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The reference to TE Lawrence's role in the attack on Aqaba. It is told in his book "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom," and the movie "Lawrence of Arabia."

I remember a key scene in the movie when crossing the Nafu desert Lawrence went back to same a young boy that was missing. Omar Sharif told him, "It is written" he is dead. Lawrence went back for him, found him and saved him, and then said to Sharif "Nothing is written." This scene explains a lot about the difference in the Arab and Western cultures. Arab cultures are much more fatalistic, while we believe in free will. I liked in Saudi Arabia for 5 years and it was very common for Arabs to say that something happened because Allah willed it. They actually believe that someone could be murdered and that was Allah's will. What this means is that Arabs will go with the flow if they think it is predetermined.
This does not mean that Arabs are in sync with each other. The other scene in "Lawrence of Arabia" that is memorable is after Lawrence and his Arabs have taken Damascus and they are all gathered around a huge table trying to agree on who is responsible for what. Tribal differences prevail and the city collapses, so the British have to take over and run the city. Arabs are very family and tribal oriented, and it is hard to get them to agree.