Op-Ed: Why Arabs are so Easily Offended

Arutz Sheva ^ | 30/9/12 | Ron Jager

[Eleutheria5]

“Call me Ishmael”, is the opening sentence that opens the novel “Moby Dick” authored by Herman Melville. Ishmael, who is telling the story of Moby Dick, recounts that he is sailing to sea out of a sense of alienation and cultural inadequacy.

.....

Ever since the days of Napoleon's landing upon the shores of Egypt at the very end of the 18th Century and bringing with him the modern era to the Middle East, Islam has been unable to free itself from the shackles of inferiority and self-destructive primal rage that typifies the hatred of modern day Islamic radicalism against Western civilization.

In recent years, despite Israel being at the foci of much of what has been termed the "war of civilizations" between the Western world and Islam, Europe is undergoing a rapid demographic transition that will lead to a large Muslim population harboring an unchanging, hostile attitude toward their national communities.

Nicolai Sennels, a Danish psychologist who has had extensive experience with treating Muslim youths has identified four main differences that are important in order to understand the behavior of Muslims and how they interact with Western influences. Without dismissing the intrinsic value of multiculturalism or the need to identify with ones cultural roots Sennels has identified four main differences that are important in order to understand the behavior of Muslims. They concern anger, self-confidence, the so-called "locus of control" and identity.

Westerners are brought up to think of anger as a sign of weakness, powerlessness and lack of self-control.

In Muslim culture, anger is seen as a sign of strength. ....

.....

[Eleutheria5]

“You should see the little monsters they raise in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the muslim world. You see these kids in the “Family” sections of restaurants just going nuts without any restraint. Their parents are probably first cousins. Then they grow up without any interaction with females except their own family members, of which a cousin might be their wife someday—and you get exactly what you describe. “

Let’s not forget that bratty little Prince Abdullah. His father leaves him in care of Tintin and Captain Haddock, they go off on an adventure, and next thing you know, poor Nestor is tied to a chair.

[Elsie]

I see you lurking in the background...

[Eleutheria5]

Did Hirschman & Levine take in a junior partner after I left? You’ve met them?

[muawiyah]

Good grief, get your dates correct yourself ~ the Seljuk Turks took it all over by 1200. Mongol rule overlaps and is coterminous with (and involved the same guys) as Turkish rule.

The specific cause of the Crusades was the Seljuk occupation of Egypt (and other places) and the cessation of the pilgrimages to the holy land, etc.

That's all 11th and 12th century stuff.

The Turks and the Europeans were not at all interested in the oil resources at the time.

Napoleon came with a number of ideas ~ from the French Revolution, over 200 years ago. That was before the internal combustion engine was a big deal. Actually trains were still a novelty.

Do not take 20th century issues with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and extend them back into the 1700s and 1800s ~ it was a whole different game then, and the Arabs were not their own men at the time.

[zeugma]

Newt Gingrich has stated that "the Islamists cannot reconcile with a secular system of laws. They cannot tolerate a West that maintains a presence in the Arabian Gulf or that would defend Israel's right to survive as a country. They cannot tolerate freedom of speech, freedom of religion, or freedom for women. In short, their demands are irreconcilable with the modern world. While trying to understand the volatility of millions of Middle Easterners taught from birth to hate America and to despise Israel, we in the West should be asking one basic question.

Little wonder that GOPe hates Newt so much. Muslims are varelse.  It is blaphemy to point this out.

[Eleutheria5]

"Good grief, get your dates correct yourself ~ the Seljuk Turks took it all over by 1200. Mongol rule overlaps and is coterminous with (and involved the same guys) as Turkish rule." 1267 was when the Mamluks forbade all Jews above the 7th Step of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. I know, because there's a plaque on the Seventh Step attesting to it. The prohibition remained in place until 1967. Ergo, the Mamluks were still in business. The actual conquest of Egypt and the entire Mamluk empire was accomplished in 1516 by Salim the First, as per President Yitzchak ben Tzvi's well-researched book: Hayishuv Hayhudi Bitkufat Ha'atomanim. I haven't finished it yet (it's dry, heavily anotated, and in Modern Hebrew), but have gotten that far. As for the Seljuks, they didn't "take it all over". The farthest west that they ever ruled was the Persian Gulf and Anatolia (in Turkey). The Turkish Empire that the British dismantled in WW I was the Ottoman, a very different animal. Wikipedia: The House of Seljuq (Persian: سلجوقيان‎ Saljūqīyān; Turkish: Selçuklular), also known as the House of Seljuk Turks[1], was a Persianate[2][3][4], Turco-Persian[5][6][7][8][9] Sunni Muslim dynasty, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks.[10] The dynasty ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. The House of Seljuq established both the Great Seljuq Empire and Sultanate of Rum, which at their total height stretched from Anatolia through Persia, and were targets of the First Crusade. Which parts of the Middle East did they rule: The Great Seljuq Empire (Persian: دولت سلجوقیان‎; Modern Turkish: Büyük Selçuklu Devleti) was a medieval Turko-Persian[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks.[16] The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf. From their homelands near the Aral sea, the Seljuqs advanced first into Khorasan and then into mainland Persia before eventually conquering eastern Anatolia. The Seljuq empire was founded by Tughril Beg in 1037 after the efforts by the founder of the Seljuq dynasty, Seljuq Beg, back in the first quarter of the eleventh century. Seljuq Beg's father was in a higher position in the Oghuz Yabgu State, and gave his name both to the state and the dynasty. The Seljuqs united the fractured political scene of the Eastern Islamic world and played a key role in the first and second crusades. Highly Persianized[10][11][12][13] in culture[17][18][19] and language,[10][20][21][22][23] the Seljuqs also played an important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition,[24] even exporting Persian culture to Anatolia.[25][26] The settlement of Turkic tribes in the northwestern peripheral parts of the empire, for the strategic military purpose of fending off invasions from neighboring states, led to the progressive turkicization of those areas.[27]

[Eleutheria5]

Curse you, undetected HTTP code!

[Eleutheria5]

“Good grief, get your dates correct yourself ~ the Seljuk Turks took it all over by 1200. Mongol rule overlaps and is coterminous with (and involved the same guys) as Turkish rule.”

1267 was when the Mamluks forbade all Jews above the 7th Step of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. I know, because there’s a plaque on the Seventh Step attesting to it. The prohibition remained in place until 1967. Ergo, the Mamluks were still in business.

The actual conquest of Egypt and the entire Mamluk empire was accomplished in 1516 by Salim the First, as per President Yitzchak ben Tzvi’s well-researched book: Hayishuv Hayhudi Bitkufat Ha’atomanim. I haven’t finished it yet (it’s dry, heavily anotated, and in Modern Hebrew), but have gotten that far.

[patriotsblood]

This anger goes all the way back:

11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,[c]
because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

(Genesis 16:11-12)

[Eleutheria5]

As for the Seljuks, they didn't "take it all over". The farthest west that they ever ruled was the Persian Gulf and Anatolia (in Turkey). The Turkish Empire that the British dismantled in WW I was the Ottoman, a very different animal. Wikipedia: The House of Seljuq (Persian: سلجوقيان‎ Saljūqīyān; Turkish: Selçuklular), also known as the House of Seljuk Turks[1], was a Persianate[2][3][4], Turco-Persian[5][6][7][8][9] Sunni Muslim dynasty, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks.[10] The dynasty ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. The House of Seljuq established both the Great Seljuq Empire and Sultanate of Rum, which at their total height stretched from Anatolia through Persia, and were targets of the First Crusade. Which parts of the Middle East did they rule: The Great Seljuq Empire (Persian: دولت سلجوقیان‎; Modern Turkish: Büyük Selçuklu Devleti) was a medieval Turko-Persian[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks.[16] The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf. From their homelands near the Aral sea, the Seljuqs advanced first into Khorasan and then into mainland Persia before eventually conquering eastern Anatolia. The Seljuq empire was founded by Tughril Beg in 1037 after the efforts by the founder of the Seljuq dynasty, Seljuq Beg, back in the first quarter of the eleventh century. Seljuq Beg's father was in a higher position in the Oghuz Yabgu State, and gave his name both to the state and the dynasty. The Seljuqs united the fractured political scene of the Eastern Islamic world and played a key role in the first and second crusades. Highly Persianized[10][11][12][13] in culture[17][18][19] and language,[10][20][21][22][23] the Seljuqs also played an important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition,[24] even exporting Persian culture to Anatolia.[25][26] The settlement of Turkic tribes in the northwestern peripheral parts of the empire, for the strategic military purpose of fending off invasions from neighboring states, led to the progressive turkicization of those areas.[27] There. All organized.

[The Wizard]

they’re ignorant, and too dumb to know it

[Eleutheria5]

The Turks and the Europeans were not at all interested in the oil resources at the time.

Napoleon came with a number of ideas ~ from the French Revolution, over 200 years ago. That was before the internal combustion engine was a big deal. Actually trains were still a novelty.

And Napoleon was still completely uninterested in “liberating” the Arabs of Egypt. Perhaps he was after cotton, since oil wasn’t yet useful then. Whatever. But Machievelli had more to do with his invasion of Egypt than liberte, egalite, fraternite and all that.

Do not take 20th century issues with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and extend them back into the 1700s and 1800s ~ it was a whole different game then, and the Arabs were not their own men at the time.

OK. 1757, then. The British conquered India. They were after tea and screwing the French, not liberating the wogs. 1857. The British suppressed a major rebellion in India, and burnt Delhi to the ground. All Muslims exiled from Delhi for five years. They probably had good reason for exiling the Muslims, but liberating them was not a part of it.

The Europeans, whether in 1757, 1789 or 1857, or 1918, were imperial powers. They were not interested in liberating anyone. Maybe the whipped up the troops, or parliament or the newspapers with that drivel, but that’s not what history’s about. The Union didn’t fight the Confederacy to liberate any slaves, either.

[Eleutheria5]

Oops. Not all organized. I really must learn this HTML thing.

[ilovesarah2012]

Great idea!

[Scoutmaster]

Wouldn't that make them Hindu holy people?

Or a member of the Fugate clan of Kentucky.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

Napolean's fault, GWB is off the hook

[RoosterRedux]

Because they are not free to choose or reject their religion and because they are not free to intellectually/empirically examine their religion with the possible outcome that they might reject it, they are unable to justify their belief in it to others and most importantly to themselves.

This makes them nothing more than mindless pawns...and this fact gnaws at them when they are tempted to consider their place in the increasingly modern world around them.

Furthermore, since a man's faith informs his very being, an antiquated and spurious faith, particularly one that cannot be examined, is a heavy burden for a man to carry...hence this overwhelming angst of the muslim world.

[Eleutheria5]

Did Hagar fondle little Ishmael’s wee wee, too?

[Eleutheria5]

That says almost everything.

[RoosterRedux]

Thx!