Response to column on Arabs
Khalil Matta
professor and director of the MIS Program
John Litle must be shocked to learn that two of those ignorant Arabs he mentions in his column to The Observer Friday have been responsible for his education at Notre Dame. As your advisor, John, I feel duty bound to educate you since your letter does not deserve a rebuttal.
There are many factual errors in your piece. The contributions of Arabs and Muslims to civilization are well documented. A cursory read of "Lost Discoveries: The Lost History of Modern Science" by Dick Teresi should get you up to speed if you are truly interested. If you choose not to read, then I suggest that you check with any of your history or anthropology professors; they should be able to help you out with the truth.
As far as the Arab-Israeli conflict is concerned, I would submit to you that even my Jewish friends admit that it is a little more complex than whether the word Jerusalem is in the Koran or not. Again, I would recommend that you read "The Other Israel: Voices of Refusal and Dissent" by Tom Segev to get at least a different view of the conflict from Israelis themselves. Alternatively, you can spend a few days this summer after you graduate in a Palestinian refugee camp. Maybe then you would be able to understand how these people feel.
Despite all these inaccuracies, I am much more worried about the racism of your arguments. To place labels on a race, culture or even region cannot be classified as regionist since this word does not even exist in the English language. A visit to Webster's dictionary would reveal that the best word to describe your words is racism.
For an educated man in the 21st century to call the religion of a billion people fanatical, particularly one whose roots are in the Christian-Judeo teachings is scary. Based on your arguments you make, all the KKK has to do to become a viable organization is to replace the word "Arab" instead of the word "nigger" in its charter. Your flawed logic also gives credence to the destruction of the American Indian culture since the Indians had nothing to contribute to the white man's civilization and to the failed apartheid regime in South Africa where blacks were considered inferior to whites.
Finally, as a Christian (and yes there are Arab Christians), I am proud to be a peacenik. After all, I am in good company. Based on my reading of the Bible (but obviously not yours), Christ was a peacenik, maybe even the first peacenik in the history of mankind. Violence, my friend, only begets more violence.
Those of us that have lived through a war, rather than simply watched it on TV, understand that. We peaceniks are really a weird bunch for we are haunted by the images of children with battered limps rather than being impressed with smart bombs going through chimneys.
Unfortunately to many, war has become a thrilling form of electronic entertainment just like a Nintendo game. We get to watch all the sophisticated and smart weapons at work but are not allowed to see the devastation they leave behind. We even have a score card presented to us at the end of each day with the number of the dead on each side, material lost and miles advanced, to keep track of the game's progress. No bloody images, no screaming moms, no orphaned children are being shown, only numbers.
And in case you are wondering about our support for the troops, who supports them more? Those that cheer from the comfort and safety of their homes as they risk their lives or those of us that want to keep them safe at home and out of harm's way by finding peaceful solutions to the world's problems.
John, as I close this letter, let me leave you with the following text of a speech made by a British Colonel, Lt. Col. Collins, to his troops in preparation for this war: "You will be shunned unless your conduct is of the highest, for your deeds will follow you down history. Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birth of Abraham. Tread lightly there. You will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. You will be embarrassed by their hospitality, even though they have nothing."
Khalil Matta
professor and director of the MIS Program
April 14
All Viewpoint Stories for Wednesday, April 16, 2003
