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Arab unity will never happen.

Reader comment on item: Reflections a Year after Hosni Mubarak's Resignation
in response to reader comment: As my esteemed father used to say...

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Feb 12, 2012 at 13:42

Dear Dr Pipes:

Reader Sara argues that Arab unity is a threat to us. She also argues that it will never happen. That may very well be true. Certain ingredients necessary for unity are simply missing in that part of the world. I will cite a few of those:

1. Unity requires that people resolve their differences without violence and with peace. Even though Islam is advertised as a religion of peace, in practice, peace and non-violence is not used as a tool to resolve problems in Islam. For example, recently Salman Rushdie planned to address a literary festival in India over a video link, a 'blood bath' was threatened by Islamists and no one among Indian muslims opposed the idea of the blood bath in any significant way.

2. Unity requires people to behave with symmetry (golden rule). While it is difficult for people to always follow golden rule, the more often it is followed the better. And it should always be in our psyche. Certain principles of Islam are epitomes of unsymmetry. Islam is openly against identical treatment of sexes. It is openly against symmetric treatment of minorities. So for most of us determining what is good and what is bad is relatively easy (if it is unsymmetric it is bad; if it is symmetric it is good). It becomes a difficult problem for Muslims. For them the rule probably becomes that if it is good for Islam and Allah, it is good otherwise it is bad. The latter is a much more difficult question to answer.

3. Unity requires moderacy. For instance, the US constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. Most modern societies have adopted this principle in their legal system. The cost of cruel punishments for a society is higher than its rewards. Chopping the hands of a thief adds one maim person to the society. That cost is higher than its rewards. Sharia is far removed from the 'middle path' that so many of us value in the buddhist path.

4. Unity requres democracy and freedom of expression: When people know that they are free to think and express their opinions and their opinions count, they are willing to live with unity and peace. Freedom of thought and expression is severely missing in the Islamic societies.

So unity will come to Islamic nations if they increase their reliance on non-violence, symmetry, moderacy, and freedom. And if unity comes to them under these four principles they will not be a threat to anyone.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (21) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
I've Become a Culturalist [84 words]Kepha HorMay 31, 2012 05:42195933
3People of Egypt [91 words]andreFeb 23, 2012 00:40193573
Mubarak gone [84 words]cycling jerseyFeb 22, 2012 02:02193553
1Sadly the "Arab Spring" is fake. [63 words]Phil GreendFeb 17, 2012 15:32193428
Only a matter of time [61 words]stanley bFeb 14, 2012 18:49193373
Wolves that cried wolf [48 words]Jay1Feb 13, 2012 21:40193362
"if you are pro-Arab, you must be anti-Arab regimes", etc. [67 words]MarkFeb 12, 2012 10:29193324
1Mirage of Democracy [187 words]cindy'Feb 12, 2012 00:07193307
Arab "Spring" --- into what? [79 words]stanley BFeb 11, 2012 18:46193301
The Bigoted 'Infidels winter' (AKA Arab Spring) [387 words]MariaMay 25, 2012 15:45193301
5As my esteemed father used to say... [29 words]saraFeb 11, 2012 18:44193300
5Arab unity will never happen. [417 words]PrashantFeb 12, 2012 13:42193300
1True indeed, Prashant [38 words]saraFeb 12, 2012 18:46193300
Arab Unity [51 words]zebilasJan 12, 2014 16:20193300
3February 11 -is to be Celebrated. [145 words]Michael Hanni MorcosFeb 11, 2012 18:40193299
1REFLECTIONS AFTER ONE YEAR OF MUBARAK 'S RESIGNATION [93 words]samFeb 11, 2012 17:05193297
Please debunk the heck out of the debunker [920 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
richard bloomFeb 11, 2012 13:41193293
3Palestinian Textbooks [67 words]saraFeb 18, 2012 21:56193293
Another "Occupation" in the Making? [128 words]Liz WagnerFeb 11, 2012 11:00193292
Item 6 [35 words]Barry BlackFeb 11, 2012 10:45193289
4Islam is the problem. [64 words]Ralph C Whaley MDFeb 11, 2012 08:20193287

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