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2010-05-06 Africa North

Egypt intellectuals slam Arabian Nights ban call

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Posted by Fred 2010-05-06 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 This is a hoot. The Egyptians as a people regard themselves as "sophisticated city folk" compared to the Bedouins, who they regard as impoverished backwoods 'Deliverence'-type banjo playing hillbillies.

Their upper classes are profoundly Francophile, and can imagine themselves discussing Sartre at some Left Bank coffee shop. So from their point of view, the comparison of the Arabian Nights with Shakespeare is not a stretch.

Sir Richard Burton's collected Arabian Nights is, from their point of view, close to 2000 years of post-Pharoic Egyptian history and culture.

The intellectual and upper classes would far rather dismiss Islam itself than despise it, just because some primitive Koran-thumper thinks it is "dirty".

Posted by Anonymoose 2010-05-06 10:46|| 2010-05-06 10:46|| Front Page Top

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