feather and turban

Author's name: Mohamed El-Baz

In his book, "The Feather and the Turban," Mohamed El-Baz addresses the culture of difference that is sorely lacking in Arab culture in general and Egyptian society in particular. He explains how difference, in this culture, means nothing but hostility, which can often escalate to the point of bloodshed and the violation of human rights.

Al-Baz points out: When we approach some of these battles—and we have some of them here—we will know the reason, the reason for the deadly hostility, and the reason for our continued circular motion without taking a single step forward. Every party in our intellectual battles enters the arena convinced that they possess the absolute right; there is not even the faintest possibility that they could be wrong! They do not retreat until they have completely eliminated their opponent. Each party wants to triumph, even if it means over the corpse of the other. How many corpses have piled up on the shores of our intellectual battles!