Arabic Teachers Needs Arabic Teaching
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I could not resist but blog this.
Background:
Nooreldin (my eldest son), is now in Grade II. He goes to a private English school, which obviously teaches everything in English, except Arabic and Islamic are in Arabic of course.
Anyway, tonight he was studying for his tomorrow Arabic exam. He came across a word he wrote in his Arabic exercise book, but could not read, so he asked for help.
If you are an Arab viewer, then you can figure it out. It is the last word in the second line. So, I tried my best to read it, but with no luck. I could not figure it out. (Can you guess?)
Anyway, just with a quick look at his book, I was shocked with what I saw. It is full of spelling mistakes, out of context words and last but not least, completely irrelevant sentences to the pictures. However, everything is marked with teacher’s red pen; CORRECT!?!
My God! The first picture is of a kid swimming. But Nooreldin wrote: “Nouf like drawing and painting.” Teacher says; CORRECT!?!
Second picture, Nooreldin wrote: “Amal drawing #$^&%@.” Teacher says; CORRECT!?!
Last line, Nooreldin wrote: “And I like to RIDE the mountain.” Teacher says; CORRECT!?!
Ride; correct?! Well, to give you a background, in Bahrain they use the word “Erkab” (means Ride) when they mean to say “Climb”, but for God sake, this is Bahraini slang, not correct Arabic context!!!
Honestly, after seeing all these mistakes, I can’t imagine how scary Arabic teaching could be in this part of the world. And I don’t mean Arabic language only, and I don’t mean teaching in Bahrain only. I don’t know where these teachers graduated from. In fact, let’s face it. Who goes to study, and takes teaching as a profession in our part of the world? Losers, mainly, widely, and I mean it.
I don’t remember that I’ve seen someone graduating from school with very good marks, goes for teaching. It was and maybe still is the bad apples of the class would go to diplomas or bachelors degrees of teaching as a profession later, because they were not accepted to study anything better.
Now, one has to be fair. I’ve come across so many great teachers during my school years, and these are there every where, ever time. But, I’m afraid these types of teachers are the exception only.
This is an alarming sign. Well, I guess it was and will continue to be like that for very long. But authorities are responsible to improve the level of education in our schools.
Last but not least (and this is self criticism), all teachers in Nooreldin’s school are foreigners (non Arab) except the Arabic and Islamic teachers, they are locals. And guess what, he is doing so great in all subjects, but Arabic and Islamic. On the other hand, I hear from friends around here, that Bahrain non private schools, which have only Arab teachers, are bad enough that everyone tries to avoid them. Now that is sad!
Update (Nov 14th): After I complained and with little follow up, the teacher was fired. Seems she had a bad history. Good for the students.
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39 Comments on “Arabic Teachers Needs Arabic Teaching”
Oh boy, what the hell is that word? :p I don’t know what to tell you mean, I’ve heard about worse stories. 1st and 2nd grade teachers correcting their students’ notebooks by themselves so that the school can meet standards and not come under scrutiny. Can you believe that?
I would talk calmly with the teacher, and explain to him/her that I always look at my son’s work and that I hate it when I see such things happening. I think teachers will respond to this.
Maybe there are better schools!
Islam teachers are not much better. As you know my children also attend a private school so you rightly expect that they would get “better” education to fortify them for their future etc. But how does this “Islam” lesson translate in any sense:
“A guy in Sudan was cured from AIDS by reading the Quran and praying to God. Ma Shaa’ Allah!”
When my daughter told me about this incident I called the dickhead and invited him to explain himself where he did backflips blaming everyone and everything else but for his tiny mind.
I got frustrated with him in the end and hit him where it hurts most, my question to him was:
“Why are you encouraging our children to have UNPROTECTED sex?”
You can imagine how the conversation went after that. But the bastard still did not apologise nor explain his remarks to the class after that, he just swept the whole incident under the carpet.
I hope though that he will engage brain before allowing mouth to open again.
I’ve asked Noor if he did check correct his note book himself, but he said no. It is clear that the teacher had a look, and even correct and wrote two words in that page, but she didn’t find any other mistake.
I don’t know, should we blame it on Ramadan? I guess everyone drunk these days would blame his masticates on his fasting. As if he is doing us and God a favor in his fasting.
Anyway, Mahmood’s story is another example of sick teachers. And the problem is that kids, to some level, they just copy what teachers believe and say, regardless if that is wrong or right.
The other day, my younger son, Yahia, who is in HKG, was talking to me when I noticed that his pronunciation of some words are Indian like… his “what” sounds “vhat”! That’s how Indians pronounce the “w”. And no offense here.
Anyway, until now, Yahia don’t want to believe me that his pronunciation is wrong, and “vhat” is wrong. He says, “this is what our teacher says, are you a teacher?”, so I laugh and keep my mouth shut.
Yahia, if you are reading this, “vhat” is wrong, son
Anyway, back to Mahmood’s story. Imagine if the teacher started teaching them Jihad, his way (God knows which school of thought the teacher belongs to). What could be the result? And that’s not imagination. It is happening. Go back into news few months ago and follow news about closing schools in Pakistan. Why? Because their graduates are potential terrorist. And if you think that this is not the case in Arab world, you are wrong. Without naming schools in Arab countries, but there are hundreds of such schools, whose graduates are potential terrorist, and I mean these schools which takes Islamic teaching as cover for their brain washing to their students.
Anyway, I think I’d better teach my kids the Arabic and Islam, myself
I think I better teach my kids the Arabic and Islam, myself
Tell me when you’re going to start doing that as I’ll pay you to teach my kids as well! We live close enough man, what’re you complaining about?
Free of charge, Mahmood… if you send the beer with them
Careful. You might end up with Tiger beer =).
skribe
It happens here in the USA as well. My son came home from high school biology and announced to me that his science teacher had told him there are no more buffalo in the USA, they are extinct. I had to get on the internet and show him pictures of buffalo farms in the Midwest to prove him wrong.
Then, of course, his English teacher, I guess, speaks English of the ghetto variety, using words like “aint” and “axing”(asking) them questions.
This is what happens when you pay teachers so little. Here in America they like to say kids are the future, but if you think so, dont you think we ought to invest a bit better?
The issue is WHY Arabs like to teach their kids in english private schools ?and they expect them to get arabic there ! Arabic is just any other language in private schools even in an arabic country ,i see the young couples talking in english or french with their kids !!i dont know why !! Arabic schools are good ,all you need to do is to follow with the kids each and every day.
Teachers in private schools knows that Arabic is just complimentary so they dont bother ,also ,private schools they hire the teachers who are not accepted in government schools !!
Why in English private schools?
I guess two main reasons.
1. Why not? Specially that we all know that higher education is 99% in English. So why not give the kids good education in English so that when they go to universities, they are not lost?
2. Arabic schools curriculums are ancient history. Development of the educational material stopped ages ago. So are the teachers. You can hardly find a teacher or a school who has the freedom and capacity to develop.
Finally, Arabic schools are mainly the public schools. So if something goes wrong, you can’t complain. And if you do, nothing change. Contrary to private schools. For example in the above case, following my complaint and investigation, the teacher was fired.
As an arabic language teacher !!! this is true and sad !!!
My son goes to one of those english schools and he is in grade 1 but the arabic teacher forced him to hate her and her books.
wow wow wow
Just a point about underpaid teachers, My wife and I have been looking to go to the UK for a year (she is a teacher) and they are in dire need of teaches, but then we found out that they pay teachers less than an Office Clerk with little more than a year experience (about 24-32,000 pounds/year) that is not even enough to live off.
In Canada teacher get paid ok, but still when compared to other professions.
Hi Haitham,
A few years ago here in the states some “guru” educator came up with a new way of teaching reading and writing. The method is called “whole language”. During the time I was working on my credential and MA in Education AND had a child in grade school this was all the rage. Put simply: the “whole language” believers say that reading is taught best by simply reading to the child constantly and teaching “sight words” (not phonics) and that spelling is unimportant at an early age because it interupts the flow of expression. It also coincides directly with the idea that “self esteem” is fostered in students by teachers by not constantly correcting a student but instead, not sweating the small stuff (such as spelling) and praising the student for just how great their efforts are. The teacher you mentioned in this post is either a proponent of “whole language” or just too lazy and uneducated in this subject matter to correct your child. I happen to think that “whole language” is a crock of crap and an excuse for teachers to BE lazy. It is phasing out slowly here as the sole method but is now being used in partnership with phonics and proper spelling. It is the direct reason found by many researches that the generation which was subject to “whole language” as the sole pedagogy are such poor readers and spellers. It’s just a real BIG hassle for parents to have to correct their children when they send them to school to learn properly. Add in the fact that children always say to parents who correct them the line “My teacher SAYS…” and you’ve got a parent readdy to SHOOT someone. Hopefully there in Bahrain you can simply go to the administration and point out that this teacher is not doing anything properly to educate your child and that she/he is a poor reflection on the school. Good luck in taking care of the problem. In the mean time, it’s parents who have to keep on top of things like you did in this case.
Salam,
I am maybe late to solve the mystery of the word written by Noor, but I’ll do it all the same. Doesn’t that looke like: “rasman jameelan”. But of course raa2 is missing, and he put the dot under 7aa2 so it became khaa2; otherwise everything fits to my guess.
This is the first time I read through this blog.
I hope the ‘beer’ thingy was a joke..
I wonder if you really started teaching your kids Arabic and Islam, because we sometimes just say stuff like that, get excited about them, and move on.
Greetings..
Mariam,
My wife is a religious lasy, and I can assure you that she is doing a great job
I don’t why we even bother teaching our kids the Arabic language. My baby girl will end up knowing Arabic but I think it will be a waste. The language is dead. Private schools are a blessing. These schools are one of the tickets for a successful career in the future. A kid who doesn’t read and speak and write English is as good as an illiterate. That’s the truth. To prove my point, open up a respectable daily paper in a semi civilized state in the region, and there aren’t many, and you’ll notice that most if not all the job ads for well paying positions are in English. They could have been in Arabic but they were listed in English. They ask you to push through a cover letter with your resume to see how well you write English. Arabic language is a failure. I know that many of the readers will start replying back with high emotions defending this old dead-locked language but that will not change a thing. This is the truth. In the company I work for and it is one of the largest worldwide, the official language in English. In a meeting and even if everyone attending is an Arab, they speek English.
One other thing… Nothing like a good cold pint of Heineken late in the evening. If it’s against your belief and you don’t drink it then you’re out of luck. You don’t know what you’re missing. cheers all.
Ed,
If you think Heineken is good, then wait until you’ve tasted European beer
Ed,
Arabic is a dead language since who?
If you make a little research in the United States, you’ll see that Arabic has become a strategic language nowdays.
But unfortunately, as Arabic is getting important in other non-Arabic countries, it’s getting neglected in its own land.
As usual, we pick up what the others throw, and we throw what makes our own treasure.
All the best.
M.
Mariam,
Yes Arabic is very important not just in the States but across the western world. There is a reason behind this. It’s to understand what the terrorists, who are mostly Arab, are talking about and planning. This interest isn’t because the west appreciates Arabs or their dead-end language. Yes there is a demand for Arabic speaking folks in the States only to infiltrate terrorists and their dark circles inside the mosques. 2nd generations of Arab immigrants don’t know Arabic and don’t want anything to do with it. They might as well learn Spanish or Chinese or Italian or Duetch… Maybe you are the one who doesn’t understand what you read or rather you wouldn’t want to understand what doesn’t appeal to you in your reading, if you read to start with.
Spanish is the 2nd language in the US my dear.
Strategic… Funny…
Thomas.
I’m going out on vacation to EU this summer… A few countries in EU. What good beers do you recommend? Advise coming from a Dane about beer is priceless.
Just a note about languages. Each language has it’s own unique characteristics and cultural nuances. I hope to goodness that Arabic is not a dead language because it is simply one of the biggest factors of their culture, just like Spanish is to those who speak Spanish. Here in the States there is a BIG movement on to declare English the official language and to force assimilation by forcing English learning. While I am a very STRONG proponent of anyone wanting to live in the US learning English, I would NEVER want second generation Hispanics to leave their language behind. I could compare it to leaving Hispanic food behind and taking up American food practices (McDonalds anyone? Well, maybe some more upscale chain restaurants). I know I for one really LIKE Mexican food and wouldn’t want all the restaurants to close or the items on their menus to be called something else. Just what would a “taco” be in English? No, any language is a part of the culture it is spoken by and that is a BEAUTIFUL thing. The more languages we all learn the better we get to know each other. When you can actually think in a tongue different than your own then you REALLY have a feel for it. English very truly has become the universal language just as French once was the diplomatic language. The more we are all able to communicate using one common language IS good for communincation reasons but is NOT good when it starts to deteriorate a culture whose native tongue is different and unique. Just rambling.
Well said Robin.
It is a shame to lose any language. My point is that Arabic did not keep up with science, technology, medicine or any other aspect of human progress over centuries. That was not my point. It is dead. Learning Arabic would not benefit you much other than if you want to go shopping in any Arab downtown. Even upscale shopping in high society in Arab cities is in English. People living here know exactly what I’m talking about. You don’t need a language to hold and support your heritage. Human heritage was not and will never be supported by languages. Nonesense. Terrorists speak and write the best Arabic but hey what’s their heritage… Chopping heads on sattelite TV or butchering kids in markets. Some heritage…
Guys,
I am sitting here a little amused and surprised about all the talk of endangered languages, strategic languages etc.
You view on languages is quite a bit different from mine. Naturally, we are also looking at the issue from two perspectives; you have grown up with major languages spoken by large groups of people in the world while I have grown up with a minor language spoken by 5-6 million people only.
Language-wise you seem a bit etnocentric, which is something I have often encountered with people having a major language as their native language. To me, it seems like major language speakers often see any ‘foreign’ language as a threat to their own culture and see the use of language as a competition - a battle of the giants so to say. Most etnocentric language speakers have a hard time understanding that it is not a win all/loose all question.
As a minor language speaker, I do not see language as a question of world domination, but as a tool for communication. To me, Danish is the language normally spoken in Denmark, but Denmark is a small country, so we have to cooperate and work with other countries (we gave up the dream of Danish world domination some time at the end of the Viking Age). I do not expect you to answer me if I write on Sabbah’s blog in Danish; it is not because you are stupid, but I recognize that you have not lived in an area where it was natural to speak Danish.
As the goal of this blog is to communicate across borders, it makes a lot of sense to speak a language that as many people as possible understand. Arabic may be the ‘perfect’ language for a blog for people in the Middle East, but Danish or Arabic does not make much sense if the aim is to exchange ideas among people from all over the world. In this case, English is the No. 1 language (way ahead of Spanish, French, and German - and Arabic or Chinese). It is not that English is a superior language, but that it is the first foreign language for most people around the world.
The difference between English and Arabic is that English is a major ‘bridge language’ necessary for international communication while Arabic and Danish are regional and local phenomenons that are more useful for regional or national communication.
Danish is my native language and I use it to communicate with my friends and family in Denmark. English is my 1st foreign language because I want to be able to communicate with people all over the world. German is my 2nd foreign language because Germany is Denmark’s largest trading partner and because I have more than 80 million neighbours who I would like to be able to understand and talk to. Hungarian is becoming my 3rd foreign language because I have immigrated to Hungary where it is the national language - and it is very practical to be able to speak with people in their local language.
If you are a native speaker of English and that is the only language you are able to speak, then remember that I (and many others) have learned English as a foreign language because we want to talk to YOU and not because we think that your language and your culture is superior to our own.
Trust me, the human mind is capable of a lot and I did not loose my ‘Danishness’ when I started learning my first foreign language.
Learning a foreign language is never a loss of your own culture, it is always an enrichment as you are able to talk to people you would otherwise not be able to talk to - and you may actually end up learning something about their culture or at least understand their points of views!
Languages are complemantary not substitutiary.
Ed,
The EU is a collection of 25 different countries, so you need to be a bit more specific for me to recommend you good local beer (if I know any from the areas you go to). Anyway, if you find Danish beers (Carlsberg & Tuborg), German beers (just stay away from Beck’s), Czech beer (Pilsener Urquell and Budweiser Budvar are probably the best beer in Europe, but you can’t go wrong with Czech beer). Austrian, Slovak, and Hungarian beer is also very good in general. The epicenter of European beer tradition (the pilsener type, not the ale type from the UK) is the Czech Republic and Bavaria (South-Eastern Germany) area. The pilsener type of beer was ‘invented’ in the Pilzen area of the Czech Republic supposedly by the Pilsener Urquell brewery.
Ed,
Language IS culture, because it is the carrier of thousand of years of wisdom, figures of speech etc. Just as cultures develop and change over long periods of time, so does language.
Shopping for luxury goods is not culture as such, just a small part of it. That shopkeepers need to speak English to serve foreign language customers is not a corruption of culture, but adaption to meet the needs of the clientele.
I don’t want to sound demeaning or arrogant, but you cannot look at culture with the eyes of a US American and make such a definite statement. The USA is a very young country made up of families whose ancestors brought in many different cultures, so it is still going through the process of creating a ‘unique’ culture. In the USA language is less connected to the national culture as US English started out as ‘just’ a bridge language between immigrants speaking English, German, Spanish, French, Polish, Hungarian, Danish, etc. etc. and US English is based on British English which is the carrier of British culture.
The Danish language carries wisdom, proverbs, and figures of speech where many goes back more than two thousand years. When I watch a Danish movie from the 1950’s I find the language they use amusing, because it is like taking a 50 year trip back through time. This does not mean that Danish culture has been corrupted in the meantime, just that it has evolved to fit the modern Danish society. If I traveled back just 100 years and said feta, pizza, or halal to somebody then nobody would know what I was talking about. Today these are parts of the Danish language to fit the modern society with adoption of ‘features’ of foreign culture that has enriched Danish society.
The adoption of ‘foreign’ terms and concepts in national languages does not mean that we are moving towards a world-wide mono culture, just that our societies have become more internationally connected and open to new ideas (some good, some bad).
If a language, and therefore culture, does not change over time then it will be seriously out of touch with a modern society. The problem is that some day that population will wake up and get a serious culture chock, because the world has moved on while they have been standing still.
I don’t know Arabic, so I cannot say whether it has come to a stand-still or if it is moving slower than the development of those societies. Maybe someone from that area will share their opinion on that.
Hey Thomas,
“Language IS culture, because it is the carrier of thousand of years of wisdom, figures of speech etc. Just as cultures develop and change over long periods of time, so does language.”
That’s what I was trying to say.
The mere fact that words creep across languages doesn’t deteriorate a language it enriches the communications between the cultures. I’m of Danish descent on my dad’s side by the way and my great grand-father came here from Denmark, learned English quick-time and never spoke Danish to his kids. So there you go, the chance to pass on a major element of his culture to his kids, ie my grandfather, was lost. What did my grandpa end up with? Well, his father had converted to Mormanism in Denmark which was the reason he emigrated here so you ended up with an English speaking Danish Morman who deserted his wife and family when my grandpa was 12!! I think it’s a SHAME when parents choose not to pass on their native tongue to their children because it is a “pearl” and should not be cast aside just because English has become the most common used language. That’s really what I was trying to say.
When I lived in Saudi I COULD have gotten by on English only just because almost every single person spoke it. In my case my mother-in-law (who I love dearly) was my main Arabic teacher. If I wanted to communicate with her, which I did, then I was going to learn Arabic. Plus that, with everyone reverting back to Arabic when speaking to eachother when I was around made me CURIOUS as to what was being said. I WANTED to learn because it was what I married into. My colloquial Arabic became quite fluent thanks to my mother-in-law and my own determination. The irony was that I found out after several years that she had taught HERSELF English, could read it and understand it quite well, but would NOT use it with me. Why? She loved me so much she wanted to give me the gift of her language. Language of ANY culture is a gift, no matter how few people speak it. That’s what I was trying to say.
As for Arabic becoming the “language of terrorism” that is a pretty shocking reason for anyone, Ed (I’m speaking to you here too) to give as a reason to give it up. While Arabic and Arabs are associated with “terrorism” to a large degree, (VERY sad face) that does NOT negate the fact that it is the language of MILLIONS of peaceful WONDERFUL people who are carrying it forth as an integral part of their culture. While currently (and for a while)Arabic culture has been floundering in SOME aspects, it is nonetheless, the language of a GREAT culture which has given us so much. There IS something of a culture lost when another language supplants the native tongue. It always amazes me, I still use several Arabic terms which just do NOT have English counterparts. Well, maybe they do, but the nuance gets lost in the translation.
So, just to make it clear, I am for maintaining languages, the more you learn, the better, no matter how many or how few speak them.
BTW Tomas, that’s why in the past I went looked up how to say a few common courtesies in Hungarian when I addressed you. Do you speak Hungarian since that is where you live now?
I don’t drink beer too often (except in Mexico where you HAVE to have a cerveza) but CHEERS!
Thomas,
Apologies. I reread your post above and realized Hungarian is becoming one more language you speak. GREAT!! As they say, “When in Rome do as the Romans do!”.
One more note. My father-in-laws second wife who I also lived with and loved dearly, spoke Armenian as her native tongue (as well as Turkish, some Greek, English, Arabic fluently, some French and Italian and Spanish) She spoke Armenian exclusively with her own two children. I WANTED to learn some Armenian also because the opportunity was there but there was NO way she wanted to teach me. It was their “secret language”. While she gave her children the gift, she kept it as a means of use as a “secret code” so to speak. (something I had to respect) This I think might be what Ed is referring to when he says Arabic is being learned in the US for instance NOT for good reasons, but to “break the code”. What a SAD state of affairs!
Hello Ed and all,
Why the aggressive tone by the way? Trying to make a point? Wouldn’t work without being nicer?
Here is an old link:
http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/1698
Strategic language yes, for many reasons, like the one you stated yourself, as to know what ‘terrorists’ plan, like if they are just Arabs.
I don’t care if Spanish is the 2nd language in the States, it’s not the center of the world to me. I am trying to make you understand that Arabic is, in my opinion, definitely not a dead language. If it’s the one that initiated most of the existing sciences, I can’t deny that it’s the one that’s left behind in all fields of knowledge. But is that the only criteria to take into account when evaluating a language and qualifiying it for being dead or not?
According to Answers.com, a dead language is :”A language, such as Latin, that is no longer learned as a native language by a speech community… Languages that are no longer spoken.”
That does not make of Arabic a dead language even by a tiny bit.
You tell me how you got to the brilliant conclusion of it being dead.
By the way, Arabic is not my number one native language, it only comes second, but still, I speak it on a native level.
Best wishes,
M.
PS: There are many other points I’d love to comment, but I am in a rush.
Mariam,
Arabic language did not “initiate most of the science”. That is wrong. Some Arab scholars translated some greek and ancient science and later put their signature under it trying to take the credit. If there was Intellectual Property rights then, they would have been in the slammer rotting away until now. They did not initiate much aside from lots and lots of violence and bloodshed. Now, Arabic language is a dead language in the sense that it is at a stand still. The yearly “Arabic language summit” in Cairo admits that, by the way. They have a yearly conference in which they go on and on about ways to revive this language’s progress to no vail. The walk away with their tale between their legs. This language was once a widely used language, now, experts are getting hopeless with it so if it is not dead by your definition then it sure is heading there. The Turks by the way acknowledged that it’s useless. They dumped it and switched to Latin letters. Those were the days of Ataturk. Name sounds familiar!
Ed,
Maybe Arabic language did not “initiate most of the science”, but to denounce that there has ever come anything good out of it is even worse.
It may be true that advancement in human culture, science etc. has NOT come fram the Arab world in the past one or two centuries, but it was not always like that. Or do you think that the ancient sites in what is now Iraq are being called the craddle of civilization because of history revision?
You talk about Intellectual Property right as if it was a great advancement for the human race, but it is not - to the contrary.
Our forefathers were much better at exchanging ideas than we are today. Back then it was possible for societies that to acquire new technologies and approaches to the benefit of all of humanity. For example, my forefathers, the Vikings, did not know how to make glass, they learned it from the Middle East! Printing books is a technology that came from Germany, the concept of an ombudsman comes from Sweden… imagine what a backward world we would live in if each society had patent rights to their own discoveries and were blind to new -and maybe better- ways of doing things!
By the way, didn’t the Arabs ‘invent’ the modern numbers we use every day? If that had not happended, then we would be living in MMIV instead of 2006!
Ooops! It should be MMVI in Roman numerals!
Thomas,
It was the Industrial revolution that has advanced humanity this far. It was not ancient sites in IRQ. How do ancient cities and sites that were burnt down to ashes by the Mongolians help advancement? They didn’t… That was history. It was a civilization and it ended then never to rise again from the desperation, ignorance and suffering. Up to our current time, people are still killing each other by the dozens over illutions of eternal life after death. What type of advancement do you speak of amidst of all this?
In 1858 or so, Americans drilled their first oil well. Where were the Arabs in 1858? What were they doing? Go back to history books to know. It is too depressing for me to tell you. How many patents have Arabs contributed to humanity in the last 50 years? Give me a name of a medicine they have invented. A machine that they make. Their best quality head dress in the gulf is made in the UK!!! What are you talking about man. In the oil industry, not a single machine we install or operate is manufactured here… You talk about modern numbers?
A person can stand up and wave his little flag and chant his national songs and be proud of his language… Okay, then what? Do good and be productive, be honest and trust worthy. Be a true patriot and go work the fields. Egypt’s rice stock would feed them 60 only. If it wasn’t for US aid there, you’d have 70 million Egyptians eating each other away from starvation.
You speak of Intellectual property and it’s negatives. I recommend you read some more modern economy oriented books. That’ll help you understand intellectual property advantages because without it, the world would go back, not advance.
Ed,
I am preparing my argumentation for you, but it is getting late, so I will get back to you in a couple of days when I have the time to give you a reply.
Ed,
A modern society is the sum of all the advancements (and occasional steps backwards) through history, not just inventions from the so-called industrialized countries. Any claim to write off the value of any other society, ancient or present, would be ethnocentric and arrogant.
If our forefathers had not figured out that heating rocks in the fire and throwing them into a hole to heat up a mixture of crushed grain and water would create a bread, then we would not have an automatic bread-maker where you drop in the ingredients and out comes a bread a couple of hours later. If our forefathers had not figured out how to mix nitrate, charcoal, and sulphur which would produce fireworks for celebrations, then we would not have cluster bombs or land mines that can ensure that the killing of civilians continue long after an armed conflict is over.
Some technological advancement does not really seem like advancement if one looks a little closer. But it is a fact, that a lot of the things you take for granted every day are the products of technologies that were only made possible because our forefathers were wise enough to share their knowledge with others. I doubt you can find any product that could have been produced and brought to you without ingredients, components, or machines based on technology and knowledge developed in another country or part of the world.
That said, I admit that present day Muslim countries are not exactly at the forefront technologically, but it is not because they are lesser people than you and me or because they are incapable. I suspect that a reason could possibly be that they spend so much of their time on a religion that has remained static for about a millennium; because that has made them complacent in all other parts of life as well. What I think it comes down to is that their stubborn belief in that everything starts and end with their religion has resulted in that they have lost their natural curiosity and therefore the ability to question everything around them. The main driver behind innovation and development is questioning status quo - no questions, no progress!
Judging from your argumentation, I have probably read a whole lot more about economics than you have. This is the part of my post where I accuse you of complacency, because before I looked beyond what was written in the books I was presented with by the ‘education system’ I could have made the same comments about economy as you do. I hyphenate ‘education system’, because selective conditioning or indoctrination to promote pseudo-capitalism would be much more fitting.
If you had taken an interest in the works of economists and political thinkers like Chydenius, Hayek, von Mises, and Rothbard instead of just the abstracts of Keynes’ and Smith’s models used in the ‘modern’ economy books you refer to, then you would know about the caveats, limitations, and forewarnings that should accompany the economic models that pseudo-capitalists have implemented in our societies.
Some of the important factors that have ‘disappeared’ from ‘modern’ economy books are for example:
-that Capitalism is an ideology which goes beyond the economic principles presented as free market economics (the word capitalism was originally used derogatory by Communists - the proponents of radically different economic models).
-that free market economic models have no social conscience, so they will only provide the foundation for a just and democratic society if they are supplemented with ethical philosophies about liberty and personal rights. The models can explain the dynamics of a free market, but they cannot guarantee that the market remain free from corruption.
-that both supporters and opponents of free market economics warned that Keynes’ interpretation of the models would be likely to result in a feudal society with a political system close to oligarchy. If you open your eyes, then you would realize that they were right!
-that monopoly and oligopoly situations in a supply and demand driven economy is ONLY possible through manipulation of the market mechanisms (corruption, subsidies and preferential legislation).
-that economic equality (equal distribution of wealth) is impossible and that there will always be a natural imbalance in the distribution of wealth. Pareto’s “Pareto Principle” and “Law of the Vital Few”, “Zipf’s Law” about probability distributions, and “Chaos Theory” about non-linear dynamics have proven this, but also that great inequality (e.g. 5% of the population owning 80% of the wealth) is just as unnatural, however possible through manipulation of the market.
If you had also followed up on more recent economic developments you would be aware of:
-that several of Keynes’ theories have been proven flawed and incorrect by practice, but that very few theories have been corrected in ‘modern’ economy books and in policies by governments in most industrialized countries (e.g. stagflation was not anticipated until it popped up in the early 70s).
-that there is proof of that economic policies to ‘heat’ or ‘cool’ the national economy is more like pissing in your pants to keep warm than having lasting effects. In other words, a complete waste of money.
-that Adam Smith’s principle about benefits of trade between nations only brings the ‘promised’ benefits when both nations have a comparable standard of living, but that it leads to rent seeking and has devastating effects on both nations if there is a considerable gap between the standard of living in the two nations.
-that ownership by proxy (stock trade) promotes short-term rent seeking rather than a long-term focus on sustainable profitability of a company. Most privately owned companies perform better because their owners are willing to accept long-term investments while publicly traded companies focus more on short-term investments to meet the short-term dividend demands by investors (that is the reason why a large company can present record profits one day and then fire 2,000 employees the day after).
I know that there is justification for intellectual property rights to some degree (in industrialized countries), but please let me know exactly how the world will advance with proliferation of strict intellectual property laws!
Are you talking about the hundreds of thousands that are dying of AIDS in Africa because multinational pharmaceutical companies prohibit that they produce generic copy drugs in order to be able to afford the supply for the sick people?
Strictly following the laws (written in cooperation with the pharmaceutical companies to begin with) the pharmaceutical companies are right, but does it advance the world that African nations are prevented from producing the drugs that people need when the only alternative is that they are forced to buy an insignificant amount of expensive drugs and therefore can only supply a fraction of their patients while the rest are doomed to die -just to blindly uphold pseudo-capitalism that was supposed to provide prosperity to everybody?!?
Here is what Noam Chomsky said when he was asked whether he thinks a fair society would be possible under capitalism:
Chomsky: “Ghandi was once asked what he thought about Western civilization. His answer was that maybe it would be a good idea. And you can say the same about capitalism. Maybe it would be a good idea; we have never had anything remotely resembling it.”
Wow, I just want to say that, I am shocked, and also that I am excited to read what everyone has to say. I have been thinking about taking my daughter to an Arab country to learn Arabic and Islam, however, with all the unrest, out of Morocco, Sudan, Lebanon, etc. I am reluctant, yet am upset as well that there are no schools such as these where I live (US) as far as I know at this time, which I am about to fully research. It’s just I am in such a hurry as she is five and it seems a prime age to learn these things. However, maybe we can go for the summer next year or something, or visit in winter break and slowly accustom her instead of living there for six months or more, as well, all the relief agencies I’ve researched currently have no vaccancies.
But thanks everyone first for posting this, and secondly for sharing your thoughts. very fascinating (educational)
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Hazem H.
shocking . i could not believe it when i saw the book you scanned . wow if i were you i would have had a discreet talk with the principal . this guy (or lady )has to go !
when i lived in Canada , Toronto , mY kids went to Arabic class just twice . their Egyptian teacher had a strong Egyptian accent which they did not understand as they knew moroccan Arabic . and she was strict and paid attention to trivial things and she never smiled . they hated the classes and gave up Arabic . shame.
She got fired coz of the above
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