2 thoughts on “Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won

  1. Western civilization have huge influence on the entire world. There is no doubt that eyes of the planet are watching mainly North America and Europe. Many Asian stars are totally unknown in western world, but those western celebrities are well know to the eastern audience.

  2. I am wondering why cultural exchanges were effective in changing the Soviet Union but not countries in the Arab Gulf. What do you do about people wo are not lured by consumerism, freedoms and will seek “martyrdom” for the sake of an ideology. Russians were not ready to die for communism. Thousands of Saudi students graduate from American universities yet they go back home after four years of schooling in the US more determined to maintain and protect their strict Wahhabi way of life and “protecting” their women from the free Western ways, worse than this they won’t even allow them to drive. All the terrorism woes we’ve been living with for the last 10 years are a direct result of Saudi Wahabi indoctrination and 19 9/11 terrorist were saudis yet because Saudis are rich we continue courting them and giving all the facilitatons to bring them back to US colleges and shopping malls. In spite of the recent condemnation of Ibn Taymiya’s interpretation on what contintutes true Jihad, everyting else in their religious law is unchanged. They still preach hatred against anyone who doens’t abide by Wahabi interpretations -including other moderate Sunni muslims and the Shi’a muslims. They continue to look at women with scorn and condescendence and deny them basic rights such as driving a car. I must recognize that they are much more open than their pre-Islamic ancestors who used to bury young female girls alive to avoid dishonor but they are still totally out of step with the rest of the world. Western countries with diplomatic presence in Saudi Arabia do not help when they submuit their female diplomats to the same prohibitions in clothing and driving. These prohibitions have no basis in Islam. Until wahabism took over women had more freedom. Islamic history is rife with stories of female leader sin the penunsula who rode camels, horses, particpated in wars, ran commerce and contributed fully to public life.Has the MEPPI program achieved any tangible results?
    Is any strategy being considered on how to reform this country? Unless it’s addressed with urgency, wahabism will continue to haunt the world. I know a fatwa was issued dismissing Ibn taymiya’s Jihad interpretation – it took 10 years for these fearless scholars when it comes to issue fatwas opressing women, to muster their courage and say Ibn taymiya was wrong and his ideas only apply to his times. And, we all know how well opressed societies respond to their governemnt’s decrees. Moreover they only did it because there is increasing threats against Saudi officials by Al Qaida. Islam has always forbidden killing the inncoent, yet it took them this long to pronounce themselves on blind suicidal terrorism.

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