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Almighty God! Let the Ashes of the Children incinerated in Auschwitz, rivers of blood spilled in Babbi Yar or Majdanek, be a warning to mankind that violence is destructive, hatred is contagious, while man has an unlimited capacity for cruelty. ARABS IN A BLIND ALLEY.".The U.N. Development Program, which published, along with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, a brutally honest Arab Human Development Report yesterday analyzing the three main reasons the Arab world is falling off the globe. (The .D.P. of Spain is greater than that of all 22 Arab states combined.) In brief, it's due to a shortage of freedom to speak, innovate and affect political life, a shortage of women's rights and a shortage of quality education." "Using a standard freedom index, the report notes that out of seven key regions of the world the Arab region has the lowest freedom score - which includes civil liberties, political rights, a voice for the people, independence of the media and government accountability. In too many Arab states women can't vote, hold office or get access to capital for starting businesses. "Sadly, the Arab world is largely depriving itself of the creativity and productivity of half its citizens," the report says of Arab women. ' "On education, the report reveals that the whole Arab world translates about 300 books annually - one-fifth the numbers that Greece alone translates; investment in research is less than one-seventh the world average; and Internet connectivity is lower than in sub-Saharan Africa. In spite of progress in school enrollment, 65 million Arab adults are still illiterate…." One thing Mr. Friedman did not mention…the cause of this backwardness - the religion. Religion plays a leading role in shaping the culture, tolerance and the adaptability of the societies to technological, social and political changes. Let's take the Jewish religion for an example. At the time of the Second Temple, the Jewish society was a theocratic society guided by the aristocratic priestly cast. After the losing of the independence Johanan Ben Zakkai, introduced reforms that led to Rabbinical Judaism. It was this religion, which through adaptation, successfully guided the Jewish people through their turbulent history. To survive dispersed in hostile environments, the Jews abandoned all their military traditions to become submissive people surviving through their devotion to their culture and religion. Similarly, the Christian religion evolved through synods, Papal Bulls and finally through the Reformation. If one has a look on the maps of Europe it is clear that the standard of living of society is interlocked with tolerance of its religion. It is no wonder that the Golden age of Islam and its literature occurred in Spain, when Islam was a tolerant and open minded religion. The problem is that Islam never went though a reformation process. Today, in most Arab counties the Koran is memorized and taken literally. No interpretations allowed. What the Arab countries need is an Ataturk type revolution like that that occurred in Turkey. Ataturk introduced the separation of the state and the mosque and created a secular Muslim state, that today maintains friendly relations with Israel. Unfortunately such a revolution has to come from within; it cannot be mandated by foreign powers. In the meantime the Arab countries experience explosive population growth. "While the 22 Arab states currently have 280 million people, soaring birthrates indicate that by 2020 they will have 410 to 459 million. If this new generation is to grow up angry and impoverished, in already overcrowded cities, the Arab world will have to overcome its poverty - which is not a poverty of resources but a "poverty of capabilities and poverty of opportunities,". It is doubtful that the theocratic or autocratic Arab regime will be willing or capable to introduce the wide ranging social, religious and cultural reforms needed to remove the poverty of opportunities. Instead, 460 million Arabs living in overcrowded condition, without skills, or education will further develop death-oriented societies producing thousands upon thousands of genocide bombers, flooding our shores. Those bombers might be protected by Iranian or Iraqi missile loaded with weapons of mass destructions. COCLUSIONS Through the ages, unchecked explosive demographic changes were the harbinger of wars and invasions. Hitler went to war to gain "lebensraum" (living space) for the German people. In the Middle Aged the Mongols under Genghis Khan conquered: China, India, Russia and even reached Germany. In the XVII century the Turks conquered the Balkans and laid siege to Vienna. Today the West is facing long term dangers greater than during the cold war when there was a balancing of terror. Similarly, a total mobilization of means and resources is needed to face those dangers. |
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