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Article: Arab intellectuals in crisis as few dare discuss religion
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- March 3, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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CAIRO -- The scene was a seminar at the Cairo book fair, the
preeminent yearly intellectual event of the Arab world. The speaker
was Fouad Zakaria, longtime chairman of philosophy at Kuwait
University, recently retired. The subject: The Crisis in Arab
Thought on the Threshold of the 21st Century.
Zakaria was recounting approvingly how a teacher had told his
students that it was inappropriate to begin history papers with "God
created the world." The room of several hundred listeners tensed.
Zakaria added, "This does not mean that the teacher did not believe
in God." The room relaxed.
Looking back on that moment last Monday, Zakaria recalled: "I felt
the need to add that because I could feel ...