There is a cliché that distinguishes between cultures of shame and cultures of guilt, and by that crude distinction, it has always been said that the Arab world is a "shame culture."...
The difference between the concept of "guilt" and "shame" also tells us much about the way Muslim cultures think. "Guilt" is about responsibility. It is introspective in that it results from the internal reconciliation of a person actions and thoughts to his ideal of himself. It requires an honesty with oneself and with one's God. The interaction of a person with his conscience (which is the purveyor of guilt) is what causes a person to grow in character and self-worth.
Shame on the other hand is an outward based concept. Shame and its polar opposite dignity/honor depend on how one is seen by others. Shame is appearance based. If one appears to have honor, one has honor, regardless of the truth behind the curtain. Therefore, in Islam, introspection has a substantially diminished importance. Morality is achieved by the adherence to the rules of the Prophet, however incompatible with modernity. And shame is reduced by hiding the truth from others.
Bottom-line...Islam robs its strict adherents of the tool needed for the maturity of character (the introspective wrestling with conscience) and supplants it with the belief that the goal of life is the minimalization of external shame and the maximization of the appearance of honor by whatever means possible. The truth is irrelevant and external appearances are supreme.
This appears to be the fly in Islam's ointment. This seems to be the reason Islam must expand by force and its adherents must forever push for world domination. Islam is based on a lie...it functions on a lie. The only way the lie can prevent its being exposed is if everyone accepts the lie as the truth. Hence, Islam by its very nature requires a world caliphate...and death to the infidel.
Anyway, just thinking out loud. Fascinating article.
'Over the horizon looms a referendum to ratify the country's constitution. Sunni Arabs are registering in droves, keen not to repeat the error they committed when they boycotted the national elections earlier this year. In their pride, and out of fear of the insurgents and their terror, the Sunni Arabs say that they are registering to vote in order to thwart this "illegitimate constitution." This kind of saving ambiguity ought to be welcomed, for there are indications that the Sunni Arabs may have begun to understand terror's blindness and terror's ruin...'
That's the bit I like the sound of. Writes well, doesn't he? Btw, so do you.