The Guardian has a funny and insightful write-up on the anthropology of jokes around the world called “A Mexican, a Kiwi and a Nigerian walk into a bar…”

From Hollywood to CNN, I had come to know Arabs as oversexed oil sheikhs, tenacious warriors, mad terrorists, crazy crowds chanting “death to” something, and as interchangeable wailing victims. To encounter Arabs as ordinary people who trade sarcastic jokes. That was new.

Anthropologists think of a good joke as a successful virus. If it catches on, it may tell you something valuable about the host’s immune system. Most jokes I picked up in the Arab world dealt with the stupidity of the dictator and his entourage, and on the supposed easy morals of the dictator’s partner. The two strands come together in this one from the time Arafat was still around:

A Palestinian policeman is patrolling the beach of Gaza at night when he stumbles on a couple making out. He is about to arrest them when he realises it is Arafat and his wife Suha. “So sorry, rayyis,” the policeman fumbles as he tries to get away as fast as he can. But Arafat is adamant: “Arrest me! I have just launched an anti-corruption campaign and that’s how the rule of law works — no special cases.” Reluctantly, the policeman takes Arafat and Suha to the station where the Palestinian leader receives a 100 shekel fine. Suha must pay 200. “What’s that?” asks Arafat. Comes the answer: “For you it was a first offence.”