Suchergebnisse

In the study of Arab society, religion is often seen as a major determinant of family structure, and of the status and role of women in society. This linkage, however, may not be so close as has been assumed. One way of testing it empirically is to compare the attitudes and behaviour of different religious groups within a single Arab country. If the different religious groups show similar attitudes and behaviour, then the effect of religion may not be so immediate and direct as has been thought. Data are presented in the paper that substantiate this argument. The data describe the system of norms held for women's behaviour by a large sample of non-elite educated youth in Lebanon. The sample corrects for the differences in social status and educational attainments of different religious groups. It is found that, although there are substantial differences between the norms held by young men and those held by young women, the differences by religious affiliation are small and inconsistent. A discussion is presented of this apparent absence of effect of religious affiliation.

Although every study of Arab society agrees on the central importance of the family to the organization of society, there has been relatively little discussion of the honor of the family, 'ird. In the descriptions that exist, this honor is characterized as preoccupation with sexual purity and chastity, or as a cause of suspicion and jealousy between men and women. The distinctive characteristics of honor have never been spelled out; it is usually referred to briefly and then discarded in favor of such topics as the authority structure, the preference for marriage with the father's brother's daughter, and the seclusion of women.