Saturday, September 22, 2007

"Mr. Toraifi said the postings had generated some debate in the Arab world and had been the subject of a column in an Algerian newspaper lauding the State Department for discussing policy with ordinary people, something the writer said the Algerian government would never do." Some debate? Are you serious? Nobody knows who they are, and nobody has even noticed. But I like that reference to "a column in an Algerian newspaper" as evidence of how much attention these dudes are getting. But at least somebody is reading the Arab Mind: "“Freedom for an Arab doesn’t necessarily have the same meaning it has for an American. Honor does. So we might say terrorism is dishonorable, which resonates more.”" Oh, yeah. It is resonating throughout the Arab world. Who would have thought that it took two bloggers to win hearts and minds in the Middle East, and to drastically change US image among Arabs/Muslims? (thanks Amina)