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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (251238)	12/11/2007 5:19:29 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

"Religion is very much a part of the package, which is why I say that "Salafi Saudis" - the Arab ethnic group originally coming from the Nejd in central Arabia, who have taken over Arabia politically and culturally - is a valid definition, and far more specific and therefore meaningful than vague talk of ethic "races". Salafis don't have to be Saudis or Arabs. It is a particular school of thought, in which the adherents consider the perfection of Islam to have occured in the first three generations after Mohammad. Consequently they attempt to revive that way of life. OBL, and his followers are an extreme example. Most Salafis live modern life styles and can be found all over the world. They are studious, and attempt to learn from the models of conduct presented by the first generations of Muslims. The school of thought may have originated in Saudi among Arabs but there is no commonality of race for the people practicing Salafism now.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (251238)	12/11/2007 5:49:58 PM
From: Lou Weed	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

<<And wouldn't you say that Protestant vs Catholic is precisely what divides the two main ethic groups of Northern Ireland?>> The two main ethnic groups in Northern Ireland are Anglo/Saxon and Celt. True they are divided predominantly along religious lines however not exclusively. If you want to divide ethnic groups by religion you will always have crossover thereby blending the grouping. In the macro sense the ethnic grouping is white with Anglo/Saxon and Celt being the 2 subgroups. This is definitive but when religion is used as a differentiator it crosses both ethnic groups. Your assertion that religion is valid as an ethnic differentiator becomes very vague in almost all situations due to conversions of individuals from one sect to the other....race is definitive (you can't convert to a different one......although our friend Michael Jackson is trying his best to prove me wrong on that). However, we digress as is normal in our communications. Back to the question I originally asked...... There is clearly a big difference in public reaction (here in the US) to the demeaning of the Arab culture/people versus demeaning the Jewish culture/people? Why do you think it is so?