Pathetic [Archives:2002/13/Viewpoint]

During my trip to Italy, Austria, and Germany last week, I found out a sad and shocking reality. I discovered that Arab leaders are a bad example of Arabs to the West.
In a time when Europe is developing a union that is creating a potential second world superpower, as it is expanding cooperation among its members financially, administratively, and in other areas, Arabs — through their disputes and internal conflicts and problems — continue to run in circles without achieving anything.
Values such as hard work, honesty, dedication, freedom, organization, enforcing the law, and other values of the West are being seen as cultural invasion.
Arabs would rather stick to their ideas and culture that are out-dated, negative and harmful.
I do not mean to say that all Arab culture is wrong, nor do I mean to indicate that Western culture as a whole is perfect. But frankly, I wish we had 10% of the positive values of the West.
Arab leaders, with a few exceptions, have served as the worst example for their people. Oppression, humiliation, inefficiency and corruption are the trademarks of those leaders, which are automatically absorbed by their people.
I can even see this effect on the older generation of Arab communities in Europe, who are still holding to their old ways. They dont plan ahead, they rarely look for new opportunities, they seldom compare themselves to those who are better, and most pathetically of all, most of the time theyre at odds with their Arab colleagues. Meanwhile, the younger generation is somewhat more enlightened, hard working, ambitious, and looking for new ways to progress and become an active part of the communities they live in.
Unfortunately, Arabs abroad misinterpret Islam and think that isolation and old values, even if wrong, are necessary to preserve Islam. The reality is that Islam urges Muslims to work harder, integrate into communities, and look for better opportunities.
Islam is a religion we are proud of, as it is a religion of peace, honesty, efficiency, and dedication. If those old-thinking Arabs think they represent Islam, they should ask themselves why their neighborhoods are the highest in crimes and thefts, why their education level is low, and why they are not well-respected.
In brief, the conditions in the Arab world are pathetic. And unless we do something about getting out of our stagnancy, we will find ourselves thrown in the trash can of human civilization.

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