"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."
Posted on 06/08/2008 9:41:11 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif — best known for his film roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago — reportedly blasted U.S. policy in Iraq and said Americans are ignorant.
According to The Middle East Media Research Institute, Sharif said the "East" will never have a democracy because people like him "prefer to go to the neighborhood sheik." MEMRI —a Middle Eastern press monitoring organization — posted an interview of Sharif that aired on the Al-Hayat TV network.
"I lived in America for a long time. Only 10% of all Americans have a passport. In other words, 90% never left America," said Sharif. "They don't know anything."
Sharif said that he spoke with President Bush before the beginning of the Iraq War and told him that Arab nations are made up of sects resistant to becoming democratized.
"I said to Bush, even before he entered Iraq: Forget about all that. We, the Arabs... We are not like [regular countries]," said Sharif. "You will drown there.
After being asked what Bush's response was, the actor stated: "He didn't believe me."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
bttt
Omar kicks those that made him rich and famous enough think his personal opinion is valued or considered expert advise........guess he doesn’t realize his best work was as a professional story teller and liar..........
Funny part about these hyphenated fence sitting dual citizens is that they run back here when their own banana republic fails them again and again.
Doom on the idgits !
What Omar Sharif doesn’t know nor understand is that every American serviceman or woman that has been sent overseas since the creation of this nation has never needed a passport to see the world as it is.
And now, tell us how "people like him" prefer to treat women.
Sharif was born Michel Demitri Chalhoub in Egypt1932, and was raised Catholic and converted to Islam1955.
Speaking from inside the culture, Omar Sharif may have a perspective that escapes most “reformers” that want to impose democracy on the Islamic states.
Islam, as it is now constituted, is one of the most anti-democratic, authoritarian cultural constructs on the planet, rivaling that of a pride of lions. At the center is the alpha male, surrounded and supported by a coterie of females, to whom the chores of procuring food and raising the young is delegated. The male has the singular duty of keeping the other males of his species away from his females, and for the most part, the young. Young males are much more aggressive than would be the case, and take great risks, partly to display their potential fitness to take over an existing harem, should one of the older alpha males fail to maintain his authority over the pride, and partly because they have an excess of testosterone and no place to discharge it otherwise. Think strapping on a bomb vest and walking into a herd of water buffalo.
The preachings of The Prophet are the ravings of a totally self-absorbed madman. There is no empathy, and no directive remotely like the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule.
Those are the things that make the consideration of something like “democracy” possible. Without empathy and a code of law that recognizes the rights of other, there is no dialogue.
What percentage of Egyptians have a passport Omar?
"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."
The one “democracy” among Islamic countries that everyone holds up as a model is, of course, Turkey. But Turkey is not an actual “democracy”. It is the military that wields the true power in that country, and that is by design.
I do too. Sharif is right. Democracy is the exception and there must be certain social/cultural antecedents for it to take root.
Yes, Iraq has had succesful elections. But, will they have them after we leave?
Winning the battle for Iraq is one thing.
Bringing democracy to the Islamic world is a fallacy.
Only 10% of all Americans have a passport. In other words, 90% never left America,”
*****
Last time I checked, a diploma signifies intelligence rather than a passport.
No wonder these “arabs” are still living in the 7th century.
I’m sure many felt the same way about the Japanese after World War II.
‘...Americans don’t NEED a passport — they’re already at the finest destination on the planet.’
AMEN!!! and, I do have a passport and have been to several other countries but, each day, I thank GOD for allowing me to be born an American and live in this great country!!
Yo Omar, there is one point I do disagree with Bush about;
I don’t agree that you folks are worth saving.
No matter what we do to you or for you, at the end of the day, we are still the infidel.
Ironically, our own CIA overthrew the first democracy in the region, in Iran.
Your tagline. It might be a move in the right direction.
"Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!"
Actor Omar Sharif Pleads No Contest to Misdemeanor Battery Charge
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Omar Sharif pleaded no contest Tuesday to misdemeanor battery and was ordered to take an anger management course for punching a parking valet who refused to accept his European currency.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.