A Pity the Iranians Are Not Arabs

Another thing of interest that I found in Raphael Patai's The Arab Mind is an annecdote that goes back to the eve of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence:

Musa Alami, the well-known Palestinian Arab leader, made a tour of the Arab capitals to sound out the leaders with whom he was well acquainted. In Damascus, the President of Syria told him:

I am happy to tell you that our Army and its equipment are of the highest order and well able to deal with a few Jews; and I can tell you in confidence that we even have an atomic bomb...Yes, it was made locally; we fortunately found a very clever fellow, a tinsmith...(p. 54-55)

Patai introduces this as an example of the inherent nature of the Arabic language which forms part of the Arab personality and the Arab tendency towards exaggeration.

These days, Iran is rapidly working its way towards nuclear ability, and the possession of nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, Iran--though Moslem--is not Arab; and according to the CIA World Factbook, only 1% of Iranians speak Arabic.

So its a safe bet that Iran is not using a tinsmith.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Iran and Syria.