Egyptian Movie Star Omar Al-Sharif: Americans Are Ignorant. We Arabs Prefer the Neighborhood Sheikh

[tayfah_mansurah]

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1782.htm

[anam]

''probably they can spot Italy- only because it is in shape of shoe!''

hahahaha

[anam]

Mash'Allaah he said they will never except democracy

and that he prefers the hukm of the shaykhs than any of their rulers or man made laws !

[abumuwahid]

Mash'Allaah he said they will never except democracy

and that he prefers the hukm of the shaykhs than any of their rulers or man made laws !


Omar Sharif: The American policy is completely wrong. It is a large and rich country, with great possibilities, and everything, but they don't understand what is going on in the rest of the world. They just don't get it. I lived in America for a long time. Only 10% of all Americans have a passport. In other words, 90% never left America. They may have gone to Mexico or Canada, because they don't need a visa or a passport to go there. 90% of them don't know... You show them an unmarked map of Europe, and ask them where France is, and they don't know. Ask them where Italy is... Okay, Italy they know because it looks like a shoe. They don't know anything. They are ignorant.
I said to Bush, even before he entered Iraq: Forget about all that. We, the Arabs... We are not like [regular countries]. We are sects. This is how we have always been. Egypt is the exception, because we Egyptians are a people that... [I said to Bush:] If you enter Iraq – what will you do with the Sunnis, the Shiites, and the Kurds? You will drown there. You have Iran and Syria next to you – these are Shiites, and those are Sunnis. What do you know about all these things? You will drown there.
Interviewer: How did he respond?
Omar Sharif: He didn't believe me. I told him that I come from the East and I know... He said: "No, there must be a democracy there." I said to him: We don't have a democracy, and we never will. You'll see, because people like me prefer to go to the neighborhood sheik. I like going to him, and he resolves all the problems. If someone stole from you, or something, you take him to the neighborhood sheik, and you say: This man stole from me. The sheik says to him: Return the money, or never come back to the neighborhood.

[Abu Maysara]

this guy's real name is Michel, originally catholic,he married a woman from a muslim family and "embraced " Islam at that time, he has happily declared himself atheist at more than one interview.
the statement doesn't mean anything..we Arabs don't believe in democracy...
this can be understood in many ways....

[hifdh]

By "sheikh" I take it by the context of his words that he does not mean "local Islamic scholar" he means head of tribes, etc.

[morbius]

Didn’t know he was still alive. Amazing actor, one of the best there ever was!

The story I’ve heard is that he converted because family of his wife would never agree to the marriage otherwise.

Anyone know the name of that movie where he plays an Afghani?