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| Arabia |
| Martian Spying on the Arab World |
| 2003-08-17 |
| Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi Some of my friends accused me of living in âanother worldâ because I have not been following the events of the Superstar show now showing on the Lebanese-Saudi-owned satellite channel Future TV. This show takes the form of a competition to choose the best amateur singer in the Arab world by tallying votes cast by phone, e-mail and mobile text messages. Crowds went wild in Lebanon because the Lebanese candidate was voted out as a result of organized calling campaigns by public and private Syrian and Jordanian authorities. I imagined a Martian spying on the Arab world and speculated on what he would write about us: âAfter examining domestic and international records of economic and societal conditions in the Arab world, I found out that unemployment rates reach over 40 percent, even in countries rich in natural resources. The gap between rich and poor is getting wider, with 10 percent of the population owning 80 percent of resources. The Arab world is not only poor by international poverty standards, but it is also extremely poor in its scientific and cultural productivity. âFor the last 500 years, it has not produced any significant scientific contribution to human civilization. Since the fall of Andalusia, the southern part of Spain, it is living on the remnants of other civilizations, depending on other nations for just about everything â from the needle to the rocket. People in the Arab world eat what they donât cultivate, dress in what they donât make and reside in what they donât build. This absolute dependence encouraged others to occupy and exploit their countries and kept them in the dark ages. âDespite all these serious failings, one gets a different impression when one follows their media. Arabs are busy following sports and entertainment news. They spend on such activities more than they do on universities and academic institutions. People demonstrate not to demand social justice, human and political rights or revolt against state oppression and failures, but rather to chant slogans in support of the candidacy of a singer. This is happening in an Arab country, Lebanon, whose capital and southern borders are periodically subject to military strikes from a historical enemy, Israel. âWhat is more baffling is that governments and elites share this interest to the extent that they allocate free international telephone lines, organize campaigns and encourage citizens, rich and poor, privileged and oppressed, working and unemployed, to call and vote for their national hero or heroine âto preserve the honor and good name of their countryâ. âI might be growing old and stupid and therefore I have to retire from this job, or that the Arabs really deserve what they (sic) befallen them and their place in historyâs junk yard.â Some are starting to get it: frightening demographics, a distraction culture, technological bankruptcy... One step at a time. He got himself published, which is no mean feat - especially given his message. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #9 Martians, huh? Good. Maybe they can figure out what's up with these lunatics. Hope they find a way to get us the answers if they do. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-8-17 10:43:44 PM |
| #8 This guy sounds exactly like Noam Chomsky (and I've read a lot of Chomsky in my time).Personally,I'd rather see the Arab World distracted by silly pop music than mad mullahs or left-wing ideologues like Dr. Batarfi. |
| Posted by: El Id 2003-8-17 5:31:02 PM |
| #7 The author admits a few things but only goes about 40% of the way toward admiting the problem. He leaves off the demographic disasters, he ignores the Islamist threat, he pretends that the West kept them in the dark ages. Even so, if he had written in Arabic and published in Mecca this would probably be the last published work for a long time. |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-8-17 4:19:07 PM |
| #6 This is happening in an Arab country, Lebanon, whose capital and southern borders are periodically subject to military strikes from a historical enemy, Israel. Actually, that should read: "This is happening in an Arab country, Lebanon, whose capital and southern borders are under the political and military control of a historical enemy, Syria". It's truly amazing how oblivious to reality even the so-called moderate Muslims are. I suspect some of that has to do with the fact that the Syrian occupation of Lebanon is keeping the Christians down. Without Syria, Christians would rule Lebanon. Because of Syrian occupation, Lebanese Christians are quietly migrating to the West, where their talents are better appreciated. The dirty little secret of the Middle East is that every Arab country supports the Syrian occupation of Lebanon because it helps keep Lebanon from becoming the only Christian-ruled Arab country. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-8-17 2:56:08 PM |
| #5 Most importantly, we developed the idea of letting people live their lives as they want, even if it means making a game the center of their lives. If you don't harm anyone else, no one should be allowed to tell you to stop. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-8-17 12:21:33 PM |
| #4 He got himself published, but I wonder if anyone in the Middle East will pay attention. If so, it will probably be to throw him in prison for criticizing the local "democratically elected" government. I wish I wasn't so pessimistic about the future of the Muslim Middle East, but I'm not sure I see much reason for optimism. |
| Posted by: Dakotah 2003-8-17 11:26:44 AM |
| #3 The difference is the West invented TV, distributed electric power, radio, the cathode ray tube, the antenna, the battery, the concept of the experiment... |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-8-17 10:43:59 AM |
| #2 The difernce is that the West has not been sleeping for something like 10 centuries. |
| Posted by: JFM 2003-8-17 9:25:52 AM |
| #1 Befor we start throwing stones the NFL is getting ready to open the regular season and a new spate of "reality" shows will be hitting the tube. To some degree we in the west are as quilty of this as the Arab World is. Notice I said to some degree. Sports and other entertainment as a means to take ones mind off of the stresses of daily life and allow one the pleasure of not having to think about anything beyond the "game" or "show" is fine as long as we don't let it become the center of our lives. And as an aside I wonder how many people are calling in from Iraq. Where the phones don't work, the powers always out, and theres no water. |
| Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire 2003-8-17 9:18:04 AM |