Daniel J. Pipes

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Shibboleth

Reader comment on item: [Khobar Rampage:] "Don't Be Afraid, We Won't Kill Muslims"

Submitted by Chris Chrisman (United States), Jun 9, 2004 at 11:21

Your article brings to mind the use of "shibboleth" in Judges 12:4-6. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed because they could not pronounce the word "shibboleth." Non-Moslems living in Saudi Arabia who happen to speak Arabic might be able to recite a verse from the Koran, say the Shahadah, or something like that -- but what about the rest of us? It would be difficult to give convincing imitation of Arabic without understanding the language.

A better approach would be to insist that Saudi Arabia (and all Moslem nations) unequivocally condemn all forms of terrorism, whether or not it is in "occupied countries," against non-Muslims, or as a quid-pro-quo.

Chris Chrisman

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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 and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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