Cultural Sensitivity 101
One thing that really bothers me about the whole cartoontifada jihad is that it's once again casting the United Sates in a bad light. As usual, our own arrogant cultural insensitivity--ignorance, really--only makes matters worse.
While at the book store the other day, I came across the Muslim Book of Virtues, by an imam who is sort of the William Bennett of the Islamic world. If we could just take the time to try to understand their culture, I think we'd get along a whole lot better.
I've assembled a list of "wise old Islamic sayings" from the book that I think are particularly relevant to our discussion. These are almost "cliches" in the Muslim world, but they are probably new to you:
Sticks and stones will break your bones if your words should ever humiliate me.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try to blame the Jews.
Fool me once, death to you. Fool me twice? I don't think so.
Necessity is the mother of intervention with U.N. handouts.
A penny saved will help finance a martyrdom operation.
There's something rotten in Denmark. Free speech.
Give a Palestinian a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he'll just steal your fish.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Period.
One picture is worth a thousand riots.
Ask me no questions and I will tell you lies just for the hell of it.
The race doesn't always go the swift, but to the sneaky and duplicitous.
Good fences make it more difficult to kill your neighbors.
If it ain't broke, that's a good thing, because we have no idea how to fix it.
If you can't beat 'em, at least try to kill and maim as many of their children as possible.
If you can't say anything nice, you should run for office in the Palestinian territories.
It's not whether you win or lose, it's how much meaningless suffering you can inflict.
Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, the wretched refuse of your teeming deserts. We can always use a few more suicide bombers.
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