Some uninformed people may think the Saudi elite is backward and unaccustomed to the modern world. But as we got much of our wisdom about human nature from the Bible, the Saudis have gotten it from the Koran. The Koran is an Arabic version of the Old Testament and contains just as much wisdom as the OT, as well as just as much superstition. No reason to think that those for whom the Koran is the guide are any less realistic than those for whom the Bible has served this purpose. After all, both have been written by men -- men of intelligence and insight -- not by any God. We need to take Islam seriously, which only recently is becoming the case.

Norman Ravitch *62
Savannah, Ga.