Arabs - not a debate. Just a comment

**amykhar** · #1 02-27-2002, 01:30 PM

I really have NO idea where to put this. I am putting it here because my commentary is based primarily on posts that I see in here and in the Current Events forum.

Many of you know that I lived in Egypt for three years. I hated living in Egypt because I was poor, homesick, and in a bad relationship. I hated the Egyptian government, and many of the practices of the people drove me up a tree.

That said, it bothers me when I see a lot of Arab bashing going on these days. The Egyptian people were some of the NICEST people that I have ever met in my life. Many of them would have given the shirt off their back to help me when I was in need.

Not all Arabs are terrorists. Not all Muslims are radicals. Most of the Egyptians that I met were about as religious as most of the Christians that I know in the U.S. are. They are Muslim pretty much in name only, and practice their religion only on holidays.

Seeing blanket condmenation of any country, race, or religion bothers me. What the terrorists did is unforgivable. The murder of Pearl on videotape almost made me cry just thinking about it. However, we can't blame an entire section of the world for the actions of a radical few.

Am I the only one who remembers the disgust that Americans felt some years ago at the way one of the more radical Israeli leaders was having refugees murdered? My point is this: The whole Middle East situation is a major mess. There are transgressions on both sides because there are lunatics on both sides. There are lunatics in the United States as well. Every nation has nutcases and every nation has leaders that do ignorant things despite the true wishes of the people.

Please, condemn the policies of the governments. Condemn the actual nutcases. But do not blame all Arabs because some of them are bad. I can understand the anger at what happened. I can understand the fear that some of you feel. It really does feel like World War III is around the corner some times. But if we let our anger and our fear turn US into radicals, then we are no better than the terrorists and nutcases that we are ranting against.

Amy

#2 02-27-2002, 01:42 PM

I suppose I should follow up on this one at some point.

poseidon · #3 02-27-2002, 02:26 PM

I may be incorrectly assuming (we all know what happens when we assume...) that this thread started off my comments from last night.

I still challenge anyone to show me where I described in blanket fashion that all Muslims were terrorists or all Arabs were terrorists. I quite clearly, at least as I've read it several times, stated that the terrorists from 9/11 were Arab Muslims. This was proven by who was identified as being terrorist (Arabs) and their diaries, etc. left behind (showing clearly that they were Muslim). I also described, quite correctly, that Osama bin Laden is an Arab Muslim.

If I'm wrong and this doesn't stem from last night's comments, then I apologize.

Jeff

**amykhar** · #4 02-27-2002, 02:31 PM

I haven't read your comments Jeff.

Amy

kurt_messick · #5 02-28-2002, 08:07 PM

I lived in Egypt for about six months way way back (perhaps 25 years ago now). I also lived in Pakistan about the same amount of time. When I lived in Japan, one of my best friends was the son of the Pakistani ambassador to Japan.

You're right, Amy -- don't condemn the people. Here or there.

(I'm also not responding to anything in particular from Jeff, as I'm not sure which comments he is referencing, or anything else specific.)

wivabef · #6 03-01-2002, 08:50 AM

Actually, I don't know where this is coming from -- at least recently, I haven't seen anything targeting Arabs as a whole or even Muslims as a whole in the box for a long time. Sure, right after 9/11, there were heated remarks -- but I have to tell you it was immediately countered by reasonable beings saying "cut that out."

There was a thread on profiling, I think, a while back -- but I can tell you, as my husband is not Arab (nor does he look Arab, pale as pale Norsemen can be) and he is stopped at the airport 75% of the time for the "random" search.

Amy, it is certainly not that I disagree with you, but more so that I don't know anyone who does disagree with you -- the 'box has been preaching tolerance regarding Arabs and Muslims for quite some time.

I will admit that I haven't even bothered to peek into some of the "conspiracy" threads -- so maybe that's where this argument is taking place.

Care to enlighten us?

copernicus · #7 03-01-2002, 10:02 AM

This will probably have no relevance whatsoever to any of you and will be an annoying addition to this thread, but I've found that down here there has been a subtle sort of menace in the way arabs are being seen, by and large. There is a strange ideal that the swarms of immigrants displaced from Afghanistan and elsewhere are terrorists or vigilantes trying to take over the country, and that they must be stopped at all costs before their vile towel-headed ways penetrate the veil of Anglo-Saxon society and deprive us of our sanctity. Ramble this may be, but there are a lot of truly, truly ignorant views being flung about Arabs in general, and it is curious to note that this is perhaps reflected in some way in the US, which reminds me somewhat of what happened to the japanese in WW2, although admittedly to a lesser extent.

vania · #8 03-01-2002, 10:36 PM

Interesting-- and sad-- to hear that this is happening outside the US as well....

mshawpyle · #9 03-02-2002, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by amykhar
That said, it bothers me when I see a lot of Arab bashing going on these days. The Egyptian people were some of the NICEST people that I have ever met in my life. Many of them would have given the shirt off their back to help me when I was in need.

No doubt. There are fine, upstanding Arabs. There are fine, upstanding Muslims. There are fine, upstanding Egyptions.

And as any Egyptian will tell you in no uncertain terms, Egyptians are not Arabs (and rather look down upon them, on the grounds that Egypt was a world civilization when the Arabs were still wandering the desert wastes).

That in turn said (amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas), I understand and in many ways applaud the 'don't let's be beastly to the Arabs' impulse. I will also say that ignorance is not necessary to have less indulgent views of the Arab peoples as a whole and of Islam in particular: a familiarity with the deep and the recent history of both is likewise sufficient to give one considerable pause about bending over backwards to pretend it was the merest accident that the current conflict was kicked off by Muslims, most of whom, at least, were Arabs.

I'll be more than happy to elaborate.

One note: my elaboration may be delayed, as I've had some reverses and some bad news of late all on the health front (I can outline it in three words: Procardia, Zestoretic, Glucotrol. Comprende?). So if I am not as quick on the draw as formerly, don't think I won't get back to any given point, and don't kid yourself that I have nothing to say. Everyone here knows better than that.