M. E. Muslims are motivated by shame, not religion

Submitted by Michael S. (United States), Sep 4, 2014 at 01:45

Hi, Dave

I've been watching Charlie Rose interviewing Tom Friedman about the Middle East. Tom brought up a good point, which I have also heard over the years from Jay Shapiro (israelnationalnews.com):

1. that the Muslims are a shame-based society. Much of what they do is not based on religious values, common sense nor anything else we might expect to see in the West: They are motivated by a deeply-inculcated shame-based culture, which motivates them to do things as unthinkable as killing their own children in order to preserve their personal dignity. That much, I got from Jay Shapiro. What Tom brought up is akin to this:

2. The Muslim world is so far behind the Western world in technology, education, inventions (other than IEDs, etc.) and sustainable wealth (other than oil-based), that they cannot catch up without abandoning their Islamic traditions. This humiliates them in their own eyes and in the eyes of the world; and their only answer is a nihilistic desire to destroy what others have built.

Some Muslims realise what is going on, and are humbling themselves enough to bite the bullet and get on with life. When they acquire real power in that part of the world, perhaps there will be change for the better. Until that happens, though, I pity the Islamic world.

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