, such as performing parties in mosques and inter- marriage between Moslem girls and Christian men, were selected very recently. Group B has played an important role in selecting the recent elements. Sectarian differ- ences were strongly maintained in marriage. Fgctors of Accelerating Acculturation These factors are divided into two types3 A. Techniques belonging to the donor culture. Some of these were previously mentioned, such as law, social pressure, and compulsory American education. In addition, the following factors were effective3 316 1. Mass pggduction. This production has re- duced the prices of articles and at the same time‘has standardized most of them. This has helped in persuading the immigrants to buy American articles. Most of them have cars, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, and vacuum cleaners. 2. Naturalization. Obtaining the American citizenship gives the'immigrant social prestige both in the community and in the old land. The formal educational requirements forced some immigrants to attend night schools in order to learn the information necessary to pass the examination. It is interesting to note that the questions asked on such examinations are basic subjects of gossip in the community. Those who passed the exam gave lessons to the new applicants. American television and newspapers are very effective in introducing the American culture to the community members. 3. Intemargiages. Marrying American spouses provides close culture contacts, which accelerate the pro- cess of selecting elements from the donor-culture. 4. Working with Americans. To earn a living the immigrants have to work in American companies as common workers. In them they develcp social relationships with Americans. 5. Economic advantage . Mastering English 317 language, having education, and conforming with American values are important steps to be followed in order to obtain advanced positions, and in turn, to earn more money. 6. Social advantaggs. Among Group B, economic success and college education are the way to social prestige and leadership. Many of Group B study at night schools to improve their social standing. All these increase the possibilities of contacting with Americans. 7. Selecting Someggltural Elements From the Recipient Cultugg. Two Arab culture elements are accepted and practiced by some Americans. These are the Lebanese food and the Arab music, dances, and song. The establish- ment of Arab restaurants and night clubs in Detroit has played an important role in increasing friendly inter- personal relationships between the Americans and the com- munity members. B. Technigges Belonging to the Recipient Culture and Its Mgmbers. 1. Elements of thg recipient-culture. These have promoted the acceleration of acculturation. The Islamic principle of permitting Moslem men to marry Christian women is partially responsible for increasing intermarriages. The indigenous culture stresses money and wealth as indicators of social prestige. To increase their income, many members followed the American ways of education and conformity. 318 2. Moving out. Many of the descendants who have ”/, moved out of the area of concentration and married Americans, have cut off all their relationships with the community. These do not identify themselves with the Middle East. They live as full Americans in all their patterns of behavior. They identify themselves only as Americans. This case may be regarded as full assimilation, which is the maximum phase of acculturation. Factors of Delaying Acculturation In addition to acculturating factors, there have been others which have worked in the reverse direction, that is restraining the process of acculturation. These factors are classified into the following two groups3‘ A. Technigues Bglonging to the Donor-Culture. 1. Religious Discrimination. In the twenties and thirties, the pioneers of the community had suffered religious discrimination from some Americans who mis- understood the principles of Islam. This had helped in the concentration of the community members and in develop- ing the self-inferiority feeling. Their concentration and such inferior feelings hindered the possible increase of interpersonal contacts between the two cultural groups. 2. Employment Discrimination. While Ford plants have accepted any laborer, in spite of his faith, color, or origin, some other companies refused to employ 319 the ArabeMoslem pioneers. This discrimination was another factor that persuaded the emigrants to concentrate in a ghetto-like community in the shadow of the Ford Rouge plant. This concentration, in turn, hampered the process of acculturation. 3. Pgejudice in Marriage. The tendency toward L“’ mixed marriage has become very strong among the descendants. Most American spouses involved in such marriages belong to other American ethnic groups, especially the Italian, Polish, and Mexican groups in Detroit. The community menbers reported that the White Axnericans who do not be- long to ethnic groups (those who originally came from North Europe) usually refuse to marry them. The writer is under the impression that this refusal might hinder the acceleration of acculturation. Marrying into other ethnic groups might introduce elements of these cultures to the community. These elements might be different from the American culture. \ B. Technigges Belonging to the Recipient-Culture. 1. Establishing a ghettoénike Community. The /’ concentration of the majority of the members at the north end of Dearborn in a ghetto-like community has helped maintain many of the old cultural elements, and, at the same time, increase their in-group social interaction on the account of the absence of social interaction with Americans. 320 ,/ 2. Strong Relgtionships with the»Old Land. Group A members continue their social relationships with their relatives and friends in the old land. Many of them invest their savings there by buying land or conducting business. Many of them visit the old land several times, either to get married, to take care of the business, to die there, or to see their parents. Another aspect of these relationships lies in the widespread pattern of buy- ing expensive short-wave radios that provide them with Arabic broadcasts. In addition, they have attempted to teach Arabic language to their children in order to retain ‘3 their native language. 3. The Continuous Flow of Newcqgggg. The strong solidarity between Group A members and their patrilineages in the old land has played an effective role in persuading the young kinsmen to migrate to the richest country in the world where they will find shelter. These newcomers who are aware of the recent restriction on migration obtain the American citizenship by marrying American-born relatives. This flow emphasizes the existence and continuity of the indigenous culture elements in the community. 4.. Conflict in Intercultural Items. The exist- ence of conflict in some elements of the two cultures in question has been an important factor in delaying accultura- tion. 321 American elements such as dating, spouse self- selection, women~men equality, individuality, nuclear family independence, short greeting, impersonal transaction, ex— tended family disintegration, weak kinship ties, and monogamy as the only form of marriage, are denied by the old culture. These elements were the latest to be practiced by Group A members and the source of the social distance and conflict between Groups A and B. 5. Revitalization Movements.1 Wallace (19483 265) defined these movements as deliberate and organized attempts by some members of the community to construct a more satisfying culture. Some expressions of these move- ments can be discerned in the Dearborn community. a) Pgriod of Increased Individual Stress. This characterized the life of the pioneers of the community in the U.S.A. These pioneers suffered religious and employ- ment discriminations as mentioned before. Moreover, some members suffered deep frustration during the Korean War in the fifties, as mentioned in the third chapter. b) The Period of Cultural Distortion, This began in the fifties with the increasing number of female members who married American Christians in spite of the 1The psychological aspects of these movements are beyond the study. 322 strong opposition of Islam. The second factor is the in- creasing number, which is still very small, of members who converted to Christianity. These two patterns of behavior are regarded as a complete challenge to their religion and even to the existence of the whole community. Thus the viability of the whole subculture was endangered. c) The Period of Revitalization. This began in the fifties as a result of the previous stage. Some members of the community initiated new patterns of be- havior in order to save the community. These new patterns may be differentiated into two types3 *- A secular movement initiated by some members of Group A who identified themselves with‘Arabic Nationalism as originated in the Middle East by President Nasser of the United Arab Republic. Nasser's victories during the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 have filled these admirers with pride, self-respect, and security. Their comments reflect something of "nativistic” approach in this movement. Many of Group A sent letters to Nasser asking him to permit them to migrate to Egypt where, according to them, they really belong. This movement is clearly found among Group A. A religious movement is illustrated by the estab- lishment of the Islamic center. The first religious association that combines the two sects. Its leaders plan to adjust the Islamic religion to the American culture in order to protect the survival of the community. They intend 323 to bring the youth together in order to stop, or at least to decrease, the increasing number of mixed marriages that are responsible for conversion cases. This movement has been met with great enthusiasm by Groups A and B. This is illustrated by the large amounts of contributions offered by the community members, and by the great haste in build- ing a modern religious center to fulfill their social and religious goals. Many of the members regard this Center as the last refuge. These two movements were found in progress during the field work in the summer of 1963 and during the write- up in 1964. It seems that the other sequential stages, especially of the religious movement , such as inventing new ways to adapt Islam to the American culture, cultural transformation, and routinization, will take place in the next ten years. These two movements, which aim at main- taining the ethnic group as an organized in-group, may be considered as delaying factors in acculturation, or specifically, in assimilation. D. Identification of Differential Pattgrns in Acculturation. This last section of acculturation analysis deals with the interplay of the two cultures in contact. Com- paring the cultural patterns of the cultures in contact with the way of life of the community members reveals that these members manifest two types of cultural elements, —. ‘— 4‘“; -._ 324 ”standard“ and “modified“ patterns. Standard patterns refer to either the indigenous cultural patterns or the American ones that do not involve considerable change in comparison with those followed by the native carriers. The fact that cultural patterns always in a process of change reflects the importance of the time factor in such an analysis. The indigenous-culture standard elements were practiced during the twenties and thirties by the immigrants in the old land. Many of these elements are still found in the mountainous villages in Lebanon. The American culture standard elements have been _. practiced for the last thirty years in the United States. The descriptive material of the community were collected in the summer of 1963.‘ These dates should be taken into account in acculturation analysis. Modified cultural patterns refer to the indigenous and American cultural elements that became different from their original forms. This change was originated by the influence of the second other culture in contact. The changes in cultural elements that stem from the autonomous change of the patterns are beyond the study. The follow- ing analysis is confined to acculturative changes in cul- ture elements. Thus we have new four types of cultural patterns. These are3 ArabeMoslem ”standard” patterns. These are re- garded as "survivals" or ”unacculturated" elements. 325 Arab-Moslem “modified" patterns. American “modified“ patterns. These and the other modified patterns are considered as acculturated patterns. American “standard“ patterns. These are referred to as assimilated elements. In order to define the mech- anism of acculturation the cultural patterns of the com- munity were analyzed in the following on the basis of the above four types. 1. Habitat, technology, and economics Settlement pattern. Although the immigrants live in an American city, they established two mosques in a central spot in their area of concentration. This reflects some influence of the settlement pattern of the’Lebanese village. Therefore this pattern is rated as an American ”modified.“ Occupations and subsistence, Most of the emigrants and their descendants have worked as unskilled and skilled industrial workers, clerks, and professionals. These occupations represent American “standard" patterns. Houses, furniture and clothes. 'In general, the community members live in American-style houses, own American furniture and put on American clothes. Thus these are mainly American "standard“ elements. Food Habits. The: field notes indicate that all the community members prefer to eat Lebanese food. The exist- ence of the Eastern market has played a role in facilitating their access to their native food and native ways of cooking. 326 Few of the descendants eat American food. Therefore there are two forms of food habits, indigenous "standard" patterns and American “standard“ elements. 2. Conduct and Social Relationships The patrilineage. Although the pattern is retained in the community, it is modified in a form of a bilateral group. This change is considered as an influence of the American bilateral kinship system. Consequently this pattern is classified as an old culture ”modified" element. Extended family. This has lost all its original functional significance in social structure. Very few extended families are found in the community. This pattern is rated as indigenous culture “modified“ element. Polygynous family. The complete disappearance of the polygynous family in the community represents the enforce- ment of American law. This extinction is regarded as an American “standard” pattern. Nuclear family. The prevalence and the new functions ac- quired by the nuclear family in the new land mainly belong to the host culture. Some aspects of patriarchal authority; however, are found among Group A fathers and.husbands. Therefore we can say that there are two forms of nuclear families, old culture modified elements and American culture “standard" complexes. Marriage patterns. These represent the point of focus of the study, therefore they are examined in more detail. 327 The comparison of chapters four, five and six show that these patterns involve patterns of behavior that may be identified with the previously mentioned typology as follows3 ' l) Ancestpy of sppuses. While most of Group A married ArabeMoslems, most Group B married American Chris- tians. Religious intermarriage was not found in the old land, but has been found, although in small numbers, in the donor culture. Thus these forms may be rated as Arabic culture ”standard” elements and American culture "standard“ patterns. 2) Sppuse- selection technigges. These involve family arrangements, matchmaking and self-selection based on love and dating. Love technique as applied in the old land has been modified in the new land by the incorpora- tion of dating as a way of love. Therefore we can see three different forms existing together, original ”exact” and "modified” patterns and American ”standard” elements. 3) Preferable ggalities for a gigs. The indigenous stress on cousin marriage right has disappeared in the new land. The qualities of being Moslem or ArabeMoslem, beauty, descending from a good family, and politeness are original standard or modified patterns. These are more emphasized by Group A than by Group B. In addition, some American highly valued qualities are found especially among Group B members. These are education, attractiveness, 328 beautyl, and wealth. The responses presented as reasons for selecting the best age of marriage for girls reflect the same coexistence of the two cultures. Therefore these patterns are considered as indigenous culture "standard” and “modified“ patterns and American culture "standard“ elements. 4) Preferable ggalities for a husband. The quality of being Moslem that was highly valued in the old culture retained its significance in the new land. The old emphasis on cousin marriage has declined. Some American preferable qualities are found among Group B such as youth, education, physical appearance'and approving the principle of womendmen equality. Reasons for selecting the best age of marriage for boys represent similar influ- ences from the two cultures in contact. Thus these patterns of behavior are rated in the same way as the preferable qualities for a wife. 5) Circumstances of first meeting. Within the patterns of behavior invoked we find a combination of in- fluences from the two cultures. Friendship relationships and matchmaking are responsible.for first meetings between some members, especially those from Group A, and their wives. These patterns included some new patterns such as 1This quality is highly valued by the two cultures in contact. 329 the trips from the new land to Lebanon in order to get married to a relative or native. Most Group B members met their wives in American schools, dancing parties, and restaurants. Consequently these patterns are considered as indigenous “standard“ and ”modified“ patterns and American “standard“ elements. 6) Engagement: Cultural elements classified under this subject also presented some acculturative mechanisms that combine patterns from the two cultures in contact. Most of Group A members followed original patterns such as proposals made by the parents, conducting Arab style engagement parties and giving golden engagement presents. At the same time American patterns are found, such as diamond rings, quiet engagement parties and bridal showers. Thus the previously mentioned three types are also found here. 7) Wedding. Although the religious ritual, 25g 5253p is found in many weddings, it has involved basic changes. The most important changes are3 a) While in the old land it is strictly observed in every marriage and is sanctioned by law, many marriages of the community members took place without it. American marriage laws are separated from religion. b) In the old land Islam emphasizes that marriage contracts should include the bride's representative for“ marriage, as women are not permitted to represent themselves 330 in such contracts. In the community many contracts were performed by the sheiks without bride's representative, and the bride represented herself. This modification is re- garded as an impact of women-men equality principle that belongs to the new culture. c) Conducting weddings in Dearborn mosques represents an important change in the functions of mosques. Within the wedding ceremonies we find some American rituals such as American clothes, bridal processional in- cluding the bride and groom attendants, taking pictures for the occasion, kissing the bride, the wedding cake, and throwing the bridal bouquet ritual. The best man and maid of honor system and sprinkling the couple with rice were found in the old culture but in different forms. Elnokoat system, Arabic music, songs and dances, and conducting the wedding breakfast that consists of Lebanese food in the evening belong to the old culture. Although the honeymoon ritual is exclusively related to American culture, some modification has taken place such as the stress on consummation of marriage the first night and on the bride's chastity. In general we can say that wedding patterns represent all the four forms of the typology. 8) Marriage forms. The exclusive existence of monogamy, the performance of civil marriages, the dis- appearance of polygynous marriages and the Spread of mixed 331 marriages represent American culture patterns. Although monogamy is found in the two cultures in contact, it is not an exclusive form in the receptor culture. The sororate system that belongs to the old culture, is found in limited prevalence in the community. Consequently marriage forms are rated as old culture ”standard" and modified elements and American “standard” patterns. 9) Husbapd-wife relationships. Some aspects of these relationships belong to the indigenous culture such as terms of address and referring to the spouse and at- tempts to exercise husband's superiority in family affairs. This superiority, however, is modified and weakened by the equality principle provided by the American laws. American patterns of behavior such as exchanging gifts on birthdays and Christmas are conducted by many members. Problems related to mixed marriages never occurred in the old land. Patterns involved in these relationships _represent the previously mentioned three types. 10) Termination of marriage. Although the three possible ways are found in both cultures in contact, some of their aspects vary greatly. In the old land annulment was unknown in practice, divorce was an exclusive right for men, and religious laws administered death consequences. In the new land the members have followed Michigan laws with reSpect to these three ways of terminating marriage. These civil laws are completely different from their 332 original religious regulations. However, some members con- ducted divorce Islamic rituals, after they had obtained divorce through American judges. The impact of the host culture is strong with regard to the termination of marriage. Therefore it is inferred that Dearborn Arab-Moslems follow American culture "standard” and ”modified" elements. Kinship terms. Descriptive material indicates the coexistence of three types of kinship terms in the com- munity. These are Arab-culture “standard” and “modified" (mainly practiced by Group A) and American culture ”modi- fied" patterns (especially among Group B). Feasts. American and Islamic feasts are celebrated in the community. Islamic celebrations became very differ- ent from those in the old land. In general we can say that the members conduct indigenous culture “modified“ elements and American culture ”standard“ patterns with regard to feasts. Greeting, visiting and;hospitality. Data show the coexistence of American and Arabic “exact" patterns. Some indigenous "standard" patterns involve some changes, such as the decline of hospitality. Coffee~houses social functions. .These still retain the fOrm of the indigenous culture. Therefore they are regarded as old culture “standard“ forms. Political activities. The previously mentioned differences between Groups A and B with respect to w. 333 politics indicate that there are three types of patterns, American culture "standard” and ”modified” elements and arabic ”modified" patterns. Color discrimination. Their prejudice against Negroes, especially in housing, represents their identifi- cation with the inhabitants of Dearborn city. Consequently the pattern is rated as an American ”standard“ element. Vpluntapy associations. This form of social structure was not found in the indigenous culture, and at the same time it is a common characteristic of American communities. This pattern is considered as American culture "standard" form. Lgadership. The existence of religious leadership in the community refers that they"retain an indigenous pattern. The lack of authority of these leaders represents a considerable change. The pattern of women leadership mainly belongs to the new culture. The emerging pattern of young political and social leaders who are distinguished by high education and successful careers represents a clear impact of the American culture. Thus these patterns are regarded as American “standard" and Arabic ”modified” patterns. 1 I 3. Symbolic Behavior Language. Three forms of language coexist in the community, correct Arabic and English and a combination of the two languages. These patterns may represent the four items of 334 the typology. Education. Islamic education conducted in the mosques is considered as Arabic "modified” pattern. Secular education is provided by American schools is rated as American "standard” element. Rpligion. This includes the following patterns3 a) Degree or religiosity3 The weakness1of this degree in comparison with that in the old land is accounted for by the impact of the secular stress in the American culture. This pattern is regarded as Arabic ”modified“ element. b) The mosque3 Conducting wedding and entertaining parties in the mosque is regarded as a big change. The change is explained as a conformity with the American pattern of conducting weddings in churches. Therefore the patterns of behavior related to the mosque are rated as Arabic "modified” elements. c) Conversion to Christianity: This pattern never occurred in the indigenous culture. Religious and individual freedom provided by the American culture seems to be reSponsible for the cases of conversions that occurred in the~community. This limited pat- tern is rated as American “standard” element. d) Attempts to unify the two sects3- These attempts were similar to revitalization movements. Although this pattern is originated as a reaction to certain 335 threats related to American culture, the content and functions of the pattern belong to the commun- ity itself. Therefore this pattern does not fit in our typology, and it is regarded as an innovation. e) MagiC3 A few members practice 'el-ors” and "Koraneic charms” rituals. These are rated as in- digenous ”standard“ elements. figs. Most of the members prefer Arabic music, songs and dances. Some youths began to be attracted by the American music and dances and at the same time began to modify Arabic dancing in order to adjust it to American music. They are interested in Arabic poetry and they know nothing about English ones. These patterns are considered as Arabic "standard" and modified elements and American ”standard” patterns. Values. Comparison of comparative data reveals that the community highly values Arabic and American ideals. Group A are more interested than Group B in Arabic values and vice versa. These values are rated the same way as the above art patterns. 4. The Life Cycle Birth technigges and rituals. Although most of these are American patterns, some limited indigenous elements such as nursing and "leffa" rituals are still practiced. In general we can say that while most of the patterns are American "standard” elements, a few are indigenous ”modified" 336 patterns. It should not be overlooked that these patterns are experienced only by Group 8 members. Almost all Group A people were born in the old land. Early Childhood. Group A members follow indigenous ways in dealing with their children, such as teaching them Arabic and Islamic principles and emphasizing their patriarchal authority. Television has played an important role in introducing the American language and other cultural aspects to these children. Group 8 members apply none of the in- digenous patterns. Therefore the patterns involved are rated as Arabic "modified" and American ”standard"patterns. These patterns are only experienced by Group B. b A agg of six years. Group B members go to American schools at the age of six years, where they follow the American "standard” patterns. Youth culture. Parents interfere in their girls' movements, clothes, and cosmetics. Moreover, group A parents prevent their girls from dating. These represent some indigenous patterns. Group B parents approve dating under supervision. All the parents give permission to their boys to date girls, especially American ones. Teenagers have begun to be drawn strongly to American teen music, songs and dances. The patterns involved are rated as American ”standard" and ”modified" elements and Arabic "modified“ patterns. Depth rituals. The comparison of descriptive accounts reveal the strong impact of American culture in these 337 patterns. Some indigenous elements such as the HERE; Kaffan and Koranic recitations are still existent. However, these involved some changes such as the pattern of conduct- ing the g_h_pg_]_._ by the sheik, this never occurs in the old land. Therefore the four items of the typology are found in these patterns with the dominance of American elements. Summagy An analysis of the preceding data is the main con- cern of this chapter. The analysis was categorized into three major divisions based on the selected cultural level and the variation in the aspects of the case of accultura- ‘tion in question. The first division deals with the general character- istics of the culture contact. It is found that the contact has taken place between two pOpulations that differ greatly in number and political dominance. It is also noted that the involved cultures are greatly different from each other. The second section examines the situations of acculturation. Forced and voluntary situations are deter- mined and illustrated. The third major division presents the acculturation processes. The order of selection of pattern is defined and the factors involved are examined. Factors of accelez. rating and delaying the processes or acculturation are determined and differentiated on the basis of its cultural source. An analysis of the components of the culture 338 patterns found in the Arab community is conducted. A typology of four items is regarded as the basis of the analysis which aims to identify the origin and the degree of modification of these patterns. The conclusions inferred throughout this analysis are summed up in the following chapter. CHAPTER VIII CONCLUSION This last chapter presents the relationships be- tween the study and other relevant studies on acculturation and the general conclusions reached by the study. The Study and Other Relevant Studies Many sociological and ethnolOgical studies dealt with the acculturation of ethnic groups in America. The relationships between our study and the relevant ones are presented as follows3 Studies on the Community In addition to our study, there is only one socio- logical study that dealt with the Dearborn Arab-Moslem com- munity (Elkholy 1960). Elkholy was concerned with com- paring the degree of religiosity of the three generations of the community with that of the Arab-Moslem group in Toledo, Ohio. Although the two studies differ in problem and theoretical orientation, some relationships are found. The conflicts between the immigrants and their descendants, the increasing weakness in the degree of religiosity, and the Arabic political attitudes of the immigrants are stressed by the two studies. However, some differences are found. While this study referred to the pattern Of send- ing some descendants to the old land to be reared as full Moslems, Elkholy did not mention it. 339 340 This study indicated that, in general, the second generation members are more educated, more advanced in the socio-economic level, and more acculturated than the first generation members . While the cultural aSpects of the con- flicts between the two generations were emphasized, Elkholy stressed the psychological aSpects of these conflicts (19603138). ggpdies on the Arabs in America. The most important study is Tannous' paper dealing with acculturation among a small Christian-Lebanese commun- ityl (366 persons) in the South (l943b3264-27l). Although this community differs from the Dearborn Arab-Moslem com- munity in size, religion, and occupations of the members, (the Christian menbers worked as peddlers and grocers) the two communities shared some aSpects such as the strong relationships with the old land and the considerable cul- tural differences between the immigrants and their descend- ants, the breakdown of the joint family, and changing their Arabic names to American ones. The two communities, how— ever, differ with reSpect to the factors involved in main- taining community consciousness and identity as an in-group While the difference in faith between the Arab-Moslems and Americans was a crucial factor, the social barriers that 1Although the title is "Arab—Syrian," the study deals with Arab-Lebanese immigrants. The specific location of the community in the South was not mentioned in the paper. 341 the Southern middle and upper class Whites had established between themselves and the Arab immigrants were the basic factors (l943b327l). It should not be overlooked that Tannous' study was conducted twenty years ago. Studies on Ethnic Groups in the Detroit Area. The most relevant studies are those conducted by Humphrey on Detroit Mexicans (1944a, 1944b, and 1946). The studies stress the problem of "race prejudice" as an obstacle in acculturation. The existence of an Indian appearance significantly affects Mexican adjustment in the United States (1944b3332). These Mexicans are forced by economic circumstances to live in areas of cheap rentals, and, for the same reason, frequently to keep roomers (19453 433). The previous two aSpects of Detroit Mexicans were not found among the Arab-Moslems. It is interesting to note that while the Mexicans often keep dogs as pets and the largeness of this animals may well be interpreted as a means for the attainment of status (19463436), the Arab- Moslems never keep dogs as pets. This is accounted for by the Islamic tradition that regards dogs as profane animals that abolish the religion ritual of abolution in the case of any contact. The two ethnic groups, however, share some aspects such as: 1. Both came from peasant cultures. 2. In general, as rapidly as the economic 342 situation allows, the two groups adOpt American ways in shelter (19463433). 3. The second generation, and particularly the boys of this generation, have been so broadly eXposed to the dominant American culture that they have obtained values which are at times in direct Opposition to those of their parents (l944a3625). 4. Girls should be vigilantly protected from per- sonal contact with men (l944a3623). 5. A decline in status of the father. Among the Mexicans this loss of status is mainly due to the father's failure to provide adequate income for the family (1944a: 623). Among the Arab-Moslems the situation is different. This decline is mainly due to the emerging authority of the wife and the adult offSpring. In Spite of these similarities, descriptive data show that the Arab-Moslems are much more liable to assimi- lation than the Mexicans. Indeed, the difference in physical appearance is a basic reason. General Studigs on the Ethnic Groupsin the United States, Handlin, in his analysis of the peasant origins of immigrant movements, presented many culture aspects that were found in the cultural background of the Dearborn com- munity (195237-36). Moreover, our descriptive data in general‘support his general theory. He said: "The immigrants lived in crisis because , they were uprooted. In transplantation, while the old roots were sundered, before the new were established, the immigrants existed in an 343 "extreme situation. The shock, and the effects of the shock, persisted for many years; and their influence reached down to generations which themselves never paid the cost of crossing." According to Handlin, the term "roots" mainly referred to the original cultures and countries. Spiro conducted a survey of the literature on the acculturation of American ethnic groups (195531240-1252). He pointed out some generalizations concerning most of these groups. The nonexistence of Middle Eastern ethnic groups in this literature persuaded the writer to indicate the relationships between this study and Spiro's general- izations as follows3 1. There is a positive relationship between accul- turation and social mobility. Ethnics with high social status tend to be the most acculturated. This pattern was accounted for by the American class system that prevents the mobility of the unacculturated (1955:1243-44). This relationship is also found in the study. The fact that the Arab descendants are characterized by a higher family in- come (almost double) than that of the Arab immigrants clearly represent the relative high socio-economic status of the descendants. At the same time the findings emphasize that the Arab descendants are more acculturated than the immigrants. 2. The desired assimilation of ethnics is hindered-- by some prejudices conducted by the dominant group (19553 1244). The Arab-Moslems reported the existence of this 344 situation in the past. Today their assimilation is mainly based on their desire. This difference may be due to the time factor as the literature studied by Spiro was written at least ten years earlier than this study. In addition, it should be taken into account that these Arab-Moslems live in a city where 45% of its pOpulation are from foreign stock. 3. Religion may be viewed both as a dependent and an independent variable in acculturation. “Viewed as a dependent variable, it is to be noted that in those groups whose distinctive- ness includes both ethnicity and religion, acculturation is more rapid in ethnic than in religious characteristics“ (195531245). The findings emphasize this generalization: religion was considered as the most resistant to change. "But religion is also an independent vari- able in acculturation: it may, that is, serve to accelerate or retard the general accultura- tive process" (195531245). The analysis of the factors of accelerating and delaying the process of acculturation points out that the principles of Islam are very effective. 4. "The family, too, may be viewed both as an independent and as a dependent variable in acculturation. As an independent variable, it seems to be primarily an anti-acculturative influence" (195531246). This study recognizes such an influence of the family, but under certain limitations. When both parents are immigrants, this anti-acculturative influence is clear- ly found among pro-school childrens. The American schools have played a crucial role in minimizing this influence 345 after the age of six years. Viewing the family as a dependent variable in acculturation, it is noted that acculturation is a threat to the integrity of the ethnic family. Acculturation is responsible for encouraging intermarriage and altering the structure of the family, such as the serious diminution in the traditional parental authority (195531247). This conclusion is strongly emphasized in our findings. 5. Food patterns seem to be among those most resistant to acculturation (195531249). This point is al- so found in the Dearborn Arab-Moslem community. General Conclusions The conclusions reached by this study may be summed up as follows3 As this case of acculturation was a result of a voluntary migration of several hundreds of poor ArabeMoslem peasants to a rich country of more than 180 million pOpulation. the process of acculturation was mainly a one- way process. However, some slight influences of the recipient culture might be traced in the social life of Detroit. Situations of acculturation are either forced by the donor culture or accepted voluntarily by the community members. Situations of enforced acculturation took place, before voluntary selection. However, with the progres- sively increasing number of descendants, the voluntarily selected patterns began to outweigh the enforced traits. 346 The force of time is a second factor in increasing the selected patterns. As the descendants usually do not feel the compulsory aspects, this differentiation becomes obsolete, according to them. Friendly relationships were the common aspect of the relationships between the community members and Americans. Today no discrimination of any type is practiced by the host culture carriers against these Caucasian newb comers. In technology, the impact of American culture is great upon the community. The only technological element that strongly retains the indigenous patterns is the matter of food habits. Symbolic behavior, especially religion and art, are the least in change. Social structure patterns are greatly influenced by the new culture, but not the same way as in technology. The study revealed some aspects of conflict be- tween the emigrants and their descendants. Although this situation involves cultural, social, and psychological aspects, it seems that the cultural aspect, especially the values are the source of the others. All the interpersonal differences, arguments, and quarrels between the two groups may be accounted for by the difference in cultural orientations of the two groups. The emigrant parents believe in the father's (patriarchal) authority. male superiority, collective COOperation, personal, strong bonds with the family and relatives, and girls' chastity and 347 shelter. The descendants believe in individual independ- ence, men-women equality, freedom, girls' rights to date and enjoy their lives, and change. The study is full of quantitative evidences proving that the descendants or, to be more accurate, Group B, are more oriented toward the host culture than their emigrant parents, all of whom are included in Group A. Although it is easy to explain this difference by referring to the influ- ence of the first or original culture, it should not be overlooked that many members from Group B were reared by Group A parents who retained many indigenous patterns. Here we have three different enculturated forces--the family, which partially represents the Arab-Moslem culture, the community, that in part belongs to the old culture, and the American culture. From birth to the age of six years, the Group B child is mainly enculturated by the first two forces. A slight influence of the American cul- ture reaches the child through television, a common item in the community. The strong impact of the indigenous culture during this period is clearly presented by.speaking only Arabic, reciting Koranic statements, and showing a full obedience to the parents. At the age of six the child goes to an American school where the balance of the intercultural influences is reversed. The school seems to be the most important force in enculturating American patterns of behavior. In the school the child begins to establish friendship relations with Americans and to master ‘the English language. Through this mastering he reads 348 English newspapers and understands American broadcasts and telecasts. Dating Americans is another source of American culture influence on Group B teens. The increasing pattern of mixed marriages among Group B men is another explanation of their closer identification with the American culture. In addition, working with Americans and the nonexistence of any type of discrimination against them are other important explanations of the big cultural differences be- tween Groups A and B. It seems that the most important factor in the previous forces is the American school. Group A members, conversely, did not go to American schools, did not master the English language, and very few of them dated and married Americans. Moreover, Group A members Spent their childhood and adolescence in the old land where the family is the main force of enculturation. Besides, there was no conflict between the cultural pat- terns provided by the family and those furnished by the village. 0n the contrary, the family was generally the only enculturative force in the village. Taking these differences into account, we may not only explain the differences between the two groups, but we can also inter- pret the Group A resistance to many American patterns of behavior. This case of acculturation has four results that co-exist in the community. 1. Acceptance. This refers to the process of the 349 taking over of the greater portion of another culture and the loss of most of the older cultural heritage (Redfield and others 19363152). This process is clearly experienced by Group B members who become assimilated not only to the behavior patterns, but to the inner values of the American culture. These members usually move out of the community and gradually cut off their relationships with the commun- ity. , 2. Adaptation. This indicates the process where both original and foreign traits are combined so as to produce a smoothly functioning cultural whole, with either a reworking of the patterns of the two cultures into a harmonious, meaningful whole to the individuals concerned, or the retention of a series of more or less conflicting attitudes and points of view (Redfield and others 1936: 152). Descriptive and analytical data stress that the immigrants and their descendants, especially those who were reared in the old land, experience this process. Bearing in mind that these constitute the majority of the adult members in the community, we can say that this process is the prevalent mechanism of acculturation in the community. 3. Reaction. This refers to the case where, be- cause of Oppression, or because of the dangerous results of the acceptance of foreign elements, contra-acculturative movements arise (Redfield and others 19363152). Descrip- tion and analysis reveal that some members regard mixed 350 marriage as a way to the future disintegration of the whole community. As a reaction, secular and religious nativistic movements are in progress in the community. The secular movement is much weaker than the religious movement. Both movements are arranged by Group A members. The religious movement involves adaptive goals, as its supporters intend to adapt their religion to the new culture in order to maintain their community. Thus the movement has accultura- tive and contra-acculturative effects at the same time. Their emphasis on retaining the community as an inegroup may be regarded as a boundary-maintaining mechanism. 4. Cultural Creativity. Acculturation is neither a passive nor a colorless absorption. It is a culture- creating as well as a culture-receiving process. Creative mechanisms in acculturation have been variously described as “reorganizations,” ”reinterpretations,“ and "syncretisms". In general, the very act of c0pying alien traits entails some modification of them since no capy is a perfect reproduction (Barnett and others 19543985). The community retained the indigenous cultural focus. The materials presented showed that religious values were the basic ethos of the Lebanese village. Com- paring the concentration of the Araquoslems in a ghetto? like community with the dispersed number of their Christian natives in Detroit, may be a sufficient evidence that the cultural focus of the community is still the Islamic religion which represents a basis of unity. 351 Thus the Dearborn Arab-Moslem community has represented a case of contact between two different cultures. This contact has resulted in several processes of accul- turation, cultural and social conflicts and assimilation. The community members live as Arabs and as Americans. How they have handled this cultural duality is the theme of the study. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baber, Ray 1939 Marriage and the Familx. 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Wirth, Louis 1962 The Ghetto. Phoenix Book Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago University Press. APPENDIX.A CONTACT LETTER 358 359 APPENDIX A CONTACT LETTER Michigan State University East Lansing, Mich. African language and Area Center June 11, 1963 To Whom it May Concern: This letter will serve to introduce Mr. Atif Wasfi. Mr. Wasfi is a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Michigan State University. Currently I am directing the Ph. D. program of study for Mr. Wasfi and would greatly appreciate any assistance that you could offer him in his field research. I have every assurance of Mr. Wasfi's responsibility and . integrity in the proper analysis and use of the information you may impart to him, and of his discreteness with respect to the confidentiality of the data. Very truly yours, Charles 0. Hughes, Ph.D. Associate Professor Anthropology OOH:mg APPENDIX B FIELD-INTERVIEW SCHEDULE 360 361 APPENDIX B FIELD-INTERVIEW SCHEDULE Sample unit number: Date: Interviewer: ATIF A. man Interviewee(s): 1. 2. Language used: 1. 2. 3. 4. Family head, Male Female Others, specify: Arabic English Arabic and English Others, Specify: ufa' E2291 2. 3. c n H a Where and when were you born? Plapp: Date: I:insa:iaais:eai. Do you have relatives who mi- grated to Dearborn? Yes No If Yes - who are they? W. When did you come to the U.S.A.? Where did you live in the U.S.A. for the first time? When you first came to the U.S.A. did you have relatives there? Yes No If Yes, who are they? Where did you spend your childhood and adolescence, between the ages of 3 and 15 years? For how long have you been in Dearborn? Do you own the house where you live? Yes No What is your religious sect? W (now) Married Divorced Widowed Separated Others, specify: mes 9- 10. 11. 12. 13. 363 Which 1anguage(s) do you prefer to use - a. with your spouse? b. with your children? c. with your friends (not during work) . d. with your fellows at work? Are you working now? Yes No I: pp, what is your situation? It ypg, a) what type of work is it? b) what is the name of your Job? A. Income per year: 1. o - 81,999 2. 32,000-83.999 3. 84,000-85.999 4. 35.000-87.999 5. 38,000-89.999 6. 810,000 or more B. 1&2: i:é§::?resource(s) of Have you attended school? Yes No ' If Yes, what is the highest grade completed (a) in U.S.A.? (b) in home land? A. What language(s) do you read? B. What language(s) do you write? Notes II. 364 Gene a Fa ts Conc n mil 1. Where was your spouse born? 2. What is your wife's ancestry in detail? 3. What is your wife's denomination? 4. Do you have living children? Yes_ No If Yes, how many? Males _Females 5. Are there any children who died?‘ Yes_ No If Yes, how many? 6. Have any of your children married? Yes No If Yes, A. How many? B. What is the ancestry of their spouses? CEIIdren Ancestry ‘Wfiat is have of their your ma d u s e Male__Female__ Ma1e__Fema1e__ Ma1e__Fema1e___ Ma1e__Female__ Male__Female__ C. How many of them live in Dearborn? Males _Females_ D. How often do you visit them? 365 Notes 7. Is your wife now working? Yes No If Yes, A. What is her work? B. How do you feel about her working? 8. Is there anyone else living in your house (apartment) apart from your wife and you§ non-married children? es_ No ;t_xp§, who? (relative, stranger, etc.) III. We: -- 1. In this community do boys and girls play together, a. before puberty? Yes _No_ b. after puberty? Yes No - 2. Do the girls date? Yes No If Yes, with whom? Do you approve of this behavior? Why? 3. Do the boys date? Yes No If Yes, with whom? Do you approve of this behavior? Why? - 4. Do the girls after puberty go swimming? Yes No 5. Do you feel that teenagers pppplg act different from the way you yourself behaved? Yes No in? Nptes IV. V. 366 Spoupe Igea; Qualities l. 2. 3. Before marriage, boys and girls often have a romantic“ notion of the ideal qualities they want in future spouses, what are these ideal qualities as you see them? Aw lflsal_fl£2= B. a ba : How realistic are these ideas? In your opinion, what.is the best age for marriage? A. For boys Why? B. For girls Why? W 1. 2. 3. 5. How did you meet your wife for the first time? Who selected your wife? Your mother ___ b. Your father c. Self-selection— d. A middle-man e. Others, specify: Did your parents object to the match? Yes No Why? 'Was it possible to object to your parents choice? Yes No Why? Did you visit your wife before en- gagement? Yes No If Yes, A. How often? B. Under what circumstances? 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 367 " Did you date your wife before en- gagement? Yes__ No If Yes, for how long? Did you date your'wifeo after en- gagement? Yes If Yes, for how Iong?no Who asked your wife's hand? To whom was this proposal addressed? What did you give your spouse in the engagement party? Will you please describe what hap- pened in the engagement day? (ac- tivities, special problems, etc.) Did you pay a "bride wealth?” Yes___ No .. If Yes, A. When? B. How much, or what goods did you bring? Was there any lat; ”bride wealth“ after your marriage? Yes _No_ If Yes, how much? Did you date your spouse after en- gagement? Yes_ No How long did your engagement period last? How many times did you visit your spouse during this period? Did you give your spouse any presents in this period? Yes No If Yes, A. When? B. Like what? What did you do as preparations for the wedding? What did your spouse's family do as preparations for the wedding? (bridal shower) Notes VI. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 1. 2. 3. 368 How many ceremonies did you have in your wedding? What is the name of each? Do you remember the dates of these ceremonies? Yes No If Yes, what are they? Will you please describe to me what happened in each ceremony: After the last wedding ceremony, where did you go with your bride? Did you have ”a honeymoon?” Yes. No If Yes, A. How long did it last? B. Where was it? . Where did you live after the honey- moon (if there is any)? Do you like to live with any of your relatives? Yes No If Yes, specify exactIy: In the next morning of the wedding, did you have any celebration? Yes__ No__ - If Yes, what was it? 9 =w9‘r;-1;- ':_: L1; 5911::3 :"0' 3‘. -. . . - v ., __AA‘ What do you call your wife? What does your wife call you? What do you refer to your wife in conversations with others? What does your wife refer to you*_ in conversations with others? Who selects the daily menu? Who keeps the house-keeping budget? 7. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. ' 14. 15. 16. 17. 369 Does your wife know the exact amount of A. Your income? Yes___ No___ B. Your savings? Yes No (if any) Are there any problems that come up over finances? Yes No If Yes, like what? Does your wife drive your car? Yes No If no, why? Do you celebrate, A. Your birthday? Yes No B. Your wife's birthday?Yes NO C. Your wedding anniver- sary? Yes No D. Christmas? Yes___,No E. Moslem feasts? Yes No F. Others, specify: Do you offer your wife any presents? Yes No_ If yes, when? Does your wife offer you presents? ~ Yes No If yes, when? Do you go to social visits together? Yes_ No_ Do you attend community activities (such as musical pargies) together? Yes 0 Do you dance together? Yes No Do yOu accept that others dance with your wife? Yes_ No— How do you get along with your wife' 3 family? 18. 19. 370 Are there any disputes over property? Ye s___ No____ What types of problems do you feel a person of Near Eastern backgrounds inc es in Dearborn? APPENDIX C CONSTITUTION OP ISLAMIC CENTER FOUNDATION SOCIETY 371 372 APPENDIX C CONSTITUTION OF ISLAMIC CENTER FOUNDATION SOCIETY PROCLAMATION: We, the Moslem group which is deeply concerned with‘the promotion Of the religion Of Islam in America through all good and available means, including constructing mosques and religious institutes and working through them, determine to cooperate fully in order to reach these goals, mainly in the Detroit area, which contains a very substantial Moslem com- munity. For the accomplishment Of these great goals, we organ- ize our efforts, and for these purposes do hereby proclaim the formation Of Islamic Center Foundation Society. ORGANIZATION ARTICLES The Constitution, which has been adopted by the Official members Of this organization, being the Trustees, is composed Of the following Articles: 'ARTICLE I The name Of this organization shall be ISLAMIC CENTER FOUNDATION SOCIETY. I ARTICLE II . _ The location Of this organization and the Islamic Center, which is one of its goals, shall be in the State of Michigan in the United States Of America. 373 ARTICLE III The goals of this organization are: To establish and construct an Islamic Mosque and Insti- tute to be used solely for religious purposes, and to maintain them : and in connection therewith to purchase, acquire and hold title to land and personal property to be used in such connection. . To solicit and accept donations for the purpose of ac- quiring and constructing the required building and equipment for such mosque. To engage in the teaching of the religion of Islam and the providing of a place of worship for believers in such I religion, and to provide facilities and a program for religious services, study and training in such religion and such mission- ary and other charitable work as permitted by such religion. I This corporation is organized and shall be operated ex- clusively for the above described purposes; and no part of any earnings realized by it on account of any of its activi- ties or property shall inure to the benefit of any member of the corporation or any other private individual, but shall be used solely for such religious purposes. ‘ No part of the activities in this corporation shall be devoted to attempting to influence legislation by propaganda or otherwise; and the corporation is further prohibited either directly or indirectly from participating or inter- vening in (including the publishing and distributing of statements) any political campaign in behalf of or in Oppo- sition to any candidate for public office; the corporation is 374 further prohibited from engaging in any activities which, under the provisions of Section 501 (c) of the Internal Reve- nue Code, would deny it exemption as an exempt organization under said Section. ARTICLE IV The Islamic Center, thus established, shall be perpetua- ted for the Moslem community. \ ARTICLE V The Islamic Center Foundation Society is a non-profit organization. ARTICLE VI The Islamic Center Foundation Society is composed of: a. Board of Trustees b. Executive Committee c. Director A General Membership may also be developed in the future. ARTICLE VII The Director's qualifications:--the Director shall be: a. Moslem of good standing, b. Theologian, C. Well educated in both English and Arabic languages, in order to be capable of preaching Islam in both, and pos- sessed with a broad knowledge of Islamic laws, d. An American citizen, if possible, e. One who advocates equality between the following Islamic schools: JAAEARI, SHAFI, HUNBULI, MALIKI, HANAFI, and ZEIDI. 375 ARTICLE VIII The Director's Jurisdiction:-- The Director is the head of the organization and all of its units and of the Center. He shall administer all the religious and functional affairs of both the Islamic Center and the organization. He shall co-sign with the Treasurer for all expenditures. He shall discuss all important administrative matters of non-religious nature with members of the Executive Committee. With the ap- proval of the Executive Committee, he may appoint and disefl solve working committees. Any agreement affecting the pur- poses and property of the Society and made by the Director will be valid only after approval by the Board of Trustees. ARTICLE IX The Executive Committee is composed of: a. Director & Vice Directors ' b. Assistant Director(s) c. Treasurer d. Assistant Treasurer(s) e. Secretary(-ies) The number of vice-directors, assistants and secretaries will be determined by the Board of Trustees according to the . need of the organization. Chairmen may also be added if de- sired by the Board. ARTICLE X The Executive Committee's Jurisdictions:--All members have the right to vote and discuss the issues, when they are present at the Executive Committee meetings. 376 a. Vice-Director(s): The vice-directors will, accord- ing to their respective order of position by title, assume temporarily the executive responsibility during the director's absence from the country or his physical disability.‘ Also, they may be assigned to various missions by the director. b. Assistant Director(s): The assistant directors may advise the director, coordinate the functions of various com- mittees, and be assigned to various missions by the director. c. Treasurer:4- 'The duties of the treasurer are: l. to receive, record and deposit all donations in a reputable bank, 2. to keep revenue books, 3. to co-sign with the director all expenditures, 4. to prepare and read at the meetings of the organ- ization reports concerning financial developments, expenditures and balancing, ' 5. to prepare with his assistants an annual finan- cial report, 6. to prepare annual budgets and to supervise the investments of the Society. d. Assistant Treasurer(s): The assistant treasurer shall function under instructions of the Treasurer, may fur- nish advice and assistance to him, may study his functions, and shall assist him in preparing annual financial reports and budgets of the Society. . e. Secretaries: Each secretary will fulfill his (her) own respective duties, such as recording minutes, corresponding 377 in either Arabic or English, and doing financial reporting and recording. - ARTICLE XI a. The Executive Committee can decide and act only on administrative matters of the organization. b.‘ An official meeting of this Committee would require at least the presence of the Director or a Vice-Director du- ring his absence, a Secretary and Treasurer. c. The decision of this Committee will be made by a simple majority of the attending members. An attendance of ' five members shall be a quorum. d. Excluding the Director, first Vice-Director and Treasurer, the officers of the Executive Committee shall be appointed by the Director with the approval of the Board of Trustees or elected by the general membership in assembly meeting called for by the executive committee. The Treasurer and the first Vice-Director will be appointed only by the Board of Trustees. e. The Director and Treasurer shall be bonded in an amount designated by the Board of Trustees. f. Besides the Director, all Officers of the Executive Committee shall hold office for a period Of one year. ‘ g. An executive officer may be a member of the Board of Trustees. ARTICLE XII . a. The Board of Trustees is a self-perpetuating body. It consists of seven (7) members, which includes the Director and theTreasurer. 378 b. If the number of members of the Board of Trustees shall go under the minimum number (seven) of members as a result of resignations or deaths, the function of the Board of Trustees will remain the same, so long as a quorum of (three or more) members still exists. c. In this case, it shall be the duty of the remaining Board members to endeavor to regain the minimum (seven) by appointing, within three months if possible, new qualified members. d. Only the Board of Trustees can amend the Constitution. e. The Board may have its own secretaries and co-Chairmen from its membership. f. Regular meetings of the Board of Trustees will be called by the Director or by three members of the Board. It requires the attendance of a simple majority present to vali- date a meeting. The decisions will be made by a two-thirds majority of the attending members, except in the following cases: 1. In any change of the Constitution or the appoint- ment of any new member to the Board of Trustees, the decision will be passed only if the following conditions are met: a. The amendment or appointment shall be discussed in two (2) consecutive meetings attended by a two-thirds majority of the entire Board, after the notification to every Board member about the nature of the issue. b. The appointment or amendment has to be supported by a two-thirds majority vote of the entire Board. The vote shall take place at the second meeting. 379 2. In case of resignation or death of an existing Director, the appointment of a successor by the Trustees shall require the same conditions mentioned above, except that the appointment should be recommended by the three (3) members of the Board before the appointment is discussed. The Director shall serve for two years with the exception of the founder-director who, with the qualifications as stated above, shall serve his office for life. 3. In case of disagreement between the Director and the majority of the Executive Committee, the Director may call a meeting of the Board of Trustees to cOnsider the disputed issue. The decision of the Board of Trustees will be binding by a majority of its attending members at such meeting with there being a quorum present. 3. The Board of Trustees as the lawmaking body of the Society shall assume responsibility of purchasing lands, constructing buildings and supervising financing for the goals and programs of the organization which include the construction and maintenance of the Islamic Center and per- petuation of said Center and its program for the proper use of the Moslem community. h. The Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee are to meet separately, though they can meet jointly if so desired. The Board of Trustees shall meet at least twice a year. The Executive Committee shall meet at least quarterly. i. The Board of Trustees may appoint Honorary Trustees or Honorary officers. 380 ARTICLE XIII a. General membership may be created by the Trustees. The duty of each member will be to participate actively in promoting the goals of the organization. The rights of such a member are: 1. To be informed of the developments of the organ- ization. . I 2. To attend open membership meetings which are to be held quarterly by the Executive Committee. 3. To participate in elections of officers of the Executive Committee when permitted by the Executive Committee. b. The Executive Committee may from members create Youth and Women's Auxiliary Divisions whose by-laws and programs shall neither contradict nor supercede this Consti- tution. “7'EHZAAAAAA'MA'AAAA IES ll