> You also got me thinking about what "slippery slope" would be in Arabic. It could be directly translated but the idiom would lose its meaning. Regardless, I think the point the article's author is trying to convey is that religious conservatives are wary of the slow creep of Western concepts into their society.

I went to Slippery Slope article on English Wikipedia and then clicked on Arabic. This is a way I often use with languages I regularly use (such as English, Dutch, German, and Spanish) in order to figure what something means in one of those languages. I wanted to describe this process because I believe it can help others in a similar situation. An alternative is Wiktionary, but I find it working less good.

So, the Arabic Wikipedia entry for Slippery Slope is [1]. Using Google Translate, I ended up with it meaning also "Nose of the Camel". This is apparently an Arabian tale.

Quoting: The Camel's Nose In The Tent.

One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.

Disclaimer: I know practically nothing about the Arabic language.

[1] https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%B1...

[2] http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1800611/posts