Due to the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in the
Arabic language, as well as the series' "
Islamic undertones" and themes, a
Middle-Eastern influence on Herbert's works has been noted repeatedly.
[28][29] In his descriptions of the Fremen culture and language, Herbert uses both authentic Arabic words and Arabic-sounding words.
[30][31] For example, one of the names for the sandworm, Shai-hulud, is derived from
Arabic: شيء خلود,
romanized:
šayʾ ḫulūd,
lit. 'immortal thing' or
Arabic: شيخ خلود,
romanized:
šayḫ ḫulūd,
lit. 'old man of eternity'.
[32][31] The title of the Fremen housekeeper, the Shadout Mapes, is borrowed from the
Arabic: شادوف,
romanized:
šādūf, the
Egyptian term for a device used to raise water.
[31] In particular, words related to the messianic religion of the Fremen, first implanted by the Bene Gesserit, are taken from Arabic, including Muad'Dib (from
Arabic: مؤدب,
romanized:
muʾaddib,
lit. 'educator'), Lisan al-Gaib (from
Arabic: لسان الغيب,
romanized:
lisān al-ġayb,
lit. 'voice of the unseen') Usul (from
Arabic: أصول,
romanized:
ʾuṣūl,
lit. 'fundamental principles'), Shari-a (from
Arabic: شريعة,
romanized:
šarīʿa,
lit. '
sharia; path'), Shaitan (from
Arabic: شيطان,
romanized:
šayṭān,
lit. '
Shaitan; devil; fiend'), and jinn (from
Arabic: جن,
romanized:
ǧinn,
lit. '
jinn; spirit; demon; mythical being').
[28] It is likely Herbert relied on second-hand resources such as phrasebooks and desert adventure stories to find these Arabic words and phrases for the Fremen.
[31] They are meaningful and carefully chosen, and help create an "imagined desert culture that resonates with exotic sounds, enigmas, and pseudo-Islamic references" and has a distinctly
Bedouin aesthetic.
[31]
As a foreigner who adopts the ways of a desert-dwelling people and then leads them in a military capacity, Paul Atreides bears many similarities to the historical
T. E. Lawrence.
[33] His 1962 biopic
Lawrence of Arabia has also been identified as a potential influence.
[34] The Sabres of Paradise (1960) has also been identified as a potential influence upon
Dune, with its depiction of
Imam Shamil and the Islamic culture of the
Caucasus inspiring some of the themes, characters, events and terminology of
Dune.
[7]
The environment of the desert planet Arrakis was primarily inspired by the environments of the
Middle East. Similarly Arrakis as a bioregion is presented as a particular kind of political site. Herbert has made it resemble a desertified
petrostate area.
[35] The Fremen people of Arrakis were influenced by the Bedouin tribes of
Arabia, and the
Mahdi prophecy originates from
Islamic eschatology.
[36] Inspiration is also adopted from medieval historian
Ibn Khaldun's cyclical history and his
dynastic concept in
North Africa, hinted at by Herbert's reference to Khaldun's book
Kitāb al-ʿibar ("The Book of Lessons"). The fictionalized version of the "Kitab al-ibar" in
Dune is a combination of a Fremen religious manual and a desert survival book.
[37][38]