confession time
Reader comment on item: Middle Eastern Political Candor

Submitted by Rebecca Moulds (United States), Apr 9, 2008 at 17:21

It boggles the mind that someone like Hassan bin Talal, who is obviously a high-profile person, would admit to lying being typical of Byzantine civilisation. Statements like this of an aberrant nature are uncommon to most people, not only Arabs, and curiously disturbing.

However, this reminds me of the Arab Muslim butcher in the UK who told me that women shouldn't wear short skirts, because men "can't help themselves." In other words, he condemned all men as untrustworthy and weak creatures, including himself. So bin Talal's statement is just as vilifying as the butcher's. If it's true, does that mean that we cannot trust Arabs, they they truly are "professional liars" ? If this was merely Hassan bin Talal's opinion, then he had better rephrase it or dismiss the statement as a silly joke.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.