(Knowledge will not give you a part of
itself unless you give it your whole,
And in giving your whole you are treading a dangerous path).
Abu Hanifa al-No'man
(d. Second Islamic century/early 8th century AD).
In my first three books, I presented what I believe was a
comprehensive critique of socialist thinking and experiences. My
writings during this stage covered the period between 1977 and 1981.
Between 1984 and 1986, I embarked on a second stage in which I tried
to identify and analyze the myriad problems of contemporary Egyptian
life. Starting 1997, I entered a third stage in my writing, which
proceeded from the premise that the underlying cause of all our
problems is cultural in nature and has to do with methods of thinking,
the general cultural climate and educational systems. Between 1997 and
2005, I wrote extensively on what I call defects in the Arab mind-set.
Some commentators remarked that the defects I cited exist in other
societies. My response was that in highlighting certain negative
aspects of the Arab mind-set I was in no way suggesting that they were
exclusive to Arab societies. Indeed, the idea never crossed my mind,
for to believe that is to believe that these defects derive from the
organic makeup of the Arab mind, that Arabs are somehow genetically
programmed to think in a certain way, which is, of course, patently
absurd. What I believe, rather, is that these defects developed over
time as a result of historical, political, cultural and societal
conditions which, if they had existed in any other society, would have
produced the same defects, albeit to different degrees. There is no
such thing as a defective thought process determined by ethnicity; the
defects I mention are all acquired, not inborn.
My writings on this subject have been published in more than one book
in the Arabic language. This chapter includes the English translation
of much, if not all, of what I have written on the defects in the Arab
mind-set.
These defects are mainly the result of internal factors, of our
historical experience, our political, economic, social and cultural
circumstances and of the most prominent features of Arab reality
today, namely, despotism, bad governance and a sharp decline in the
educational and cultural climate. Although there is no denying that
external factors contributed to the problem, I do not believe they
brought it about. The truth is that these defects are a product of our
own societies, not of external factors.
I have written many books and articles over the last ten years about
the defects in the Arab mind-set, all of which are cultural defects
stemming from three main sources. The first is the repressive climate
that prevails throughout Arab societies, the second a backward
educational system that lags far behind modern educational systems and
the third a mass-media apparatus operated by those responsible for the
climate of political repression to serve their interests. The
following are the most obvious defects from which the contemporary
Arab mind-set suffers:
1. A lack of intellectual hospitality;
2. It is steeped in a culture that encourages conformity and
discourages diversity;
3. Limited tolerance for the Other;
4. Limited tolerance for criticism and the virtual absence of
self-criticism;
5. The adoption of stands not on the basis of their coherence,
validity or intrinsic value but on the basis of tribal or religious
affiliations;
6. Deep feelings of inequality with others in terms of results
and achievements makes for a sense of inadequacy that is sublimated
into an exaggerated and unfounded pride;
7. A tendency to indulge in excessive self-praise and to glorify
past achievements as a way of escaping our dismal reality;
8. The prevalence of what I call the ‘big-talk culture’, in which
overblown rhetoric is used to compensate for the appalling lack of
concrete achievements;
9. A lack of objectivity and the growth of individualism;
10. An unhealthy nostalgia for and escape into the past;
11. An aversion to the notion of compromise, which is deemed to be
a form of capitulation and defeat;
12. Lack of respect for women;
13. A tendency to unquestioningly accept stereotypes at face value;
14. Setting great store by the conspiracy theory and believing
that the Arabs are always the victims of heinous plots hatched against
them by their enemies;
15. An ill-defined sense of national identity: is it Arab, Muslim,
Asian, African or Mediterranean?
16. The spread of the personality cult phenomenon in Arab
societies, where the relationship with the ruler is based not on
mutual respect and accountability but on the excessive adulation, not
to say deification, of the ruler;
17. The prevalence of an insular culture that knows next to
nothing about the outside world and the real balance of power by which
it is governed, let alone the science or culture of others;
18. A lack of appreciation for the value of the bond that links
the human species together, which is their common humanity. For most
people in the region, the only bonds that count are either tribal,
sectarian or nationalistic, although humanity is the most exalted
common denominator of all;
19. The spread of a mentality of fanaticism due to a number of
factors, the most important being the tribalism that dominates the
Arab mind-set to varying degrees;
20. Finally, the Arab mind-set is not overly concerned with the
notion of freedom for the simple reason that the Arabs have enjoyed
only limited doses of political rights and civil liberties.
The twenty defects listed above are by no means exhaustive; I have no
doubt that any Middle East expert can come up with many more. However,
all these defects are acquired, which means they are amenable to
reform. Moreover, they can all be found, albeit to different degrees,
in other societies. As I mentioned, they stem from the prevailing
climate of political despotism and outdated educational and
information systems designed and operated to serve the interests of a
power structure intent on maintaining its iron grip.
These defects will continue to grow unless radical changes are
introduced to all three areas. The political system must be overhauled
with a view to providing a wider margin of freedom and allowing people
a greater say in determining the shape of their present and future.
The educational systems in force must be reorganized from the ground
up, their philosophy, curricula and methods brought into line with the
requirements of the age. Last but not least, the media must be removed
from under the thumb of government and allowed to function in complete
political and economic freedom as a credible forum for the
dissemination of culture, ideas and information.
Excellent analysis. I certainly agree such defects are acquired rather than are inbred, but defects do seem to be passed (and are even magnified) from generation to generation without some positive external force to improve or correct the situation.
I believe any society will decline without continuous positive external forces working hard to improve their situation. In other words, society is always moving in a downward spiral, and only constant, diligent and effective action to improve the situation will prevent the decline. We are in serious trouble if we think accepting the status quo is acceptable.
>>Indeed, the idea never crossed my mind,
for to believe that is to believe that these defects derive from the organic makeup of the Arab mind, that Arabs are somehow genetically programmed to think in a certain way, which is, of course, patently absurd.
Hmm. There seems to be strong evidence of a genetic component in the thought processes of other ethnic groups. Ashkenazi, for example.
Why is it so unthinkable that certain mental defects in Arabs might also be due to genetic factors, especially given the high rate of cousin marriage in these cultures?
these defects derive from the organic makeup of the Arab mind, that Arabs are somehow genetically programmed to think in a certain way,
Ditto TJ Madison. If you have generation after generation after millenia of enforced marriages between first cousins, then from a Darwinian point of view, that will weaken the strain and must lead to defects that should cause that group of people to be weaker and more likely to die out.
The tribal ethic of all the Arab countries mandates first cousins marrying because that strengthens the tribal ties and keeps all the wealth in the family. However, what we are seeing now -- especially in the more backward countries like Saudi Arabia -- are the prevalence of blood diseases, cleft palate-type hereditary birth defects, and lots of children with Downs-Syndrome (whom the terrorists are co-opting to become their suicide bombers).
We don't know how many of these genetic defects are in the current population because Arab countries can't even manage a census to count their citizens, let alone to break it out into sub-categories such as this.
However, in Saudi Arabia they are currently beginning a program to test babies after they are born for birth defects (when it's too late to do anything about it) ... and are even starting to warn people of the increased likelihood of having children with defects if cousins insist on marrying cousins.
So if the evidence is there that this forced intermarriage system has produced this sort of genetic damage within their population, then why would we assume that "the organic makeup of the Arab mind" has also not been affected?
Definitely NOT unique to the Near East. Many of these traits are shared with American leftists.
If you have generation after generation after millenia of enforced marriages between first cousins, then from a Darwinian point of view, that will weaken the strain and must lead to defects that should cause that group of people to be weaker and more likely to die out.
This is fuzzy-headed and wrong. If you have breeding that encourages mating of close relatives, the effect, over generations, will be to reduce the frequency of lethal recessive genes in that population (since those genes have a higher chance of coming together in offspring and being removed).
The negative effect is not that defects will show up, but that the frequency of useful heterozygosity will be reduced. That is, there are certain genes that are lethal if present from both parents, but beneficial if they appear with a normal gene. If the frequency of the lethal recessive gene is reduced, so is the frequency of the carriers who would have this advantage.
YOu are, of course, free to tell all those Downs-Syndrome babies with cleft palates in Saudi Arabia that my thinking is fuzzy-headed and wrong.
No. Weaken the strain? how very unscientific of you nahncee.
Outcrossing masks deleterious recessives, true, but inbreeding can advance beneficial traits as well. Check Harpending and Cochran's recent paper on increased IQ in Ashkenazi.
Perhaps Arab culture suffers from a lack of memetic variabilty, not genetic variabilty. The Qu'raan is the One Book. A caliph once said, the Qu'raan was the only book in his library, for everything neccessary is contained within it. If a book should contradict the Qu'raan, then it is false. If a book should agree with the Qu'raan, then it is redundant.
You have framed the problem well.
We know there was a glorious past.
The question is how to escape the current situation. Are there effective educational tools, no matter how insignificant now, that offer promise?
How do we teach those that reject learning to embrace openness?
Allan
Interesting that no one here has mentioned child rearing practices.
Origins of Islamic Rage.
BTW Alice Miller, quoted in my article, thinks the Germans of 1933-45 had a similar problem. The rage of children expressed in politics and war.
Really there are 3 major categories here:
threat to status, acceptance of reality, and outsiders.
All you did was list examples that may pertain more to Arabs than to others, but every culture has defects that would fit these categories just as nicely.
It's nice that you want to remove the splinter from your brother's eye, but first remove the plank from your own.
Cheers.
Er... Mr. Heggy is Arab.