I heard someplace once that "A woman could never understand the Middle Eastern mindset." I think it was on a movie, probably The Siege.

Anyways, could somebody enlighten a Westerner whose study and experience are all in Far Eastern thought and culture? What is the middle eastern mindset? how does it differ from others?

Does it have to do with the greater level of faith these people seem to have in their religion? Or is it a product of the male superiority thing that seems prevelant in their cultures? or is it that they're regularly out in the sun too much?

Please pardon me if I seem rude in the asking, but I'm curious. In my studies of other cultures, I find that the more people are different, the more they're the same. there seem to be consistent differences between different cultures depending on what type of geophysical environment that culture developed in.