Home > Author > Matthew Syed >

" Now, consider how someone more familiar with Islam would have perceived the very same images. Bin Laden wore simple cloth not because he was primitive in terms of intellect or technology, but because he modelled himself on the Prophet. He fasted on the days the Prophet fasted. His poses and postures, which seemed so backward to a Western audience, were those that Islamic tradition ascribes to the most holy of its prophets. The very images that desensitised the CIA to the dangers of bin Laden were those that magnified his potency in the Arab world. "

Matthew Syed , Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking


Image for Quotes

Matthew Syed quote : Now, consider how someone more familiar with Islam would have perceived the very same images. Bin Laden wore simple cloth not because he was primitive in terms of intellect or technology, but because he modelled himself on the Prophet. He fasted on the days the Prophet fasted. His poses and postures, which seemed so backward to a Western audience, were those that Islamic tradition ascribes to the most holy of its prophets. The very images that desensitised the CIA to the dangers of bin Laden were those that magnified his potency in the Arab world.