Additionally having lived and worked with Arabs for the past 3 years I get the impression that they have a preoccupation with the price of vegetables and availability of widescreen TV’s too I hope there are chapters devoted to this also.
Sometimes it actually helps to read the article that someone links to.
This is what the article says about what is printed in the book about Arabs and sex.
** “One book that was frequently cited was The Arab Mind … the book includes a 25-page chapter on Arabs and sex, depicting sex as a taboo vested with shame and repression.” **
I have never read the book so I don’t know exactly what the the book claims about the “all-encompassing preoccupation with sex in the Arab mind” nor do I know how this preoccupation “emerges clearly in two manifestations …”
NOR DOES ANYONE ELSE POSTING IN THIS THREAD.
By what is actually written in the article, the book talks about sex as “taboo and vested with shame and repression.” Apparently it does NOT say Arabs are running around scr*wing anything that moves.
This, even more so, calls into question why the title of this thread says the book depicts ** MUSLIMS ** as subhuman. :nono3:
the word seems to be interchangeable these days mv, for us and for you. i agree, the thread is unfortunately titled.
as for what manifestations they be, it would be interesting to find out what the author supposes they are, but for the record, incase i wasnt clear previously.. the "all-encompassing preoccupation with sex in the Arab mind" is honestly a bit of major stupidity, just as I'd find 'all-encompassing preoccupation with grubbiness and money in the jewish mind' to be objectionable and racist (religionist?), regardless of what manifestations the author cites.
"tend to judge books on a sentence level basis"
Ravage,
This is unfortunate, because that is the precise meaning of "out of context". Taking one or two controversial statements, and blowing them out of proportion without discussing the overall themes and theories of the publication is just outright wrong.
Dare I say that this is just more sensationalism?
The fact is that people in the US struggle to understand other cultures, whether you agree with the conclusions or not. When I see the Muslim world wringing it's hands and worrying "why do they hate us", then I will be impressed. I DARE say that the knowledge of most Muslims in the world about the US is based on considerably less research, fact and emotionless thought than the US military! The utter crap you find here on Gupshup is proof of that.
Hersh first brough this to the public's attention, as a way of explaining the actions at Abu Graib, and the areas of vulnerability that were apparently exploited. The outrage at the humiliation there is almost proof that the book hit some very exposed nerves. But, a pedophile can use the most innocent childrens toy to lure a small child. The toy is not evil, the pedophile is.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ravage: *
i tend to judge books on a sentence level basis. sentence wrong delete. move on.
[/QUOTE]
Hmmm.... isn't this precisely what we criticize about those who quote e.g. Quran without understanding the context. Someone quoted one verse which said "... and kill the non-believers, whereever you find them" and thus claimed that Quran preaches violence. Someone else reminded him that the verse is written in the context of where a war is going on and if you read the whole thing it will be clearly understood whether Quran preaches violence or not.
Similarly, if you just read one sentence and make up your mind about a book (and discard it) you can imagine where you will end up with.
Ravage:
The very title of the book ("The Arab Mind") is indicative that the content of the book involves painting broad brush generalizations across an entire culture. I'm sure everyone with half a brain knows that there is no more a single "Arab Mind" than there is a single "American Mind" or a single "French Mind" or "Chinese Mind" etc. That said, I see nothing wrong with an author, historian, writer, or anyone else attempting to identify big and general cultural differences.
Remember the stink that was raised when that Afghan woman posed in a swimsuit in the beauty pagent a while back? By "American standards," that was a rather conservative swimsuit. By "Afghan standards" it was deeply offensive. I have just made a broad generalization that presumes that there is such a thing as an "American standard" and such a thing as an "Afghan standard." I'm sure their are Amish Americans and other American conservatives who share the "Afghan" view that the swimsuit was offensive. There are probably Afghans who share the "American view" that the swimsuit was conservative. Yet, if I were writing a book comparing cultures, I think it would be fair to state an opinion that the Afghan Mind treats display of partial female nudity quite differently than the American Mind. Want to shock a group of Afghans in Kabul? Just have a woman walk down the street baring her breasts and wearing nothing but a thong.
If the author of The Arab Mind did something similar in his book to what I have done above, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Now, you can argue the merits of his conclusions and say he's wrong or right about his generalizations, but I don't find anything objectionable in that. If the book is being used to educate our officers about broad brush generalizations about the Arab culture, I just hope it has some meritorious conclusions.
Faisal, OG, you ironically take things out of context. I didnt mean understanding the book on a sentence by sentence basis. I mean condemning it. Faisal mentioned that it was unfair to judge a 493 page book based on some sentences. My meaning was that I was judging the sentences and not necessarily the rest of the book, and didnt necessarily mean that I tend to understand sentences divorced from their context.
anyway. carry on, i have to get to work right now, more later.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ravage: *
i tend to judge books on a sentence level basis. sentence wrong delete. move on.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ravage: *
My meaning was that I was judging the sentences and not necessarily the rest of the book
[/QUOTE]
Alright!!! :)
Faisal:
U ever thought of becoming a prosecutor???
I think it's perfectly fair to say that a male-dominated culture who forces their women to cover their entire bodies when in public to prevent them from "tempting" men has an
[QUOTE]
all-encompassing pre-occupation with sex
[/QUOTE]
(btw, this includes forcing school girls to remain inside burning buildings if they're not properly dressed)
The excuses from the amerikkan right wing brigade are typical and pathetic as usual.
This is about muslims wholesale, clearly do amerikkkans see any difference between muslims of afghanistan and iraq clearly not they both get bombed indiscriminantly and they both abused by peverted american forces.
Amerikkka has a huge racist problem and for the people at the Top In Government and top brass of the Military to read racist garbage like this is unbelivable but not surprising when you see the peverted behaviour of the amerikkan forces in Abu Grope as it is now known.
If this is Amerikkas guide book on mooslims as they call them or aaarabs then they can expect a lot more resistance not just in Iraq!
Right. ‘Amerikkka’ is very bad that it stereotypes a whole nation based on actions of a few; and calls them bad names. Absolutely unacceptable. 