Arab Tribalism

Submitted by Gloria Stewart (United States), Jan 26, 2008 at 18:33

The article by Dr. Pipes is excellent as usual as are the comments. I would like to add some more.

In a tribal society progress is virtually impossible regardless of the religion it practices or its geographic location. A tribe by its definition and its very structure has a built in antagonism toward strategic planning, innovation and initiative. Thus it is condemned to stagnation.

Arabs are tribal people. Even though today there are more non-Arab Muslims than Arab Muslims, Islam was born, nurtured and grew in Arab culture, and Arab values still infuse it. Islam itself, under the kindest of analyses, is not a religion. It is a creed and one that, like Communism and National Socialism, carries within itself the seeds of tyranny.

Our leaders, including President Bush - especially President Bush - do not have a clue about the nature of Islam. Or so I must judge by their pronouncements and policies. One wonders how much worse things ,must get before our leaders wake up.

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