‘I’m not Arab, I’m Phoenician’­ a common phrase, but flawed concept

dailystar.com.lb ^ | 09/02/04 | Peter Speetjens

[elli1]

I think a royal purple, the color reserved for kings, was made from some variety of cave-dwelling snails.

[livius]

One of the major conflicts within Islam itself is between Arabs and non-Arabs. The latter are usually despised by the former and sometimes treated little better than non-Muslims in places where the Arabs are in power. So I think there are internal reasons for the Lebanese wishing to disassociate themselves from the Arabs. This is especially true now that almost all Christians have been driven out and Lebanon is mostly Muslim.

[curmudgeonII]

For that reason it’s important to have a closer look at the statement, “I’m Phoenician,” for it triggers several problems. First of all, it somehow implies the existence of a nation-state called Phoenicia. Fact is, however, that there never was such a thing. The Phoenicians lived in a loosely connected network of city states, which often ­ but not always ­ cooperated and which at times were autonomous, but more often paid tribute to the dominant empires in Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Using this argument you wouldn't be able to call the Athenians and Spartans of classical times Greek for the same reasons.

[Destro]

It just indicates a split personality among nationalists that want to idenfify themselves as "Arabs" over those semetic peoples that don't like belonging or be identified to the culture. Sort of like Bulgarian Slavs calling themselves "Macedonian" or Albanians calling themselves "Illyrians".

[Graymatter]

And the Greeks called it a wine-dark sea, too. Were they color-blind? :)

I've heard they called them "red" for their sunburns, not for their dye. Probably in fact it was neither.

[phoenixis]

"More importantly, identity is not just genetically
determined. It’s also the culture you live in, the language
you speak...
The past has given us ample examples in which historically based mythology, and an emphasis on the difference between people, was but a justification for inequality, hatred and even murder. "

So should Americans call themselves Brits because they speak English, or should Argentinians say "we're Spanish"
because they speak Spanish. This idea is totally flawed and
passe. It is even extremely reckless because it brings us
back to times long gone when some mustachioed guy used to
annex countries to Germany only because some people in those countries used to speak German language.

1)Arabic language was imposed under Islamic rule in Lebanon.
2)Most Lebanese Christians are not arabs. Their sects are Greek Orthodox , Maronites , Greek Catholics, Chaldeans,etc.Their physical features and culture are different than the arabs in the surrounding countries.
3) It's true that Christians are leaving the country.But the percentage of Christians in the country is still around 30 to 40 percent.

[SunkenCiv]

Was Hannibal Black?
RichardPoe.com | August 23, 2002 | Richard Poe
Posted on 08/24/2002 12:50:03 PM PDT by Richard Poe
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/738715/posts

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/738715/posts
http://web.archive.org/web/20021021115118/http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/738715/posts
http://web.archive.org/web/20021220140802/http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/738715/posts
http://web.archive.org/web/20030304140118/http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/738715/posts
http://web.archive.org/web/20040630043504/http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/738715/posts

http://www.newsmax.com/commentarchive.shtml?a=2002/8/24/134540

http://www.richardpoe.com/column.cgi?story=112

[SunkenCiv]

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