Sunday July 23, 2006

I've Been Thinking:

Traditionally and historically, the Arab and Muslim world strives to present a united front to the rest of the world.
Reaction to the war between Hezbollah and Israel, however, is providing us with some seldom seen or articulated signs and sounds of serious and divisive debate

The debate goes as follows:
Did Hezbollah cross the border in order to marshal Muslim honor and confront Israel?
If they did, then this would be a fight for Arab pride and honor and that is the kind of conflict many Muslims would support.
or
Was confronting Israel just a silly boneheaded mistake by Shiites whose only motive was to generate publicity by waging a war they cannot win?
If Hezbollah's actions were purely religious-based, because they so badly want to thrust themselves into the thick of things and attract more Shiite adherents, then most Muslims reject it.

The debate is going on everywhere, the Muslim press, the streets and the cafes - not only in high echelon corridors.
There very few variations on the theme.