Thursday December 4, 2008

I've Been Thinking:

In Western societies a hand shake is the sign of acknowledgement.
In the Middle East a handshake is the sign of - nothing.

In Western societies a hand shake is as binding as a signed agreement.
In the Middle East a handshake is nothing more than a mere moment of personal exchange.

Last month, at a United Nations interfaith conference held in New York, Shimon Peres and Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi shook hands.
Shimon Peres is the president of Israel, he is a Nobel Prize laureate and an internationally recognized peace broker.
Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi is an Egyptian, he is one of Islam's most respected and revered leaders, he is dead set against the existence of Israel.

Now the Sheik is claiming that he did not know who Peres was.
He is claiming that he shook every hand that was extended to him.
He rejects the handshake and any meaning it may have.

Because of the handshake, some Arab papers are calling for the Sheik to step down from all religious leadership positions.
The kicker is that Egypt and Israel have a peace treaty.

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