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In attempting to understand the Arab world, western scholars and politicians have applied the same tools and reasoning that has worked for centuries in other regions. However, early attempts baffled most and led them to the conclusion that Arabs were "illogical, untrustworthy, passive before domineering rulers while given to intrigue and violence--all in all, an unsavory lot". As I have walked down this same path of research, a thought has occured to me, "Arabs are people, and at the very least share those things common to all people". I want to attempt to do something different in my analysis of Arabs and by extension, Muslims. Instead of trying to figure out why they aren't like me, I am going to analyze why they are the way they are and figure out what they want to be and how they are going to get there.

There exist a multitude of explanations for why Arab politics exist the way they do. Why does there seem to be a predisposition of authoritarian regimes and only two (non-Arab) democracies in the Middle East (Turkey and Israel)? Some point to the Arab cultural history of tribes, clans and the patriarchal order that they evolved from. Others claim that there exists "traditions of domination" that permeate social and political life in the Arab world. Still others point to Islam and tell us that it is wholly incompatible with democratic rule. Of all these and the many others presented elsewhere, none answers the most important question: What do the Arab people really want? Since no one has bothered to explore this, we are left with speculation and a decidedly "Western" view of the political culture of the region.

Islam is a difficult religion to democratize because it does not seperate "God from Ceasar" or politics from religion. However, it contains elements that are both compatible with democracy and clearly undemocratic. What most Western analysts seem to miss is that all religions can be categorized this way. Catholicism and Protestant religions have both an undemocratic past and persistent features that today fly in the face of true democracy. It is the myopia that I believe prevents the United States from using its power to effect positive change in the region.

Current peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine are doomed to failure with traditional political methods because of the lack of attention to the human factor. The militant groups who want to "eradicate Jews from the region" are not going to negotiate easily and have a lot of backing. Why do they have so much support? Because the Palestinians don't have water, food, and medicine or any guarantee of safety. They are on the wrong side of a power struggle and feel like they don't have much to lose. Success depends on providing these *people* with what all other people need and want in life: water, food, shelter and some semblance of security. The promise of a Palestinian state is a good thing, but if that state is dysfunctional, the militants will continue to bomb and shoot until their demands are met. Regardless of the politics and religion of Palestinian Arabs, the United States needs to spend its resources on nation building and securing the lives of the people that make up the nation. One hopes that current efforts in Iraq are no indication of the capability of the U.S. to do so.