A Modest Proposal for Humility over Hubris

This site has many contributors, from many places, with many unique experiences. But, we each talk as if our own worldview is dominant, and we speak with such hubris about areas of the world where we have never lived in or even visited. Essentially, we’re talking about that which we don’t know. What if we all showed a little bit of humility, acknowledged we don’t know everything about everything, and wrote only about modern people, places, events, and ideas, that we have experienced firsthand or studied in depth.

For example, I’ve never lived in or visited China. So I will no longer make statements about China, unless they are questions directed toward someone who has lived in or visited China.

I have visited Turkey. I can talk about that a little.

I have lived in the Caucuses Mountains for a short time. I can talk about that a little more.

I have lived in the United States most of my life. I can talk about that a lot.

I have a college degree in studying the Islamic World, so I can talk about Islam, Islamic history, Islam in the context of academia, and American Muslims. But can I talk about Islam in Indonesia? Only if I am speaking with someone who has lived or visited there.

This modest proposal will help solve one problem: credibility. All writers, be they here or anywhere, make statements. It’s easy to do, and doesn’t take much experience, ability, or even careful research. But without these things, these statements will also lack credibility.

Being a Muslim does not make one an expert on Islam. If you are a follower, good. Talk about your own personal experiences and beliefs, and mention the country that you are writing about. But don’t talk about what every other Muslim elsewhere is doing, because you’re not qualified.

Just like spending a vacation in Egypt or Morocco for two weeks does not qualify a non-Muslim Westerner to speak about grand geopolitical issues from across the Arab world. If you bought a hat at a bazaar, good. Talk about micro-economics from that experience. But do not extend your limits, because you are not qualified.

If you have never been to the United States, do not presume to talk about how people are living there. Why? You have no credibility.

Just as I have no credibility when I talk about day-to-day life in Venezuela, Algeria, Iran, or Tajikistan.

Anyone can make a statement about anything. It’s not hard. But the next time you or I make a statement about something, let’s see if we can justify it based on our credentials. And if we can’t, maybe we should reconsider making the statement in the first place.

Anyway, it’s only a modest proposal for humility over hubris.

Remember, no one listens when you shout at them. They only pause for a moment, and then shout back at you.

But people will answer questions, and in turn ask them of you. This is the way to dialogue, not the other.

About the author

Ethan Lazuk

Born in Montana in 1989, I attended high school in Phoenix, Arizona, and college at The University of Montana, from which I recently earned a Bachelor's degree in Central and Southwest Asian Studies. I currently live in Washington D.C.
Although American English is my first language, I also have an intermediate/advanced knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic, with some Lebanese and Gulf vocabulary, as well as a basic knowledge of Farsi-Persian. My academic areas of interest include Cultural Anthropology, Islamic Studies, and Environmental and Human Geography. In 2010, I was a summer intern with the Department of Defense, working on Ft. McNair Army Base in the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. Additionally, I have traveled in Istanbul, Turkey, and lived in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.


I am a third-generation American of Polish descent. My great-grandparents fled Eastern Europe during the Bolshevik Revolution and entered the United States through Ellis Island. Today, my parents and sister live in Colorado, where they are surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains. I am also happily married to the love of my life named Dania. Originally from al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia, she came to the United States two years ago as an exchange student. She is a practicing Muslim. But I am a searcher who finds beauty in all religions, and therefore I do not belong to any one religion in particular. But her and I having different religious beliefs has not negatively affected our marriage. In fact, it has brought us closer together. We respectfully embrace our differences, while cherishing our infinite similarities. If being in an inter-faith marriage has taught me one thing, it is that religious differences are not a cause for division, but for collaboration.

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