(FrontPageMagazine) Phyllis Chesler - What kind of culture produces human bombs, glorifies mass murderers, and supports humiliation-based revenge? According to psychoanalyst and Arabist, Dr. Nancy Kobrin, it is a culture in which shame and honor play decisive roles and in which the debasement of women is paramount. In an as-yet unpublished book, The Sheik's New Clothes: The Psychoanalytic Roots of Islamic Suicide Terrorism, Kobrin, and her Israeli co-author, counter-terrorism expert Yoram Schweitzer, describe barbarous family and clan dynamics. Clearly, only evolution of democracy and the elevation of women can begin to change such dynamics. Yet historically and theologically, Arab and Muslim culture strongly opposes both democracy and equality for women. This is why the battles to liberate Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East are so very difficult.
2004-05-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive