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It's Hard to Be an Arab

[Global Politician] Barry Rubin - It's a tough, stressful life being Arab. At best, you have to keep your mouth shut; at worst you have to sing the praise of your dictators, those leading you to disaster. What if you are Palestinian or Lebanese and terrorists choose to use the roof of your house to fire rockets at Israelis? Do you run upstairs and tell these armed men to stop shooting and go away? Can you even dare criticize them publicly after your home gets blown up? When dealing with the most thoughtful, and idealistic Arab intellectuals, I have a repetitive sadly amusing experience. In private, they speak honestly about the need for peace with Israel, their own leaders' shortcomings, and their hope for change. Then, the microphones and cameras turn on and they recite, parrot-like, the official line. Polls show ordinary Palestinians want peace with Israel and an end to the fighting. That may well be true, but do their leaders and all those gunmen care at all for how these people feel? These are the forces ensuring that there be no two-state solution and end to the endless violence from which they benefit. How can one not feel the misery of the Arab peoples, intoxicated as many are by the opiate of Arab nationalism and Islamism, the false promises of impending triumphs and the horror stories of satanic foes? How can one not sympathize with the frustration of real moderates who live in societies where they are treated as madmen and traitors?
2007-07-09 01:00:00
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