Of all the Arabs Ive met in life, the Christian ones (whose families were mainly from Syria and Lebanon) have been as normal and as civilized as any other Christians Ive known. These people trace their Christian ancestry back to the years of the Crusades. But the Islamic Arabs Ive met have either been rude and militant or just downright strange in the way they think about life in general.
From what Ive seen of the non-violent Afghans (the refugees and the ones who dont own guns and dont want to fight) it seems to me that they could be helped tremendously if a lot of American and British missionaries were allowed into the country. Ive seen Christian missionaries go into Nicaragua and completely change the mood and attitude of the people, after the Sandinistas started allowing for free elections in the early 1990s.