Like most I get upset by radical Islamic talk. On the morning of 9/11/2001 I was in Philly about to drive in to NYC. Disoriented, the realization sunk in I would have to drive all the way home to Florida and that I-95 was chock full of traffic from NYC and DC. So, I headed west to catch a different southern highway and United Flight 93 crashed just a few miles from where I was driving in rural Pennsylvania. I remember listening to every AM news station on the 1,200 mile drive I could find hoping to hear about the safety of Air Force One as it headed to a different air base every few hours. Not something you easily forget - or forgive.
I was supposed to go to India next week, but cannot for other commitments and I cannot say I am not relieved I do not have to fly over the Middle East with the recent tension around the Mohammed cartoons. Last November, when I went to Paris there were riots - again around its immigrants from Muslim countries.
Unlike most in the West though, I spent a couple of years working for PwC in the Middle East - mostly in Saudi Arabia, but I also spent business or personal time in Dubai, Bahrain, Egypt (and Israel).
I did not enjoy the restrictions on religion, alcohol, free speech, fraternizing in Saudi Arabia (the other countries were far more liberal). I did not particularly enjoy the food or the work ethic of the locals. On the other hand, I felt safer than anywhere in the US and most people I met were friendly. I came to admire (and own) some of the fabulous silk and wool rugs from Iran and Turkey. I used to love visiting the Corniche in Jeddah, with its progressive set of sculptures and wide boulevards on the Red Sea. I met an amazing range of folks from around the world - Filipinos, Somalians, Lebanese. Together we ran sophisticated oil refineries and data centers.
It is 1427 in the Muslim Hejira calendar. Imagine what Europe was during the Dark Ages - the feudal wars, the Black Plague, the dirt poor peasants. Then a spectacular Renaissance followed. May be naively, I believe the Muslim world is similarly poised for one. After all, this is a religion which has given the world Algebra, the Taj Mahal, the telescope and the pendulum. Then it went in to its version of the Dark Ages.
I find it hard to believe the moderate Muslims I knew in Saudi have all turned radical. I happen to believe Arab women will rise in stature and as women do around the world be far more nurturing and moderate. Not today, not tomorrow, but gradually.
Tempting as it is to think about nuking that part of the world, realistically we have to keep supporting and growing the moderate core. They have much more to be afraid of from the radicals than most of us do. It takes amazing guts for this Arab lady, Mona Eltahway, to say some of the stuff she says. In the end we have to protect the Monas, continue to empower them, help them grow.
Some day, I hope my kids see my old stomping grounds in the Middle East. Hopefully, my daughter can teach young Arab girls chess - after all, their ancestors are said to have introduced chess to Europe. The only killings taking place would be on the chess board. Call me a dreamer. Or just selfish. I do not want to do a traumatic 1,200 mile drive again.
Update: Like Mona above, the NY Times reports on another Arab lady, Dr. Wafa Sultan who speaks for the moderate core.
