From my experience, there would be two distinct forms of address, one
formal, official one, and one informal for close friends in private. The
last is commonly a little oblique - the 'Abu Qusay' type - which means
'father of Qusay' is popular for some reason. If a man has a son who is not
favoured by him, but has a grandson he loves much, he may be called 'Father
of the father of Grandson-name' to avoid mentioning the disfavoured son.
The upshot is that among friends actual first names are not that commonly
used, at least in Saudi , from my time there.
The official address would of course be pompous and flowery.
jp
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Clogg" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 4:16 AM
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] Arab Surnames


> Okay, after all this discussion, I remain confused with respect to the
> initial question.  Is "Hussein" our favorite dictator's family name?  His
> father's name?  Would it be considered bad form in Arab society to refer
to
> him simply as "Saddam"?  My apologies if this has already been answered.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Johnson, Tracy [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 6:33 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Arab Surnames
>
>
> Tribal traditions can outweigh stereotypical Arab/Muslim
> traditions in this regard, and may vary from locale to
> locale of birth.  They may also be a mixture of both or
> represent outside or political influences, so I can't
> render an opinion.
>
> Tracy Johnson
> MSI Schaevitz Sensors
>
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