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  1. #11

    Default Re: ISIS on the offensive in Iraq

    Quote Originally Posted by rvg
    You are overstating their influence. If you're looking for an example of people who have no ethnic links to Arabia, folks from around Mt. Lebanon come to mind. Egyptians as well. They might speak Arabic and all, but they still look like they came straight off the frescoes of the Karnak temple.
    But these are fringes. This is the first I hear of it, and frankly I don't think it's a popular view unless you can prove me wrong. It seems that the way you view Muslim Arabs caused you to look for things that set the identity apart? Because saying that Christian Arabs, karnak temple Arabs, or even Berbers have no relation to Arab-Islamic civilization or shared ancestry is simply not true. From Saba' to Damascus to pharaoh Egypt, they are one and the same.
    It has seen better days, but oh well, that's what they get for accepting all those Palestinians. It's still the cultural capital of the Middle East though.
    Egypt is the cultural capital of the middle east. It's the motherland as far as I know.
    Don't you find it alarming that the locals aren't striving to achieve something similar?
    But the Idea that they're not striving for it is a myth. They are marginalized as a result of regime priorities yes but Omanis for example are blue-collar, they have a good workforce. Bahrain and Kuwait, despite their political shortcomings, have the most progressive/liberal thinkers in the Gulf. It's definitely alarming, however, statistically each generation has proven to be better than the last. It's alarming but it is bound to happen considering even Saudi Arabia has quite a few of its own elite workforce, which are constantly offered US citizenship and residency. I don't blame them for taking them up on that.
    For my part I also must say that this isn't anything personal. What bothers me is that the region has plenty of resources to advance, it just lacks the desire to do so.
    The Western way isn't just different. it's better. It's the way of the future.
    Boils down to the political system. Sheikhs will make compromises with an educated population, these countries are only forty years old after all. When patronage systems are put aside the distribution of wealth will be questioned. Oman is practically secular relative to the Gulf, Kuwait and the UAE are clearly departing from traditional Islam.
    Israel is not a threat to me at all. They just want to be left alone, that's all. As for Iran, it's nobody's friend. Oh and speaking of "pious" Gulf, I still remember my time in Basra back in the late 70s: every Thursday night there was this long stream of cars pouring through from Kuwait. They were coming over to drink themselves under the table.
    So why did they invade an independent Arab state?

    That's what I'm saying, there's nothing "pious" about the Gulf. I'll be the first to admit we are full of crap.
    Last edited by AE Bravo; 09-12-2015 at 19:48.

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