Why are we hated in the Arab World?

[Adidajs]

I recently read an article on yahoo about the american who was recently beheaded, Paul Johnson, and they quoted a Saudi as saying that "All saudis hate americans" and the al-queda were heroes. I don't want this to become a flamefest, but this begs a question, why do arabs hate us so much (i.e. Britain, esp US)? If anyone from an arab country could help enlighten me. Are we hated that much by the common arab?

My belief is that it stems from our foreign policy, the israel situation, our hollywood and "free" society, but i would like further insight. Why is it that arabs feel they must band together against everyone else? Why when something happens to an arab it's like a personal insult to their religion? Why is it that so many fundamentalist violent movements come from Muslim countries? I have talked to a Palestinian over the Pal-Israel conflict, and this girl couldn't give me a satisfactory reason why so many palestinians resort to violence against the common israeli. She kept telling me that Israeli soldiers have killed children, but i can tell you they didn't TARGET them. Palestinians INTENTIONALLY target civilians in their suicide attacks. Why do arabs believe that murdering others in cold blood is even remotely religious and they'll even be REWARDED for killing others?

My grandparents and parents grew up in a society fearing the communist threat, but i live in an age where I fear some violent militant cell will seek to kill thousands of innocent civilians whose goal is the act itself, not some political cause.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP THE HATRED? and don't tell me, just leave out of foreign policy.

LIke i said before, I hope this topic is addressed intelligently, and if my questions are misrepresentations/misinterpretations PLEASE answer and correct me.

[Naft]

we arent arab

[A2597]

we can't stop the hatred. If we leave their country, they will enter ours to kill us. We are not them, and thus we are the enemy.

Look up the sixth piller of islam. Some muslims simply choose to ignore the sixth pillar, and thats fine I suppose, but the sixth pillar of islam is Jihad, or struggle. Simply put, it means kill all non-muslims Or infidels, or non-believers. So long as people follow the sixth piller of islam, they are going to want to kill us, and so long as the Islamic faith exist, there are going to be people following the sixth pillar of islam.

so how do we stop the hatred?
you don't.

[A2597]

Originally Posted by Naft

we arent arab

heh, interesting to see my responce cut down to two words.
good answer!

[lePobz]

I think the whole of islam is against the whole western world, as it is basically against everything in their 'teachings'

Gambling, Drinking, Pornography, Drug use, Prostitution, Corruption, Etc. Etc. are all so common in the western world we all turn a blind eye to them, take them for granted.

To Islamic people, we are all living lives of sin, we are all complete wrong-doers and are upsetting Allah. We deserve to be wiped from the face of the planet and sent to Allah for our punishment. Or something.

Well, there is a lot of truth in what they say. Killing innocent people is not the solution. And i'm not just talking about Hussain / Bin Laden here, Bush ordered the killing (directly and indirectly) of more people than hussein and bin laden combined.

I think we should just do away with religion and live happily ever after.

[The Mullinator]

This is how it happened IMO according to what information I have.

It may of started as foreign policy, that got some individuals in the Arab world to hate the US (religios leaders, political leaders, etc) then that spilled over into the general populace, then it simply became a positive feed-back loop where the more people hated the US and Israel it caused others to hate it even more. Then of course oil in the middle east as well as bad choices in foreign policy meant that the US had to stay in the middle east, arabs see the US there and hate them even more. Now its at the point where nothing the US will do can help reverse this hatred, any bad decisions made in foreign policy now will only enrage them even more, any good decisions will simply not register because many arabs are at the point where they won't believe the US is capable of doing anything good.

[A2597]

Originally Posted by The Mullinator

This is how it happened IMO according to what information I have.

It may of started as foreign policy, that got some individuals in the Arab world to hate the US (religios leaders, political leaders, etc) then that spilled over into the general populace, then it simply became a positive feed-back loop where the more people hated the US and Israel it caused others to hate it even more. Then of course oil in the middle east as well as bad choices in foreign policy meant that the US had to stay in the middle east, arabs see the US there and hate them even more. Now its at the point where nothing the US will do can help reverse this hatred, any bad decisions made in foreign policy now will only enrage them even more, any good decisions will simply not register because many arabs are at the point where they won't believe the US is capable of doing anything good.

it's not the US they hate, if you haven't noticed. It's the entire world. And THAT goes all the way back to Abraham, AKA, 2500+ years ago. Very religious culture with long memories. It's a long held grudge.

[Sai]

A297, is your research on the sixth pillar credible, i've studied the fundementals all my life, i have never encountered that assumption of jihad

[A2597]

well, just even a cursury search on it...
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Sixth_pillar_of_Islam
http://www.campusprogram.com/referen..._of_islam.html
http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/S/S...r-of-Islam.htm


most of those say almost exactly the same thing, actually, most sites seem to. Basically though, you get the idea that the sixth pillar IS Jihad, so, research Jihad:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=jihad


there is actually a good book that explains this entire struggle going back to it's source, the birth of the islamic tribes with Abrahams sons...
ah, here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

[Mr.Reak]

Eh, it sucks to be half-Arabian looking, my dad is from Georgia, mom from Russia. People now always look at me like I am going to blow myself up or something. Lame

[Warbie]

I don't believe for a second that Arabs hate us. I also believe that the vast majority of all Muslims are good, peaceful people who don't believe that 'murdering others in cold blood' is justified by any means.

What we see on the news is very misleading. Christ, if I believed what i've seen on the TV, as opposed to my real life experiences (which include the acquaintance of many decent Muslims) , i'd be scared to go outside.These are just normal people, with the same concerns and needs that we have, who want to get on with their lives. There's never a 'bad guy' in these types of situtations.

As for the attacks on Israeli civilians - that's just the extremely unfortunate response of a few people who feel they have no other choice (being woefully out gunned) Of course I don't condone this behaviour, neither do I condone the bulldozing of innocent peoples homes and the killing of Palestinian civillians (intentional or not)

It wasn't long ago when a group of British reporters, who were making a documentary of life in the Gaza strip, were fired upon by Israeli soliders. They were out in the open, completely alone and visible, holding white flags, with helmets and vests which clearly marked them as being members of the press. One was killed. If this can happen, is it really suprising when we hear of Palestinian civilians being shot?

This documentary showed a young Palestinain women who had lost several members of her family (all children). Some of them were killed on the way to school. Sadly, this isn't that uncommon. Imagine living with that type of fear and we should at least be able to understand why a few people choose to react in the ways they do.

[A2597]

then you sir, are clueless...

[Mr.Reak]

Originally Posted by A2597

then you sir, are clueless...

Actually, he is somewhat right. I mean, half of Europe hates Americans too, but they don’t shoot you guys down on a sight. Why? Because they have a good life. Middle East, on another hand, it pushed to the limit, and many fight because of that. As easy as that, Russia had the same problem with Chechnya for years now, but those guys fought for “independence”.

[Warbie]

Why is that A2597?

I know muslims who don't hate us, some of them are my mates. My father works in the oil industry and has many Arab friends who have come round and spent time with my family.

If you believe that it's anything other than the vast minority of muslims who believe that they should 'kill all non-muslims Or infidels, or non-believers' then it is you who is clueless.

[Adrien C]

They are just jealous of freedom, and by the way the crisis in middle east is horible, Israel just steall the palestinians land and for some the reason the Israelit allways want more, more and more. Could you explain why hasent the international community done anything? If it was me I would have allready told them to calm down.