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My own personal theory is that Arabs don't think in a straight line. I know from personal experience that they're not logical thinkers. Case in point: our Bible goes in chronological order. It starts at the beginning and ends at the end. The Koran wanders hither and thither, has no chronological order and is very repetitive and chaotic. Our holy books are indicitave of our pattern of thinking.

Arabs also tend to be fatalistic. Whenever something happens, it's "God's will". Someone fall in a pit? God's will. Someone get their legs run over while they were working on their car with their legs sticking out into the street (they really do this in Cairo)? God's will again. It's either God's will or an evil Zionist/American pig plot to destroy the Arabs.

"Arabs also tend to be fatalistic. Whenever something happens, it's "God's will". Someone fall in a pit? God's will. Someone get their legs run over while they were working on their car with their legs sticking out into the street (they really do this in Cairo)? God's will again. It's either God's will or an evil Zionist/American pig plot to destroy the Arabs."

Then how come, when they send their children out to throw rocks and molotov cocktails at armed men and they come home in body bags, they don't have the same attitude?

I know ... I know ... never ask rhetorical questions to the Arab/Pali-lovers; it's like wrestling a pig .. you both get dirty and you only make the pig happy.

Whenever something happens, it's "God's will". Someone fall in a pit? God's will. Someone get their legs run over while they were working on their car with their legs sticking out into the street (they really do this in Cairo)? God's will again. It's either God's will or an evil Zionist/American pig plot to destroy the Arabs.

When in Saudi Arabia, my step father knew a man that was arrested for running over an Arab man that got off a bus and was crossing the street without looking to see if it was clear or not first. The man apparently didn't check the road because if he got ran over then it was Allah's will.

They believe that whatever happens, happens because it's Allah's Will, even if the Muslim is too stupid to know to check the street before crossing unless it's an American that accidently runs over the Muslim then, of course, it's murder and the American gets thrown in jail, held without charges or counsel, not even allowed his medicines for diseases like diabetes and beaten until the authorities allow the person to leave or decide to charge and try the person in court. The person is told to leave the country by the next day or else if the authorities release him.

In the case of the man my step father knew, after 3-4 weeks (without his medicines for diabetes, to boot) he was turned loose and told to leave the Kingdom immediately or else.

I have also seen Muslim men hugging each other, arms around each other's shoulders one minute, then for no or little reason, they start yelling at each other, pull knives on each other and try to kill each other the next minute only to start smiling and hanging all over each other in the next minute.

It's very confusing but also quite a bit more lively than the typical stiff upper lip Western persona. They aren't afraid to show any type of emotion, that's for sure.

Bbiab. Time for my coffee so that I can communicate half way coherently. :)