IBZ Group Blog

Throughout history the Middle East (ME) has been a major player in world affairs. The Middle East is also the historical origin of three of the world’s major monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Combined with the many mystery and myths that surround it and the latest events that consistently keep it in the news, the Middle East is has become an intriguing subject of interest to people around the world.

The modern Middle East came to be after World War I, when the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into separate nations. Other defining events in this transformation included the establishment of Israel in 1948, and the departure of European powers, notably Britain and France, the two powers that had more than a political influence in the region.

I lived, visited and worked in many countries of the Middle East for well over 35 years, during which I gained a great deal of experience, insight and understanding of the different and distinct cultures that exist throughout the region; the differences and nuances of the diverse Arabic languages; as well as a familiarity with personal and business etiquettes, political correctness – ME-style; and myriad other interesting bits of information that can be gained only by living there.

My memories of the Middle East, like any memories of a place where one has spent a great deal of time, are a mix of gratitude for the friendships, interesting personal and business experiences and plentiful good times; acceptance of sad times, losses and the betrayal of so called friends who turned out not to be as they appeared;  a longing to go back intertwined with the desire to stay away; an easier and more laidback life style than we have here in the States; and of course the tax free income!

I was blessed to be one of the fortunate ”Foreigners” (more on this in a later article)– I made enough money to afford a somewhat better than average life style,  good modern living accommodations, a live-in maid, a long holiday every year, private schooling for my kids and a laundry list of executive perks.

But before you start to envy me and pack your bags to seek your fortune in the ME, rest assured I had my share of personal and business-related challenges and upheavals. The greatest challenge came when I was 17 and we lost my 45 year old father.  I was suddenly put into the position of being responsible for a large Catholic family -5 sisters and my mother, living in a predominantly Muslin region. Despite the need to support my family, I was committed to continuing my education, eventually earning my BA and MBA. And while I had people who championed me, as could be expected, I encountered many who did their best to try to bring me down. My family experienced religious prejudice, as the majority of the people in the region, looked upon anyone who was not Muslim as atheistic.  In business there were ingrates who accepted my help, and then schemed against me for any number of reasons, including mere envy. There were those that did not agree with my work and management style, and those that had hidden agendas that were eventually brought to light.

These occurrences are not unique to me, nor are they unique to the Middle East. And that’s the point. There are far too many people who maintain misconceptions of the Middle East. There are some who, seeing pictures of Dubai, for instance, think the entire region and everyone in it is very rich. Or, as gas prices rise and fall, that every country in the ME has limitless supplies of oil. There are others, who see the masses protesting in the streets of Iraq and think most people in the ME are militant. With our 24/7 news cycle, and continuous reporting on Al Qaeda and the Taliban, others equate the ME with Islamist zealots hell-bent on conquering the world.

Rather, contrary to the picture many have, the people of the ME are diverse in thought, occupation, wealth, religion……..and so on.

In this article series, I will try to put my experiences, knowledge, and thoughts to work to dispel the myths and accurately portray the people and countries of the Middle East, as I know them.  I hope readers find it interesting, possibly beneficial, and in many cases – eye-opening. This series will cover:

            Middle East territories and Regions…

            The Myths …

            The Facts … 

            The Culture …    

            The Business …

            The People …

I will publish at least one new article in this series each month, so please come back and have a look. I welcome your comments - if there is something on this topic you would like me to add, please drop me a comment.

About the author: Barhoum Khoury, MBA is the President of IBZ Group, LLC (http://www.IBZGroup.com) –  a Lebanese American with more than 35 years of living, working and conducting business with private and government sectors in different regions of the Middle East. He is the author of The Integrated Encyclopedia, an English-Arabic reference guide to IT and business terminologies. Mr. Khoury has a long successful history building and leading world-class sales and marketing teams and has been the recipient of numerous industry awards for business development and sales achievements.