One point I'd like to mention is that the culture of a certain country is sometimes perceived mistakenly by the outside world due to confusion with the religious rituals of the dominant minority or the imposing belief system of the country’s government. For example, in the short questionnaire that we had last Wednesday, I was surprised to see the claim that in Iran, it’s offensive to eat with your left hand. I was born and raised in Iran for 16 years and had never heard of this. I asked some Iranian friends and families, and it turned out I’m not the only one who was suprised by this news. I later discovered not eating with your left hand is an Islamic practice which is observed in some Arabic countries.
I experience this kind of misperception about my countrymen almost every day. Iran is run by a group of Islamist extremists and is known to be an Islamic country. So although Iranians have distinct Persian traditions and a rich culture, it’s natural for the outside world to perceive Iranians as strict Muslems who strictly follow Islamic laws, although for the large number of the population this is not true.
Hi Negaar,
ReplyDeleteLike many materials, I get them from other people. I checked the British one with my colleague but didn't think to check the nations one. I'll change it, however, to be correct. I think that, in general, there is a misperception that Iran is Arab and not Persian in cultural background.