"O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." {Quran, 49:13}
Besides religion, traditions, and geographies, culture has historically identified people. Whether consciously or unconsciously, humans have always tended to form with others around them a general culture passed down and built upon from one generation to another. This timeless connection between mankind and culture will always exist because it determines one of the many aspects of man's existence on this earth. For some, culture is a set of trivial, pointless information. Truth is, culture is a very complex concept, it is information and knowledge shaping human behavior in life. Culture interprets society's lifestyles and is an important reflection of the lives of people from the past.
Culture is defined as “All that illuminates the mind, refines the taste, and develops the sense of criticism." The Arabic word Thaqafa is derived from Thaqaf, meaning being well-versed in various branches of knowledge. A 'cultured' person has good, well-rounded knowledge. Culture can also be defined as a system that comprises a set of beliefs, procedures, knowledge, and behaviors, formed and shared within a certain group of people. A person's acquired culture has a strong influence on their behavior.
Scholars and intellectuals have contributed to defining culture, and Social Scientist Malinowski said, "Culture comprises inherited artifacts, goods, technical processes, ideas, habits, and values, necessary within any society to fulfill basic needs and impose a certain order."
Anthropologist Taylor said that culture "is an expression of the universality of social life and is characterized by its collective dimension. Ultimately, culture is acquired and is not a by-product of genetic evolution. Although acquired, its origin and character are largely unconscious".
Sapir sought to develop a comprehensive concept of culture, so he developed three complementary definitions:
"Any human feature that has its origins in social heritage."
"A set of socially endorsed ideas, information, and experiences, prevalent in a society and based in its heritage."
"A set of ideas centered around life, general trends, and manifestations of civilization of a certain people, that confer upon it a special standing in the world."
Notably, all three scholars agree that culture is centered around man and society. It depicts a cultural map for society to understand the past, live in the present, and envision the future. Moreover, it justifies the actions of the individuals. Without culture, society loses its identity in the present life and fails to revive its past or create its future.
Renovating culture to fit time and space is the only solution to globalization and identity alienation. By using the past as a beacon for the future, we can leverage our energies and abilities to spread our culture to the world. This can only be achieved by taking pride in the Saudi culture and identity so that we and the world enjoy multiculturalism, through which we can move away from cultural isolation and coexist peacefully.
Cultural isolation means that every cultural environment gives its individuals a distinct personality, behavior, ideas, and mentality. These individuals regard any interaction or overlap with other cultures as inevitably leading to a loss of originality and dissolution of one's identity and essence. This is a big mistake since one must discover other cultures, learn more about them, and benefit from them.
Multiculturalism plays an important role in understanding people. Luis Rodrigues said, “In the 21st century, societies remain culturally diverse, with most countries having a mixture of individuals from different races, linguistic backgrounds, religious affiliations, and so forth. Contemporary political theorists have labeled this phenomenon of the coexistence of different cultures in the same geographical space multiculturalism."
Globalization, which started toward the end of the last century, has become a path for multiculturalism. We must join forces with the media to spread multiculturalism. Mutual understanding becomes easier once multiculturalism is achieved.
Societies and the world have a long road ahead to implement and understand multiculturalism, which has now become an industry. We often hear of interest-based negotiations between countries, companies, and individuals, but never about cultural negotiation, why is that? What is cultural negotiation?
The meaning of cultural negotiation might differ from interest-based negotiation, but it comprises several factors, the most important of which is dialogue. Dialoguing with others and showcasing our cultures open up multiple cultures that might lead to global culture.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghathami says, "Cultural negotiation rests on four pillars: freedom, equality, social justice, and diversity."
The Great Depression struck the world in the 1930s and was linked to financial culture. The US citizen lacked this culture and government institutions lacked proper insight, which ultimately led this massive buildup to burst, creating the Great Depression.
This time period witnessed many changes, for instance, citizens proceeded to invest in Wall Street and they took loans for speculation or investment, with no regard for financial culture or investment precautions. The Federal Reserve noticed that transaction volumes on Wall Street at that time were increasing and that borrowing skyrocketed.
Back then, the Federal Reserve Bulletin was issued with the headline: “Unprecedented high-volume transactions in Wall Street! Stock prices on the rise!" Subsequently, the Federal Reserve began to withdraw money from the market. What if a financial culture was established or an investment culture was in place? That would not have happened! It is a well-known fact that excess money growth in any market leads to inflation.
