Egyptian Progressive:'Why Can't We [Arabs] See Things as the Rest of the World Sees Them?'

The Middle East Media Research Institute ^ | November 19, 2004 | Dr. Amr Isma'il

[RepCath]

'Why Do We Talk by Means of Bullets, and Hasten to Make Sweeping Accusations of Unbelief?'

"Why can't we see things as the rest of the world sees them? Why do we always feel that someone is conspiring against us, and that he is the cause of our problems and our cultural and economic backwardness?… Why are we not able to criticize ourselves and [why do] we view anyone who tries to do so as an enemy of the nation and of its principles, and other things of this kind that make some people afraid to think?…

"Why do we talk among ourselves by means of bullets, bombs, and car bombs, and when we disagree we hasten to accuse [our interlocutor] of unbelief and of being dragged after the West and the East? Why don't we recognize that nobody among us has the answer to all the questions and whoever pretends to have the absolute truth is nothing but a pretender? Have we heard that in any respectable country the parties and political streams talk by means of bullets, as sometimes happens between the various factions in Gaza and as is happening now in Iraq?…"

[WarPaint]

Oh yeah... I was there. They say if you can remember, you didn't do it right! LOL

[GaryL]

Thanks for posting this excellent article. I guess there still is some hope.

[bikewench]

Yes.. an excellent article.

A soothing balm of words ... when I was beginning to despair that believing in Allah somehow short-circuited the rational part of the brain.

This is the only way we are going to win the war on terror. The moderates must side with the non-muslim world. But I look at pictures like these...

http://tinyurl.com/4j6sd

... and I think we have a very long way to go.

[7thOF7th]

How refreshing, a voice of reason from the Arab world! I only hope he is not silenced. This unrest stems from a cultural fanaticism and denial of the obvious. Peace is only attained when plow shares are dropped and reason replaces rant.

[SunkenCiv]

don't feel like reprising this one, here's a pointer within another FR topic:

Reactions Escalate in Islam Debate
The Copenhagen Post ^ | October 13, 2004 | Unattributed
Posted on 11/11/2004 9:24:22 AM PST by quidnunc
21 posted on 11/11/2004 10:49:30 AM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1277485/posts?page=21#21

[American in Israel]

They see things different from the rest of the world because the rest of the world left the stone age a long time ago.

[ashtanga]

Christians are welcome to hold on to any literal interpretation of the Bible they prefer. When they start blowing up children in the Baskin and Robbins I'll take back my opening sentence.