First, my argument is a secular one. I am in no way engaging in any religious debate of what Islam thinks of “Arabs”, be it positive or negative. You have a Quranic verse that, according to your claim, supports your argument, because it happens to agree with it.

Even supposing that is the case, that would be a different argument, the Islamic views of the Arabs.

Again, I never claimed we are heading nations in progress, or that we do not have material problems, which is what your reply above consisted of.

I’m just against blaming them on “Being Arab”.

From الميزان في تفسير القرآن I quote:

قال الراغب في المفردات،: العرب ولد إسماعيل، و الأعراب جمعه في الأصل، و صار ذلك اسما لسكان البادية: «قالت الأعراب آمنا» و الأعراب أشد كفرا و نفاقا.

و من الأعراب من يؤمن بالله و اليوم الآخر»، و قيل في جمع الأعراب: أعاريب، قال الشاعر: أعاريب ذوو فخر بإفك.

و ألسنة لطاف في المقال.

و الأعرابي في التعارف صار اسما للمنسوب إلى سكان البادية، و العربي المفصح و الإعراب البيان، انتهى موضع الحاجة.

يبين تعالى حال سكان البادية و أنهم أشد كفرا و نفاقا لأنهم لبعدهم عن المدنية و الحضارة، و حرمانهم من بركات الإنسانية من العلم و الأدب أقسى و أجفى، فهم أجدر و أحرى أن لا يعلموا حدود ما أنزل الله من المعارف الأصلية و الأحكام الشرعية من فرائض و سنن و حلال و حرام.

If anything, if god notes that الأعراب أشد كفراً ونفاقاً for the reasons noted above, I believe we have enough grounds to support my opinion that my statement is not racist but factual. However, I should stress the fact that this is merely my own personal opinion that I have formed because of the reasons I have noted in my post above.

That said, I have three other points I need to answer before sealing this post once and for all:

1. Fixes:
I truly believe that any nation that needs to move forward needs to come up with that will from within and that my dear we lack. Even the “democracy” that we brag and swank about was forced upon us, our educational system, all the pillars we need for us to stand up as a nation are simply not there. Reasons I don’t want to repeat.

2. Attitude:

Forgive me, I personally can not..

Culture, beliefs, ignorance, all of these adjectives you referred to has nothing to do with “Arabness”. You ask what breeds extermism and hate, and I can confidently answer that it sure is not “Being Arab”.

I am implying that there are magical “fixes”, but I honestly think the change comes from within, for you, me and everybody.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not calling for us to live in denial of failures, I sure am for recognizes where things went wrong and what exactly went wrong, but I see little point in saying that our whole being is doomed because it happens to be.

You point out to the sympotoms of the problems we have, racism, extermism, intolerance, etc. I agree there, I just disagree on your “causation” part. It is not because “we are Arabs”.

Don’t you think our attitude towards ourselves is one of the main reason for our failure? How can we ever change if we deeply believe that we “cannot” change and that it’s all “hopeless” and “there is nothing we can do about it”? That thinking is what tied us back to where we are and dragged us to square one.

I’ll skip the Quran verse part, that wasn’t the context of the discussion.

Now.. more elaboration, when I say the problem is with us being Arabs, I mean the community, the traditions, the جاهلية the بداوة that still lives within us, the تعصب and the list goes on. What do you think breeds those religious extremists, what breeds the hate? The sectarian divides that is growing by day? We still fight regarding country border issues, our local forums, blogs and online contribution consists of swearwords, curses and all sort of racist comments.. I seriously don’t want to go on with this..

And a fix you say?

الأَعْرَابُ أَشَدُّ كُفْرًا وَنِفَاقًا وَأَجْدَرُ أَلاَّ يَعْلَمُواْ حُدُودَ مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ – التوبة 97

What fix! There is no magical solution for us to fix how backwarded we are, unless it comes from within it will simply not happen.

How can the problem be that “We are Arabs”? We are Arabs, so, how is that, THE problem? If that is indeed the problem, then there is no fixing.

For a starter, what does being Arab mean? Is it the race? the language? both? either? How can language or race be blamed for problems? Don’t you think there is a very hasty generalization there?

“We” are not all the same. We are also not all Muslims. Or all “backwards” either.

You say we’re handpicked by security officers, which I cannot disagree with. You say we get sub-par treatment merely for being Arab. Again, I hate discrimination too. But isn’t your post above kind of excuses, almost endorses, the idea that “Arabs” deserve “special” treatment because they are, in short, the problem?

Sorry Kactuz, “I have been hard on you but it needs to be done.”

If pricks like you realized how little education and knowledge they have on some subjects, they’d be less willing to take the pen and voice hurtful, offensive ideas, the cause of so much trouble on this planet!
You don’t go about voicing opinions about nuclear sciences or mathematics online, because you never attended any classes on these matters. Why would you go about making assumptions and affirmations about Islam when you never attended any class on that specific religion?! But still you do! How arrogant of you!

WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT GOD SAYS IN THE QURAN ?! WHAT AUTHORITY OR KNOWLEDGE DO YOU HAVE?!

Just shut up!

Again, sorry Kactuz, “I have been hard on you but it needs to be done.”

Being Muslim means that you are part of an ideology that bombs weddings, blows up mosques, murders you sisters, kills people on the streets, mutilates girls, throws acid in women’s faces and preaches hate agaist others seven days a week. Being Muslim means you are part of a group of people responsible for a great deal of the violence in the world. Oh yes, Muslims are known to have crashed airplanes.

Being Muslim means that you pretend this is not true.

Once again there is nothing wrong with being Arab. A person is born Arab. Being Muslim, on the other hand, is a choice. It means that you have a predisposition to violence. Who knows, you may decide at any moment to follow the words of Quran 9:111. It is, after all, Allah’s command and you as a Muslims doubtless accept that Muslims are put on earth to kill and be killed. I assume you are shaking your head in agreement because those are the words of Allah and you are a Muslim.

Being Muslim also means that you must never question Islam and what it does to people and society.

Mr. Moodz, I have been hard on you but it needs to be done. If Muslims would be a little more critical of their religion, things would be a lot better for all of us.

Kactuz