Gestures were discussed in another thread. I happened to find a
page that discusses various gestures in Arab culture. There is also this PDF
file on Arab gestures and taboos from the Navy, which includes the "thumbs up" gesture (it's at the bottom of page 10 of the file).
There is currently a pro-American rally in Clarksville, TN, near Fort Campbell. It's all good, so long as it doesn't turn anti-Muslim, or devolve into something like some of the anti-war rallies.
Quote:
Originally posted by dave
Exception and not the rule? Where have you been the last year and a half?
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Hmmm...well, I've lived in Philadelphia since September 2000. I've done some traveling throughout the northeast: DC, New York, Boston, the Poconos, the Jersey Shore. Other than that though, I've been in Philadelphia.
I think a good chunk of the "war on Islam" talk is just that--talk. Give someone a mic, an opportunity, and an audience, and it's amazing what they'll say. Sort of like when the media talk to hardcore Klan members, and they start spouting off shit like "we're protecting the white race" and "niggers are inferior."
I would like to think that most Muslims don't think that way. Including some of those talking on TV. Perhaps the shock and fear provokes an emotional response. Perhaps it's meant as a scare tactic. We're only hearing from what? 200-500 Muslims? Out of a billion?
Akbar Ahmed is a professor of International Relations at the American University in Washington, DC. He did an interactive
essay for the BBC that discusses relations with the western world and Islam. Good stuff...check it out. (Click on the link, then click on Mr. Ahmed, then watch the video or read the transcript. You may also be interested in the other essays presented.)
Slang, you know! Muslims...those dirty low-life fighters that believe some god named Allah! It's sacriligious, I tell you!