Ray,
I suspect you too are racist Ray but I suspect you come by it honestly. You, like most racists, were raised that way by your family. Trained to watch for any innuendo regardless of its insignificance.
Your whole blog is a Jesse Jackson diatribe of victimhood.
Tell me about your terrible existance in the US. You are unemployed because you are ethnically an Egyptian, you’ve not been able to educate yourself because Egyptians can’t go to school.
The TV set you watch must be in a store window because you couldn’t own your own home in this terrible country.
So, let’s enumerate, you are reporting second or third hand supposed/aledged racism that you are viewing on a game show from the comfort of your own home while relaxing on your weekend.
OMG how do you handle the stress????
Watch out Ray, that white boogey man may get you (or worse steal your TV clicker).

Yikes….basing your premise on a silly TV show which intelligent people would probably not watch is not very scientific. But then this isn’t the same time you painted my country as “racist” without backing it up. You claimed to be keeping track of hate crimes but when I asked you to quantify it…silence. You seem like someone with a chip on their shoulder.

The reality? Of course there are racists in America. Just like everywhere else. More? I doubt it. In my experience the real problem is lack of education. It’s a huge cultural gap that’s the real problem. And hollering “racist” across the gulf doesn’t really fix anything. But of course I’m sure you’ll keep it up.

gary

Hi Ray,

Yup, it’s like what does it mean to look Jewish?? Of course, if you dress Jewish with a kippa and/long beard and black hat, yes, you look kinda Jewish. I remember sitting in my friend’s office in New York City, which is not supposed to be a hotbed of racism, and her co-worker was on the phone with someone in a heated conversation. Then she hung up the phone and ranted on “The fucking Jew, that Jew bastard…that Jew this and that Jew that….” I got up from my seat and ran over to her and my friend intervened “She didn’t mean you?” Huh? Of course she meant me. But her co-worker was clearly embarrassed and stammered “I didn’t know you were Jewish.” Well duh. Musta left my horns and tails at home that day.

Racism is everywhere in pubs, in clubs, in middle America even in the big cities. And the only way to fight it is…..I don’t really know. All I know is that if you drag people to interfaith gatherings, like a big Woodstock sort of thing that attracts alot of attention, people will be curious and go. Maybe that’s what’s needed in the US. A really good Arabic music festival that also includes some bluegrass and so you’ll get the rednecks and the Arabs together and hope they all get along. No, but seriously, perhaps a festival of some sort with Arabic music and Israeli music and let’s throw in some American folk/country and there you go. Anybody got the $$$$ and connections to pull this off?

I too felt my stomache turn as I listened to The Power of Ten ask that question and was horrified – albeit unsurprised – when it turned out that 36% of Americans will publicly admit to being racist against Arab-Americans.

Obviously the average American would have felt uncomfortable with that question phrased as:

“How many Americans said they would not get on the subway if a group of “Black” men got on first?”

So why is racism against Arab people considered tolerable?

These are not the 1950s; segregation by race cannot be tolerated in a country that claims to be the guiding light of democracy for the rest of the world…

The really stomache-turner is not that The Power of Ten asked the question, it is the one-in-three prevalence of publicly admitted racism in America. Truly sickening – and not a little frightening.

Patb,

Grow the hell up. And FYI, Ray is not Egyptian. How about focusing on improving your reading and thinking skills instead of proving yourself nothing more than a boring, ignorant nationalist?

PatB is ignorable … Gary, your mistake is I didn’t base it on a TV Show, but a poll done by a very reputable company hired by the show to produce the results. Don’t the statistics frighten you a bit that so many people react out of their fear rather than their brain?

People keep asking for “evidence” of racism. There it is again …

Thanks Esra’a for the defense but more importantly for this site … it is amazing how many responses I do get from readers … not everyone will post a reply but that is normal … this site rocks and PatB and others can’t do a thing about it

Ray Hanania
http://www.ArabWritersGroup.com

PS … I’m working with two writers on a rewrite of Fiddler on the Roof, called “Soldier on the Roof.” We may actually have it done by the Spring

Oh Ray, of course you are. It will be a huge hit, I’m sure. You really are a professional victem. I’m pretty sure patb was being rhetorical with the Egyptian stuff.
You’ll get your strokes here on this site, but at least it’s a forum and not a
“column” with no way to refute you. Of course there is bigotry in the U.S. but apologists like you aren’t making the situation any better. At best, you appeal to the choir, and at worst you simply confirm what, say, 36% of Americans already feel.

Just when I thought we got over your sweeping generalisation Ray, but no hope apparently!!!

I couldn’t agree more with Leah’s suggestion, interfaith and intercultural dialogues are the way to go, music festivals could be incredibly awesome!

Ray,

Same question I asked you previously…do you feel that racism is greater, equivalent, or less in the US as opposed to elsewhere? It seems like you’re implying it’s greater, but I’d rather just ask you directly and not assume.

gary

Gary, the USA is where Ray currently resides. He writes about what he personally witnesses and experiences. He doesn’t compare it to other countries and claim that any other nation is superior. Go through his archived posts; he denounces everything from Hamas propaganda to mainstream bias. He’s proud to be American; and never fails to note this. If people focused on the issues he brings up rather than just being plain defensive, maybe these threads would actually be fruitful and productive.

Thanks Esra, but I would still appreciate his answer.

gary

Ray,
So 1/3 of the US is racist because of this poll? Very scientific of you. A poll Ray is not a statistic based upon scientific data as I’m sure you know yet you use it in that fashion. I find your false reasoning a constant theme on your site.

Now why would the average American be afraid of a group of Arabs getting on a flight? Can you think of a reason?

Esra’a, nice to hear from you, you never answered the questions I posted to you, the ones that were deleted as they made someone uncomfortable.

I do owe an apology though as I did not read the background to this site and thought I was conversing with extremely naive and emotional adults that got angry when one did not agree with their analysis etc. I’m sure some leavening will come with maturity, I hope so at least.

How is that 36 % truly unreasonable? First of all, it reflects a gut reaction to a question,and possibly not the reality of what they would in fact do. It, reflects the fear that people feel re their plane being taken down by terrorists. Prior to 9/11 this would not have been a thought.However if asked would they go to a mall, or a shopping center or an arab market in USA with arabs they would not hesitate to go. But to say airplane, after 9/11, a tremendous gut reaction is generated. BTW- although, we have racism, our constitution is generally our framework. Therefore, people who have dislike of’the other’ whether it is on a day to day basis, or in times of stress, can often be brought back to the idealistic thinking of the constitution and the rights of all citizens despite their personal biases.limpia

I don’t place a lot of faith in polls. For example, if one third of Americans would refuse to fly with a “group of Arab men” (that means they look Muslim to Americans, right?) then we wouldn’t need a poll to tell us: it would be happening. Did 36% of the white American passengers refuse to board the plane with the famous “Flying Imans”?

Still, if we’re going to go with polling data then 8% of American Muslims feel that suicide bombings are “often or sometimes justifiable in defense of Islam.” In a group of six there’s almost a 50-50 chance that one of them holds that view.

There’s plenty of evidence that anti-Arab, anti-Muslim prejudice exists (and is growing!) in the US, but this TV show poll isn’t part of that evidence.

Patb, your comments got deleted because you neither read nor followed the rules. Any comment that doesn’t abide by our very simple comment policy will be moderated to maintain this place’s atmosphere and general presentation. You are not helping with your insipid insults and generally racist claims against other countries/nations. If we wanted to silence you completely, we would’ve banned you a long time ago, but we still want to know what you think and allow you to share your input with us… and as long as you do this respectfully, your comments won’t be deleted. I hope this makes things clear for you.

wow- its happening again

Esra’a,
In my deleted comments I did not make racist comments, use foul language, or engage in name calling I just posted some comments about ME countries and their politics as it relates to the US stance geopolitically (The Darfur Thread).
How was that offensive?

Patb, firstly this is not the thread to discuss this in. Secondly, the comments you wrote were a personal and racist attack where you claimed that our countries are much more “shitty” than yours and that no country in the ME can ever be superior to the States. You will have noticed that the actual relevant posts you published in that thread were left there. If you were just more respectful and thoughtful perhaps your comments wouldn’t have been deleted.

We have rules here, and we expect everyone to follow them, yourself included. Despite this however, certain personal attacks, such as the implication of “you didn’t do shit with your life other than blog,” were not deleted. That means that the other things you said were actually much more offensive and insulting, which is simply not the kind of comments we encourage and tolerate here.

Do not hijack this thread with irrelevance. That is also against our comment policy, FYI. You have a ‘contact us’ option here; use it.

This place needs a lot of cleaning up; and we’re going to start doing that now.

Sorry PatB, you just like to throw mud. A survey shows 36 percent of the American people are racist, and your response is not to say how terrible it is, but that the poll must be wrong because you hate the idea that someone criticizaes Americans.

I do criticize Americans who are racist and bigoted and unfair. And I know that by addressing the topic, we can change this country and get rid of the bigots and racists, once we identify it as a problem. But your position seems to be that it’s wrong just because you say it is wrong.

The poll was conducted by a very reputable polling agency. Drew Carey doesn’t just make phone calls and ask if you can guess his results.

I am embarrassed that so many Americans hate Arabs and Muslims so much and rather than be intelligent in fighting terrorism, resort to simplistic means of profiling as a way to sift through who is or isn’t a terrorist.

The majority of people in jail in the Chicago are are African American and Hispanic. Does that mean we should arrest every Black person and Hispanic person? No. It means there are issues that need to be addressed. WHy are so many Blacks and Hispanics committing crimes and how do we resolve the problem. Instead, people use the statistics to denounce Blacks and Hispanics and call them criminals. Just as many Americans look at Arabs and Muslims who have been great patriotis in defending this country and blame them for the actions of 19, 30 or 100 individuals who claim to represent Islam but merely exploit the injustices of the world that are not redressed.

Ray Hanania
http://www.ArabWritersGroup.com

Esra’a,
I never used that language and as I said I thought I was conversing with older individuals that may have experiences to base things upon rather than opinion alone. I don’t mean that as an insult it is just a fact of life when you are as young as most on this site are.
You’ll note that my response(s) are just the flip side of many comments posted here to rave reviews.
As long as the racist comments are directed at whites/the west it’s understood as a simple historical conotation.
The other comments were about certain ME countries and their political affiliation with the US during the present Iraq war. What countries allowed the US airbases/seabases etc. and continue to do so even though they publically say something to the contrary.
The remainder that was deleted was totally political and I wondered if there was a Govt. censor involved.

Ray,

Did you see my previous post? I think it’s only fair after accusing roughly 100 million people of being racists that you clarify the point. Are you implying that America exceptional in the percentage of racist people when compared to the Middle East? The same? Less? It’s really an easy question…

gary

The remainder that was deleted was totally political and I wondered if there was a Govt. censor involved.

Yes, my King called and implored that we remove said comment.

dont u all recall the admission that certain types of comments are endangering the participants living in the me?

No, that only applies to posts, as long as the comments do not reveal someone’s private information or identity which has happened multiple times here before. For a place like this to survive and to serve as an influential platform, it really has to be clean of such things.

Hello, Ray,

I think it’s great that the authors join in the discussion about their articles.

Do you think you should draw a distinction between racism and racial profiling?

If it’s true that 36% of Americans would refuse to fly with a group of Arab men, don’t you think there would have been actual documented instances of dozens of passengers refusing to board?

You are unemployed because you are ethnically an Egyptian, you’ve not been able to educate yourself because Egyptians can’t go to school.

Ray’s Palestinian not Egy-
oh i see what you were trying to do there.

Ray,

You forgot to mention the Pew research poll done in May. The Muslims in the US that scare me are the 48% that think Arabs were NOT responsible for 9/11, or the 13% that think suicide bombers are justified (at least some of the time)and that percentage grows among younger Muslims.

Ray I don’t agree with those who protest against mosques being built in the US. But what about churches in Iran or synagogues in Egypt. How many have been built there in the last 6 years? I can say for certain the number is zero. How many have been killed in India, Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, etc… for converting from Islam to Christianity? How many in the US have been killed for converting from Christianity to Islam? (Hint…the number is less than one.)
The countries where Islam is the majority the Christians, Jews, Buddhists are considered by law as second class citizens. No Muslims speak out for them; not even in the US where there is no fear of losing your head. In the US you can speak out for anyone.

My great grandparents came from Germany before World War I. They left everything behind for the hope that is the United States of America. When World War I broke out people threw rocks at my Grandfather because he was German. They cursed my Great Grandfather. When World War II came along my family did not go back to Germany, they did not sympathize with the Nazis, they joined the American war effort to defeat the enemies of freedom as soldiers and civil servants. The Japanese who were interned had the highest kill ratios against the Germans and the Germans had some of the highest kill ratios in the Pacific. German scientists assured the US had the best weapons in the world. They did not fly Japanese and German flags from their homes, they did not have posters of German and Japanese war heros on their wall, they knew the US was the country that gave them the freedom to do what they wanted, worship who they wanted and that put food on the table for their family.

I honored my family by serving this country in the Military and continue to serve in Federal service. The country is not always right but I know I can vote out people in power, I can speak my opinion and I can worship my God.

This is what Muslims in America have to do. Shout down the extremists, take over the mosques with moderate Imams, sign up for the military and public service positions despite the racism. Show the rest of America that they are Americans. Until Muslims in America can become Americans they will never be accepted. Every other minority has had to do it, and it is not right, but now it is the Muslim’s turn.

You forgot to mention the Pew research poll done in May. The Muslims in the US that scare me are the 48% that think Arabs were NOT responsible for 9/11, or the 13% that think suicide bombers are justified (at least some of the time)and that percentage grows among younger Muslims.

A December 1945 Fortune poll revealed that twenty-three percent of those questioned wished the U.S. could have dropped “many more [atomic bombs] before the Japanese had a chance to surrender.”

Ray I don’t agree with those who protest against mosques being built in the US. But what about churches in Iran or synagogues in Egypt. How many have been built there in the last 6 years?

There are plenty of churches in Iran. Iran has had an Armenian Christian presence since the 1500’s.

As for synagogues in Egypt, there are quite a few in Cairo.

But then again, you’re bringing up oppressive dictatorships to rationalize the acts of some in this country. Apples to oranges.

I can say for certain the number is zero. How many have been killed in India, Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, etc… for converting from Islam to Christianity?

Not many. Refer to this for more information.

How many in the US have been killed for converting from Christianity to Islam? (Hint…the number is less than one.)

Point taken, but again, APPLES TO ORANGES.

The countries where Islam is the majority the Christians, Jews, Buddhists are considered by law as second class citizens.

Nonsense, Christians in Syria live fine under the Baath control. Palestinian Christians and Muslims live peacefully side-by-side, against Zionist occupation. Muslims and Christians in Albania and Kosovo celebrate holidays together.

No Muslims speak out for them; not even in the US where there is no fear of losing your head. In the US you can speak out for anyone.

Do you like to engage in a lot of hyperbole? So the efforts by human rights lawyers Asma Jehangir and Hina Jillani not good enough for you now? They defended Hindus and Christians in the Pakistani courts, yet that’s not good enough for you.

I honored my family by serving this country in the Military and continue to serve in Federal service. The country is not always right but I know I can vote out people in power, I can speak my opinion and I can worship my God.

Thank you for your service.

This is what Muslims in America have to do. Shout down the extremists, take over the mosques with moderate Imams, sign up for the military and public service positions despite the racism. Show the rest of America that they are Americans. Until Muslims in America can become Americans they will never be accepted. Every other minority has had to do it, and it is not right, but now it is the Muslim’s turn.

What the Hell do you think we have been doing? We have been doing this for years, try opening your eyes for once. There are over 3200 Muslims serving PROUDLY in the military, there is a Muslim Congressman for crying out loud, and there have been other Muslims who have been running for office in the past. Here’s an article by Der Spiegel that highlights how American Muslims have been successful.

Here’s an American Muslim who has served in the Marines.

Here’s another blogger who is perhaps one of the best voices in the Muslim blogosphere.

Ray,

Given your lack of dialog on this subject and past ones, I must conclude that you can’t be taken seriously. Your interest in the subject of racism is as shallow as the TV shows you apparently watch. I won’t bother to read or post on any further on your articles.

gary

Oh yes, there is racism in America; but take a deep breath and answer my only question: ” Do you prefer to live as a Muslim in a Christian country like the US, or do you prefer to live as a Christian in a Muslim country like Pakistan?

And what percentage ofPanamanians are racist? Just askin’.

do you prefer to live as a Christian in a Muslim country like Pakistan?

Christians live fine in Pakistan, despite what some news reports might indicate.

Punjab is living proof.

Do you prefer to live as a Muslim in a Christian country like the US

Christians in many Muslims countries, especially the Gulf, live very normally and are treated like everyone else in our countries with equal rights and opportunities. The region is ridden with Christian missionaries who roam around freely, and I heard that there’s about 10,000 in Turkey alone, and in other countries of Eastern Europe such as Bosnia where the Muslim population is huge.

Thank you for your replies, Danial and Esra’a . But they don’t answer my question. Whether or how much tolerances Muslim countries have toward non-Muslims is not my question. My simple question is :”Do you prefer to live as a Muslim in a Christian country like the US, or do you prefer to live as a Christian in a Muslim country like Pakistan?”

I pick Pakistan, personally. Good food and good neighbors. I definitely don’t fall for all that extremist mainstream propaganda – that is not what Pakistan is all about. Sure it exists, but the majority are not like that, and I refuse to warp my opinion on a whole country because of what a few papers or TV sources say. Pakistan is great, and has a shitlaod of potential. I wouldn’t mind living there as a Jew, Christian, atheist, et al.

Pakistan? Haven’t Christian schools have been bombed there?

i see Esra’a pick. Thank you; any other takers?

Pakistan? Haven’t Christian schools have been bombed there?

Haven’t mosques and Islamic schools been torched in the Netherlands?

Haven’t mosques been targeted in a terrorist plot by a FL Jewish doctor by the name of Robert Goldstein?

Haven’t idiotic makeshift patriots tried to ram their cars into mosques in America?

What the Hell is your bloody point?

How is America Christian? America was founded on secular ideals, whether you like it or not.

Pakistan was also founded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah as a “state for Muslims”, not as an Islamic state per se.

Here’s a couple of quotes by the founder of Pakistan:

The great majority of us are Muslims. We follow the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (may peace be upon him). We are members of the brotherhood of Islam in which all are equal in rights, dignity and self-respect. Consequently, we have a special and a very deep sense of unity. But make no mistake: Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it.”
Broadcast talk to the people of Australia recorded on 19th February, 1948

You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed –that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
Presidential Address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11th August, 1947

Esra’a and Danial, in elaborating on DustOfLife’s questions I am wondering: Would you prefer to live as a Muslim in a racist country like America, or to live as a Muslim in a racist country like France?

In the US, Muslims are discriminated against at airports, and US foreign policy is (correctly) percieved as racist towards Muslims. But Muslims are in general integrated into the society and can for the most part practice freely.

In France, Muslims often live in segregated enclaves, Muslim women are denied the right to wear a headscarf in public places, and Muslims are frequently denied jobs and even excluded from some discos. However French foreign policy is more pro-Arab (or anti-Israel), and Muslim citizens there do have some electoral power and have at times tilted elections.

So in which country would you prefer to live in?

I currently live in America and I would much rather be in America than anywhere else in the world.

Integration into society takes precedence over an alleged pro-Arab policy when they are two faced to begin with.

Muslims have power in America too. At least we have a Muslim Congressman in Minnesota, Keith Ellison.

As for being discriminated against at airports, well it’s a small price to pay for the actions of a fucked up minority.

As for being discriminated against at airports, well it’s a small price to pay for the actions of a fucked up minority.

Guantanamo is not really a small price to pay, FYI.

Bad tag entry, disregard above post.

Guantanamo is not really a small price to pay, FYI.

I don’t know of any American citizens other than a very tiny minority that are in Guantanamo Bay. Let’s face it, Muslims in America have a Hell of a lot more freedoms than in any failed Muslim state in existence.

I didn’t mean American citizens. You said that interrogating people in airports is a “small” price to pay; but Guantanamo is also being justified due to 9/11. Its inhumane. There are many innocent people there, including Bahraini civilians, who have yet to undergo a fair or public trial despite many years of suffering in prison. That is unjust.

I again would much rather be in an active state as a Muslim no matter how “failed” you consider them to be. It is just much more helpful and noble to stick to one’s country fighting battles instead of just moving to America to achieve the American dream. I would never move out of my country no matter how bad it gets. It’s our duty as its citizens to fight for it. I’d risk death for my people and our future generations in a heartbeat, instead of being a coward and letting people rot in there while bitching about it in the comfort of another state.

Sterotypes are there for a reason. However, if it would not sound right to say the exact same sentence and use the word “black”, or “white” then perhaps they should rethink the statement. That being said, I’ve heard far more offensive things… One local radio presenter here mocked the Muslim call for prayer by saying “ollie ollie oxen free” or however you spell that. That wasn’t funny. That was as good idea as Pepsi Max was.

I’d risk death for my people and our future generations in a heartbeat, instead of being a coward and letting people rot in there while bitching about it in the comfort of another state.

I don’t know what to say other than TOO DAMN RIGHT!

Our problem is that all the good, intelligent people leave and then expect the region to progress with their absence. It won’t happen unless they come back and put in the effort. Complaining, hating, etc. won’t get us anywhere.

Our problem is that all the good, intelligent people leave and then expect the region to progress with their absence. It won’t happen unless they come back and put in the effort. Complaining, hating, etc. won’t get us anywhere.

Why didn’t you try it in Afghanistan under the Taliban? Look at RAWA, now those are courageous souls that deserve mentioning.

Fact: Islam is the fastest growing religion in the US from the 1990’s until , unfortunately, the 9-11. Now, could Americans be very racists and still let Islam be the fastest growing religion in their land at that time? It will be fun to read other people’s reply to this question.

Fact: Muslims in Kosovo were suffering from genocide and guess who came to their rescue? Americans. Why did they try to help? I do not know, but certainly not becase of oil.

Fact: Muslim in Somalia were suffering from famine while their rich Saudi neighbors did next to nothing. And again, Americans tried to help. Why did they try to help? I do not know either, but again, it can’t be because of oil.

Now, imagine a group of Christians commits a horrible crime and kills thousands of Saudis. What do you honestly expect the Saudis to react? How many Christians in Saudi Arabia would be killed be revengeful Saudis?

Back to the US. How many Muslims have been killed after the 9-11 be angry and racist Americans? To know the answer, you would have to google long and hard. Two years ago, i tried to do that, and got the answer: Five, which is a lot less people killed when the Koran is mishandled somewhere on earth

Oh I get it, so is this a race between which group of people are better? Americans are heroes and Saudis are terrorists who will most likely kill in the face of violence?

“LET’S SEE WHO GETS TO CONGO THE FASTEST, AMERICANS OR ARABS! I HOPE WE TAKE THE TROPHY HOME THIS TIME!”

Seriously, I really dislike this approach. Everyone has a duty to help; Americans or not, and especially if they live in a safe country that actually values human rights which makes their efforts much more easier to accomplish.

On the bright side, Saudi Arabia does not invade other countries at its will and do everthing in its power to destroy it. The American government does. Therefore when it helps, it just cancels out the other destructions it has caused in this planet, instead of contributing something for the greater good.

At any rate I agree with Esra’a that it’s quite dispicable to generalize on Saudi when it has offered billions in support of the USA during Katrina as well as the general implication that Americans are “naturally” better or more productive.

Esra’a Wrote:

“Oh I get it, so is this a race between which group of people are better? Americans are heroes and Saudis are terrorists who will most likely kill in the face of violence?
….
Seriously, I really dislike this approach. Everyone has a duty to help; Americans or not, and especially if they live in a safe country that actually values human rights which makes their efforts much more easier to accomplish.”

Esra’a, your first paragraph wrongfully accuses me what I do not propose. I do not believe that all Americans are heroes; we all know that there are many American wackos out there. The same is true for Christians worldwide.

I also do not believe all Saudis are terrorists. I know the majority of them are not. The same is true for Muslims worldwide.

But should there be a race between which group of people are better (for the world)? Oh yeah! I like this approach. Why not? But the winners of this race are not necessarily come from countries with safety and human rights built in. They will be the ones who have learned to love OTHERS, including the infidels, no matter how you define what infidels are.

Let’s look at what those lousy “rich Arabs” do for the USA then (and what they NEVER did for unfortunate victims in the Tsunami as well as Iran’s devastating earthquakes, let alone their own countries, proving that they put their relations with the USA ahead of everything else)-

From the NY Times:

The nation of Qatar plans to announce today roughly $60 million in grants to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina, including $17.5 million to Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically black Catholic university in the United States.

Other beneficiaries are Tulane University, Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, Habitat for Humanity, Louisiana State University and the March of Dimes.

Nasser Bin Hamad M. al-Khalifa, Qatar’s ambassador to the United States, said the remainder of the $100 million his country had pledged would be assigned in the coming months.

“Hurricane Katrina was so devastating that everyone in Qatar and the rest of the world felt a responsibility to really act,” Mr. Khalifa said. More than 50 countries donated money, expertise and materials, according to a tally by Foreign Policy, a magazine published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Qatar was one of several Persian Gulf nations to donate tens of millions of dollars. Saudi Arabia, for instance, gave more than $100 million, and the United Arab Emirates pledged $100 million.

[...]

Qatar is giving Xavier, which is in New Orleans, $12.5 million to add 60,000 square feet to its College of Pharmacy so it can increase enrollment. The gift has additional benefits, the ambassador said, because it will provide construction jobs and because students from the university work in community clinics.

Xavier will also get $5 million for scholarships for students affected by the disaster.

Qatar’s $5.3 million gift was the biggest Children’s Hospital has ever received, said Steve Worley, its president. The hospital will use $5 million to establish the Qatar Cares Fund, which it will use to underwrite medical care for needy children whose families were affected by the hurricane. The remaining $351,000 will go toward restoring the two of the hospital’s five primary care clinics that were left standing after the storm.

“It’s hard to know how to express our gratitude,” Mr. Worley said.

Some claim that Saudi Arabia donated 1.5 billion in aid to Katrina.

It’s really shameful that despite these efforts to the USA not many people truly remember or appreciate this, and instead we have to put up with tedious generalizations such as the usual “America is the best and most generous, rich Arabs are violent terrorists.”

They will be the ones who have learned to love OTHERS, including the infidels, no matter how you define what infidels are.

I don’t see many people embracing either “infidels” or terrorists, if anything there are a bunch of people out there calling for the nuking of Iran, the continutation of war in Iraq, the dehumnization of Arabs and Muslims (there are Christian Zionists calling Muslims followers of Satan, a video I posted here before) the justification of Guantanamo Bay as well as many other unjust crimes. Why are we the ones always associated with violence, then? Of course we have hideous problems, and insane people causing them like the Mullas and Wahabists, but they don’t represent us just as much as these Islamophobic “whackos” don’t represent what you stand for either. Please distinguish the difference instead of letting this form of bias cloud your vision of real achievements made by Arabs and Muslims worldwide (either through the government or individually) and claiming that America is the only giving nation while we’re rotting in our “backwards” countries. The reality couldn’t be any further from the truth.

If you really want to help others, you have to do it from your heart, instead of doing it with a superior mentality. You don’t do it just to give your country a better reputation and to dismiss one war crime over another because “hey, sometimes we do good things for humanity” well it is not enough! It is never enough, so in the end, this race is only with yourself. There are too many people using humanitiarian issues as products of PR, it would be disappointing to see you promote this form of useless “activism.”

While I appreciate the aids that Qatar gave to our Katrina victims, i do not claim that …”claiming that America is the only giving nation …” I did question how much the Saudis gave to their neighbor – the Somalia victims of famine. Any figure?

Saudi Arabia doesn’t care about aiding Somalia or any country in similar situations. I already stated that when I said it never donates similar amounts to disasters in South Asia or Iran. It only cares about its Godfather; the US of A, so I find it highly ironic when Americans bash Saudi for not doing much all the while praising how much America is apparently doing, when Saudi is the first to come to your rescue.

Fact: Muslims in Kosovo were suffering from genocide and guess who came to their rescue? Americans. Why did they try to help? I do not know, but certainly not becase of oil.

Do you have any fucking idea how eternally grateful and appreciative Albanian Muslims are towards America for saving them? They are more pro-American than ANYONE ELSE IN EUROPE!

Why do you two sound so angry now? Did I say Saudis didn’t try to help the US? No!! Did I say Albanians do not appreciate the US? No!!! Last time I look, I simply asked a question about how one Muslim country helped another Muslim country. If you don’t want to help me to find the answer, then don’t drag the US in your arguments.

Maybe you should check again, because that’s not what you did. What you did was portray “rich Arab” countries in a very negative light and then claim that it was all thanks to the USA that “saved” these other people. Your tone was so distasteful. What did you expect us to do, bow down and say thank god for the USA? It really sounds like that’s the reaction you were going for. I never claimed once that our countries do good for the sake of other nations; I already answered the questions by saying THEY NEVER DONATED THIS MUCH MONEY TO NEITHER IRAN WHEN IT WAS SUFFERING FROM AN EARTHQUAKE CRISIS, NOR THE TSUNAMI WHEN SOUTH ASIA WAS A MESS. But it did jump to America’s rescue, a country that is stable enough to handle itself. I specifically said this, I repeated it twice. This is the third time I am answering your question: No, they do not do this to other Muslim countries, because if they are not personally gaining anything from sending aid, then they do not actually care. I never once stated otherwise, I never once tried to justify this lack of aid and interest towards neighboring countries.

We sound angry because you have a superior attitude, like you’re better than us. I find it so frustrating how you’re approaching this. And the USA has a huge impact in the region and the world, especially our countries, we’ll drag it in our arguments whenever it is necessary to.

I apologize for the rude attitude. I just don’t like people who put themselves above everybody else and insist that they’re heroes or something. The whole “rich Arabs” thing gets on my nerves too.

It is a racism against people of color.

The state of Louisiana just elected a new Governor: Bobby Jindal, a first generation American born to parents who immigrated from Punjab, India.

The state of Louisiana just elected a new Governor: Bobby Jindal, a first generation American born to parents who immigrated from Punjab, India.

After getting hit by Katrina lol

I don’t get the joke?

Racist America? I would say arrogant and elitist, which is the main problem people outside the USA have with the USA. The turning down of help and aid from nations it doesn’t like was really arrogant and further drove a wedge between the USA and the rest of the world. Even with the arrogant and elitist title, there are people in the USA who don’t fit those two words.

[...] yielded an article on that staple of American society: not freedom, but racism. According to this piecethe definition of racism is, that it is exclusively directed – not against a race, but against [...]