Saudi Arabia's Laudatory Initiative

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 27 July 2023 It's heartening to know that the Muslim students in Saudi Arabia don't get to read derogatory terms like 'pigs' and 'monkeys' for the Jewish people any longer. Though it's still not official, changes are obvious and the ice of centuries old rancour and bad-blood is thawing. According to the website, ' All Arab, ' Prince Salman or MSB ordered the removal of all hardcore and objectionable elements from the textbooks a couple of years ago. This is a very prudent decision. Even thinking to remove such abusive words for a community is a step towards peace and reconciliation. Muslims as well as Jewish across the world must realize that this inveterate bitterness must come to an end. Both Muslims as well as Jewish have an atavistic hatred for each other. I remember my legendary professor Sir Edward W Said's words, "I may not be alive but a day will come when the followers of Judaism and Islam will realize their folly and it'll dawn on them that they simply wasted their time in meaningless conflicts for centuries." Born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, the great man was a vocal Arab sympathizer. Despite being a well-wisher of Arabs and the people of Palestine, Dr Said was of the opinion that Muslims across the world were foolishly against the Jewish and Judaism. In an article in The Washington Post following 9/11, Said wrote, "What the Muslim extremists did must be condemned but to suggest that the demolition of the Twin Towers was actually perpetrated by Israel is all the more condemnable." Muslims shall have to get rid of all these outlandish conspiracy theories that suggest all the time that Jewish did this or that. American Political Scientist Samuel P Huntington's famous ' Projection of (false) innocence ' theory defines Muslim countries' terribly biased approach and attitude to Israel and its Zionist government. This will only besmirch the image of Islam. So, indoctrinating a Muslim child against Judaism and Jewish must be stopped. One should hope that Saudi Arabia's noble initiative will help break the ice and usher in an era of mutual respect for each other. This will also augur well for the beleaguered world, pounded and pummelled by a series of strife, skirmishes, conflicts and wars. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URl: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/saudi-arabia-laudatory-initiative/d/130307 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism