Why aren't Arab Universities Excelling?

In the newest blog entry from

www.che-mideast.org

Nafiz Rifae is asking:

Why aren't Arab Universities Excelling?Why aren't they on the list of the Top 500 Univ. in the Wolrd?”

I asked Nafiz for an English translation of his article for Al-Quds newspaper in Jerusalem  and here it is, including the introduction on the blog:

Bethlehem University celebrates its 35th anniversary with an initiative to establish a Prize for Excellence