I respected Islam until I took the time to actually learn about it. Reading the Quran (with two orthodox Sunni commentaries), the standard Hadith collections, the historical record, etc. gave me all the enlightenment on this subject I needed.

All the "Coles" aside, the number of us who know the truth is on the rise. I suppose I'm just one of those "victims" of the "evil, media elite."

DesertDawg

Posted by: DesertDawgN29 at March 9, 2006 7:23 AM

Tomorrow, the Post continues this hard hitting, investigative series by asking office workers across the country: "Has this month been rainier than usual? What do you think?

Posted by: AnneCrockett at March 9, 2006 7:34 AM

Ah, the blinders which the Washington Post wears! These same blinders affect our media and our leaders.

Read this essay by Mark Alexander to debunk some of the myths in the WaPo article.

Also, a list of resources for combatting the pc with which the West is infected is available here. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam is featured there, of course, but also are some other materials.

Desert Dawg is right. More people are waking up! Part of the reason is the cartoon wars, which the WaPo briefly mentions.

Posted by: WatchfulEye at March 9, 2006 7:49 AM

"According to the poll, the proportion of Americans who believe that Islam helps to stoke violence against non-Muslims has more than doubled since the attacks, from 14 percent in January 2002 to 33 percent today."

Truth always truimphs in the end.

Posted by: Rebecca JW at March 9, 2006 7:50 AM

Conservative and liberal experts said Americans' attitudes about Islam are fueled in part by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim extremists.

Imagine that. When psychotic lunatics commit barbaric acts constitent with the teachings of the koran, and these are reported - there is a negative perception amongst those who read the reporting about the lunatic psychotic religion.

What backwards, hate filled, islamaphobes! Off with their heads!

Posted by: George at March 9, 2006 7:54 AM

I can't help but think how much hostility tends to be evident within Mohammedans, whether it's beating their wives, burning a flag or jumping around and shouting "Death to the infidel!".

Perhaps an ideal strategy would be to fly a plane over their countries with thousands of copies of 'Anger Management' and let them drop.

Who knows? Maybe even good old Jack Nicholson could give them a few moments of laughter where they begin to see how wonderful life is and then stop taking themselves so seriously and contribute to life rather than taking away from it.

Maybe in a humourous fashion they'll clue in as to why people have a hard time coping with their lack of people skills and why nobody likes being around someone who is always huffy.

PJ

Posted by: PJ at March 9, 2006 8:11 AM

I was annoyed by the question, 'Have you heard prejudiced comments against Muslims lately?' The word 'prejudice' is vague and easily abused by PC types. Are you 'prejudiced' if you don't like Koranic verses favoring violence for infidels? Are you prejudiced if you feel dismay when Muslims refuse to discuss this honestly?

Now Wafa Sultan was tremendously impressive: see

http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S1#

if you haven't already.

Posted by: Benjamin at March 9, 2006 8:15 AM

I can identify with DesertDawg. I too used to believe that islam was
a peaceful religion to be respected. I even recall getting email ads for
Roberts book and deleting them, thinking "here's someone that wants to
stir up conflict". When I began to look into islam, I began to see how wrong
I was and in my travels I ended up here. Having read Roberts P.I.G. I now know
that Robert is one of the most level headed and rational people I've seen
on the subject. In spite of the atmosphere of pc, many people are having their
eyes opened, and many by the actions and words of muslims.

Posted by: NoMo at March 9, 2006 8:20 AM

"Now Wafa Sultan was tremendously impressive: see

http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S1#

if you haven't already."

That link doesn't work. I know this is a bit off-topic, and most of you have seen the incredibly brave Wafa Sultan, but those who haven't should visit

http://www.memritv.org/

and look at clip #1050 which you can enter in a box.

Posted by: Benjamin at March 9, 2006 8:20 AM

Fox news is carrying a story about the use of cartoons to teach children about martyrdom. Things like that could give someone a false impression of islam (sarcasm off). Fear the truth followers of old mo, fear it. It is spreading faster than islam.

Posted by: Ronin at March 9, 2006 8:26 AM

When you go to the article, you can write an email to the authors. (Perhaps this was by clicking on their names.)

They will probably be flooded, but it is easy enough to add your own well-considered words to the flood. Perhaps they will have a follow-up article that features jihadwatch and suggests that the problem is not the intolerance expressed by victims and future victims of a belief system that is, in truth, prone to violence.

Posted by: StillBreathing at March 9, 2006 8:28 AM

I am suprised on 46% have a negative view of Islam.

Posted by: JanuaryMan at March 9, 2006 8:31 AM

I also respected Islam. I gave it the same default respect I had for anything I did not know about. Even more from what little I heard thru the Media and movies.

Then 9/11 came about and I started looking into Islam. And watching the continued terror and deliberate targetting and murder of innocents not only being comitted by Jihadists but celebrated by the 'mainstream muslims' while the 'moderate muslims' remained silent.

After hearing about the cold blooded murder of a 8-month pregnant jewish woman and her three under-10-YO daughters by the brave 'lions of Islam' in Israel - and the celebration of this 'great victory' by Hamas and the mainstream muslims I lost all respect.

After learning what the Koran and other 'Islamic Scriptures' say I finally decided that Islam is the exact opposite of everything Christianity stands for. Death instead of Life. Hatred instead of Love. Slavery instead of Freedom.

I just feel sorry for those muslims who are entrapped by Islam and don't know anything else. They cannot turn from it without a death sentence. Its forbidden for them to even consider or hear about anything else.

Posted by: CrazyFool at March 9, 2006 8:35 AM

I had to laugh when I read the part where Juan Cole claimed it was the "political elite, mass media, and select special interest groups" that are to blame for an inreased negative view toward islam and muslims.

I would have liked for Cole to have given some examples of who he was referring to.

I'm of the opinion the "political elite" (here and abroad) are in fact afraid to confront the issue of islam and muslims.

As for "mass media"...please. The USA maistream media censored itself during the cartoon jihad. Newspaper editors can't bring themselves to call the recent UNC act of jihad what it really is: an act of religiously motivated terrorism.

Who are the "selct special interest groups" Cole refers to? he doesn't say. Could he mean "THE JOOOS?" Could he mean the readers of JW/DW? The readers at Rantburg and LGF?

I have to conclude Juan Cole and other muslim apologists would dearly like to impose a complete ban on the reporting of muslim atrocities committed on a daily basis throughout the world. Yeah, that will go a long way toward stemming the tide of increased negative opinion. But it wouldn't provide the truth.

Posted by: omvi at March 9, 2006 8:43 AM

The negative perception of Islam % has decreased two % in the last half hour in the latest MSNBC poll.

In the cartoon poll, it was apparent that the Muslims overtook the poll after a few days, because the question being asked was (ARE MUSLIMS RIGHT TO PROTEST MUHAMMAD CARTOONS?)

This was after the poll had to be located, as it was moved off the front page.

In a matter of a couple of days, the numers went from 81% (NO) to 26% (NO).

Go and cast your vote and give your opinion of the religion of peace here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11735622/

Posted by: Asylum inmate at March 9, 2006 8:43 AM

Benjamin,

Thanks for the link. Wafa Sultan was truly amazing. I was actually surprised
that such a viewpoint would be shown on Al Jazeera.
Of course most of the
viewers probably think she's a raving lunatic and blasphemer.

Posted by: NoMo at March 9, 2006 8:44 AM

My (highly-educated) colleagues would
consider me very prejudiced and even racist if
they knew that I frequent an website such as
this.

Sad, eh?

Posted by: george_rem at March 9, 2006 8:45 AM

#6
A few cartoons depicted and lightly mocked your (false) prophet as a terrorist. So you staged loony riots and sacked European embassies. Westerners can see what madmen you are when you riot and terrorize to protest Muhammad being drawn as a terrorist. We see what schizophrenics you are.

Posted by: dennisw at March 9, 2006 8:46 AM

But it is the fault of politicians and the media -- Muslim politicians and their very political clergy, and media outlets like Al Manar, Al Jazeerah and PA-TV.

Exhort your political constituency to give up their children to be shahids as Arafish did, many times, live and on camera, and that's the impression you create. Broadcast the tapes of suicide terrorists talking about drinking Jewish blood and that's the impression you create. Urge your population to attack embassies and consolates over some cartoons and that's the impression you create. Cite appropriate sections of the Qu'ran and that's the impression, you create. Broadcast taped beheadings, and that's the impression you create.

Posted by: waterdragon52 at March 9, 2006 8:47 AM

. Stop committing violent acts.
2. Stop justifying those violent acts by reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah.
3. Stop saying violent or hateful things in private when you think no non-Muslims are around.
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.
5. Actively work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.

I like this the new Five Pillars of Islam.

Posted by: disciple at March 9, 2006 8:49 AM

My (highly-educated) colleagues would
consider me very prejudiced and even racist if
they knew that I frequent an website such as
this.

It's because they choose not to educate themselves about Islam and are prejudiced against those stout enough to do so and face unpleasant truths. People have unpleasantness in their lives and don't want to add to it by finding out more about the biggest threat to the liberal West. China ranks high too.

Posted by: dennisw at March 9, 2006 8:51 AM

"The survey also found that one in three Americans have heard prejudiced comments about Muslims lately...."

Amazing, isn't it, when a major American newspaper can have so many examples of biased reporting in one article? There is no attempt to show that the American people are good learners despite the many mass media attempts to brainwash us all. There is no epiphany here for the Washington Post. They still just don't get it.

Islam is the enemy.

That statement is not prejudice on my part, Mr. & Ms. Reporter. God gave me enough graymatter between my ears that I can actually distinguish between a friend and an enemy of the Constitution. A shame our schools and colleges seem to be turning out too many drones over the past decade or that poll's findings would be even higher.

Posted by: Foehammer at March 9, 2006 8:52 AM

Conservative and liberal experts said Americans' attitudes about Islam are fueled in part by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim extremists.

Fine, then let's shift our focus away from Jihadist operations, or those referred to as "extremists" by the Marxists over at the WaPost.

Let us turn our attention to the contetnts of the Koran, the Hadiths, the Sirat, the history of Islam, the qitabs issued daily in our cities, the Salats said billions of times daily by Moslem non-extremists [sic].

So much to discuss. But, may we? The elites, and the opinion programmers working for them, have quarantined these subjects by placing any truthful discussion them outside the bounds of our Fictive Reality.

So, all you nutty Ivy League and Stanford alums out there, may we please have permission --- and the requisite media access --- to discuss these now verboten subjects?

Won't involve the terroristic actions of Moslem extremists, I promise. Well, except maybe for Mohammed and his cohorts. And maybe Abu Bakr too, and...

Aw hell, Mr. and Ms. Ruling Elite, I dunno, may we discuss Moslems at all?

Posted by: Alarmed Pig Farmer at March 9, 2006 8:53 AM

More people are 'waking up'?! I dont think so.

If 9/11, Madrid, London, Beslan, Bali were not
enough to wake someone up, that person is
brain-dead.

Brain-dead people do not wake up.

Posted by: george_rem at March 9, 2006 8:53 AM

george_rem

Some people are heavy sleepers and need to hit the snooze alarm several times.
I don't think people are brain dead, but this indicates how powerful the
pc grip is and how much it takes to overcome it.As I said in an earlier post,
pc isn't about changing peoples hearts, it's about making them sit down and shut up.
The ones awake are pretty much quietly sitting there.

Posted by: NoMo at March 9, 2006 9:01 AM

An article you may find of interest:

Subject: Learning to Think like an Arab Muslim: a Short Guide to Understanding the Arab Mentality

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2004/articles/0503arabs.html

Learning to Think like an Arab Muslim: a Short Guide to Understanding the Arab Mentality

By Edward V. Badolato, Executive Vice President for Homeland Security

1717 Pennsylvania Ave., 9th Fl.
Washington DC 20006
edward.badolato@shawgrp.com
Phone 202.261.1910
Fax 202.261.1949

Dealing with terrorism, especially Islamic Fundamentalists, requires an intimate knowledge of terrorism, terrorist operations, and especially the key cultural features that makes up the Arab psyche. An understanding and detailed background knowledge of the Arab mentality is critical to performing accurate threat analysis. Understanding Arab culture can provide valuable insights into the changing nature of Post 9-11 terrorism, and how to rank and prioritize potential threats. To outsmart our clever and elusive Islamic terrorist foes, one must first understand what makes him tick. This paper is bases on years of experience in the Middle East, and is dedicated to helping the reader understand the Arab mentality.

INTRODUCTION

The Arabs are a proud and sensitive people whose culture is mainly derived from three key factors: family, language, and religion. No adequate understanding of Arab culture is possible without first examining these three major elements and the pervading impact they have had on their culture. Cultural understanding by Americans of the Arabs is especially important at present because it can provide a basis for our own interactive behavior with them as well as a basis for interpreting their actions.

The Arab's cultural system has proven functionally useful in the Middle East because it provides the Arab with an accepted behavior pattern which dominates daily life. In the Middle East, these accepted behavioral patterns have been developed over centuries through the Arab's social response to various stimuli such as images of human nature, man's dealing with good and evil, idealistic images of correct personal behavior, concepts of political relationships and an Arab's commonly accepted view of the world as basically threatening and harsh. The Arab response to these various stimuli over a period of centuries has produced cultural attitudes which eventually developed into their behavioral characteristics.

To begin to understand the Arabs, one must first understand the major factors influencing Arab culture: family, language and religion. The kinship characteristic includes a set of group dynamics that are built around the family. Their language exerts tremendous influence on their personal interaction and emotional tenor. Their religion, Islam, is an ultimate expression of the idealism of the Arab. Any discussion of Arab culture must also include their dominant cultural concerns, such as continuation of the close knit family. Loss of their Arab identity, the corruption of youth, the incursion of the West, and the issue of Islamic fundamentalism.

The 'Five Pillars' of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life:

1. Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophet hood of Muhammad;

2. Establishment of the daily prayers;

3. Concern for and almsgiving to the needy;

4. Self-purification through fasting; and

5. The pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able.

Imam or Faith

To a Muslim there is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. This declaration of faith is called the shahadah, a simple formula that all the faithful pronounce. The significance of this declaration is the belief that the only purpose of life is to serve and obey God, and this is achieved through the teachings and practices of the Last Prophet, Muhammad.

Salah or Prayer

Salah is the name for the obligatory prayers that are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God. There is no hierarchical authority in Islam and there are no priests. Prayers are led by

a learned person who knows the Qur'an and is generally chosen by the congregation.

Prayers are said at dawn, mid-day, late-afternoon, sunset and nightfall, and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day. These five prescribed prayers contain verses from the Qur'an, and are said in Arabic, the language of the Revelation. Personal supplications, however, can be offered in one's own language and at any time.

Although it is preferable to worship together in a mosque, a Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories and universities. Oftentimes visitors to the Muslim world are struck by the centrality of prayers in daily life.

A translation of the Adan or Call to Prayer is:

God is Great.

God is Great.

God is Great.

God is Great.

I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God.

I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God.

I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.

I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.

Come to prayer!

Come to prayer!

Come to success!

Come to success!

God is Great!

God is Great!

There is none worthy of worship except God.

Zakah. The financial obligation upon Muslims.

An important principle of Islam is that everything belongs to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. The word zakah means both "purification" and "growth." Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need and for the society in general. Like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.

Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakah individually. This involves the annual payment of a fortieth of one's capital, excluding such items as primary residence, car and professional tools.

An individual may also give as much as he or she pleases as sadaqah, and does so preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as "voluntary charity" it has a wider meaning.

The Prophet said, "Even meeting your brother with a cheerful face is an act of charity." The Prophet also said: "Charity is a necessity for every Muslim." He was asked: "What if a person has nothing?" The Prophet replied: "He should work with his own hands for his benefit and then give something out of such earnings in charity." The Companions of the Prophet asked: "What if he is not able to work?" The Prophet said: "He should help the poor and needy." The Companions further asked: "What if he cannot do even that?" The Prophet said: "He should urge others to do good." The Companions said: "What if he lacks that also?" The Prophet said: "He should check himself from doing evil. That is also an act of charity."

Sawm or Fasting

Every year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown--abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations with their spouses.

Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are menstruating, pregnant or nursing, are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year if they are healthy and

able. Children begin to fast (and to observe prayers) from puberty, although many start earlier.

Although fasting is beneficial to health, it is mainly a method of self-purification and self-restraint. By cutting oneself from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person focuses on his or her purpose in life by constantly being aware of the presence of God.

God states in the Qur'an: "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may learn self-restraint." (Qur'an 2:183)

Hajj or Pilgrimage

The pilgrimage to Mecca (the hajj) is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to do so. Nevertheless, over two million people go to Mecca each year from every corner of the globe providing a unique opportunity for those of different nations to meet one another.

The annual hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year (which is lunar, not solar, so that hajj and Ramadan fall sometimes in summer, sometimes in winter). Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments that strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God.

The rites of the hajj, which are of Abrahamic origin, include going around the Ka'bah seven times, and going seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa as did Hagar (Hajir, Abraham's wife) during her search for water. The pilgrims later stand together on the wide plains of 'Arafat (a large expanse of desert outside Mecca) and join in prayer for God's forgiveness, in what is often thought as a preview of the Day of Judgment.

The close of the hajj is marked by a festival, the 'Id al Adha, which is celebrated with prayers and the exchange of gifts in Muslim communities everywhere. This and the 'Id al Fitr, a festive day celebrating the end of Ramadan, are two key holidays of the Islamic calendar.

MAJOR FACTORS OF ARAB BEHAVIOR

The Family.

The first major factor overshadowing all other societal demands of an Arab is that of family and kin.

The family is the foundation of Islamic society. The peace and security offered by a stable family unit is greatly valued and seen as essential for the spiritual growth of its members. A harmonious social order is created by the existence of extended families; children are treasured and rarely leave home until the time they marry.

Parents are greatly respected in the Islamic tradition. Mothers are particularly honored: the Qur'an teaches that since mothers suffer during pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing, they deserve a special consideration and kindness.

It is stated in the Qur'an: "And we have enjoined upon man (to be good) to his parents. With difficulty upon difficulty did his mother bear him and wean him for two years. Show gratitude to Me and to your parents; to Me is your final goal." (Qur'an 31:14)

A Muslim marriage is both a sacred act and a legal agreement, in which either partner is free to include legitimate conditions. As a result, divorce, although entirely uncommon, is permitted only as a last resort. Marriage customs vary widely from country to country.

An Arab's concept of the world has occasionally been described as a series of seven concentric circles with the individual Arab at the center. He is surrounded by the circle of his immediate family, and outside that circle is his extended family or tribe. Next are his immediate geographic region and then his country. Outside of his country ring is the rest of the Arab world; then the rest of the Muslim world, the "Dar al Islam," or the area of Muslim peace and stability. Outside this ring is the rest of the world viewed by the Arab as the "Dar al Harb" or war area.

The principal means of reinforcing familial relationships is through marriage. Arab marriage patterns are usually within their own family group with the most desired partners being cousins. One of the long-term results of this custom has been the development of a highly organized social structure among a closely-knit family. Even with extended family members, the goals of family well being and honor are principal considerations.

The style of Arab parenting is responsible for much of their behavioral traits according to the noted Arab cultural expert, Dr. Raphael Patai who claims that Arab children have difficulty establishing a predictable pattern arid a differentiation between love and discipline. This fluctuation between a loving mother and stern disciplinarian father can add to the complexity of growing up and often fosters schizoid personality traits. Many Arabists have commented on the rapid change of Arab emotions and reasoning. Lawrence of Arabia spoke of this when he said that the Arabs view "everything black or white with no middle ground." This roller coaster type of behavior is often demonstrated by cool self‑control followed by uncontrolled public outbursts of emotion. This also illustrates the ease with which a crowd can become violent in the Arab world. No doubt, tightly controlled families, closeness of living space and intense family pressures contribute to another important Arab behavioral trait stemming from group dynamics. That trait is conflict.

CONFLICT

Arab behavior has a propensity for conflict.

The Muslim community expanded rapidly after the Prophet's death. Within a few decades, the territory under Muslim rule had extended onto three continents--Asia, Africa and Europe. Over the next few centuries this Empire continued to expand its conquests and Islam gradually became the chosen faith of the majority of the world’s inhabitants. Among the reasons for the rapid spread of Islam was the simplicity of its doctrine--Islam calls for faith in only One God, Allah, and it was made relatively easy for conquered peoples to convert..

Reasons for Arab conflict may lie again with the family where competitiveness is instilled at an early age, and life generally exists under various forms of intense pressure. An old Arab saying aptly describes the competitive, hostile spirit bred into Arab children:

"I against my brother, my brother and I against our cousins, my brother, my cousins and I against the world."

Another probable cause of this intense conflict is Arab history itself, which has been dominated by warfare, domestic upheaval and struggles against invasions from outside the Arab world. The legacy of this history is a basic, almost visceral mistrust of‑ any outside group, or more specifically, any Western state whose true ultimate intentions cannot readily be determined, but which they feel will most likely be bad for the Arabs.

There are many other internal sources of conflict in the Middle East, which have existed among the Arabs themselves for centuries. Some of these long‑standing sources of conflict are strategic conflicts, economic rivalries, ideological wars, tribal and religious disagreements--and just plain cultural differences. For example, there has been strategic rivalry between the Mesopotamians of the Fertile Crescent and the Egyptians since ancient times. More recently, strategic struggles have taken place over the Lebanon, the White Nile, the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf (as most commonly refer to as the Persian Gulf).

Also economically, the conflict over scarce resources now continues with oil, land, water, and mineral rights taking the place of food, (although still strategically important in some countries), and caravan routes. Today's ideological conflicts often place the progressive socialists (Iraq, Libya, Syria and Algeria) against the conservative traditional states. There are also problems within these groups as Iraqi Baathi's against Syrian Baathi's, various "isms" such as Pan Arabism, progressivism, Wahabism, and socialism all typify the general ideological fragmentation of the Arab population and add to the spectrum of conflict. In the area of tribal and religious conflict, numerous rivalries predate recorded history. Consider that the early Islamic wars after the death of the Prophet brought on the Sunni‑Shiite tensions, which remain today in many areas such as Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

When asked why the more recent Iran‑Iraq war began, one Arab historian noted that it really began at the battle of Qaddisiya over a thousand years ago when Mohammed's son‑in‑law, Ali, was defeated by the forerunners of today's Sunni Arabs. Viewed from this perspective, even the Christian‑Muslim struggle in Lebanon appeared to be part of this historic trend of religious conflict. Dynastic rivalries, such as between the House of Saudi and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has always been a factor in Arab life. Also, there is the age old struggle between the desert bedouin and the townsman such as was rekindled in the intense 1970 conflict between the Jordanian Army's bedouins of the Desert Legion and the Palestinian townsmen in Jordan.

In dealing with Arabs, consideration must always be given to their patterned behavior for dealing with potential conflict. Especially in military affairs, the undercurrents of traditional conflict can limit the number of options available to a decision maker and limit his overall capability to correct a problem. Historically, this has been evident in the difficulty in making and maintaining Middle Eastern alliances. Suspicion of a traditional enemy's territorial ambitions die hard, and international troop movements to shore up Arab allies or as part of a peacekeeping force are usually very difficult because of the fear that the visiting soldiers may be used against the host government or that they will be very reluctant to leave. Likewise, new pacts on military agreements with western foreign powers are initially viewed negatively by an Arab state's neighbors because of the potential impact on inter‑Arab affairs as well as a xenophobic fear of the West. Experience has shown that it is fairly unusual for an Arab state to enter into an agreement with an outside power without first consulting with its neighbors to allay their fears about a potential change in the local balance of power and to forestall potential conflict.

Because conflict appears to be such a normal behavioral characteristic in Arab group dynamics at the individual. group or even international levels, it seems reasonable that the Arabs would have developed a traditional means of settling their differences--and they have. Over the centuries they have developed a ritualized. form of mediation for dealing with conflict. A study of Arab history, and even present day events. points out that the traditional methods of mediation have been used time and time again. In large scale hostilities the mediation may at times seem ineffective to a Westerner, but it does serve several purposes. It interrupts the fighting, lets cooler heads prevail and gives each side an honorable way out of the quarrel.

The methodology is essentially the same for a small personal quarrel or a war. It is arranged around a mediator who plays a specific role. The mediator or wasit is usually a man (or country) of personality, status, respect, wealth and influence with both sides. Picking or persuading the perfect mediator is obviously the sine qua non of successfully mediating a conflict. Traditionally it has been the rule that a mediator meets with much greater success if he is a man of prestige. Custom requires that the steps in mediation follow a specific pattern: separate the fighting parties, make it physically impossible to continue the fighting, arrange a solution which will not cause a loss of face or honor to either side, and then guarantee the restitution or final agreement. There are numerous examples of conflict mediation in the Arab world from the personal to the international level. They are all ritualized and it appears that the major difficulty lies in getting the right mediator at the outset. A lesson the United States has had difficulty grasping in its long quest for Middle East peace.

CROWD MENTALITY

In the Arab world there is little stigma placed on the loss of self control and what westerners would consider hysterical public outbursts of emotion. This is a particularly frequent factor in group dynamics, and it is often demonstrated by the way in which a crowd can suddenly give way to outbursts of anger and violence. Reasons given for this generally lead back to the Arab family--closeness, competitiveness and conflict. Also, some cause might be related to the Arab means of vocal expression where they routinely express themselves by shouting, often accompanied by angry gestures in the marketplace, when correcting children, at funerals, etc. Opportunities for emotional outpourings are frequent in an Arab's daily life, and with the impetus of crowd mentality, these emotions are likely to break loose with chain reactions.

An Arab crowd is high strung emotionally, and violent crowds are a frequent occurrence during periods of stress and crisis. Deaths of national leaders, political rallies, anti‑western rallies, etc., all qualify as reasons for Arab disorders. There can even be less serious reasons, for example in Lebanon the author witnessed a severe riot in 1978 over the unpopular outcome of a beauty contest.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE

Arab Emotions and Hyperbole.

The second major factor influencing Arab culture is language. The Arabs place a high value on the Arabic language, and it exerts an overpowering psychological influence over their behavior. Arabic scholars have long known that even though most languages are influenced by the culture and people who speak it‑, Arabic has an influence over the psychology and culture of the people who use it. "English cannot even challenge Arabic for its sheer power and ability to impact on the emotions of the listener," according to the noted Arab‑‑American historian, P. K. Hitti who also states that "no people in the world has such enthusiastic admiration for literary expression and is so moved by the word, spoken or written."

Not only are the listeners moved, but Arabic has an impact on speakers as well. Orators are prone to be carried away in verbal exaggeration when speaking before an audience. This exaggeration is called mubalagha in Arabic, but it is not considered to be a derogatory term by the Arabs. Rather it is considered to be an admirable capacity for oratorical eloquence. A key point in understanding Arab hyperbole is that their mentality finds nothing wrong with eloquent exaggeration because they feel that words really shouldn't be taken at all times at their face value. The Arab Scholar, Edward Atiyah, supports this by his comment that Arabs as a people are swayed "more by ideas than by facts." The mastery of a rich rhythmic vocabulary with lyrical phrases is a highly valued oral skill which is often attained even by illiterates.

It is an understatement to say that the Arabs merely value their language, for it is a most beloved possession. One reason for their love affair with Arabic is the melodious pleasure derived from hearing and saying certain traditional words and patterns of words derived from its rich literary heritage. But probably the most important underlying reason for their love of Arabic is the Qur'an and the belief that this holy book, set forth in Arabic, is an expression of man's highest earthly linguistic achievement.

Understanding the Arab's love of Arabic makes it easier to comprehend that speakers are admired, not so much for what they say, but how they say it. For example, Egypt’s President Nasser could hold crowds spellbound for hours with his eloquence. After the Six Day War in fact, crowds of Arabs would gather around every village television set to admire and applaud the Rais—the President's--marathon speeches because of their elaborate flowing classical style. Even today, Nasser's speeches remain as a prime example of the orator's craft, and for years students of Arabic at the State Department's Foreign Service Institute in Washington. D.C. studied them as an example of mubalaghato hear his long speeches, appreciating not so much what he said, but how he said it.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE

Arab Emotions and Hyperbole.

The second major factor influencing Arab culture is language. The Arabs place a high value on the Arabic language‑, and it exerts an overpowering psychological influence over their behavior. Arabic scholars have long known that even though most languages are influenced by the culture and people who speak it‑, Arabic has an influence over the psychology and culture of the people who use it. "English cannot even challenge Arabic for its sheer power and ability to impact on the emotions of the listener," according to the noted Arab‑‑American historian, P. K. Hitti, who also states that "no people in the world has such enthusiastic admiration for literary expression and is so moved by the word, spoken or written."

Not only are the listeners moved, but Arabic has an impact on speakers as well. Orators are prone to be carried away in verbal exaggeration when speaking before an audience.

One should never underestimate the behavioral impact that the Arabic language has on the Arab people. Its psychological influence lies in three main areas: general vagueness of thought; overemphasis on words at the expense of their meanings and stereotyped emotional vocal responses to specific situations. The most difficult of these behavioral influences for Americans to understand is overemphasis and exaggeration. There are numerous examples of how exaggeration and emphatic overemphasis can lead Arab speakers down the path to outlandish public statements. For example, Patai tells the amusing story of the A‑‑bomb made by a Syrian tinsmith: "On the eve of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, Musa Alami. a well known Palestinian leader was attempting to gain support in various Arab capitals. In Damascus the President of Syria told him: "I am happy to tell you that our Army and its equipment are of the highest order and we'll be able to deal with a few Jews; and I can tell you in confidence that we even have an atomic bomb ... yes it was made locally; we fortunately found a clever fellow, a tinsmith..."

Most Arabic scholars feel that this mubalagha as well as tawkid (assertion) is almost a linguistic game played between speaker and listener. In his article on the influence of language on Arab psychology, the Arab scholar, Dr. Edward Shouby, comments on mubalagha and tawkid, and his words are worth remembering:

"Arabs are forced to over‑assert and exaggerate in almost all types of communications, as otherwise they stand a good chance of being gravely misunderstood. If an Arab says exactly what he means without the expected exaggeration, other Arabs may think that he means the opposite. This fact leads to misunderstandings on the part of non‑Arabs who do not realize that the Arab is merely following a linguistic tradition."

Shouby's comments emphasize the important concept that the average Arab uses exaggeration and overemphasis without even being aware that he is doing it. It is very difficult for an Arab to make a simple statement of fact. For this reason it usually pays to be cautious about focusing on exact translations of Arabic statements such as the long rambling tirades of Gadhafi from which the emotional and inflammatory mubalagha statements are usually quoted directly by the Western press

There is also a bit of wish fulfillment in Arab exaggeration. They at times can have such a strong desire for an event to take place that they make a statement that confuses the desired action with an accomplished fact. The general vagueness of thought and ambiguous structure of the Arabic language itself also contributes to this tendency to exaggerate and substitute words for action. For example, in sentences expressing wishes such as Wallahi la fa' altu which can be literally translated "By Allah, I did not do (it) , can actually mean "By Allah I shall not do (it)." Another example is the word phrase badrab which literally translates "I want to beat," but actually means "I shall beat." This linguistic subtlety between desired actions and accomplished fact should be considered when listening to the emphatic statements of Arabs. It is obvious that time and action can have very subtle connotations in the translation of Arabic. Westerners should be wary of this.

ISLAM

Arab idealism as expressed through Islam is a dominant cultural feature.

Based on its linguistic origin, the Arabic word 'Islam' means to achieve peace--peace with God, peace within oneself, and peace with the creations of God through submission to God and commitment to His guidance.

Islam is not a new religion but the final culmination and fulfillment of the same basic truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is not just a personal religion but a complete way of living.

Over a billion people from all races, nationalities and cultures across the globe are Muslim--from the rice farms of Indonesia to the heart of Africa; from the skyscrapers of New York to the Bedouin tents in Arabia. Only 18% of Muslims live in the Arab world; a fifth are found in Sub-Saharan Africa; and the world's largest Muslim community is in Indonesia. Substantial parts of Asia are Muslim, while significant minorities are to be found in the Central Asian republics, India, China, North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe.

The Islamic religion has always been a source of law and sociopolitical ideology, and from past to present,

As Muslim civilization developed, it absorbed the heritage of ancient civilizations like Egypt, Persia and Greece, whose learning was preserved in the libraries and with the scholars of its cities. Some Muslim scholars turned their attention to these centers of learning and sought to acquaint themselves with the knowledge taught and cultivated in them. They, therefore, set about with a concerted effort to translate the philosophical and scientific works available to them, not only from the Greek and Syriac languages (the languages of eastern Christian scholars), but also from Pahlavi, the scholarly language of pre-Islamic Persia, and even from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. Arab scholars became the keepers of the period’s science and knowledge—an accomplishment upon which many modern Arabs look back upon with great pride.

Over the years, Arab philosophers have attempted to rationalize and legitimatize their ideals in terms compatible with Islamic idealism. The Islamic scholar. W. Cantwell Smith, has aptly described the Muslim's almost quixotic loyalty to the Islamic ideal as "a passionate but rational pursuit of that social justice that was once the dominant note of the faith and the dominant goal of its forms and institutions." The idealism of Islam can be viewed as the ultimate set of personal rules for Arab behavior, and it provides an all encompassing code of interpersonal relations. This code is embodied in the Shari'a which is a sacred body of Islamic law derived from the Qur'an The Shari’a dominates all aspects of life and society in a way that is almost incomprehensible to an American.

The Qur'an is the very word of God, Almighty. A complete record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. The Qur'an was memorized by Muhammad and his followers, dictated to his companions, and written down by scribes, who cross-checked it during the Prophet's lifetime. Not one word of its 114 surahs (parts or chapters) has been changed over the centuries. The Qur'an is in every detail the same unique text that was revealed to Muhammad fourteen centuries ago.

The Qur'an is the principal source of every Muslim's faith and practice. It deals with all subjects that concern us as human beings, including wisdom, doctrine, worship and law; but its basic theme is the relationship between God and His creatures. At the same time, the Qur'an provides guidelines for a just society, proper human conduct and equitable economic principles. For example, it encompasses how they run their government, their legal courts, their schools, their businesses, their social life, and their religion. It has been described as being as totally encompassing. It is as if one single document contained our constitution, our legal code, national education policy, business practices, inter‑personal etiquette, and the Bible.

Some might argue that Islam is another means developed by Arab culture as a way to cope with and forestall the Arab's basic behavioral tendency towards conflict. Nonetheless, Islam is interwoven with Arab culture and its rules give a distinctive pattern to the Arab's daily life. Various verses of the Qur'an symbolize this acceptance by man of God's pattern. The Arab doesn't always live in a tight patterned world of justice and order, but as Smith says: "he tries".

It is this mixture of Islam and Arabism which provides an interesting combination of many prized elements of Arab culture. Pride and sensitivity, the ideal of manly virtue, the Arabic language, dignity, and the all important concept of honor are all interwoven between Islam and Arabism. it is these valued ideals which hold Arab society together. Consider that Arab society, like most societies, has common loyalties and traditions. Yet, in the Muslim world there is an additional system based on personal conviction with a carefully worked out system of values and beliefs based on Islam as the common ideal. In a very real sense the Arab community is a living example of a religious ideal with "religious" being used in a truly personal sense.

THE BEDOUIN

Even though the nomadic bedouins presently make up a very small portion of the Arab population, they have always been considered the "Arabs par excellence" and the repository of traditional Arab culture and values. The bedouin ethic is thought to be the ideal moral code by most Arabs. The code of the bedouin is simple: it is essentially based on courage, hospitality, honor, generosity and self‑respect. These simple but admirable virtues make up the basic code of the desert which is admired as an ideal by all Arabs. In fact, tracing one's lineage to bedouin stock has been considered a claim to social status for many Arab leaders. For example, in Iraq both former President Kassem and Saddam Hussein both had their genealogy traced to desert tribes.

Some motivation for this could be attributed to a form of nostalgia for a better time, when life was simpler and more manageable, such as it was with the nomadic bedouins. It must be emphasized here that most bedouin traits are derived from honor, dignity and self‑respect, and an American would heed well the importance of these to an Arab. Honor (sharaf) has been highly valued since early Arab history because it was conducive to group cohesion and survival. Sharaf probably follows from the fact that shameful behavior or cowardice would weaken the group and endanger society.

Arabs are extremely sensitive to any slight to their honor, and it follows that any insult to one's honor must be revenged. There are even times when a personal incident can bring dishonor on an entire family, such as a scandal involving a female family member's sexual honor or in the instance of a blood feud. During 1968, the author observed that as part of their security duties, Israeli Druze border guards would kill or injure Palestinian commandos operating in the Jordan Valley area. The Palestinian's family was then honor bound to take revenge against the Druze guard or his family unless a conciliation involving blood money could be arranged.

Honor can also be the collective property of as large a group as an entire army. For example the relaxed, conciliatory approach taken by King Hussein towards the gradual takeover of the country by Palestinian fedayeen in 1970 shamed and angered his Bedouin Army. The King's strategy was essentially to avoid a fight until a solution could be worked out, but this situation, along with strident Palestinian actions, caused the Jordanian Army to feel insulted and to have lost face (more specifically in Arabic terms "to blacken their face"). Symbolically, some armored units tied women's brassieres to their vehicle antennas to express their collective dishonor and the feeling that Hussein had made them into women.

A key point to consider is that right or wrong, in all matters involving honor, an Arab must behave with dignity and self‑respect or lose face (wujah). It is important in any confrontation to leave the Arab a way to withdraw or back down without losing face. Nasser's dispute with Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles over Aswan in 1956, served to illustrate this. What Dulles began as a routine reappraisal of our foreign aid program became personalized by Nasser into a matter of national honor.

Because dignity, self‑respect and honor are so vulnerable to external actions, the Arab is extremely heedful of being slighted and may often see personal insult in comments or deeds which carry no such intentions. Even long‑time residents of the Middle East, such as Jordan's legendary Glubb Pasha, could mistakenly provide such an unintended slight. The day before a ceremonial review of the Arab Legion was to take place, Glubb said to his orderly: "I don't really want you tomorrow; you can have the day off and take your wife to the review, if you like." Whereupon the deeply insulted orderly replied: "So you think I am the kind of person to sit with women?"

Any discussion of the role of bedouin traits in Arab ideals would not be complete without mentioning hospitality and generosity which go hand in hand. Providing hospitality is a matter of both face and honor to an Arab. To be inhospitable is shameful. During the hospitality, the host is always expected to be generous and Arabs often entertain lavishly. It is interesting to note that the Arab word for generosity, karim, also means distinguished, noble‑minded, noble‑hearted, honorable and respectable. This gives some idea of the esteem with which generosity is valued.

PAN ARABISM

The Pan Arab movement involves a "one world" consciousness of the Arab world as well as an important Arab political concept. Indeed, this feeling of a monolithic Arab entity is enhanced by the strong religious, linguistic, social and economic ties uniting most Arabs. This would appear logical because of their similar attitudes toward life, language and history. The Islamic religion itself provides a powerful cohesive effect and gives a further spiritual sense of commonality within the Arab world.

Pan Arabism as a powerful political ideal has been a unifying force in the Arab's struggle for independence, first from the Turks, and in recent times, from the West. Arabs can become very emotional about Pan Arabism, and a strong feeling of solidarity with Arabs in other countries has become a potent political consideration. These feelings of Arab solidarity have also been given expression by the Arab League which was founded to promote inter‑Arab cooperation. It is in these expressions of brotherhood that Pan Arabic ideals actually can occasionally cause political motives to disappear and internal differences to be smoothed over in the emotional climate of Arab unity‑ It must be understood, however, that although Pan Arabism is an emotional state of mind which is very important to Arabs, the Arab people are still a long way from becoming one nation.

AREAS OF DOMINANT ARAB CONCERN

Although the Arab considers the family as the basis of Arab society, he holds even stronger views about Islam as the complete solid structure of society. Another area where there is a challenge to traditional Arab identity is with the elite class, and especially the western trained technocrats. These bilingual individuals frequently suffer an ethnic identity crisis, not belonging to the West, yet not able to fully return to basic Arab life.

The most dramatic response to the Arab identity crisis is presently being made by the Islamic fundamentalists. These fundamentalists such as seen among al Qaeda, the muhajidiin of Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Syria, and the Afghan Taliban, who all signify a change in the political behavior of Muslims. According to Professor Leonard Binder of the University of Chicago, these fundamentalists are seeking cultural authentication through domination of the political scene.

Another significant concern is the danger of the loss of Arab identity. The proud Arab sees and intimately feels the daily impact of modern technology, new social mores and western culture. The long haul diesel trucks are replacing the camel caravan, the quick snack shops are replacing the coffee shops, and western movies and music are frequently preferred by Arab youth. Infringement on Arab identity may cause a nostalgic quest for the good old days, and even in some cases, a reactionary backlash against symbols of western progress.

One of the most bitter and frequent complaints of theses groups against the West is that it is attempting to corrupt Arab society. Some Arabs feel that even simple, innocuous entertainment such as Western films and music are counter to the general morality of the Arab world. Relaxed standards of dress, women's liberation, alcohol and rock music are all considered by some Arabs to be an affront to Islamic purity. Not only do Arabs see tangible evidence that individuals are falling prey to Western influence, but they frequently sense that the fundamental values of the population are generally being corrupted.

The disintegration of traditional Arab society, along with loss of identity and outside corruption, is another paramount concern of the Arab. Huge segments of the population simply cannot cope with modernity and the social and political changes taking place. No one really knows where it will end. Westernization of the education system, women’s rights and inclusion in the work force, vastly improved literacy levels, better nutritional standards, advanced health and hygiene, introduction of social services and inclusion of the poorer classes in democratic political processes are all having tremendous impact on the old way of life. The Arabs wonder if it will be for the better.

This paper was initially written by Ed Badolato in 1980 when he was a student at the US Naval War College in Newport, R.I, and it was part of a three-part research effort on Arab culture. Part I . "A Clash of Cultures: The Expulsion of Soviet Military Advisors from Egypt," was published in the Naval War College Review, March-April 1984, pp.69-81. It was a standard handout used by various military attaché offices in the Middle East to describe how not to act when dealing with the Arabs. Part II. “A Short Guide to Understanding the Arabs”, formed the basis of this article. Part III.” The Cultural Mindset of the Arab Military” was also used in training US military personnel headed for the Middle East.

Ed Badolato, a career Marine officer, was the distinguished graduate of the War College’s Class of 1980. He began his first of several tours in the Middle East in 1967, shortly after the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, when he was stationed on the Golan Heights. He was one of the first US military to actually deal with emerging Middle Eastern terrorists. He spent three tours in Viet Nam serving mainly with infantry and long-range Marine reconnaissance units. During his career, he commanded every sized Marine unit from platoon to regiment.

He served in various capacities in nearly every country in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, including tours as the Defense and Naval Attaché in Beirut, Damascus, and Nicosia where he organized various special counter terrorism activities. Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, he served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for Presidents Regan and Bush, (1984-89)where he was the principal architect of the U.S. government's readiness and response to terrorist threats to our energy infrastructure--as well as all counterterrorism security planning for the US’ fifty-eight nuclear weapon facilities.

Posted by: mainuh1 at March 9, 2006 9:07 AM

"it's all the fault of politicians and the media. " That explains it. Silly me. And here I thought it was because of all the murders, riots, kidnappings, bombings, executions, beheadings and threats of violence from Muslims themselves. Now I know better.

Posted by: Bohemond_1069 at March 9, 2006 9:08 AM

Kinda makes me wonder what the numbers would be like if the MSM broadcast all the islamic related news.

Posted by: Mr Ape Pig at March 9, 2006 9:09 AM

Interesting MSNBC poll on same subject, shows 80% having problems with Islam.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11741730/#survey

I am certain you get very different answers in an anonymous poll versus someone calling someone up on the telephone with their name and contact information. If the repeated 10% with "no opinion" in the WaPo poll felt ability to be honest, perhaps the poll would have different slant.

Posted by: jeffreyimm at March 9, 2006 9:09 AM

"James J. Zogby, president of the Washington-based Arab American Institute, said he is not surprised by the poll's results. Politicians, authors and media commentators have demonized the Arab world since 2001, he said."

Just so we are all clear on the topic of James Zogby, he is a PAID poller. This man gets PAID to create polls for companies both foreign and domestic. He often gets paid to do polling by Arab-Muslim companies from Arab-Muslim nations. Zogby is paid to get results, basically.

Read this blog on the topic:

http://polipundit.com/wp-comments-popup.php?p=12556&c=1

And I'd like to say also, that once again, I am not at all surprised to read someone trying to break this taint upon Islam down to a racist agenda by talking about this from an Arab perspective. Who is demonizing the Arab world? I hardly even think the word Arab. I hardly even utter the word Arab. I have known many good Arab-Americans and a couple of them were Muslims, but most were secular or Christian. That's just how it has been. No attempt on my part to sort them out.

The topic of the violence fueled by Islam has NOTHING to do with the Arab race. In reality, the Arab and the Israeli Jew are often closely related from the same ancient Semitic stock. Haven't you ever wondered how it is that the best of the Israeli Secret Service, Mossad, are able to blend into Arab environment virtually undetected?

Don't try to play the race card, Mr. Zogby. It makes you look like an ass.

Posted by: Foehammer at March 9, 2006 9:14 AM

Zogby has lost all credibility in my eyes. He seems to think that it is more important to fight perceived racism than real fascism. He probably thinks there is nothing worse than hurt Arab feelings, not even a mushroom cloud over an American city.

Posted by: tokyobk at March 9, 2006 9:21 AM

People must have been listening to Wafa Sultan.

http://muttawa.blogspot.com/ will link to MEMRI TV and gives you the ID's of the clips 783 and 1050, I am in total awe of this fantastic woman and so is the Religious Policeman!!!

Posted by: Daffersd at March 9, 2006 9:23 AM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11741730/#survey

Well, well, well. As of my live vote just seconds ago, the statistics at MSNBC read:

How do you view Islam? * 19379 responses

Favorably. 11%

Unfavorably. 79%

I'm not sure. 10%

---------------------

Approaching 20,000 votes and 80% negative? Kind of makes you wonder about the validity of that Washington Post-ABC poll now doesn't it?

Posted by: Foehammer at March 9, 2006 9:23 AM

Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing
Poll Numbers in U.S. Higher Than in 2001

When I see a headline like that my first thought is: counter attack. I first assume the writer is pushing the muslim agenda of “we are misunderstood” and “only a small minority do these things” “we need to limit free speech when it causes tension” you get the idea. Think about them demanding the cartoons not be published and the attempt to misdirect us with “we demand apologies”. I am never surprised when I see them counter the truth. The biggest fear they have is for us to question islam. We have negative perceptions? When exactly did we have a favorable one? Maybe, Sept 10th? I have seen this same tactic used to explain gang violence, some kid after he/she is caught explains his or her actions as “I had to represent”. You don’t have to “represent” you don’t have to support terror, you don’t have to demand free societies bend to your view and except your way of life. You don’t have to whine when your actions are resisted. You don’t have to teach your children to hate everyone you disapprove of. You don’t have to teach your children that living in the west on welfare is a better life than staying home and helping to build a real economic base. You don’t have to beg your victims to show tolerance.

Here is a thought, lets build better relations and improve your image. Build a few churches and synagogues in the Middle East. Protect them from your small minority who will resist the effort to build tolerance and improve your image. Promote the idea of muslims trying other religions not to convert, to show “understanding”. Give up some of the oil money to the American Red Cross, they can use the help and it shows support for the USA. Start firing clerics who teach intolerance. I understand we don’t properly translate Arabic and don’t understand the true meaning of their words. But you understand it, put them on unemployment, and take away the audience. I don’t really think your “Image” is the problem. Our understanding your true nature is the problem. The truth will bring the downfall of islam.

Posted by: Ronin at March 9, 2006 9:33 AM

Robert,

That's an inspired five-point program. You've managed to do it in only five points when most programs require 140% more points yet can't brag about success rates.

Not only am I confident it would work, but why hasn't anyone thought of it before?

Posted by: Beagle at March 9, 2006 9:35 AM

I had absolutely no clue about Islam before 9-11. But after having read enough of the texts, along with a look at Islamic history, it's difficult to not come to the conclusion that it is a cult of death and encourages intolerance of all other peoples, in one verse after another. The writers who claim that Islam was tolerant sort of gloss over the fact that the required poll tax is basically an extortion racket or what the mob would call "protection" money.

I am not saying that their is not some intolerance and nonsense in the Christian texts, but these are IGNORED by the majority of Christians. But there is no comparison with the Quran for encouraging violence and intolerance.

Actions speak louder than words anyway. Just thankful that their are brave writers and scholars out there who continue to point these things out.

Posted by: amana39 at March 9, 2006 9:43 AM

The percentage of Americans that have no trust or respect for Islam and Muslims is probably closer to 75% if not 85%.

Too many individuals will not say anything negative due to the ingraining of PC, but PC is dying due to fear for their safety and the safety of America from Islamic terror.

The common American does not separate the acts of terror and the violence across the world including the senseless murders over the cartoons by Muslims from Islam.

It is starting to work. JW needs to be actively planting the seeds of knowledge across America and the western civilizations.

The Texican.
Freedom, the only choice at any cost.

Posted by: Texican at March 9, 2006 9:57 AM

"My (highly-educated) colleagues would
consider me very prejudiced and even racist if
they knew that I frequent an website such as
this."
-- from a posting above

Not "highly-educated" nearly enough.

Posted by: Hugh at March 9, 2006 10:03 AM

TaTa for several hours, got to go work so I can pay taxes and keep my internet service on.

Keep it up.

The Texican.

Posted by: Texican at March 9, 2006 10:03 AM

Are those highly educated colleagues functionnaires for the EU by any chance?

Posted by: Daffersd at March 9, 2006 10:17 AM

Pre Muslim mutiny: Figures from the MSNBC poll

How do you view Islam? * 35018 responses


Favorably.
12%

Unfavorably.
78%

I'm not sure.
10%

Posted by: Asylum inmate at March 9, 2006 10:18 AM

Muslims burn, rape, murder, pillage, saw off heads, fly planes into buildings, kidnap, torture, mass murder, burn down churches, burn down embassies, female genital mutilation, praise hitler, throw acid into faces of Muslim women, beat Muslim women, beat non Muslim women, hang teenage girls, drag bodies through the streets. And the Muslims wonder why about half of America believes Islam is violent?

1. Stop committing violent acts. (won't happen)
2. Stop justifying those violent acts by reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah.(won't happen)
3. Stop saying violent or hateful things in private when you think no non-Muslims are around.(won't happen)
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.(won't happen)
5. Actively work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.(WON'T HAPPEN. )

Jeff Davis

Posted by: MississippiMud at March 9, 2006 10:19 AM

to the above post about "how to think like an Arab" is pure bunk! l dont care what the Arabs think, l dont want to know how to think like one, and have enough information from learning their koran! Western people are getting it, we judge on deeds, and not what you say. enough of this pc puke, they say one thing, and do another. l know the results of their hatred towards non muslims, to know it is evil. even before 9-11, l did not trust this cult, as l had read and heard enough of what they did to women, and westerners in general. some people are still alseep after 9-11 and politicians as well.
l am glad that my parents instilled in me with enough common sense to judge the actions of those who say one thing and do another. Even the so called moderates when you hear them talk about Jews it makes me cringe! l am not Jewish, but you know from histroy they have been the scapegoats for all that has gone wrong. l once told a Jewish friend of mine, a very liberal lawyer, that l respected their religion, as they did not go around and try to convert people! the arab culture became more known to us westerners, because they sit on oil! their culture is one of a dying/death, and with technology they will revert back to obscurity!

Posted by: Lulu at March 9, 2006 10:20 AM

How do you view Islam? * 35896 responses


Favorably.
12%

Unfavorably.
78%

I'm not sure.
11%

Posted by: Asylum inmate at March 9, 2006 10:20 AM

"Sometimes I wonder if the Post writers believe they are writing for adults"
...from Robert's posting

I would call it utter disrespect for their readers. Sometimes I do wonder how stupid they and the NDT think Americans are. On the other hand, when the Washington Times and NY Post elevate the journalistic competence of their own reporting, and publish editorialists like Diane West, well, the newspaper market of intelligent readers is wide open and up for grabs.

Posted by: Infidel33 at March 9, 2006 10:29 AM

Juan Cole has served up a great, steaming heap of taqiyya in his discussion of this poll. His desperation and his hatred of the United States fairly drip from the page, and the extent of his flat-out lying is truely amazing.

Here's the link. Perhaps some JW readers might like to add a few comments to Dr. Cole's rant.

Posted by: Norseman at March 9, 2006 10:37 AM

"the proportion of Americans who believe that Islam helps to stoke violence against non-Muslims has more than doubled since the attacks, from 14 percent in January 2002 to 33 percent today."

This is supposed to be encouraging? That 67% of Americans think Islam is not a problem? Five years after 911? After Madrid, Beslan, two Balis, London, scores of grisly beheadings in and out of Iraq, years of suicide bombings galore in Iraq and Israel and elsewhere? Mountains of other data of barbaric actions by Muslims in innumerable different locales around the globe?

The fact that a majority of Americans, by this poll, do not think Islam is a problem shows two things:

1) how dominant PC has become

2) that this is not merely a problem of "elites" in government and media, but infects millions of ordinary people.

Do any of you geniuses know what 67% of 300,000 million (the population of the US) is? That's how many millions of mostly ordinary Americans do NOT think Islam is a problem.

For the love of Pete, stop saying "elites"!

Posted by: Dr. Pepper at March 9, 2006 10:51 AM

Norseman

I like secular, sarcastic Muslims who don't take themselves too seriously.

Sometimes religious Muslims seem fine when they only quote peaceful passages from books but do a great job defending secular values.

I'm not a big fan of most imams or people like Juan Cole who assume I'm not trying as hard as I can to come up with reliable Muslim friends and arguments to cause an enlightenment in Islam.

Worst of all, don't pretend as though you know the true meaning of Islam and I'm some uneducated rube in Burbia.

I know the word ijtihad and wish the bearded loonies whould shut up about salaf, fitna, shirk, or da'wa and try it.

Is that clear enough?

Posted by: Beagle at March 9, 2006 11:14 AM

Qur'an, sunnah, jihad, fight tumult and oppression, dhimma, kufr, takfir, Rafidite, polytheists, Zionist, Crusader, imperialism, colonialism, Iran in 1953, Palestine -> Don't want to hear about it.

Not in favor of killing me? I'm all ears.

Posted by: Beagle at March 9, 2006 11:16 AM

Update on MSNBC Poll

How do you view Islam? * 50209 responses


Favorably.
12%

Unfavorably.
77%

I'm not sure.
11%

Posted by: Asylum inmate at March 9, 2006 11:21 AM

We read about the numerous stories where many Muslims fail to assimilate into western cultures and then on the other hand many appear to assimilate while practicing their faith. It is difficult to really understand what is in the hearts of many Muslims who live in the western world until they openly express it as did Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil, the executive director of ministerial services in the New York jail system from the article just below this one. Then you have the twenty-two-year-old Iranian student Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar who drove an SUV onto the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and deliberately tried to kill anyone to get back at the United States for killing Muslims.

We know that possibly as many as 80 PCT. of mosques in the US have been infiltrated by the radical teachings of the Waahabist sects of Islam that are financed by the masters of taquiya, and kitman; the Saudis,we know there are numerous Muslims in the US, let alone the likes of Abu Hamza who openly preached hate against the UK while living on the British welfare system.

Apparently our law enforcement will have to continue to ferret out these non assimilating malcontents when the smoke appears.
Short of WW 3, or even an imposition of Marshall law; "God forbid", they will probably be putting out these spot fires for years come to stop those who are determined to firmly adhere to the militant tenants of the Koran, and the Hadiths whever they may appear among us.

Posted by: Mackie at March 9, 2006 11:23 AM

Infidel33 wrote:

I would call it utter disrespect for their readers. Sometimes I do wonder how stupid they and the NDT think Americans are. On the other hand, when the Washington Times and NY Post elevate the journalistic competence of their own reporting, and publish editorialists like Diane West, well, the newspaper market of intelligent readers is wide open and up for grabs.

Actually, I think the truth lies more in the fact that many journalists are not nearly as bright as they attempt to make themselves appear to be.

Back in college I once did an internship at a major American newspaper. I was basically a 3rd string copy editor for a couple of months. You can not even begin to imagine my shock at the amount of errors that I would catch coming through two previous full-time staff editors! I made a joke of it, and by the end of my internship, the lead staff members that were overseeing me there basically offered a job as an editor. I scoffed at the opportunity. In my own mind at the time, I basically thought to myself, "Sorry, but I'm obviously too intelligent to be dying of boredom here as a copy editor."

I almost ran out of that newspaper office on the last day of my internship and I never went back.

True story.

Foehammer

Posted by: Foehammer at March 9, 2006 11:24 AM

Juan Cole quotes Sura Five three times.

Am I supposed to suddenly find those passages trump --- do we really need another long list featuring, but not limited to, Sura Nine?

Cole enters this debate late, angry, filled with personal venom, and without much in the way of theological support.

But somehow he's paid for information.

Posted by: Beagle at March 9, 2006 11:34 AM

"This is supposed to be encouraging? That 67% of Americans think Islam is not a problem?"
Posted by Dr. Pepper

That fact that any portion of the population views islam "negatively" is encouraging to me.

Consider this, the average American is constantly bombarded with "islam is a religion peace that has been hijacked by a few extremists". They hear this message not only from the MSM but elected officials as well (ad nauseam).

Despite this propaganda distrust grows.
People are starting to take notice, granted not as quickly as I would like, but I will take what I can get.

Posted by: Mr Ape Pig at March 9, 2006 11:40 AM

Exhort your political constituency to give up their children to be shahids as Arafish did, many times, live and on camera, and that's the impression you create.

Now that Hamas has taken over it's back to explicit incitement on PA TV.
Must be that mother of shahids they have elected to improve the American's perception of Islam.

it's all the fault of politicians and the media.
Then again if Americans watched the news on TV that showed the Indians killed in two islamic bombs attacks this week on Hindus maybe they'll blame Bush's visit and the TV reports

Posted by: Cynic at March 9, 2006 11:43 AM

1. Stop committing violent acts.
2. Stop justifying those violent acts by reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah.
3. Stop saying violent or hateful things in private when you think no non-Muslims are around.
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.
5. Actively work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.

Why would any civilised person object to any of that?
Seems shockingly simple to me. And if yu don't want to do ALL of them...feel free to catch the next plane out of our countries.

Posted by: DaveyFreak at March 9, 2006 12:00 PM

Let's remind ourselves:
Some people bring problems onto themslves!!
___________

NEW REPORT ON SAUDI GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

WASHINGTON, DC, January 28, 2005 -- Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom released today a new report exposing the dissemination of hate propaganda in America by the government of Saudi Arabia.

The 89-page report, “Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques,” is based on a year-long study of over two hundred original documents, all disseminated, published or otherwise generated by the government of Saudi Arabia and collected from more than a dozen mosques in the United States.

The report is available on the Freedom House website at: http://freedomhouse.org/religion/

The propagation of hate ideology by Saudi Arabia is known to be worldwide, but its occurrence within the United States has received scant attention until now. Within worldwide Sunni Islam, followers of Saudi Arabia’s extremist Wahhabi ideology are a distinct minority, as is evident by the millions of Muslims who have chosen to make America their home and are upstanding, law-abiding citizens and neighbors.

Read it all here:

http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/news/bn2005/bn-2005-01-28.htm

Posted by: Pass It On at March 9, 2006 12:12 PM

In his rant, Cole quotes Koran 5:82 and then says:

" It is not saying that non-Muslims go to hell-- quite the opposite."

to which I reply:

"[5.86] And (as for) those who disbelieve and reject Our communications, these are the companions of the flame."

Posted by: NoMo at March 9, 2006 12:23 PM

george_rem

If your colleagues can't tell the difference between prejudice and an opinion based on sound evidence, or between "race" and ideology/belief/value system,
then they are not "highly educated"--not even well educated. Period.

This is what's happening, folks, in our schools. Students come out unable to think in a reasoned manner and lacking essential knowledge.

Posted by: ovidius_naso at March 9, 2006 12:28 PM

James J. Zogby, president of the Washington-based Arab American Institute,is the brother of John Zogby the pollster. James Zogby is an Arab-Christian apologist for Islam.You can see him from time to time of C-Span making excuses for violent Palestinians. John Zogby the pollster was discredited during the 2004 election when he called the election for Kerry in March 2004.

As to the poll results. How can the Washington Post be surprised that Americans have a negative perception of Islam? Muslim fly planes into buildings, behead people on the internet, blow up churches,bomb commuters in London and Madrid, riot over cartoons, kill over alledged wet Korans, preach hate openly everywhere and commit atrocities on a daily basis somewhere in the world. Before 9/11 I thought Islam was one of the worlds great religions and worthy of respect.Since 9/11 Muslims have shown me just how wrong I was.

Posted by: Roxane at March 9, 2006 12:32 PM

The more on learns about Islam, from the texts of Islam itself, from the histories of Muslim conquests and subjugation of non-Muslims (such as the books by Bat Ye'or), the more one reads widely in the non-Muslim scholarship on Islam, the more wary and appalled one will become.

For something new is happening. For the last three decades at least, apologists for Islam have risen steadily to fill many places in academic departments, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom. These apologists consist of both Muslims, and of a new breed of non-Muslim "scholar" of Islam who tends to know nothing, or at least to say very little, about Islam itself, and to concentrate on such tangential and essentially trivial matters, in the larger scheme of things, as "the construction of Palestinian identity" and other matters having to do with camouflaging, through careful re-interpretation and sleight of word, the Arab Muslim Jihad against Israel (what is called here the Lesser Jihad) as a conflict of "two nationalims." Islam itself is discussed as a collection of rituals of worship, with heavy concentration on the non-threatening aspects of the Qur'an, highly selective quotation from the Qur'an and misinterpretation of the meaning even of those phrases as, for example, that "there is no compulsion in religion" and that other one, favored by Bush of Washington and Boubakeur of the Paris mosque, 5.532 (about "he who kills a man, it is as if he has killed the whole world" etc. -- a phrase taken from Judaism, but without the additional phrase added in the Qur'an, 5.533, that changes the entire meaning.

That army of apologists within MESA Nostra and others have for decades managed to keep students from learning about, much less reading, the works of Snouck Hurgronje, Joseph Schacht, Antoine Fattal, K. S. Lal, Henri Lammens, Sir William Muir, Arthur Jeffery, Tor Andreae, Aramnd Abel, Edmond Fagnan, and dozens or hundres of other authors of histories, monographs, and articles on aspects of Islam, and instead substituted the Potemkin scholarship of Esposito, the "lyrical suras" bowdlerized Qur'an of Michael Sells, the feelgood nonsense of Maria Rosa Menocal, the nonsense of Khalil Abou El Fadl, or even articles from that propaganda outlet "Aramco World" -- all of which can be found on the course syllabi at the seemingly most respectable places.

But now that bumpersticker "Question Authority" is being taken seriously, even by young students. They know that there is something wrong, when they compare what they are told about Islam, and what the evidence of their senses, or their outside reading, tells them. They, and their parents, may not always knkow quite what is wrong, how they are being mislead, the different rhetorical and other strategies designed to keep as much of the Infidel world as ignorant of Islam for as long as possible (and the Muslim apologists, helped by the vast sums spread carefully around by the Saudis, Kuwaitis, and others, have done wonders -- so far). Those students ey may never have heard the word "taqiyya" or "kitman." Their professors may have carefully kept them from finding out what the Hadith are (so much harder to explain away than the incondite, often obscure and not always fully graspable at one or two readings, Qur'an) or about the details (Asma bint Marwan, Abu Akaf, Aisha, the Banu Qurayza, Al-Hudaibiyya, the Khaybar Oasis) of the life of Muhammad, the Model of Men, uswa hasana, al-insan al-kamil.

And it is not just the texts, nor the histories. There is what anyone can learn about, any day of the week -- the latest atrocity, in India or the Moluccas, in southern Thailand or southern Sudan, in the metros of Western Europe, in schoolyards and theatres in Russia, and in the recordings made, of telephone calls, of khutbas delivered by truth-telling imams unaware that Infidels might find out, of clandestine meetings.

The Musliims of this world may have bought, directly and indirectly, many of our rulers. The other day Bill Clinton pocketed a few hundred thousand dollars for addressing an audience in Qatar, where he deplored the publication of those cartoons and, casually, unthinkingly, as is his wont about so many important matters, proceeded to express his own indifference to the Western principle of free speech. There are many people like Clinton who are, or were, in the governments of the Western world, saying and doing something to please their generous Arab hosts or patrons, or donors to presidential libraries and to private bank accounts. But there are many more people who are not recycling petro-dollars in such disgusting fashion, and they are becoming more and more fed up, with all of it --with the ex-diplomats and former government officials, with the universities that still countenance the influence of Arab money (how much longer will the administration at the Georgetown University continue to sully its name by allowing the likes of Esposito to have his "Center" use, and exploit, the seeming respectability of the Georgetown name)?

No, the contents of Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira simply cannot be hid forever. And the audiences for newspapers will not put up forever with the obvious nonsense, whether offered by editors at The New Duranty Times or The Bandar Beacon, nor the idiots who have been given columnists's slots, such as the egregious Tom Friedman. The limits of tolerance, of the stupidity and ignorance displayed by those in their brief and undeserved authority, have been reached.

All kinds of emperors have all kinds of no clothes.

Posted by: Hugh at March 9, 2006 12:40 PM

yea regarding DesertDawgN29 post, i used to have a respectable view of Islam before i learned about its roots. To be honest i never really new anything about it until what happened on 9/11. I always thought religions we somthing to bring peace to ones heart. When i learned that 9/11 was religiously motivate i begin to research Islam and found some frieghtening things. When they say the media has warped our views of Islam i say Heck NO! to that. Just by my own findings i have come to my OWN conclusion of what Islam is. History and the Quran its self have more then enough proof that this religion or "cult" rather is full of violence and anger. Islam a religion of peace...ppft! The Quran is an instruction manual on world conquest. Read it your self America. Jesus spread his word though love and forgiveness and lead by example. Muhammad beheaded those who would not listen to his hate speach.

Posted by: jawknee at March 9, 2006 12:42 PM

Lodi Terror Trial Update
With a lot of prompting from FBI agents questioning him, a man now on trial on charges of lying to cover his terrorist ties told the agents four young men in Lodi were being groomed to carry out an attack on the White House, the U.S. Justice Department headquarters and the Pentagon.
That segment of the videotaped interrogation of Lodi ice cream truck driver Umer Hayat starts in his interrogation at the FBI's Sacramento field office, after he told his questioners he once toured four terrorist training camps in his native Pakistan.

"Did they do any demonstrations for you?" Special Agent Timothy Harrison asked Hayat.

"Shooting guns," Special Agent Gary Schiff added.

"Shooting guns," Hayat echoed.

Within a very short time, the interview moved from that point to where Hayat was saying the imam at the Muslim mosque in Lodi was holding secret meetings with four local men who had trained in the Pakistani camps, including Hayat's own son, Hamid Hayat, and plotting an attack on government buildings in and around Washington, D.C.

The jury in Umer Hayat's case spent most of Tuesday and all of Wednesday watching the 10-hour videotaped interrogation that was conducted on the night of June 4 and the late morning and afternoon of June 5.

First, prosecutor David Ditch projected excerpts of the interview on a big screen. On Tuesday afternoon, defense attorney Johnny Griffin III began playing the entire interview for the jury. That process consumed Wednesday and is expected to finish this morning.

Hayat, a 48-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, is charged in a grand jury indictment with two counts of making a false statement to the FBI when he initially denied having any firsthand knowledge of Pakistani training camps and denied that his son trained at one of the camps.

Hamid Hayat, 23, also a U.S. citizen, is charged in the same indictment with providing support to terrorists by undergoing the training in 2003 and returning to Lodi in May "to wage violent jihad against persons and real and personal property within the United States."

Hamid Hayat is charged in three additional counts with making false statements to the FBI in an attempt to conceal his terrorist activity and intentions.

The Hayats, who have been in custody since their arrests June 5, have pleaded not guilty and are being tried before two juries in one courtroom.

If convicted, Hamid Hayat faces at least 23 years in prison, and Umer Hayat faces at least eight years.

Once Umer Hayat agreed that he watched trainees shoot at one of the camps, Agent Schiff said, "Practicing and going around buildings, and stuff," while gesturing as if going through a room with a weapon.

"Yes, yes," Hayat again agreed.

Agent Harrison asked, "So, this was training to go into houses and do this? Or training to go into buildings? Government buildings?"

"Mostly government buildings," Hayat replied.

"Here in the U.S.?" Harrison asked.

"Yes sir," Hayat said.

"Which, do you know which government buildings are we talking about?" Harrison asked.

"Uh, Justice," Hayat answered. "Like, Justice or immigration building or, uh, that a, like, uh, uh, government building. Whatever the important government building, you know."

"But they especially like ... Department of Justice," Harrison said.

"Yeah," Hayat said.

"No surprise," Harrison commented.

"Immigration, yeah, FBI building," Hayat added.

After further exchange, Schiff said, "So, they're going to go attack U.S. government buildings. That's what they teach at these camps."

"Yeah, White House, especially White House," Hayat said.

A few minutes later, Schiff asked who gives directions to the four Lodi men Hayat had identified as having been trained in Pakistan to wage jihad.

"Absolutely, I don't know who the boss is here," Hayat said.

After some back-and-forth on the subject, during which Hayat said the "big boss" in Pakistan is Fazlur Rehman, the opposition leader in the Pakistani parliament, Schiff said, "Well, you've got somebody in your mind. ... I can see you picturi