Iraqi Culture

Core Concepts

Greetings

It is important to greet an Iraqi formally and respectfully when meeting them for the first time.
Men are expected to stand to greet a woman when she enters the room, and everyone stands when an elderly person both arrives and departs.
Muslim men and women generally prefer not to make physical contact with members of the opposite gender. Therefore, when greeting an Iraqi of the opposite gender, it is best practice to simply greet them verbally with a nod of the head and wait to see if their feel comfortable to extend their hand as well.
It may also be appropriate to greet someone of the same gender verbally with a respectful nod and smile if you perceive they are unaccustomed to being touched.
Greetings between men usually involve a handshake with the right hand. Iraqi men tend to shake hands gently, but hold the hand for a long time as they exchange verbal greetings. This hand holding may feel uncomfortable to Westerners; however, avoid retracting your hand before an Iraqi is finished greeting you.
Iraqi men may also kiss one another on the cheek when they meet. This is very common between close friends, but can also occur when first introduced to someone.
Greetings between women tend to be very affectionate, involving hugs and two or three kisses on each cheek. However, women may be far less physically affectionate if they are greeting in public or are in the view of men who are not family members.
One may indicate sincerity by placing their right hand over their heart after greeting another person. For example, an Iraqi may do this whilst saying “I am deeply happy to see you”, in order to express the honesty in their words.
Iraqis may kiss one’s forehead or right hand in a greeting to demonstrate deep respect. This would usually be done to someone of a high status (e.g. an elder) rather than someone of the same status (e.g. a neighbour).
The common verbal greeting is “Peace be with you” in Arabic (“Asalaamu alaikum”). The appropriate response returns the well-wishing: “Wa alaikum salaam” meaning “and peace be unto you”.
Use a person’s first name and title when greeting them unless they permit you to move onto a casual naming basis. If someone is a Doctor, you would say “Dr. (first name)”.

Religion

Family

Naming

Dates of Significance

Etiquette

Do's and Do Not's

Communication

Other Considerations

Business Culture

Iraqis in Australia

References

Iraq

Population

38,146,025

[July 2016 est.]

Languages

Arabic (official)

Kurdish (official)

Turkmen (official)

Assyrian (official)

Religions

Islam (97%)

- Shi'a (55-60%)

- Sunni (40%)

Other, including Christians, Yazidis and Mandeans (3%)

[Religious Freedoms Report, 2017]

Ethnicities

Arab (75-80%)

Kurdish (15-20%)

Turkoman, Assyrian or Other (5%)

Cultural Dimensions

Power Distance 95

Individualism 30

Masculinity 70

Uncertainty Avoidance 85

Long Term Orientation 25

Indulgence 17

What's this?

Australians with Iraqi Ancestry

42,881 [2016 census]

Iraqis in Australia

Population

67,352

[2016 census]

This figure refers to the number of Australian residents that were born in Iraq.

Average Age

37

Gender

Male (51.6%)

Female (48.4%)

Religion

Catholic Christianity (35.7%)

Islam (32%)

Assyrian Apostolic Christianity (11.9%)

Other (20.4%)

No Religion (1.6%)

Ancestry

Iraqi (36.8%)

Assyrian (20.7%)

Chaldean (12.4%)

Other (19.5%)

Language Spoken at Home

Arabic (52.5%)

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic (23%)

Chaldean Neo-Aramaic (13.5%)

Kurdish (3.3%)

Other (7.7%)

Of those who speak a language other than English at home, 68.1% speak English fluently.