Op-ed criticizes culture of lying in the Arab world
Excerpt of op-ed by Attorney Ihab Amr of the PA Justice Ministry
Headline: "The ‘culture of lies’ in the Arab world"
"It is clear that lies have spread until unfortunately they have become a sort of culture in several areas of the Arab world, if not in most of them, despite the Quran’s verses that call to strive for truth and abandon lies…
The lies begin in the home, where one sees the son lying to his father, the husband lying to his wife in several cases, and also the opposite is true. In school the students lie to the teachers, and the teachers lie to their students and the school principal. In university the students are seen lying to the lecturers, and so forth. Afterwards, the lies transfer to the workplace, where one sees workers lying to their direct supervisors, and supervisors lying to their workers and to those above them…
What makes the situation worse is the spread of this severe phenomenon among several people in the liberal professions. Sometimes one sees doctors lying to their patients, lawyers lying to their clients, engineers lying to their clients, and pharmacists lying to the sick people that come to their pharmacies…
Many Arabs that live in the West are seen lying and changing the facts, especially when submitting the documents required to receive residence permits, or to receive many privileges that are granted to the asylum seekers among them. In this context, I heard that an Arab refugee divorced his wife in order to enable her to receive an additional amount of money from the government of the host country, and afterwards signed a new marriage contract unbeknown to the relevant parties. I also heard that a man asked his minor daughter to state that she does not live in the same apartment with him and that she lives with her boyfriend, which enabled her to receive the aid that the government of the host country provides to boys and girls in such situations.
To summarize the matter: The spread of the phenomenon of lies in the Arab world is liable to contribute to the building of a generation that does not understand the significance of the exalted values of society, and first and foremost honesty with others."
Headline: "The ‘culture of lies’ in the Arab world"
"It is clear that lies have spread until unfortunately they have become a sort of culture in several areas of the Arab world, if not in most of them, despite the Quran’s verses that call to strive for truth and abandon lies…
The lies begin in the home, where one sees the son lying to his father, the husband lying to his wife in several cases, and also the opposite is true. In school the students lie to the teachers, and the teachers lie to their students and the school principal. In university the students are seen lying to the lecturers, and so forth. Afterwards, the lies transfer to the workplace, where one sees workers lying to their direct supervisors, and supervisors lying to their workers and to those above them…
What makes the situation worse is the spread of this severe phenomenon among several people in the liberal professions. Sometimes one sees doctors lying to their patients, lawyers lying to their clients, engineers lying to their clients, and pharmacists lying to the sick people that come to their pharmacies…
Many Arabs that live in the West are seen lying and changing the facts, especially when submitting the documents required to receive residence permits, or to receive many privileges that are granted to the asylum seekers among them. In this context, I heard that an Arab refugee divorced his wife in order to enable her to receive an additional amount of money from the government of the host country, and afterwards signed a new marriage contract unbeknown to the relevant parties. I also heard that a man asked his minor daughter to state that she does not live in the same apartment with him and that she lives with her boyfriend, which enabled her to receive the aid that the government of the host country provides to boys and girls in such situations.
To summarize the matter: The spread of the phenomenon of lies in the Arab world is liable to contribute to the building of a generation that does not understand the significance of the exalted values of society, and first and foremost honesty with others."