978-1-4222-3442-6

94

I RAQ

An Iraqi family outside their home. In Arab cultures, strong family ties are imperative.

2014 the population growth rate had risen to about 2.2 percent.

F AMILY L IFE IN I RAQ The role of family in the Arab world helps explain much about the Arab Iraqi people. Kinship groups are the basic units in Iraqi soci- ety. Iraqis show their greatest loyalty to their immediate family and extended family. Usually three generations live together and share their lives, each having clear responsibilities. Other relatives live close by in the neighborhood. Often members of the same extended family are in business together because of the trust and powerful bond built up among them. A common proverb among Arabs is “I and my brothers against my cousin; I and my cousin against the stranger (or the world).”