dlish

being from an arab muslim background, i may be the only or one of the few ppl on TFP that can speak about the arab psyche from personal and first hand experience.

now to set things straight, it doesnt matter how much u study the arab world or talk to professors or lecturers in univeristy halls, none of this can be compared to 'living' what the arabs feel on the street. it is there that they discuss their politics. without being there and living the atmosphere, there is no comparison.

i do not live in the mid east, but rather in sydney. i was born here some 27 years ago, and this is where i call home. however, the 'street' is where u hear arab politics...even in australia. the cross sections are similar if not identical.

being an avid fan of arab-western politics, i have a keen ear for what is said on the street.
here is a list of things about the arab psyche which many of you may find useful

1) most arabs do not wantto be ruled the ottomon empire (this includes muslim and christian arabs). in fact, most arabs despise turks for that reason. so for someone to blame resentment of the west on wanting to go back to the days prior to kemal attaturk is a false notion. arabs are proud people, and do not like being ruled by someone foreign or installed by force..which brings me to my second point.

2) for those that say that resentment of the west is due to stifled democracy in arabia..id have to agree partially. the resentment that is directed at the west has many reasons, although 'the street' feedback is that the root reason for resentment is due to meddling of internal affairs and installing puppet governemnts propped up by western countries. after the brits and french tore arabia up between them and gave themselves mandates of certain parts, they installed governments that became oppressive tyrants. those would include the Saudi royal family, the Syrian dictatorship, the Saddam Hussein dictatorship to name a few. so although resentment is directed at the oppressors, the west did have a role to play in that resentment, and that resentment resonates through even till today. i still hear
voices talking about the injustices suffered by their governments, but the western countries are rarely ever mentioned in the same sentence. most of the brunt is directed at their own governemnts. many call for the overthrow of these regimes, but are uncertain of what to replace them with. this is why these regimes have lasted so long.

3) some of this fire is due to povery, overpopulation etc. but these factors are minor, and only play roles in certain circles. some of these circles are fanned by religious extremism, and hence the idea of suicide bombings become appealing because there is no last resort.

4) some of hatred has been fanned by direct occupation by western troops and governments of arab and muslim land. (this is OBL's initial qualm with the west - to remove troops from saudi or he'll declare a holy war against the US) this i think is the biggest ocntributing factor as to why this resentment and hatred has spread so much. resentment i feel is so much higher than any other time in recent history due to direct occupation. like i said earlier, is that the arabs are proud people, and when an occupying force comes through, it cannot go unnoticed. especially when thousands upon thousand have been killed for lame excuses. political upheaval is no easy task for any nation.

5) some religious extremists evidently dont like the western way of life shoved down their throats, and despise what is happening. but although this causes resentment, its hardly enough to start a war over. this westernisation of arabia is welcomed by most though.


so there you have it.. a look into an arabs mindset. please feel free to comment.

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