Posted on 10/13/2017 9:46:59 PM PDT by beaversmom
I’m am not a prolific reader, sorry to say. But I finished Exodus by Leon Uris in August, and I really enjoyed it. I am now reading sort of the flip side of Exodus...The Haj also by Uris.
I found Chapter 9 in the first section of the Haj to be a fascinating look into the Arab-Muslim mindset. Some of it I knew or gathered from osmosis, but I really thought this chapter was quite intelligently written, and I enjoyed the back and forth between Gideon Ash, a Jewish character in the book, and The Haj, the Muslim.
Many things went through my mind as I read it...I thought about history, recent world events, scenes from movies, and other reading I have done.
The situation with Saddam Hussein and the Iraq War came to mind, and even though it’s not appealing to our Western mindset, I thought about how a “strong man” type leader is needed in that part of the world or things just totally go to pot. Like the Haj said, they can’t cope with other ways of doing things.
When the Haj refuses the offer of medical help from Gideon saying it is God’s will to take the weak, it reminded me of this scene from Lawrence of Arabia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2cDJwxS50I
(2:34 minutes)
And the well scene, also from Lawrence of Arabia, where Lawrence cannot fathom why Sherif Ali just murdered his guide for seemingly no reason:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gMt1PBC5BU
(4:23 minutes)
Lawrence tells him:
“Sherif Ali, so long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people, greedy, barbarous, and cruel, as you are.”
This is true in my estimation, but as it was true 100 years ago, I believe it will be true 100 years from now. It’s unfortunate, and I certainly have no crystal ball, but grudges are not forgotten in that part of the world as we all know, and the fictional Haj tells Gideon pretty much the same.
But maybe some Arabs get that the Arab world needs to move forward...they understand that they cannot continue to live in the 8th century and the centuries forward as they always have:
A Wise Honest Arab Muslim Man Tells Muslims The Truth About Themselves - A Must See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZZMXV_PRXk
And:
Are these Israel’s bravest soldiers? Meet the Sunni Muslim Arabs who fight on the front line in an ‘unbreakable blood pact’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3362369/Are-Israel-s-bravest-soldiers-Meet-Sunni-Muslim-Arabs-fight-line-unbreakable-blood-pact.html
Oh, and this post on FR from just today:
Jordan: Jews on Temple Mount are a ‘provocation’ to Muslims
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3594753/posts
Jordanian minister claims Jews visiting Temple Mount ‘harm’ Al-Aqsa mosque, ‘provoke’ Muslims around the world.
The Jordanian government condemned Israel for allowing Jews to visit the Temple Mount, calling it “irresponsible” and “provocative to Muslims around the world.”
Jordan’s Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani published a statement declaring Israel’s actions “unacceptable.” Israel, he said, is “provoking in an irresponsible fashion” Muslims around the world.
Momani also claimed Israel is “harming” the “blessed Al-Aqsa mosque.”
According to Momani, Israel’s policy contradicts international law, which requires the preservation of holy sites.
Israel’s actions also harm the relationship between the two countries, and makes it difficult to reduce tension and preserve the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa, Momani claimed. He insisted Israel cease the “provocations” and honor Jordan’s role as protector of holy places in Jerusalem, as per the contract between Jordan and Israel.
Bkmrk.
Bump. Highly recommend “Haj”. It gives a background history to Israel and the Middle East.
If you have a little Irish in your blood, read “Trinity” by Uris.
Thanks for the recommendation. I do believe I have a bit of Irish on my dad’s side. But after the Haj, I’m off to Mila 18! I’m itching to read that one. Trinity will have to be down the road some. :)
Best book ever about Arabs was written by a Jew.
I read Haj a while back
What did you think? I have heard it’s very good, and I’m enjoying it so far.
The fiction aspect is solid plus the bonus is that it is highly educational. With good insights into the Arab mind via the Haj Ibrahim character.
I read Exodus and Mila 18 when I was of high school age. Also Michener’s The Source.
Now you’ve done it. I have to go and read the book now. Good thing I’m about to get on a 15 hour flight.
I read The Haj 35+ years ago. It explained much of what had been going on in the Middle East, in a time not far removed from the 6 Day War and the Yom Kippur / October War, which latter carried the possibility of escalation into superpower confrontation and nuclear war. The entire U.S. military went to DEFCON 3 for a time.
The passage that always stuck with me was:
‘“So before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world. And all of us against the infidel.”
It still explains much.
And I guess I must have read it soon after it came out in paperback, and not 35+ years ago. I was thinking I read it in college, but not for a class.
Holy cow on your flight time.
I commented to a friend not long ago that if I had money to be very frivolous, I'd get on a long flight just to read a book. That way I would have no distractions. I think that would be really fun.
From the beginning of the book. That passage stood out to me, too.
I just watched this video and posted it to FR:
...David Pryce Jones on Islamic Radicalism [truncated title] [YT Video link 19 minutes of talk]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3594833/posts
I stumbled upon this man’s name, David Pryce Jones, by looking up one of my old FR pages. I had totally forgotten about him. I must have heard him on a talk show, probably Prager, long ago. So I Googled him and found this video. Anyway, it just happens to tie in very nicely to this chapter of The Haj...oddly enough.
I was disappointed upon completion because it seemed to be attempting to describe a collective madness in a culture.
A friend read it, who happened to have a Masters in Psychology and we discussed it. Perhaps his Jewishness provided him with more insight than I could summon but in the end we seemed to conclude together that the absence of some sort of a rational ending was representative of the reality in that part of the world.
I read all of Uris’s books, but the last one (or 2) seemed to me to be not so impressive. (Man gets elected President and then discovers that he was born Jewish.) Leon should have stopped while he was ahead.
Ping for later
Thanks for posting. This is very insightful to me.
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