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Anthropology of the Arab World

The discipline of anthropology is not new to the Arab world. While there were no established anthropological institutions until the 20th century, scholars such as Abu Rayhan al-Biruni and Ibn Khaldun, are recognized for their contribution to the discipline as early as the 10th century. Egypt, Palestine, and the Gulf have received most of the scholarly attention, with a particular focus on nationalism and the state. The Arab youth are a growing area of interest for anthropologists in the Arab world. Comparatively little research is done in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, the Sudan, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. This is in part a result of accessibility and the conditions of the states. That status of anthropology in the Arab world would be labeled as peripheral in relation to anthropology in other regions of the world.

Middle East

Iran

The man known as the father of Iranian Anthropology was named Sadegh Hedayat (1903-1951). His focus was on folklore. In 1937, an institute of ethnology was founded in Iran, which then closed in 1941. It then reopened again with the rise to power of Mohammed Reza Shah. From 1956 to 1959, it published a journal titled "Majalleye Mardomshenas" (Journal of Anthropology). In 1957, the first anthropological elective course offered at a college level in Iran began at the University of Tehran.

In the past, there was not as much of an emphasis placed on receiving degrees from foreign universities. Similarly, international research was also not highly valued. International study and research, however, has begun gaining more and more importance within the departments of anthropology in Iran. Anthropology in Iran suffers from a poor reputation in the public sphere. It is considered to be a weak discipline, according to Iranian anthropologist, Soheila Shahshahani. Perhaps because of this, most students of the social sciences tend to choose other disciplines, such as law, management, and psychology. As society changes, more attention is being paid to the field. Today, ethnographic research in the area focused on internal subjects, such as the pastoralists living in the arid areas around Iran. These studies continue today, but other fields of interest have started to emerge. A new focus on small town life and rural areas has recently developed. Professor Shahshanani states that the weakness of current anthology in Iran is the lack of theoretical work done by its practitioners. She also goes on to say that these issues could be solved by getting Iranian anthropologists who have trained elsewhere to come back and practice in Iran.

Levant

Lebanon

The department of sociology at the American University of Beirut was the first to offer an anthropology course, which is listed in its 1950-51 catalogue. The department of anthropology was officially founded in the 1970s, and saw 33 students graduate with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology throughout that decade. The Lebanese Civil War, which lasted from 1975-1990, interfered with the development of the department and anthropology at the university saw a decline as a direct result. During this time, the new department of social and behavioral sciences (SBS) which already encompassed sociology, psychology, and communication, absorbed the anthropology department.

During the 1980s, records show just one student having graduated with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology, while there were none in the 1990s. There were three anthropologists on the faculty throughout this time. Among them were Fuad Khuri, Martha Mundy, and Gerald Obermeyer.

A survey conducted in 1989 by Seteney Shami, a 1976 graduate of the BA program in anthropology at the American University in Beirut, sought to learn more about the teachings of anthropology at universities in the Arab world. Her findings suggested that the role of the discipline in the Arab world were minimal. In an academic report that came out in 2006, anthropologists at the same university claim to have found little evidence in the local community of any significant changes since.

Today's anthropology graduates in Lebanon have opportunities to work with local NGOs. However for those interested in pursuing anthropology as a discipline, the West still stands as the one destination for that. Anthropology departments at the American University in Beirut, and in Lebanon, are stifled by war.

As a destination for anthropologists to do research, Lebanon is among the top spots for emerging scholars in the Arab world.

Palestine

Palestine has seen an increase in research conducted in the territory and among the Paletinian communities in Isarel, as well as refugee camps in neighboring countries.

The history of Palestinian anthropology can be marked by four modes of ethnographic engagement: Biblical Palestine, Oriental Palestine, Absent Palestine, and Post-Structural Palestine.

Biblical Palestine refers to the main method of ethnographic engagement of Palestine which took place in the first decades of the 20th century. Led predominately by Europeans, their interest was motivated by the use of the Bible as a legitimizing text to influence the region. Early work consisted of European writers fetishizing and romanticizing the land and the people based on the Biblical figures.

Oriental Palestine, a term coined by a Palestinian scholar (find scholar, cite) was the leading mode of engagement throughout the first four decades of the 20th century. It was marked by a sense of urgency to document Palestine as a source of Europe's beginnings. Through this lens, a narrative was offered that challenged the colonial British vision of Palestinian history which saw the Arabs there as "transient and ephemeral". It was also marked by a sense of duty among others to capture the traditional fabric of Palestine before it's dissolution, which appeared evident at the time due to the events surrounding the rise of Zionism.

Absent Palestine follows immediately after the demise of Palestine in 1948, and can only be fully understood in terms of the success of Zionism. In this sense, the state of Palestine was eclipsed by the narrative of Israel as a place offering a safe haven to endangered refugees from Europe. This ethnographic silence of Palestinians is seen as the turning point in Israel's image of modernity.

Post-Structural Palestine is the current main method of ethnographic engagement. It is known primarily for its stance that challenges and brings to question Israel's efforts to repress Palestinian nationalism. The movement has seen a rising trend in which the Palestinian subject is explored for their national identity, rather than silenced.

Turkey

Anthropology as a discipline in Turkey can trace its roots back to 1925. Developing in an nationalistic atmosphere, The Anthropology Institute, otherwise known as The Center for Anthropological Research in Turkey, was established on that year within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Istanbul. From 1925 to the 1960's, the main topics of research centered around studies of rural and village life, with a focus on nation building. In the 1960's, a series of military coups occurred, causing considerable changes to the field and to academia itself. It was not until the year 1997 that the first official department of anthropology was established in Turkey, at the private Yeditepe University in Istanbul. As of 2010, 6 of the 53 state universities in Turkey offered training in anthropology. In contrast to this, only one of the 24 private universities offer similar training. The first anthropological association in Turkey was founded in 1992.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia

Many Anthropologists investigate the tribal system in Saudi Arabia. Anthropology was not popular in many countries; however, the Universities in Saudi Arabia are adopting Anthropology.

• What is the opposite of the impression of tribes is the ideology of regression. The idea that the tribe gets its meaning from the patriarchal descent. Which is now called Saudi genealogy. One of the famous genealogy is Hamad Aljassar who dead in 2000(Alshamlan).
  
• Golf scholars are interested in how migrants and other racial groups are racialized by the legal system. They are also interested in examining the built environment, the history of the transnational connection and the rapid social change (Deep & Winger).

United Arab Emirates

Anthropological studies, which are concerned with the privacy of the UAE community with a tribal background are rare and limited.

• Most of the studies are written with other international anthropologists such as the ethnographic observations of a British Anthropologists Bertram Thomas.

Tribes are the most form of UAE. Many anthropologists are interested in investigating the form of tribes. Many Gulf countries are also based on the tribal system.

• Moreover, there are many migrants in UAE from two sides: The first side is the center and the south of the Arabian Peninsula. The second side of the eastern coast of the Arabian Gulf, contains many foreign migrations from the neighboring countries of Asia.There are also migrants from Iran. The main intention of those migrants is settling in UAE.
• The UAE community is a multi-tribal community. A multi-cultural community that divides communities into socially and economically linked in different sectors of the workforce(Alsnagry).

Qatar and Bahrain

In Qatar and Bahrain, anthropology was not as popular as other fields, like many other Gulf countries. Anthropology is expanding in educational aspect. Many anthropologists are also concerned on the structure of the tribes in the Gulf countries(Gardner).

North Africa

Egypt

Within the Arab-majority countries, Egypt, has established itself among the other Arab-majority countries as the main hub for anthropologists in the region, with Cairo being the center for most of this attention. The rest of the country remains relatively understudied. Increased attention to Cairo can be attributed to the rise of anthropological interest in cities, particularly to the diverse interdisciplinary scholarship.

The centrality of Middle East area studies is largely responsible for the increase in anthropological attention towards Egypt. In addition to this is the accessibility of institutional support for US scholars.

As of the early 21st century, the relationship of Egypt with anthropology remains under question. Egyptian anthropologist, Hania Sholkamy, remarks that there are four main points that shape this ongoing relationship: the relationship of methods to theory, the relationship between methods and their analysis, the relationship of culture to its determinants, and the relationship between having data and being able to evaluate it.

The discipline of anthropology is in a constant state of judgment within Egypt, particularly when compared with the discipline of demography. The qualitative data more common in demography is given more attention than the theoretical and analytical methods associated with anthropology.

Morocco

In Morocco, topics of anthropological research include the ethnicization of Jews, the construction of ethnicity among Berber, Arab, and Haratine groups through agricultural practices, and how Berber ethnicities are politicized in ways that create raced and gendered notions of homeland.