Población y muestras

In the literature review, presented in Chapter two, I explored the notion of the IBM philosophy. For many scholars, such as Rice, the IBM philosophy adequately explains an Arab work ethic. Drawing from cultural, including religious notions, the common sayings cause much frustration for the South African expatriates, primarily because there is a need for certainty in the workplace. Inshallah, as a religious term of the IBM philosophy, is thought to be a cultural, rather than specifically religious, practice by many respondents. From the literature we learn that Westerners perceive the use of the term Inshallah as abdicating responsibility or just telling the employer what he or she wants to hear. The following quotes demonstrate the general “Western” (mis)perspective:

“Over here; it is Inshallah, Bokra, Malesh, because whenever you ask something, they’re going to say, ‘it’s God-willing … it is fine’. They’ll tell you, ‘everything will happen

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tomorrow,’ – that just means, it won’t happen today. ‘It’s bokra, everything will be okay’ – but it never is.” – V

“Môre is nog ’n dag: as ons nie klaar maak nie, kom ons weer môre. Dit het niks met geloof te doen nie. Dis meer ‘n kultuur ding.”20

– T

Looking at V’s quote above, it is clear that he attaches a negative connotation to the use of the IBM philosophy. Clearly, pivotal to the understanding of Inshallah by expatriates, is that it “excuses” the user from any responsibility. This points to the arguably fatalistic nature of Egyptians’ approach towards work and achievement. This fatalism, in the Egyptian work, ethic causes great frustration to South African expatriates since the Protestant ethic leaves little to “chance” and values hard work and commitment. What we learn from the literature however, is that the use of Inshallah does not necessarily imply fatalism, but that it is a cultural use socialised from a very young age.

“Their whole thing is that ‘if they die they go to a better place’. They bring their religion into their everyday life. And everything they do is God-willing. So they don’t have to … because God wills it so it’s a very poor work ethic.” – V

The above statement equates the Egyptian religious view, vis-à-vis Allah’s responsibility to provide for his followers, to that of having a poor work ethic: Whether this disregards Islamic beliefs or is perhaps a misunderstanding of these beliefs or not, the result is a perception of a lack of willingness to work. Notwithstanding the relevance to Inshallah in the workplace, i.e. if something is incomplete it suits the will of Allah, the “fatalistic” nature of Egyptians’ beliefs reaches outside the office building. The following three extracts taken from the urban ethnography Taxi, highlights this mind-set among Egyptians when three taxi drivers comment:

“…and set up all the elements for Him to provide me with this money. Because it’s not your earnings and the money’s not yours – it’s all God’s. That’s the only thing I have learnt in my life” (Al Khamissi, 2007:17); “You feel they’re [the government] making a big effort to ruin us and our families … What they don’t know is that they won’t be able to do it, because Our Lord is the one who provides livelihoods. He is the Provider and there is no Provider other than Him.” (Al Khamissi, 2007:147); “What I earn comes from our Lord and

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Tomorrow is another day. If we don’t finish today then we’ll come again tomorrow. It has nothing to do with religion: it’s a cultural thing.

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you [the client] are merely a conduit … It’s God who provides. A driver shouldn’t state his price. That way he leaves it to Our Lord.” (Al Khamissi, 2007:156)

The role of Allah as the provider is much emphasised to the frustration of South African expatriates who view work as an end in itself and as an action based on free will.

“Time is not that important, because everything revolves around God’s will. The way that they see it, things happen based on God’s will. [There is] no control over your environment. When you say to them, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow for coffee`, they always say,

‘Inshallah’, because maybe something will come up and they won’t make it in time – God’s

will. And that’s how they live their lives. But it also means they don’t take responsibility for things. On the one hand it’s lovely, when tragedy hits or somebody dies or something happens, they have a wonderful way of coping, God’s will, that’s how they deal with it. On the other [hand] it’s really frustrating, because we don’t believe in that [in the workplace

where] you can control time [and] be responsible and that’s why for them time doesn’t

matter.” – C

C, in the above statement, considers the effect of Inshallah on the notion of time and timeliness. Although she acknowledges the cultural relevance, and perhaps uniqueness, of this uttering, she concedes that it causes much frustration in the workplace. There is a willingness on her side to acknowledge and respect her Egyptian colleagues’ beliefs, although she recognises its presence in the workplace as a hindrance to productivity and “getting things done”. She also equates leaving things to God’s will as “not having control over your environment” rather than giving her colleagues the benefit of the doubt for believing that Allah will provide and choosing to place their trust in Allah. What is important to highlight is the manner in which she distinguishes herself from her colleagues by stating “we don’t believe in that”. It is, however, uncertain if she refers to expatriates, South African expatriates or Christians, but it is important to emphasise the distance created between herself and her colleagues.