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It May Be Drivel, But ..........

Reader comment on item: Ali Mazrui, Antisemite

Submitted by Ron Thompson (United States), May 25, 2010 at 18:43

In Daniel Pipes' report of Brendan Goldman's comments on a Marzui quote, I was very intrigued when Goldman said, "He [Marzui] was more interested in why 'Arabs lagged behind Jews in manifest genius' ".

It's been a long time since I can remember anybody frankly addressing one of the bigger 'pink elephants in the room' regarding Arab/Israeli relations. Namely, that a great deal of the mindless hate and violence many if not all Arabs feel toward Jews in general and Israelis in particular is due to rampant envy, conscious and unconscious, of Jewish accomplishments compared to the ongoing multiple dysfunctionalities of Islamic Arab civilization.

I can recall that when the Jewish experiment was underway in earnest after World War I, many Arabs flowed into Palestine not, as I initially thought, to fight Jews, but to find work toward a better life. But then Hussein, the Mufti of Jerusalem and one of the more triumphantly evil figures of the 20th century, managed, with unremitting religious intolerance, hatred, violence, and the killing of reasonable ('moderate') Arab Palestinians, to halt and reverse the process of accommodation that had actually been unfolding.

It would of course be a monumental sin of political incorrectness to actually say that many Arabs and Muslims would like to destroy Israel just to remove the offensive example of a far more accomplished society, whose mere existence is a standing rebuke to their political and economic backwardness. And, perhaps even deeper, the terrible Islamic and tribal treatment of half their population, the women.

So to have a well-known figure actually bring up this radical disparity of achievement ever since the drive to Israeli statehood was launched, and achieved, even if he tried to explain it away with a hodge-podge of statements that can be described as drivel, should perhaps be seen as an opportunity to discuss manifest facts, rather than dismissed by calling all his comments Anti-Semitism.

I think something much more interesting could be seen in his comments, and the initiative that might be launched from them. Such as, 'Just what are the reasons for the far greater levels of accomplishment by Jews in their own land, and in the countries where they have achievments far out of proportion to their numbers? And why are Arabs still dysfunctional in their own countries, and a growing disturbance and even menace in countries where they are living in large numbers?

Surely there is an enormous amount to discuss here, precisely on the basis of Marzui's quote cited above.

Ron Thompson

Submitting....

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Reader comments (35) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Mazrui is a Classic Hypocrite [188 words]UkoAug 27, 2014 16:54217451
Makes me think of an ethic joke... [236 words]Peter HerzMay 26, 2010 10:44173416
Mazrui a scholar? [53 words]David NatanelMay 26, 2010 08:45173412
Not worth the paper it's written on [63 words]Mark D.May 25, 2010 21:22173403
1It May Be Drivel, But .......... [419 words]Ron ThompsonMay 25, 2010 18:43173395
Where's the White House [61 words]AlexMay 25, 2010 17:59173389
What Value is There of Intelligence that Works Against ANY Sector of Humanity? [418 words]M. ToveyMay 25, 2010 16:53173388
Stop the slogans and answer some questions! [199 words]Frank AdamMay 25, 2010 14:59173379
Ali, All Wrong [41 words]Sir Daniel M.J. TobinMay 25, 2010 12:09173375
One thing missing from his resume? [10 words]Sam DeakinsMay 25, 2010 07:25173358
Wrong direction [135 words]Doug GreenerMay 25, 2010 04:23173354
True Racisme [233 words]Cherif El-AyoutyMay 25, 2010 02:52173351
This is an excellent point [45 words]David LMay 27, 2010 11:16173351
ACADEMIC DEGENERACY [32 words]DAVID R.GROESBECKMay 25, 2010 01:23173349
Tell me please... [23 words]NancyMay 25, 2010 01:13173348
Ouch! [55 words]Merry WhitneyMay 25, 2010 00:50173347
Anti-Semitism and the Facts... [236 words]SarahMay 24, 2010 23:43173341
All the way down to the gutter [113 words]Abu NudnikMay 24, 2010 21:58173339
Mazrui a Rank antisemite [111 words]Nenette GrunbergMay 24, 2010 21:15173338
Where do they get these people? [104 words]Seamus Dafydd Dives MacNemiMay 24, 2010 20:25173336
The Threat [76 words]Mark D.May 24, 2010 20:23173335
1Academia under siege by Arab lies in the name of Allah [480 words]Carmen Waggoner, Ph.D.May 24, 2010 18:27173332
Maghreb-Atlas Arabs from Jews [120 words]Gábor FränklMay 29, 2010 05:40173332
1EUROPE HAS LOST IT'S COURAGE [56 words]MMAug 22, 2010 20:29173332
Being a rank antisemite is just what Mazrui required to boost his credentials . [51 words]M.D.May 24, 2010 18:21173331
Academic Freedom -- Academic Integrity [55 words]James S. OppenheimMay 24, 2010 18:14173330
Nazis invented it [51 words]JimmyMay 24, 2010 17:51173328
it goes to show that one can be well educated and still be ignorant ! [110 words]Phil GreendMay 24, 2010 17:43173327
The towering Ali Mazrui [65 words]DAVID KABACHIADec 11, 2010 07:28173327
African studies [19 words]Lewis LoflinMay 24, 2010 16:06173322
FROM THE MOUTH OF A KNOW NOTHING [200 words]MannyMay 24, 2010 15:56173318
"Academia" [21 words]Fred KravitzMay 24, 2010 14:47173316
Higher ed? [228 words]Doug CorriganMay 24, 2010 14:41173315
YELLOW RACE [13 words]DAVID KABACHIADec 13, 2010 03:12173315
Unfortunate [3 words]David LMay 24, 2010 14:40173314

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