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Dec. 29, 2004 It amazes me that people in the United States and perhaps other parts of the world look upon Arabs as terrorists, extremists, fanatics and fundamentalists. Truly enough, they may appear to be such when retaliating against the United States for the decades of utterly unjustified provcations undertaken by the United States and its satellite Israel in the Middle East to accomplish and perpetuate the theft of Arab lands. But what are Arabs like when allowed to live in peace? I have no private reason to boost Arabs or Islam. I’m an American-born Cherokee-Irish atheist. But after studying Arabic for a couple of years on my own, I moved to Alexandria, Egypt, where I spent several months in 1990 and 1991. Even at that time, epithets like those mentioned above were in vogue, and, frankly, when I cycled out of Alexandria Airport with my long hair and in my biking clothes, able to read, but never having spoken a word of Arabic, and having absolutely no idea of where I was going, I was very nervous. I’d been told that I’d be beaten in the streets, and now the moment of truth had come. Two hours later, around noon, I found myself at al-Montazah. This park was the grounds of one of King Farouk’s palaces. It’s a beautiful place, walled and turreted, with a windmill and a date palm grove. I do not lie when I say that this was one of the happiest days in my life. It was a Friday, which is everyone’s day off in Egypt, and there were 5000 people in the park. By nightfall, I think I had met half of them. Groups of children, 50, 100, 200, formed circles about me, pumping me with questions, shaking hands, bowing, teasing and chanting in the most amiable way. At one point, a group of 15 college girls came running over, laughing and talking, introducing themselves. Everywhere I cycled in the park, small groups of picnickers called out to me, inviting me to join them. A party 5 or 6 women, with a dozen daughters aged 6 to 15, motioned me over and asked me to dance for them. Elderly men struck up conversations. Policemen got out of their cars to shake hands. Most of the people were Semitic, some Black, usually from the Sudan. It didn’t make a difference, all were equally merry and cheerful. There were no drugs, no drinking, no swearing, no fights, no loud quarrels. I was allowed to talk to all the women, but I immediately understood that I must always be very respectful and delicate. You just don’t get fresh or familiar with Muslim women. Fanatics? Extremists? They almost always asked my religion. I just said I was a kafir (infidel). This didn’t seem to bother anyone, and, of course, there’d always be a few teen-age boys cheering and clapping. There were a couple of people who drew me aside to tell me about Islam, but this was very friendly. In the months to come, I’d meet people from all over Araby, not only Egyptians and Sudanis, but also Libyans, Kuwaitis, Saudis and Jordanians. All seemed to share that mellow, genteel manner I would come to identify with mosques. There’s no denying that many Egyptians live in dreadful poverty, and I wouldn’t presume to say I know whether this springs from Egypt’s lack of natural resources or Egyptians’ fundamental inability to organize effectively, but this inspires a feeling of compassion and sorrow in me, not one of contempt and hatred. Why, oh why, would Americans want to make enemies of Arabs? ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non- fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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