Arab Self Image

The Arab News of Saudi Arabia carried this wonderful piece today.

Anyone following the Arab media today, whether written or visual, will quickly realize that we Arabs have a very serious problem. The problem is that we have an almost pathological aversion to accepting any responsibility for our present condition. Never before have we been so weak or irrelevant. We blame all and sundry for this. It is a Zionist plot or an American plan or, an increasingly popular excuse this, the repressive regimes who rule most Arab countries. A stranger to the Arab world who was listening to us would come to believe that we are innocent victims of international hatred and contempt.

A very insightful and heart felt analysis. He continues later with

The constant and desperate search by the Arabs for a superman, a hero who will rise up and lead them to glory such as Nasser or — until recently — Saddam are symptoms of this serious illness. For it is upon the shoulders of such men that the Arabs want to lay responsibility. If these men succeed then well and good, but if they fail, then the Arabs can easily disown them and wash their collective hands of them. They can then continue to moan and wail about how they are never given a chance.

Indeed. When will Saladin return? Read the whole thing. It's short. It's perfect.