Why is the majority of Middle-Eastern take themselves so seriously?

Question

What gives?

Answer 1

Whoa there JJ! Now that's ill-informed stereotyping of the worst kind. By the way, the entire Middle East is not Muslim (as you seem to be implying.) Remember this place called Israel? And you have to admit that NOBODY in the known Universe takes themselves more seriously than the Israelis, and Jews in general. Ooooops, that makes me rabidly anti-semitic I suppose. (There goes my career!)

But to get back to the question. Yes, the Middle East does seem to take itself seriously, but that's because the REST OF THE WORLD does. Maybe if they didn't have oil, they would be as neglected as Africa or Central America, and could get on with their lives in peace...

Answer 2

How many Middle Easterners do you know that take themselves really seriously? Taking yourself seriously is not necessarily a bad thing anyway. If you are talking about politics then it is surely because the West has f*d them up again and again with the installation of puppet dictators, the undermining of legitimate regimes through the funding of insurgents that are pro US, the invasion of Iraq in order to have a permanent US military presence in the region, oil and lots of lucrative reconstruction deals tendered for the PNAC scum.

Spend a holiday in Tehran and I'm sure that you will come away thinking quite differently and you will see that ordinary people in the Middle East don't take them any more seriously than you. ☺

Samira Makhmalbaf (and, of course, her father) make some amazing films. A good way to get to know a culture is through their cinema and starting with watching a film or two by these directors would definitely help you understand the answer to your question yourself.

Answer 3

Well, not to generalize too much.... but it is pretty darn hot in the middle-east.  Add to that the restriction from doing almost anything, that most people consider, fun and you have a pretty volitile area.  

If someone were to force you to live in an area that was 120 degrees, tell you that all women in your area needed to be covered from head to toe, tell you that you couldn't have s*x until your married, tell you that you couldn't "self-satisfy", tell you that you couldn't eat this or that, tell you that you couldn't shave (beards are itchy), tell you that you had to stop whatever you were doing to kneel and bow five times a day while you chanted what they told you to chant, the list goes on.... wouldn't you be a little more humorless.

I know that I would be downright angry.... all day long, everyday.  Its just too many restrictions on a persons behavior, and it doesn't allow for mindless meriment which is necessary in a healthy human psyche.  Sometimes you need to just have fun, without the constant burden of countless restrictions.  That doesn't mean you need to act immorally or selfishly but just live in the moment and have some fun.  It must be terribly soffocating to have to live with so many restrictions.  Seems like a horrible burden, and likely would make anyone a little off kilter.

And on top of all that the middle east has mind numbingly bad legal policy which tends to harm the victim of a crime.  So on top of being told, in every aspect, how to live your life.... you also live in the knowledge that any transgression against you will be met without justice.  Its not a funny way to live so it is no surprise that they take things seriously.

Answer 4

who?

Answer 5

Why are so many Middle-Easterners Stereotyped?

Answer 6

Same reason we in the west do.