Posted on 08/08/2002 5:18:16 AM PDT by SJackson
Wake up America! Special interest groups, news media, and money-hungry politicians are duping you into profiling all Arabs as bad Arabs. Often, the news media tell us the polls show Americans support Israelis over Palestinians. Based on what? How many of these poll participants have seen an Arab, talked to an Arab, or worked with an Arab? Very few, I would venture. On what then do they base their opinion? They are largely influenced by the biased news media, which give no quarter in making sure we see all Arabs as bad Arabs. Are there bad Arabs? Of course there are. Are there bad Americans? We have plenty of them. Where are all the bad Israelis? There must be some. Why don’t we hear more about them?
I lived in the Middle East for over 33 years. I have seen Arabs, I have talked with Arabs, I have worked with Arabs and I have lived with Arabs. Over this span of 33 years I had an opportunity to meet and interact with Arabs from all walks of life — kings, ministers, emirs, college professors and businessmen — and I worked with Arab employees from laborer to president. I believe this qualifies me to speak about Arabs.
Arabs have many of the same desires and expectations as we Americans. They love their families, they love their country, they love their land, they want to better themselves, they want to live in peace, and they worship the same God as Christians and Jews. They are the most hospitable people I have ever known. The Arabs I know do not judge people by their race, religion, or nationality — but by their character. They are some of the best observers of people I have ever encountered and I have traveled the globe. They will judge you in their hearts, but are reluctant to criticize you face-to-face or publicly. Arabs greet you with Salaam Alaikum (peace upon you) — and your response should be, Waalaikum Assalaam (and upon you peace). To Arabs, peace is not rhetoric; it is a way of life.
I went to the Middle East in 1954 to work as a young engineer — eager and adventurous. I spent my first month in Sidon, Lebanon at a training center. Where I learned some conversational Arabic language and was introduced to Arab culture. On weekends and in the evenings I would travel all over Lebanon by motorbike and even to Syria. I had nothing but good memories. I would stop at a village to have refreshments and on many occasions I was invited to homes by Arabs to meet their families, view their olive groves, and have refreshments. It was a wonderful experience.
I then traveled to my ultimate destination — Saudi Arabia. I continued my interest in the Arab world by visiting villages in the Kingdom. Arabs would invite me to their village and their homes for a meal and/or coffee. They shared their food with me. I sat in their majlis (living room) along the wall on cushions and drank coffee with sometime as many as 20-25 people present. The host would move about the room with a large Arab coffee pot and a stack of petite cups, serving his guest hot coffee flavored with cardamom seeds, until we all had drank our customary three cups. Then he would start his rounds again serving hot tea. The conversation was a good chance to practice my Arabic. They would laugh understandingly when I mispronounced a word. If we had been invited for a meal, we would retire to another room to sit around a huge brass tray heaped with Arab rice around a steaming spit-roasted lamb. The delicious rice was flavored with nuts, raisins, and spices. There would also be spit-roasted chicken. On some weekends I would visit as many as 10 homes in one day to share their food, coffee, or tea. I had to turn down invitations because there were so many. I would no more than step into the street when I would be taken by the hand and told, “You must come to my house for gahwa (coffee).” The congeniality was sincere and hospitality never lacking.
I was there during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The air was full of tension because the US was supporting Israel. One of my Arab friends wanted me to send my family to his village to stay with his family for safety. Of course I wouldn’t let them go, because I did not want to put his family in harm’s way. As a result, he brought with him another Arab friend to stay with my family for our protection. I had a hard time convincing them it wasn’t necessary.
Another Arab friend called me on the phone during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and said he had heard they were evacuating Americans and wanted to know if I were leaving. I told him I was not going, but was considering sending my wife and three-year old daughter. He said, “Why? You have many friends here.” I replied, “It’s not my friends I am worried about.” We laughed about that for years afterward. He would ask me if I was now worried about my friends.
When one of my Arab friends went to America for a medical problem, he brought me a huge amount of cash and asked that I look after his family while he was gone. His oldest son would come every week and I was to give him a specified amount for expenses. My boss heard about this and advised me not to do it, because something could happen to my friend and his family could cause me problems. Obviously my boss did not understand the bond of friendship that existed. There was no way I would violate that friendship. For over a year, I looked after his family until my friend returned to Saudi Arabia.
Returning to Saudi Arabia after a vacation, my wife and I inadvertently left one of our many suitcases on the sidewalk, outside the airport, when we were loading them into the car. After the weekend, we asked a company driver to see if by some chance it had been turned in to lost-and- found. The driver returned with the bag. Airport security told the driver it sat on the sidewalk for two days. When no one picked it up a policeman finally brought it to lost-and-found. Try leaving your bag on the platform in the New York subway for two days.
The Bedouin hailing down your vehicle as it neared his tent — insisting you stop and have coffee with him, traveling all over Saudi Arabia without fear of carjacking, camping deep in the desert with strange Bedouin stopping to visit, stuck in the sand and have every passerby stopping to help, and leaving your doors unlocked (something you don’t do in America) — on and on — these are the Arabs all Americans should know.
I leave you with these few examples of the many, many good Arabs I know.
***
(Frank Fugate is a former Aramco senior vice president.)
He's kidding, right?
I think he's talking about 'peace through slaughter.'
My father-in-law's parents, Christian Middle Easterners, were driven from their homes by murderous Moslems early in the 20th century, migrating to the US Midwest.
The mom of one of my son's friends is a Christian Lebanese, who fled when Beirut was levelled.
The Arabs have been very clear about the type of place they want their home to be.
The hospitality thing is a real fact about desert culture, including the Jewish culture. Look at Lot in Genesis 19-1, he protected his visitors to the extent of giving away his own daughters!
Arab culture and civilization before the fanatic Islam took over these people was a nice and friendly culture. Our problem now is that we looked the other way for about thirty years as the Arabs leaderships was accelerating downhill into the pits of barbarism. The liberal idiots in Washington kept reporting: that is not our problem, we support freedom of religion, and if that is their religion, we should simply respect it! I cannot respect any religion or any God for that matter that is preaching hate and violence against me! That is the end of my tolerance! At this point, we have generation of Arab Moslems that Hate Jews and Christians. It is going to take a minimum of quarter of a century of BRAVE LEADERSHIP in the west before we can rehabilitate this culture back from the stone-age to the civilized world. For now, however, we should close our doors to any more Moslem Arabs.
Have you ever attempted to collect a debt from an Arab? From my years working at Bank of America I can tell you that Germans and Japanese will pay bad debts almost every time. Whites will pay 25-35 percent of the time. Blacks, around 10-15 percent of the time. Hispanics, are around 3 percent. Arabs: ZERO. They just lie to you. Flat out liars....and they never, never, never ever pay their bad debts. I once heard of an Iranian paying a charge-off but, I never saw it personally.
If you know anyone that has anything to do with charge-off collections, ask them if they've ever seen an Arab pay their bad debt. It just doesn't happen. They have no honor.
Oh, brother, Frank. Sounds like I'm going to have to use really small words in explaining the answer to you.
Most Americans, like nearly every people and political entity in the Western (but NOT the Arab) world, support genuine peace between the Israelis and the Arabs, and believe this should be based on a NEGOTIATED two state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians, under the rubric (sorry for the big word Franky) of "land for peace".
Americans support Israel (in part -- I'm not going to risk confusing you with too many reasons) because they have repeatedly made genuine and profound efforts to further "land for peace". Israel has already turned over the Sinai to Egypt. In spite of the fact that Egypt has only reciprocated with a very cold peace, Israel moved forward on the matter of the West Bank and Gaza, even to the point of returning the terrorist Arafat to the territories and arming his security forces. Israel made proposals at the conclusion of the Oslo process that could only be interpted as representing a completely genuine bid to successfully complete final status negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Palestinians, who supposedly wanted a state, have responded with MURDER.
If the difference between "land for peace" and "land for murder" is too subtle for you to grasp, Frank, and I fear it probably is, then I don't think you are capable of understanding why Americans support Israel. Offering further reasons (e.g. the targeting in the present conflict of combatants and criminals versus women and babies) is a lost cause.
Maybe you should go visit Saddam for a few months? Stay close by his side and I predict you will eventually obtain a much better understanding of American foreign policy.
I felt outrage and heard others express anger. It was an education to the evil of the muslim cult. Christians worship Jesus Christ. They don’t have to go to a church, cathedral, or shrine to find him.
McVeigh and Nichols never belonged to any militia.
The Christian response hasn't become apparent yet. It will, soon enough. That barbaric behavior woke many of us up to the fact that islam isn't a religion at all, but a cult formed around a demon possessed mass murderer and child molester. The Christian reaction is going to be one which removes the protection of religious expression from things the moslems do. They destroyed their chance at getting the benefit of the doubt from Christians.
Regardless of the culture of secular humanism which currently holds sway in the US, non-Christians really do need the tolerance of Christians to be allowed to remain here. Moslems are going to learn what they lost when their fellow cultists destroyed their protection here by their actions there.
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.