I have several Persian friends, and most of them are heavily dismissive of the Arabs - lazy, dumb, ignorant, incompetent, corrupt.. the list goes on
They are also generally unimpressed with most things things Arab (culture, history, industry, technology, academic institutions, arts, etc..)
Some of it may seem odd at first, but their point is that what we look at as the heights of Arab culture (poetry, mathematics, medicine, architecture, arts, trade and so on) is Persian; there's nothing Arab about it. Not just historically, also in a contemporary sense. Iranian cinema, for instance, has produced some sublime world-class movies while Arab cinema is a total joke.
From that point of view, many are also dismissive of Islam and even look at it as 'kneeling down to the arabs five times a day'.
I'm wondering to what extent other folks have encountered this perspective when speaking with Persians - admitedly the Persians I know are hardly average joes; all have studied abroad and most have post-graduate and/or Ivy League degrees.
Heart,
eu4ea
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