Understanding Sabr in Middle Eastern Culture

Why do so many Western experts misunderstand the Middle East?

Because they hear an Arabic word,

Sabr, and think it means patience. It doesn't.

Patience is waiting 10 minutes for your coffee.

Sabr is waiting 10 years or 20 or even 50.

It's the ability to suffer, to endure,

to keep going even when life is hard.

In many Western cultures, people want results now.

Faster growth, faster deals, faster wars, faster peace.

But in much of the Middle East, time is not always the enemy.

Sometimes, time is a weapon. Look at Iran, for example.

American presidents come and go.

One administration replaces another.

But Iran often thinks in decades, not in election cycles. That's Sabr.

And if you translate Sabr as simply patience,

you're missing one of the most important concepts in the

Middle Eastern culture. Salaam.