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.

Sirs, I am most gratefull for this candid and public appraisal of the Arab Mindset. I am a total outsider to the Arab and Hense Moslem race. I can not say whether the above Analysis is accurate or truthfull; what I can say is that it is one of the very very few that are on the Internet that make any sense to the outsider. For that I am thankfull. Now please allow me to add my own observations. When the word culture is mentioned the term MUST include thje effect that 1500 years of Islam have made to all the nations where it is in the majority. I can confidently say that taken as a group a few general truths ar paramount in Islamic society.
1)The imams CONTROL what moslems are allowed to think
2)There is only a fine line between Orthodox Islam and Radical Islam and there is only a very thin line between Radical Islam and fanatical Islam
3) After a serious loss of face (as say loosing a war) moslems turn on each other in order to prove to themselves and to the world that the "new order" resulting from the loss of that war, can not rule, and that things were better befor the loss. If Japan had done the same after WW2 she would be as impoverished as Islam generally is now.Instead Japan "picked up the baton" and ran with it till she is new the 2nd largest ecconomy in the world and Japan is respected ebverywhere.
4)There was a time in History when Islam lead the world in technology and education. The current moslem world looks "backwards" to that time and blames everyone for bringing that glories period to an end AND preventing that period repeating itself. That is a serious falicy; not even the Roman, Ming or Mongolian empires expect to rise again.Every nation gets its "day in the sun" and then fades away. Even the USA will fade away.
5) I will sound all Moslems a warning; it is Prophesied (not in the Koran) that the whole of the middle east will be invaded by the "last" world empire which has not yet arisen.That empire will have at its head a conqueror as great as Alexander the Great and as evil as Satan himself. This conqueror will be born in the Balkans, be partly Jewish and have at his command the power and might of a United Europe. I suggest Moslem get back to God and enquire how they can be spared that awefull time. Unfortunately Accoding to the prophesy Moslems will not.

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.