good stuff
Reader comment on item: If I Forget Thee: Does Jerusalem Really Matter to Islam?

Submitted by ryan markovitz (Canada), Jul 5, 2003 at 16:18

I love reading your commentaries. Arabs and Muslims have placed themselves in a perpetual state of denial regarding every fact that pertains to the Jews and their attachment to the middle east. With these increasingly institutionally and state sponsored attitudes, it is difficult to foresee any change in the near future. It's really frustrating, because you can hold something up for them to see, and they'll still say it doesn't exist, and it is this blind and deliberate stupidity that is responsible for the polarization of middle eastern culture. The Arabs aren't even open to debate; everything is accepted from the pulpits and fiery speeches as though it would be a sin not to believe it. I was wondering if you thought there was a blink of hope for any reconciliation between Arabs and Jews, even with the creation of Palestine. Will there be a division in the Arab world, between those who accept Israel and those who don't, and what would arise out of these divisions?

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