tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30984739.post378085468044032852..comments2023-10-01T14:37:09.159+01:00Comments on Maysaloon - ميسلون: A letter to an Egyptian Liberal "Thinker"...Maysaloonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06826378383173206624noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30984739.post-10923233831455425942009-08-11T13:49:19.818+01:002009-08-11T13:49:19.818+01:00Thank you dear Arima :)Thank you dear Arima :)Maysaloonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06826378383173206624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30984739.post-46266791012472989452009-08-11T13:38:44.162+01:002009-08-11T13:38:44.162+01:00Well certainly the points he raises are not anythi...Well certainly the points he raises are not anything that hasn't been mentioned before or indeed can be noted by even the most ignorant passer by...I just wanted to cool your wrath :)Amirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10124518156966095107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30984739.post-92021229208579346242009-08-11T13:35:21.526+01:002009-08-11T13:35:21.526+01:00Hi Arima,
Thanks for bringing my attention to that...Hi Arima,<br />Thanks for bringing my attention to that. I don't think anybody could deny that there are problems in our part of the world and in the way people apply faith, but like you said the factual inaccuracies, as well as in my opinion his overall motives, make him extremely suspect. The points are excellent in themselves, but recognising them does not require a great deal of insight so I would reserve giving him credit for that! :)Maysaloonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06826378383173206624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30984739.post-14708092014321678642009-08-11T13:23:01.747+01:002009-08-11T13:23:01.747+01:00Whilst his article is shamefully factually inaccur...Whilst his article is shamefully factually inaccurate, I would say he does have several very important themes that should not be overlooked (outside the content of his article)<br /><br />1- chain weighing the Arab mindset down and preventing it from joining the march of human progress is the regressive, medieval, Bedouin understanding of religion: well I would certainly say he has a point here, especially in recent years and especially in countries like Egypt where people are excessively religious in as much as they carry out the rituals with great zeal and yet they have little understanding of the basics/ general ethics of Islam. islam is essentially a religion which promotes excellent manners and morals and compassion for one's fellow man...on an average day one would be exauhsted to count the number of times that a supposedly pious person goes against all these. Moreover, many 'religious' observances are purely tradition rather than based on real religious edicts- I do admit this seems to be more the case in Egypt than in the Levant but I guess Mr Haggy is speaking from his own experience.<br /><br />2- Haggy refers to a "cultural climate which has encouraged the spread of tribal values, including such negative values as individualism (instead of tolerance) and insularity (instead of open-mindedness)"....would you not say he has a point here...again from my own experience I believe that this is most true in Egypt than any other Arab country. In your response to his article you do not refer to this "second chain" so I am supposing you are (to some extent) in agreement?<br /><br />3-His final point I do completely disagree with...in fact I have seen many Arab religious, educational and cultural organisations calling for change, alongside the media...in fact most often they are on the frontier of such change but it is a long battle and one that requires support from the rest of the world and for this change to occur from the bottom up...it doesn't work just to send a media representative or social organisation into a small village and demand that people change their ways- and in response to his claim that it is all just an Arab "mindset that considers the call for progress and modernity a call to accept a cultural invasion and the loss of cultural specificity" i'd say this mindset exists in every culture...just take the American South, Australian outback, French farmers or the UK independence party ;-)<br /><br />So just to recap...Haggy's argument is essentially flawed if we are to evaluate it in terms of his background knowledge which confuses many historical issues together but he does bring up several excellent points.Amirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10124518156966095107noreply@blogger.com