Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald cited Edith Maude Hull's Der Scheich (1921), Gertrude Atherton's Black Oxen (1923), and Samuel Hopkins Adams's Flammende Jugend (1923), as among a small number of literary works capturing the cultural zeitgeist of the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald asserted that "The Sheik" showed that even non-consensual courtship isn't entirely harmful, "Black Oxen" captured the era's obsession with eternal youth, and "Flaming Youth" persuaded young women "that girls are sometimes seduced without being ruined." Due to film censorship, Fitzgerald argued that only the film adaptation of Flammende Jugend (1923) captured the era's sexual revolution. A century later, only this film has survived in its entirety.
Inspired the name of Hollywood High School's sports teams as "The Sheiks", a name which persists to this day (2017).
Despite playing the title character, Rudolph Valentino was billed under Agnes Ayres in the original film release and advertising.
James Kirkwood was the original choice to play the lead. As he wouldn't agree to the salary, the more affordable Rudolph Valentino was cast.