Okay, I read them. But I don't understand why Rambling Hal is so outraged over this particular attack. It's just more of the same.
And EO asks: Is there a threshold? Is the region waiting to implode?
Hasn't it been imploding over the last 60 years? There have been wars, revolutions, overthrown governments, the end of European colonialism in many nations, the culimnation of a movement to create a new nation for non-Arab immigrants based on Western values, repression, more repression, fanaticism, terrorism, and in the last five years the USA has invaded and occupied one of the central nations of the Middle East and done the same to another Muslim land in south central Asian.
And prior to that the ME and North Africa had suffered through two world wars as a side battle from Europe and had dealt with the end of the Ottoman Empire, the last vestige of the old caliphate.
And all of this while some of the nations in that region have garnered fabulous wealth thanks to their oil reserves!
And it's imploding now? Have I missed something? It is a key belief in my life that "it can always get worse", but regardless of that principle the region hasn't been in very good shape since before any of us were born, and over the lifetimes of the centenarians has gone steadily down-hill.
So what does the EO think an implosion will look like?
Hi Mark, and thank you for stopping by my blog and also linking to it on yours! Very kind of you, and I'm very happy to be sharing in this dialogue!
In response to Icepick, who asks why I'm so outraged: You're right, it IS more of the same, and that's exactly why I'm so outraged. This is becoming so 'normal' now that we barely even blink, just stopping to tut-tut for a few seconds, shake our heads at the atrocity, and hope it doesn't even happen to us.
We Arabs here in the Middle East live in countries entrenched in ancient civilizations, rich heritage, important values and beliefs. We pride ourselves on the tourism opportunities that our countries present to the world and we pray that more and more people from all over the world will visit our countries in order to form their own perspectives of us, instead of believing everything they hear in the media.
When such atrocities happen, when our livelihoods our threatened, when we are forcibly being seen as terrorists and lunatics the world over, regardless of our beliefs and our condemnation of such horrow, we cannot help but be angry. We cannot help but be outraged when we see pools of blood forming in a resort town in a neighbouring country, and we cannot help but feel fury for the meaningless loss of life, by monsters who seem to have a purpose behind this nonesense.
Feeling angry is something I would much rather be than indifferent or jaded. At least it means I still have hope.
Then again, for someone like myselff, I have not seen a day of peace, and neither have my parents nor my grandparents. We have never lived in the Middle East region without knowing that there is a conflict going on next door. This is not a way to live. When will this change?
Ice: I guess that I would prefer to let EO speak for himself. I was more interested in the general tone of the responses from EO and Hal, differing as they do from our usual stereotypes of a monolithic Middle East.
Specifically in Egypt, the repressive regime of Hosni Mubarak does keep a lid on views that are now occasionally being expressed violently.
A friend of mine has been going to Egypt for years. Only in the past few years has he felt fearful about being in Egypt, he tells me. There is an atmosphere of incipient violence, like walking on top of a volcano before it blows. He says that he doesn't have such feelings in other Arab or Muslim countries to which he travels. Maybe this is what EO is sensing as well. Again however, I leave it to him to respond, if he reads this.
Hal: Thanks for your willingness to engage in a dialogue with us about the underreported sentiments in the Middle East.
To both of you: Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to leave your comments.
4 comments:
Hi Mark!
Okay, I read them. But I don't understand why Rambling Hal is so outraged over this particular attack. It's just more of the same.
And EO asks: Is there a threshold? Is the region waiting to implode?
Hasn't it been imploding over the last 60 years? There have been wars, revolutions, overthrown governments, the end of European colonialism in many nations, the culimnation of a movement to create a new nation for non-Arab immigrants based on Western values, repression, more repression, fanaticism, terrorism, and in the last five years the USA has invaded and occupied one of the central nations of the Middle East and done the same to another Muslim land in south central Asian.
And prior to that the ME and North Africa had suffered through two world wars as a side battle from Europe and had dealt with the end of the Ottoman Empire, the last vestige of the old caliphate.
And all of this while some of the nations in that region have garnered fabulous wealth thanks to their oil reserves!
And it's imploding now? Have I missed something? It is a key belief in my life that "it can always get worse", but regardless of that principle the region hasn't been in very good shape since before any of us were born, and over the lifetimes of the centenarians has gone steadily down-hill.
So what does the EO think an implosion will look like?
Hi Mark, and thank you for stopping by my blog and also linking to it on yours! Very kind of you, and I'm very happy to be sharing in this dialogue!
In response to Icepick, who asks why I'm so outraged: You're right, it IS more of the same, and that's exactly why I'm so outraged. This is becoming so 'normal' now that we barely even blink, just stopping to tut-tut for a few seconds, shake our heads at the atrocity, and hope it doesn't even happen to us.
We Arabs here in the Middle East live in countries entrenched in ancient civilizations, rich heritage, important values and beliefs. We pride ourselves on the tourism opportunities that our countries present to the world and we pray that more and more people from all over the world will visit our countries in order to form their own perspectives of us, instead of believing everything they hear in the media.
When such atrocities happen, when our livelihoods our threatened, when we are forcibly being seen as terrorists and lunatics the world over, regardless of our beliefs and our condemnation of such horrow, we cannot help but be angry. We cannot help but be outraged when we see pools of blood forming in a resort town in a neighbouring country, and we cannot help but feel fury for the meaningless loss of life, by monsters who seem to have a purpose behind this nonesense.
Feeling angry is something I would much rather be than indifferent or jaded. At least it means I still have hope.
Then again, for someone like myselff, I have not seen a day of peace, and neither have my parents nor my grandparents. We have never lived in the Middle East region without knowing that there is a conflict going on next door. This is not a way to live. When will this change?
Ice:
I guess that I would prefer to let EO speak for himself. I was more interested in the general tone of the responses from EO and Hal, differing as they do from our usual stereotypes of a monolithic Middle East.
Specifically in Egypt, the repressive regime of Hosni Mubarak does keep a lid on views that are now occasionally being expressed violently.
A friend of mine has been going to Egypt for years. Only in the past few years has he felt fearful about being in Egypt, he tells me. There is an atmosphere of incipient violence, like walking on top of a volcano before it blows. He says that he doesn't have such feelings in other Arab or Muslim countries to which he travels. Maybe this is what EO is sensing as well. Again however, I leave it to him to respond, if he reads this.
Hal:
Thanks for your willingness to engage in a dialogue with us about the underreported sentiments in the Middle East.
To both of you:
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to leave your comments.
Blessings in Christ,
Mark
Post a Comment