Yasser Arafat.

February 4, 2002 11:38 AM

Yasser Arafat. Wealthy and gentle, servant of the merciful, and an exemplary model? I guess this makes me a right-handed, brown-skinned, young fighter. Cool. And just what is his name, anyway?

Names sure are weird.
posted by apostasy (8 comments total)

D'oh. Stupid < /p> tag.

Apologies.
posted by apostasy at 11:41 AM on February 4, 2002

Here's another one for ya - "Taliban" is derivative of the Arabic word "talib" which means literally "seeker of knowledge," and colloquially "student." (The root *tlb*- no vowels in Arabic - means "to seek.")

It seems a little ironic that one of the most phenomenal manifestations of modern-day institutional ignorance should refer to themselves, in all seriousness, as "seekers of knowledge." Not seeking very hard, are we?
posted by lizs at 1:22 PM on February 4, 2002

If I'm not mistaken, the taliban were originally Islamic students in pakistan who became a political organization, hence the name. They were seeking knowledge, but it was a fundamentalist knowledge of Islam they sought--not real world "truth".
posted by jpoulos at 1:32 PM on February 4, 2002

...not that they aren't ignorant bastards. :-)
posted by jpoulos at 2:08 PM on February 4, 2002

the taliban were originally Islamic students in pakistan who became a political organization, hence the name

this is true. but i still think it's ironic.
posted by lizs at 2:16 PM on February 4, 2002

One of those links (the only one I clicked on for lack of time) has some pretty damning things to say about "laid back" Arafat.
posted by razorwriter at 2:58 PM on February 4, 2002

It seems a little ironic that one of the most phenomenal manifestations of modern-day institutional ignorance should refer to themselves, in all seriousness, as "seekers of knowledge." Not seeking very hard, are we?


I think Taliban works. They are seekers not finders and they have a whole lot more seeking to do.

Cold, Colder, Colder, Coldest.
posted by srboisvert at 3:46 PM on February 4, 2002

The original original Taliban (Double O T, in gangster slang) were members of the / a (there may have been more than one, originating in different locations) Arab 'Talib' tribe.

At least one such tribe has its roots in Yemen. Members of this/these tribe(s) were Taliban long before the more recent political party (mis)appropriated the name.
posted by syzygy at 7:34 AM on February 5, 2002