Living in Saudi Arabia for almost all my life, I know what a dominant ideology in a society means. I used to live it everyday. The ideology of accepting extremism and bureaucracy or else!
Over the years, I’ve heard many Arabic words that have shaped our society, but just two words, “Haram” and “Aeb,” represent an entire dominant ideology that’s been imposed on the people.
“Haramحرام ” is a sinful thing, act, behavior that would take you straight to hell according to Islam.
“Aeb عيب ” is a concept of forbidding people to act, talk ,behave in a certain way according to society norms. It is seen inappropriate in culture and tradition. The Aeb is an act that often not forbidding according to Islamic views. However people who commit an Aeb could be punished and isolated socially.
By one word a whole dominant ideology is imposed. Many Saudis have adopted that ideology to belong to the community socially, culturally or even politically.
Words like“ Freedom”, “democracy” don’t exist. We hardly find them written, be it in the press, on posters, T-shirts or other forms.
That is a form of imposing the dominant ideology by ignoring it. Therefore many people would not even know the ideology of democracy as their lives have been normalized without it. My grandparents are an example of this.
Do you know of an English word that represents a whole ideology?
Have you ever been a victim of a dominant ideology?
Strategically Communicating 
Thank you for providing a peek inside your corner of the world.
By: kelliroesch on October 8, 2012
at 11:27 pm