THE REAL ARAB

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 104, 30 October 1933, Page 5

THE REAL ARAB

SIMPLE YET SHREWD

MIXED HUMAN QUALITIES

DEMAND FOR JUSTICE

The uncompromising shadow of the Arab lies across the centuries from thoso early days when Arab seamen sailed to China in search of commerce. For fifteen centuries the Arab has been known and feared in tho East Indies, and the mark he has left thero is deep, writes H. W. Williamson' in the "Daily Mail." Tho Arab is a queer mixture of philosophy and passion, of careless bonhomie and deadly purposefulnpss. He blends self-indulgence with Spartan discipline in a fashion peculiarly his own. First of all with the Arab comes liis pride of race. His is a noble heritage, and pride in it is imbibed with his earliest food. He carries himself with that supreme confidence which belongs only to princes, and his sensitiveness to possible slight or injury seems to tho outsider a little overdone. Incidentally, his ideas about genetics arc by no means confined to his splendid horses. A STRANGE MIXTURE. Cast your mind back for a moment over the "Arabian Nights" and recall the astonishing mixture of amorous dalliance and calculated cruelty displayed in almost every story. The genuine Arab is there shown iii all his little weaknesses and mighty strength. Tenacity of purpose is one' of the outstanding characteristics of the race. A colloquial proverb, often in the mouths of tho people, says: "Patience is a most excellent quality: its rewards are great and sweet." The foreigner who, bearing no malice, has supposed time to cover up old hurts and enmities, has been shocked into startled remembrance after long years of contented oblivion by the vengeance of the unforgetting Arab. Insults and wounds may not be avenged at the/time they are suffered, but inevitably there will come a settling day. Mohammed himself enjoined his followers not to forget "tho justice of requital." And Arab memories are good. SIMPLE YET SHREWD. Tho Arab, wherever ho is found, is essentially a. simplo being. It would bo surprising, indeed, if the desert should produce a complex personality; that doubtful privilege is reserved for overcrowded cities. I The foreign observer, amazed at the extreme poverty of numerous Arabs, a poverty which goes hand-in-hand with a cheerful generosity unknown to richer men, seeks the answer to such a puzzle. He is met with another proverb: "Contentment is the key of repose; in the desert resignation is tho best companion." I have met and talked with Arabs in many odd places, but never' have I found them at a loss in word or deed. They Lave acute minds, sharpened by difficult circumstances and much reflection in loneliness. If they brood over their troubles and. fancied slights it is not surprising when one considers that ordinary human intercourse in the_ Hedjaz or in Yemen may moan meeting another human being about twice in a week. . - GREAT STUDENTS. I have found the Arab remarkably self-sufficient. Ho is a great student, for as, ho is taught from childhood, "To be'ignorant is death to the living," ho must know all ho can about thoso things which surround him and make up the life of his people. To have to admit to an inquisitivo stranger that he did not know would bo intolerable. This self-sufficiency, however, rarely becomes unpleasantly obtrusive, but it does give the Arab that simple dignity which seems to be his birthright. This same dignity makes tho Arab a very pleasant and confident companion in strange places. Although the proverbial lore of the Arabs—like that of most other nations —contains numerous admonitions against excesses of all kinds, tho Arab is as given to extremes as any other people. "Moderation in everything is a precious ideal" has frequently to be quoted to a desert dweller. Mohammed knew his people and their weaknesses well when ho laid down,stringent rules governing the entry of the Faithful into Paradise. The need for extreme discipline was recognised in tho institution, of the month of Kamadan —the month of abstinence. Between sunrise and sunset no True Believer will eat a meal or drink anything other than water. Such long-drawn-out observance of a strong religious taboo, however, leads to indulgence in numerous excessses between sunset and sunrise. How often do Arabs face the . month following Bamadan with worn-out bodies and even wearier minds! So many thon discover that in very truth "the fruit of rashness ia repentance." SENSE OF JUSTICE. Tho Arab has a deep-seated sense of justice, and if he feels he has been robbed by a single hairs-breadth of his rightful dues he will not rest until things are put right. To be strictly fair, he is as much interested in the principle involved as in the smaller matter of material satisfaction.

He has a tidy mind capable of do* keting debits and credits with amazing accuracy. This may be proved by any who will deal generously with him, for no foreigner has ever exceeded an Arab in generosity, while many havo mourned the day they tried to "squeeze" one. Arabia was one of tho great civilising forces of the ancient world —she even forced her script on Bantus and Malays, while we still.use her numbers —and although she has been outstripped in the race in recent centuries, she still at intervals shows something of her old vigour. And whenever national jealousies tread on her susceptibilities she will stir again and murmur: "Such as you do, so will you find in your turn."