"The [common] assumption is that the higher one's education is, the more one supports peace. However, in the Middle East and with regard to Israel, it is different, and for clear reasons: It has been repeatedly proven that the so-called peace with Israel is [merely] an attempt [by Israel] to dictate the reality of [its] force and plunder. Therefore, it is only natural that the higher one's education -- the more one opposes peace. He resists it more than the uninformed, who understands the danger [of peace] less and tends to respond more to the direct economic [benefits of peace]."
"A study conducted by Dr. Al-'Aref Billah Muhammad Ghandur, a professor of psychology at 'Ein-Shams University, on 'Attitudes Towards War and Peace,' with 106 participants, divided into four levels of education, yielded the following results:
- Most participants support peace as a general concept. 57% versus 33% [of the participants] support peace in general, but not with Israel.
- The percentage supporting peace as a general concept rises as high as 90% among the least educated group, and declines to less than 50% among Masters degree and Ph.D. students.
- Awareness of the nature of the question of peace and the awareness of its dependence on political and social variables -- rises along with the level of one's education.
- Among the motives for endorsing peace, economic reasons occupied the first place [29%] and social considerations [such as the damaging effects of war on the family] were second.
- The participants who support peace except with Israel, argued that,
a) Israel, by its very nature, is an expansionist entity that aims to extend its so-called state from the Nile to the Euphrates.
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b) The support of the super-powers for Israel makes peace with it impossible, because [Israel] does whatever it wants and there is no one to oppose her.
c) Israel's history, and its relations with Egypt in particular, reveal Israel's colonialist goals.
d) The attitude of the Jews towards the prophets [according to The Koran] proves that they, [namely, the Jews] betray any covenant they make, and therefore no move toward peace with them can succeed, because they neither know nor want peace.
- National papers are the main factor shaping these attitudes [51%], while party papers are the fourth factor [11%]."[1]
[1] Al-Qahira (Egyptian Weekly) August 22, 2000. Al-Qahira is published by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
