Islam – Success Across Cultures

Religion & Culture: Individual Vs. Cultural Behavior

5. February 20215. February 2021by J. WittwerLeave a comment

During the 1994 World Cup, Heineken took center stage…and not in a good way.

In a bid of inclusion, Heineken printed the flag of every country participating in the Cup on its beer bottle.

Unfortunately, this included the flag of Saudi Arabia, which holds a holy creed, “There is no god but the God; Muhammad is the Messenger of the God.”

Islam, of course, forbids alcohol, so the blunder led to major hostilities in the Muslim world.

Heineken was forced to recall and discontinue this promotion, leading to loss of revenue and a bruised public image.

This is one example of what can happen when a business does not account for religious cultural norms.

Personal Faith Versus Cultural Behaviors

Religion influences both individuals and entire cultures.

Individual behavior is impacted by personal belief, while cultural behavior is often impacted by religious practices and norms.

A Christian attends mass every Sunday.

A Muslim prays in the direction of Mecca five times a day.

A Jew dons a Kipa.

All of these are religious behaviors based on individual convictions. That is, they may not impact an entire society or culture.

So, what types of behaviors do influence entire cultures?

One might differentiate between a cultural behavior and a personal one by identifying whether or not religious norms and values impact even non-believers..

Christmas & Easter

One glaring example of this is religious holidays.

Christmas and Easter are holidays that have become ingrained in Western culture; even those who are not of Christian faith celebrate said holidays.

In such cultures, holiday rituals – like decorating a Christmas tree, exchanging gifts, or even attending church – are often observed by those who do not practice religion.

Despite embracing these holiday rituals which are grounded in religion, those same celebrants may not necessarily routinely attend mass or celebrate any other elements of Christianity.

Particularly in Europe, attending church is often a personal conviction, rather than a cultural one.

The South

Visit the South in the U.S., and you might view mass attendance differently.

In some states or regions, going to church is a cultural expectation. It can improve both your social life, your professional life, and even your political life.

In this way, religious behavior is a cultural element in the South, meaning it is conditioned by the culture rather than by religion itself.

Why Must You Know This Distinction

When living and working in a foreign culture, this distinction between religious individual behavior and religious cultural behavior is an important one.

Behaviors based in personal belief can be disregarded without major repercussions; but those based in cultural belief simply cannot.

Preparing to accept, adapt, and adopt pervasive religious cultural beliefs is an important step in cultural integration.

Religion & Accounting: The Intersection of Business & Culture

29. January 202129. January 2021by J. WittwerLeave a comment

“Religion is more than a belief; it constitutes a way of life, involving unique practices and perspectives in accounting.” – Meredith Young

This, Young concludes in her thesis that examines cultural impacts on accounting.

From Egyptian papyrus to Incan knots, accounting has taken shape in different forms across cultures and time.

Let’s look at how religion influences accounting systems, styles, and mediums.

The Sacred and the Profane

In the early Church of England, acts and behaviors were identified as either sacred or profane, holy or sinful.

Handling money – and money, in general – were of the profane variety.

Matthew 6:24 reads:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Upon this verse, the Church’s belief is based. Accounting was viewed as profane and should not commingle with religious laws and principles.

Of course, modern Christians are unlikely to hold this view, but it still exists in the Church of England.

Islam

The Islamic perspective does not divide acts into two parties.

Rather, a person’s acts ready him or her for higher religious acts, which should be done according to those Allah set forth in the Quran.

A primary tenet of the Islamic faith is accountability.

Not only should one be accountable for his debts, but he will ultimately have to account to Allah for his deeds on Judgement Day.

There, a Muslim will receive a book of deeds – a record of all good acts done in one’s life.

Rewards or punishments are awaiting all in response to this record.

And what constitutes a “good deed”?

Abiding by Islamic law, to the letter, for one.

Some of these laws revolve around accounting.

In Albaqarah, Verse 282, the Quran states:

“O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let scribe write it down in justice between you. Let not the scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him, so let him write…”

Financial transactions are regulated according to Islamic practice. Muslim accountants must uphold these laws.

One example is interest. According to Islamic law, charging interest is prohibited.

Moreover, a tax called “zakat” is imposed on certain property types and is intended to be charitably redistributed.

Islamic companies must comply to the standards published by the Islamic Financial Accounting Standard Board (IFASB).

As one might expect, there is often a conflict between Western accounting standards and practices and Islamic accounting, which can pose cross-cultural issues where business is involved.

Contact vs. No Contact Cultures: A Guide to Touching

18. January 201918. January 2019by J. WittwerLeave a comment

If you’re a man, how would you greet another man? Probably just a shake of the hand, right?

How would you greet a woman? If you’re from the West, probably the same.

You’d offer your hand without a second thought. But, considering the different body contact norms across cultures, you shouldn’t assume sameness when it comes to greetings.

Sometimes, cross-cultural matters of gender are quite sensitive and, depending on the culture, even same-gender greetings may require some specific behaviors.

If you don’t want to do something taboo in your new culture, as a monkey, watch and learn. Or, better yet, prepare yourself beforehand by reading up on gender norms in this “guide to touching.”

Touching Across Genders

In certain cultures, particularly in traditional ones, touching when greeting is only acceptable when of the same gender.

Generally, same-gender contact (male-to-male and female-to female) is acceptable in many cultures. But what about male-to-female contact?

Physical contact between men and women in African countries and in Muslim majority countries is often seen as taboo.

Moreover, in traditional societies, PDA is unacceptable, and you’ll rarely see a man and a woman holding hands in public or greeting each other with physical contact.

In some regions, the latter is acceptable if the man and woman are family.

Left Hand/Right Hand

You should also consider which hand you greet someone with.

If you are left handed, and normally reach out to shake with your dominant hand, hold up a minute.

When in Africa or Muslim majority countries, many will consider this left-handed shake disrespectful, because the left hand is considered the “dirty” hand.

Because clean water for hand-washing isn’t always readily available in some regions, tasks in these cultures are separated between the left and right, with the left hand being responsible for dirty tasks…even cleaning oneself after using the toilet.

Not only that, but in Islam, a preference is always given to the right hand.

DohaNews states why:

“This follows in the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, who favored his right hand for such actions [eating meals and greeting people].”

When Muslims perform wadu – purifying themselves ritually before prayer – they follow a sequence while washing, always prioritizing the right side.

Imam Talib Shareef told PBS:

“That cleanliness is a process. It starts with your intentions. In basic terms it’s, ‘I intend to make the ablution in preparation to stand in obedience before my Lord.’”

Being as the right hand is given such preference, touching or greeting someone with the left hand would be considered very rude, regardless of whether or not the right hand is busy at the time.

Knowledge of these differences in cross-gender contact and right hand/left hand norms can make the difference between success across cultures or a terrible first impression.