Emirati professor: Arab world is "a big prison"

[qatarperegrine]

A political science professor from the UAE made some scathing comments about the Arab world at a conference on democracy and development held here yesterday. "We have a surplus of violence," he said, citing the (somewhat perplexing) statistic that Arab world contains 4% of the world's population but 36% of its violence.

He also said, in the words of the newspaper, that "the region is full of tyrants and notorious for large-scale violation of human rights" and likened the Arab world to "a big prison." Meanwhile, a former Bahraini minister said that "We have corrupt political and financial systems and weak and backward societies."

Gosh.

Coincidentally, we're learning about the Arab world in Arabic class this week, too. On Sunday we learned that the Arab world has tharawaat kathira wa quwwa kabira, much wealth and great strength. The next lesson explains that the Arab civilization is responsible for the spread of science and literature, and that its libraries 'aghnat al'alam kullah, enriched the whole world.

Somehow, these things are all true.

Comments

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What kinda of prisons (when compaired to my current country, the USoA) do they have? And what kind of treatment programs do they have for 'social' crimes? Do they label all forms of dissent as criminal? Are their degrees of crime, liken to a misdemeanor or felony?

I feel that you may not get to see much American media coverage of that part of the world, and I can hardly say that I do as well. Yet, I feel that alot of 'hearsay' is tranposed into 'fact' by the American media coverage.

In my history classes and books that I have read, the Moorish society has provided a huge advancment towards what is considered scientific method. Has contributed to the mathematics, literature and arts a great deal more at the time of the 'dark ages' of the Western European world.

The Moors are not all of Arabic descent geographically, much from Northern Africa, and Asia Minor. As well as the regions of the world close to Asia and South Asia.

I believe that the current situations in that part of the world seem more dramatic, when compaired to American history. Where we have gated communities, a huge problem of Class War, poverty levels way out of control, legislation and political organizations horribly corrupt (and by no means as bad as it COULD be, but seems to be degenerating towards more corruption...).

American history revolved around 3 great wars, and we take pride in this. The American Revolution, Cival War, and WWII. We have entire television channels devoted to War. We also have entire television channels devoted to Law and Order (not just the series). American history revolves around the use of Power to Oppress the Weak (Meak).

Only during the times of War, we elaborate on the 'goodly' deeds; such as the aboloshment of Slavery, protecting the Jews and Peoples of Western Europe, throwing of the shackles of a corrupt government (No taxation without representation!).

... I feel like I could write a paper on the differences between my perception of American Culture and that of the Rest of the World.

I find your journal to be of great importance to me, and the articles/issues that you put in it are thought provoking and inspired. Thank you.

The % of violence.

[(Anonymous)]

and 62% of it is in occupied Palestine.
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