— A lot the the discussion about America’s enemies in the Middle East since 9/11 has revolved around Islam, and whether it’s an inherently defective religion or not. Since most of the hatred comes from Arab countries, and isn’t evenly distributed around the Islamic world (most Muslims are not Arabs), it’s occurred to me that the problem isn’t Islam or anti-Zionism as much as it’s Arab Tribalism. Islam adapts itself to local beliefs and mythology. One of the people Tom Friedman talked to on his recent trip to Saudi Arabia echoes this notion (
A Traveler to Saudi Arabia)
“The tribal mentality here is very strong, and in the desert, when the tribe is attacked, you’d better stick together or you’re dead. People know there are problems with our [Islamic] education system, and part of them is glad you’re raising it. But they feel under attack, so they won’t talk frankly to you [or want to be seen as making] changes because you demand them. The real problem is not the books, but the preachers who use their Friday sermons to tell [young] people that America wants to destroy Islam.
This link came from the VodkaPundit.