Let us not make more of this than it really is. When you go to work in a foreign country you try to fit in the best you can, and the 'natives' try to accept you the best that they can.

There is a lot more tolerance in Islamic countries than the press would have you believe. Most Muslims are very family oriented and tolerant of westerner's mistakes.

Of course you will always find individual cases that you can use to support your personal prejudices and the same can be said of your home country. There is always some bureaucrat who will overstep his mark, but his actions should not be taken to represent the culture as a whole.