Actor Omar Sharif Says Arab Nations Will Never Be Democratized


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I do get sick of hearing President Bush talk about building a democracy in Iraq. You can't know anything about Islam or be in touch with reality and believe that is going to happen. To bad he did not listen.


Sharif said that he spoke with President Bush before the beginning of the Iraq War and told him that Arab nations are made up of sects resistant to becoming democratized.

"I said to Bush, even before he entered Iraq: Forget about all that. We, the Arabs... We are not like [regular countries]," said Sharif. "You will drown there.



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Actor Omar Sharif Says Arab Nations Will Never Be Democratized
Sunday, June 08, 2008

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Acot Omar Sharif
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif — best known for his film roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago — reportedly blasted U.S. policy in Iraq and said Americans are ignorant.

According to The Middle East Media Research Institute, Sharif said the "East" will never have a democracy because people like him "prefer to go to the neighborhood sheik." MEMRI —a Middle Eastern press monitoring organization — posted an interview of Sharif that aired on the Al-Hayat TV network.

"I lived in America for a long time. Only 10% of all Americans have a passport. In other words, 90% never left America," said Sharif. "They don't know anything."

Sharif said that he spoke with President Bush before the beginning of the Iraq War and told him that Arab nations are made up of sects resistant to becoming democratized.

"I said to Bush, even before he entered Iraq: Forget about all that. We, the Arabs... We are not like [regular countries]," said Sharif. "You will drown there.

After being asked what Bush's response was, the actor stated: "He didn't believe me."

Sharif, who was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub and raised a Roman Catholic, converted to Islam and changed his named when he married Egyptian actress Faten Hamama in 1955.

The 76-year-old actor, known for his expertise as a bridge player, has occasionally made headlines for his hot temper. In February he pleaded no contest to charges he assaulted a parking attendant in LA who claimed he was punched by acting great.

:whatever:
 

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I do get sick of hearing President Bush talk about building a democracy in Iraq. You can't know anything about Islam or be in touch with reality and believe that is going to happen. To bad he did not listen.
Yes - Sharif was one among many people who knew what they were talking about, who said beforehand that this was at best a futile effort. It's one thing to disagree with critics who know just as much as you, but it's much worse when you ignore people who live there and say, "We hate democracy and we're going to fight you tooth and nail on it with mindless determination. Also, remember that's pretty much the only thing we're good at."

Anyway, now we've successfully (and very expensively) fought ourselves into the middle of a snakepit. :wacko:

If we hadn't done this, and instead taken a more gradual approach over time, democracy might be possible in the Mideast. Decades of capitalism is good at softening people up, followed by gradually introducing civil liberties as a natural progression. This is happening (really slowly) in China, and Nepal recently ejected the remains of its monarchy. It seems to have been pretty successful so far in Vietnam - a government that was formerly very oppressive and heavy-handed has gotten very market-oriented in the last 10 years. The press has wide-ranging freedom (so long as they don't question the foundations of the Commie Party) and the police and government are being reformed to make them less corruption-oriented. Realistically, they may begin to transition out of the one-party system within 15 years, and even if they drag their feet, completely do away with it in a couple of generations.

Waiting 50-100 years to completely do away with autocracy isn't bad if it's an almost absolute certainty, rather than these "quick easy freedom" schemes. That's usually how things happen anyway, so why not just do it the right way the first time?
 
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