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I think it says more about the Arab (not Muslim) worldview, as expressed in the book "The Arab Mind" by Raphael Patai.

That worldview is comprised of a series of circles of alliances and enmities, roughly expressed in the quote: "I against my brother; I and my brother against our cousin; I, my brother and our cousin against the neighbors; ..."

In such a system it is perfectly reasonable for other Arabs to hate the Palestinians and yet jump to their defense if the (perceived) assault comes from outside the ring of alliance with the Palestinians.

I admit I am no expert in all of this (the book was from my father-in-law's collection and he worked successfully with these people) but I perceive a difference from the Iranian Muslims I know here, who range from devout to non-practicing.

But for contrast, another Baha'i Iranian we know will NOT self-identify to Arab Muslims here.

Actually, according to the book “The Haj” which is a great story by the author of “Exodus” and other books about the middle east, that old story by the Arabs goes “Our village against other villages, our family against the other families my brother and I against our father, an finally me against my brother!

LoM, can you chime in? A Baha'i Iranian friend here noted how different the Iranians are here in America -- they all get along, Sunni & Shi'ite (I seem to recall), Muslim & Christian, even Muslim & Baha'i (I seem to recall).

Yes, I can. First let me start by saying emphatically that Iranians are NOT Arabs, nor should they be compared to Arabs. Neither gets the benefit of that comparison.

Second, Iranian ex-pats come in all varieties from non-practicing Moslems, to fervent Shia, to Ba'hai, to Jews, to Christians, to Zoroastrians, to agnostics to secular atheists. The entire spectrum is visible here in the United States and elsewhere Iranians have migrated. You would be hard pressed to find Arabs answering this description.

I support our friend's statement that Iranians here behave very differently than they do in their country of origin - I have seen that first hand. That said, however, there is a degree of mistrust toward other Iranians on the part of those who escaped the country at the onset of the Islamic Revolution with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and the hope of starting fresh in freedom. Life in the West has been good to ex-patriate Persians and they are loath to look a gift horse in the mouth. Most Persians I know are grateful to be free, making the most of that freedom here yet longing to see it come to those they left behind. The way things are going, that could be some time yet.