The Most Failed State

An interesting article, bringing up to date the status of tragic Somalia. The Most Failed State by Jon Lee Anderson in the December 14th, 2009 edition of the New Yorker. It contains this short passage which highlights the many small mis-steps when communicating across cultures and belief systems.

Sharif said that the international figure he most admired was Nelson Mandela. I remarked that to many people Mandela was a kind of living saint. Sharif looked perplexed. After a back-and-forth with his friend, he said, "The thing is that in Islam we have no saints like that. Just martyrs. But I understand what you mean."