Lessons on Arab culture in the Guaridian

"Ibn Rushd" sent me this:  ""Hezbollah men asked Manaf what he thought about Assad's handling of the situation, according to one Syrian source.  "The response came fast and dry – 'a donkey'," said the source. "In Arabic, the poor animal occupies a very low level in the hierarchy of the animal kingdom and the term is generally used to denote a clueless person with no intelligence whatsoever.  "Taking it as an insult, the Hezbollah team got up and apologised for not being able to have dinner there as they made up other excuses.  "As Firas and Manaf stood up to accompany their hosts out, which is customary in these events, their father asked to sit down and let the guests leave unaccompanied, a sign of derision in Arab customs.""