Arab propensity to obedience

As I stared studying the Middle East back in Lebanon, I often read Western commentaries on Arab political behavior.  I was informed that Arabs have an inclination toward obedience.  I then lived and traveled in the West: what struck me most is the worshipful and keen insistence among Westerners on total and complete obedience to the laws.  Arabs manage to disobey the laws at every opportunity they get.  Explain this one.