"While I do not agree with stereotyping any culture, I think it is fair to judge a culture based on the LAWS it enacts.  "

Agreed.  Many of these incidents we read about in the Middle East, based on religious doctrine are both inane and scary.

Quote from: Ron on August 28, 2013, 05:14

All the images are stolen. All of them have watermarks, thats not even allowed. He is a thief, so that makes the blog owner a hypocrite.

Where would the hypocrisy come in?

From sombody who thinks he know everything but just flaps his lips.

Quote from: gostwyck on August 28, 2013, 10:23

I'm quite happy to know little about Arab 'culture' to be honest.

That's unfortunate. The basis of most algebra, our number system and countless other aspects of modern "western" civilization comes directly from Arab culture. I recommend that you and others who do not like Arabs sincerely try to make friends with an Arab neighbor or co-worker before making such judgements.

I am not Arab. However I am a Muslim with many Arab associates and have studied the language. Learning about Arabs and the Arab language has enlightened me to many positive things.

It's particularly 'unfortunate' that Arabs have just been indiscriminately gassing thousands their own women and children too. That's a 'culture' that I'm struggling to admire. The number system and other aspects were a very long time ago.

Richard Dawkins encapsulated the situation rather succinctly in his recent tweet;

"All the world's Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though."

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/08/richard-dawkins-twitter-row-muslims-cambridge

Does stock photography define any cultural group accurately?

That's unfortunate. The basis of most algebra, our number system and countless other aspects of modern "western" civilization comes directly from Arab culture. I recommend that you and others who do not like Arabs sincerely try to make friends with an Arab neighbor or co-worker before making such judgements.

I am not Arab. However I am a Muslim with many Arab associates and have studied the language. Learning about Arabs and the Arab language has enlightened me to many positive things.

Arab culture influenced people were very advanced when compared to Europe in the 12th century. Not only in medicine, technology but they were also incredibly more tolerant than Europeans and Christians towards other peoples races and beliefs.

They brought great wealth of knowledge to some parts of Europe that allowed a couple centuries later for some countries to start exploring the world and turned Europe in what it became. This is something I've been taught in the first years of school and it's still taught here. Besides I've seen documentaries about the middle ages that can only makes us admire the Arab influenced cultures from the 12th century.

Having said that, something happened that made the Arab to stop in time when compared to the western culture. Or in fact, nothing happened. It's just that they have a set of beliefs crystallized in the form of religious texts that are indisputable and sentence to death people who defy them. Contrary to other religions, the death penalty is inscribed in texts that are so indisputable that at any time any Muslim country, no matter how advanced it may be, may regress a 1000 years just because  some people started to impose the laws of the religion people profess.

In my country, Muslims are very tolerant and there aren't any problems with them and go under the radar. They are honest, hard working and I had colleagues in school that were great kids. They are a small community too. But from what I heard from their main religious leader leads me to think that they are almost blasphemous when it comes to the interpretation of the religious laws, if we take in consideration what we hear from countries like Iran (I won't even mention the Taliban) that follow the religion more to the letter. My doubt is, how much does it take for a fundamentalist to arise and force people to act according to the religion that they affirm to have? My fear is that it's not hard to force people to commit horrible acts when they are inscribed in their religious texts.

I realise that English isn't your first language, but that's not what hypocrisy is.

"Hyoocrisy: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform"

E.g. if I proclaim myself to be against stealing and I steal, I'm a thief and a hypocrite.
If I proclaim myself to be against stealing and I murder, I'm a murderer, but not a hypocrite.

Granted, by the way, it is possibly legally satire not parody.
IANAL, so I couldn't guess which way the Law would jump on whether this use would come under:
[UK] Fair Dealing 6:3
Quoting parts of a work for the purpose of criticism or review is permitted provided that:
    The work has been made available to the public.
    The source of the material is acknowledged.
    The material quoted must be accompanied by some actual discussion or assessment (to warrant the criticism or review classification).
    The amount of the material quoted is no more than is necessary for the purpose of the review.

But that's in the UK, and other countries no doubt have different laws. Also, the results of legal cases sometimes astound me and others. I'd say this was a work of criticism, but who knows?

... but they were also incredibly more tolerant than Europeans and Christians towards other peoples races and beliefs.

This idea is just as common as false. If you look at the aggressive spread of Islam, so the path is accompanied by pogroms against Christians and Jews. A good example is the history of Jerusalem before the Crusades.

Quote from: roede-orm on August 29, 2013, 11:05

Quote

... but they were also incredibly more tolerant than Europeans and Christians towards other peoples races and beliefs.

This idea is just as common as false. If you look at the aggressive spread of Islam, so the path is accompanied by pogroms against Christians and Jews. A good example is the history of Jerusalem before the Crusades.

Well, where I'm from during the Muslim occupation period (high middle-age) people were able to keep their religion and Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in the same spaces even if the non-Muslims had to pay a tax to be able to practice their religions. Considering the time we're talking it was a very tolerant scenario.

In fact there are writings from the Christian Knights describing this and stating the "horror" and "filth" of all those religions living all together in the same space. Their attitude was so intolerant that were places where Christians allied with the Muslims to fight the Christian Knights.

But it's also true that these Muslims were not Arabs but other cultures professing the Muslim religion. Even today they are among the most tolerant people among Muslims. That may make a difference.

This is certainly true as regards the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, c. 800 AD to 1492 AD. In fact, there was an early "renaissance" in Spain in the 12th Century. Education, art, science, etc, all flourished for a time.

The conquering Arabs treated the indigenous people, almost all Christians and Jews, with considerable tolerance and respect. Certainly more respect and consideration than did the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand and Isabella) and their successors once they successfully reconquered the peninsula in the late 15th Century.

In a previous life, I taught Spanish language, linguistics, and culture, so I do know whereof I speak in this.

Quote from: TheBlackRhino on August 28, 2013, 16:47

That's unfortunate. The basis of most algebra, our number system and countless other aspects of modern "western" civilization comes directly from Arab culture. I recommend that you and others who do not like Arabs sincerely try to make friends with an Arab neighbor or co-worker before making such judgements.

I am not Arab. However I am a Muslim with many Arab associates and have studied the language. Learning about Arabs and the Arab language has enlightened me to many positive things.

Arab culture influenced people were very advanced when compared to Europe in the 12th century. Not only in medicine, technology but they were also incredibly more tolerant than Europeans and Christians towards other peoples races and beliefs.

They brought great wealth of knowledge to some parts of Europe that allowed a couple centuries later for some countries to start exploring the world and turned Europe in what it became. This is something I've been taught in the first years of school and it's still taught here. Besides I've seen documentaries about the middle ages that can only makes us admire the Arab influenced cultures from the 12th century.

Having said that, something happened that made the Arab to stop in time when compared to the western culture. Or in fact, nothing happened. It's just that they have a set of beliefs crystallized in the form of religious texts that are indisputable and sentence to death people who defy them. Contrary to other religions, the death penalty is inscribed in texts that are so indisputable that at any time any Muslim country, no matter how advanced it may be, may regress a 1000 years just because  some people started to impose the laws of the religion people profess.

In my country, Muslims are very tolerant and there aren't any problems with them and go under the radar. They are honest, hard working and I had colleagues in school that were great kids. They are a small community too. But from what I heard from their main religious leader leads me to think that they are almost blasphemous when it comes to the interpretation of the religious laws, if we take in consideration what we hear from countries like Iran (I won't even mention the Taliban) that follow the religion more to the letter. My doubt is, how much does it take for a fundamentalist to arise and force people to act according to the religion that they affirm to have? My fear is that it's not hard to force people to commit horrible acts when they are inscribed in their religious texts.

Well said.  I know lots of muslims and no problem with them whatsoever.  Like you, I would consider that, at the time of the crusades, arab culture was way ahead of the west but western states have evolved and arab states haven't.  Every other race and culture gets parodied so why not arab (apart from the fact that, uniquely, it could get you killed).  If western states showed the same tolerence for other peoples' beliefs as they do, they might have valid cause for complaint.

The one with no sins should start throwing stones someone wise enough said long ago.

He didn't say only the perfect could call out social injustices.

Today's news, and this is the scary part. What laws?

BAGHDAD (AP) � The mob strung up the suspected terrorist's shirtless body by the feet and set it ablaze on a street on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, a tire placed underneath to fuel the flames. In grainy footage of the immolation this week, police appeared to do little to stop the vigilantes' street justice.

In another video issued in recent days, jihadi militants who took over a major highway in western Iraq stop three Syrian truck drivers, interrogate them, then gun them down, believing them to be members of the Alawite sect.

Why can't we all just get along?

"While I do not agree with stereotyping any culture, I think it is fair to judge a culture based on the LAWS it enacts.  "

Agreed.  Many of these incidents we read about in the Middle East, based on religious doctrine are both inane and scary.