A leap of faith: excerpt from someone’s diary…(reproduced by permission)
Him : I love you
Her : I know you do…( sotto voce oh my God he does ..what shall I do? ) , .
Him: I think we should get engaged
Her : ( the guy is serious, do not string him along , be a straight shooter now – oh but how without breaking his heart? – do it now he will heal quicker) - you are catholic we can only marry Muslims.
Him: why ?
Her: these are our rules (no need to get into details)
Him: ok I will become a Muslim.
Her ( now , scared as she did not expect that ) : can you leave the Church ? won’t you be excommunicated? Have you thought about your parents, how will they accept this? I can never be the cause of an abyss between you and them.
Him: I will persuade them, plus I don’t need their permission.
Her : true but my faith and yours too teaches us to respect family ties, your mother may curse me, or you can you handle that? ( she is trying hard to put obstacles in his way, if it does not work she will make him hate her so as not to hurt him).
Him: my family are reasonable
Her : this is not right , you have to do it because you feel it and not because you like what you see. ( she needs to get out of this situation- the guy’s gorgeous eyes are searing her soul) - I am sorry this is unacceptable to me, anyway I don’t intend on getting into any relationship just now I still have to finish my studies and that is a long way off in the future. Let us continue being the friends we have always been can’t we do that ?
Him : ( deadly silence)
Her : ( looking at him and seeing raw pain, his beautiful green eyes are clouding over and there is a tiny tear forming at the corner, which spills slowly on his cheek- their eyes interlock in a glance which lasts an eternity. She is on the brink of accepting but she cannot make this sacrifice , he surprised her , even though he is ready she is not. She is too young, has no experience ..what if it is a mess . Plus she does not think of him as a suitor , but rather her friend to goof around with . If he continues pleading like this with his eyes her resolve will melt. She breaks eye contact. Their friends in the room sense the tension) Please don’t cry she says.
Their favourite song suddenly comes up as if on cue for the last dance ‘sunshine reggae’ .
Him: stay for a few minutes more
Her : I must go home…
The song ends, she gets up turns round and steps out of his life
Her: farewell
Him : ( silently crying)
She is now home.
Her : Today I broke a man’s heart – did I take the right decision ?
Her Christian friends : that was courageous of you, he will be better off this way you would have ruined his life.
Her Muslim friends : that was arrogant of you he was going to convert you would have collected a lot of ‘brownie points ‘ with God and so would he , why did you prevent him from entering Islam? You should have given him a choice and you did not, you took a decision on his behalf and you had no right to that.
End of excerpt.
She never wavered from these self established rules, but *sigh* the characteristic of youth is intransigency. Although the easy part would have been to let him convert on the spot . She did not need to dismiss him totally . She could have put him on the track, shown him the steps and people who could teach him about Islam and let him judge. That would have been fair and just. But that required a leap of faith from her part. Faith that he would like what he saw, understand and stay. Stay for the love of a higher entity first and foremost and second for this mere mortal he professed to love. She did not give him a chance to perform his own leap of faith and now will never know.
Those hurt green eyes continue to gaze from space.
They say History repeats itself and the wise should open their eyes and mind. Have we learned the lessons? We believe we did and have mellowed out. But in true karmic irony History comes crashing at our feet with a loud bang, and we are required once more to make that leap of faith we had foregone while waiting for a leap of faith from the opposite fence.
Our solace is in a simple verse; 1400 years ago God told his prophet Muhammad who had also tried too hard:
"انك لا تهدي من أحببت ولكن الله يهدي من يشاء"
It is and will always be relevant ....
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Saudi paper publishes the cartoons ?
...and is shut down because of that...that's not the whole story please read here .
( I still can't believe that Sandmonkey has not given us his lowdown on this ).
...and is shut down because of that...that's not the whole story please read here .
( I still can't believe that Sandmonkey has not given us his lowdown on this ).
Monday, February 20, 2006
Places in the heart : PART III
Previously on highlander PART I and PART II
...….Lina is an Arab and not a Californian bimbo (wink at Programmer_Craig ). The tabloids are depicting gory details, defaming her character, even though she is a naturalized US citizen they keep calling her the Egyptian woman. Her story is very simple, she is a bright girl from Egypt who got a first in science, became a biochemist at home, got a scholarship for a Phd in the US because of her achievements, graduated best of her class in America, embraced the life there and loved the people and got a job offer at a prestigious research centre in LA. So this Arab Muslim woman is handling extremely sensitive material (wink wink).
Lina, meets John, an all American charming handsome and successful guy, when he can’t get her into bed with him the usual way , he expresses interest in Islam, converts and asks her to marry him . They live in an affluent part of the city, villa , swimming pool , Suv, Porsche , the whole works. They have one son Ahmad.
Everything runs smoothly until John starts to loose in business, and returns to drinking alcohol and it is hinted at even gambling; he dabbles with drug dealers too. Lina is unaware of this until she catches him drinking one day at home and he roughs her up when she tells him to stop acting like a jerk especially in front of the kid. Margaret is witness but takes the kid to his room while John and Lina are shouting at each other. Lina takes the bottle to throw it in the rubbish and John wrestles it from her hand, throws it at the window and accuses her of trying to kill him, just in time for Margaret to be coming down the stairs. He calls the police and files a complaint and a restraining order against Lina. They become estranged. At work also an older scientist colleague of hers who was passed over for promotion levels an accusation at her that she has stolen ‘sensitive weapons grade’ material , which turns out to be a false accusation when all her other colleagues stand up to him with her. Lina has moved out of her marital home to Margaret’s until her husband calms down. A few days later he comes to talk to her , apologises , drops his murder charges and they decide to go on a long weekend together to the chalet on the beach to start again. Margaret agrees to baby-sit. This is the weekend when Lina is arrested. So anyway the tabloids are having a field day with half truths. Lina is in possession of the weapon, blood is all over the place, she already was accused of trying to kill John before. There is only one hitch there is no body. But we are told , that John’s body was thrown from the cliffs the currents must have taken it far and the body must have disappeared.
Lina is facing charges of first degree murder with premeditation as we shall see unfold in the trial.
The case is becoming a high profile one as the district prosecutor and some other politician guy want this case to be done quickly to get them on track for the election. It seems regardless of Justice her case is to be expedited to a quick death penalty after all it is simple.
Lina has no lawyer yet, that’s where Bakr gets in on the story, Margaret calls him and asks him to take care of this case and she will pay for it. He decides to take it after he goes and meets Lina in prison who convinces him of her innocence. Because the case has become notorious now with the politicians taking an active interest and wanting to see her hanged at any cost, and the MSM whipping the issue even more into hysterical proportions, Bakr shoots to notoriety and of course his wife Tracy asks for more money all the time while telling their teenage daughter now that her father is a good for nothing stupid Arab man ( I don’t really know if Americans behave this way but I’m presuming that the author wanted to drive home the atmosphere .. ) .
Anyway Bakr manages to prove that John was indebted to the mafia because of his gambling habits and maybe the mafia has sent a hitman for him. He manages to bring her colleagues to the stand including the Jewish guy. However hold it there before you start crying foul – anti-Semitism etc… nooooo it’s not about the Jews. Bakr picks his defense team and among them is a polish immigrant Jews who intends to do his utmost to save Lina’s ass ( this sends another message in the series – there is good and bad in every culture and religion). Nevertheless, Bakr looses the case and Lina is sentenced to death. ....
hang on for the sequel
Previously on highlander PART I and PART II
...….Lina is an Arab and not a Californian bimbo (wink at Programmer_Craig ). The tabloids are depicting gory details, defaming her character, even though she is a naturalized US citizen they keep calling her the Egyptian woman. Her story is very simple, she is a bright girl from Egypt who got a first in science, became a biochemist at home, got a scholarship for a Phd in the US because of her achievements, graduated best of her class in America, embraced the life there and loved the people and got a job offer at a prestigious research centre in LA. So this Arab Muslim woman is handling extremely sensitive material (wink wink).
Lina, meets John, an all American charming handsome and successful guy, when he can’t get her into bed with him the usual way , he expresses interest in Islam, converts and asks her to marry him . They live in an affluent part of the city, villa , swimming pool , Suv, Porsche , the whole works. They have one son Ahmad.
Everything runs smoothly until John starts to loose in business, and returns to drinking alcohol and it is hinted at even gambling; he dabbles with drug dealers too. Lina is unaware of this until she catches him drinking one day at home and he roughs her up when she tells him to stop acting like a jerk especially in front of the kid. Margaret is witness but takes the kid to his room while John and Lina are shouting at each other. Lina takes the bottle to throw it in the rubbish and John wrestles it from her hand, throws it at the window and accuses her of trying to kill him, just in time for Margaret to be coming down the stairs. He calls the police and files a complaint and a restraining order against Lina. They become estranged. At work also an older scientist colleague of hers who was passed over for promotion levels an accusation at her that she has stolen ‘sensitive weapons grade’ material , which turns out to be a false accusation when all her other colleagues stand up to him with her. Lina has moved out of her marital home to Margaret’s until her husband calms down. A few days later he comes to talk to her , apologises , drops his murder charges and they decide to go on a long weekend together to the chalet on the beach to start again. Margaret agrees to baby-sit. This is the weekend when Lina is arrested. So anyway the tabloids are having a field day with half truths. Lina is in possession of the weapon, blood is all over the place, she already was accused of trying to kill John before. There is only one hitch there is no body. But we are told , that John’s body was thrown from the cliffs the currents must have taken it far and the body must have disappeared.
Lina is facing charges of first degree murder with premeditation as we shall see unfold in the trial.
The case is becoming a high profile one as the district prosecutor and some other politician guy want this case to be done quickly to get them on track for the election. It seems regardless of Justice her case is to be expedited to a quick death penalty after all it is simple.
Lina has no lawyer yet, that’s where Bakr gets in on the story, Margaret calls him and asks him to take care of this case and she will pay for it. He decides to take it after he goes and meets Lina in prison who convinces him of her innocence. Because the case has become notorious now with the politicians taking an active interest and wanting to see her hanged at any cost, and the MSM whipping the issue even more into hysterical proportions, Bakr shoots to notoriety and of course his wife Tracy asks for more money all the time while telling their teenage daughter now that her father is a good for nothing stupid Arab man ( I don’t really know if Americans behave this way but I’m presuming that the author wanted to drive home the atmosphere .. ) .
Anyway Bakr manages to prove that John was indebted to the mafia because of his gambling habits and maybe the mafia has sent a hitman for him. He manages to bring her colleagues to the stand including the Jewish guy. However hold it there before you start crying foul – anti-Semitism etc… nooooo it’s not about the Jews. Bakr picks his defense team and among them is a polish immigrant Jews who intends to do his utmost to save Lina’s ass ( this sends another message in the series – there is good and bad in every culture and religion). Nevertheless, Bakr looses the case and Lina is sentenced to death. ....
hang on for the sequel
Saturday, February 18, 2006
The 'bloody' cartoons encore et toujours ?
Each time I say to myself , 'ok that's the end of the story' , but no the ramifications of flames stirred by the Danish caricatures of prophet Muhammad seem to widen once more.
My best friend in the US wakes me up at 8 am Tripoli time "highlander is what Sandmonkey is saying true?" . Me "huh?" I'm still in bed ...Sandmonkey is not on my to do list at 8 am ...Ok I'm thinking in a haze of sleep and remnants of a nightmare in which my mother, a brother and one of his kids are on a bus on some kind of weird pilgrimmage in a country obviously under occupation, and I'm holding a vinyl record ( not CD) of the Pink Floyd album "The Wall" ( any dream interpreters out there?). "Well.." says my best friend " the Libyans seem to have burned the Italian embassy in Libya ? 10 dead". Silence from my side , I'm thinking to myself ..what at 8 am they already demonstrated and torched an embassy in Libya ? that was quick. I'm not registering any surprise really, I'm just wondering what happened ..the story was dying out, it had not been that much of a story here anyway on the street at least. Was someone mad at the provocative Italian minister T-shirt campaign ?I thought that guy's publicity stunt to gain exposure for his political career would stir trouble, yes, but not to go burn an embassy. Anyway, I'm still not thinking clearly and answer in monosyllables. Let me collect my thoughts and check the news. I went to bed last night and all was fine in my world. ..
Well true enough , BBC has Libya on its frontpage, and here I was hoping my country will have a low profile for a few days at least. Not a fat chance I guess. Before reading this I thought it was the embassy in Tripoli, so I told my friend I could go have a look later on in the day..but then I learned that it is the Italian consulate in Benghazi; that's over 1000 km far from Tripoli.
So for those who sent emails (1) yes it's true and it is all over the news here - I just was not watching it Friday night and went to bed before checking the news again , (2) thank you I'm ok and not in any danger - it is very very far from me (3) Yes Sandmonkey has an interesting theory, but Libya is NOT on 'fire' as he suggests ( hopefully it will not be), (4) if any of you care the situation is calm, the people are in hospital or the morgue, and (5) "The Social People's Leadership of Great Jamahiriya asked the Public Prosecutor to investigate the way police dealt with this incident". Please be reminded that live ammunition was fired by Libyan security at Libyans to protect that building and still the police is going to be prosecuted for any shortcoming if their responses was not strong enough. I am so not going again into the debate about demonstrations , the mob etc.... it will be like going back to the 'start' case. I already said attacking diplomatic missions is not the solution, however, what that Italian MP did was not a way to defuse any situation, if Muslims are supposedly uncivilised then the West should lead by example and show how civilized one can be not taunt the others. If I'm in a dark alley with a thug I have 3 choices go for the kill , try to make him more mad or reach and talk my way out...reaching out needs a noble disposition self control and patience ...some have it some don't.
As to why I am not heading the alarmists statements about Libya ? it is because Libya has sacrificed too much to be accepted back into the western fold and America's bossom it is not going to wipe all that in one slash regardless of the histrionics. Please know that we are very very aware of our faults, and only Libyans can solve these problems. Relationships between sovereign countries have a choice of channels , it seems the Italians were willing to use the voice of reason too. Dear Italians attacking the consulate is not how a demonstration should be done and I'm really sorry this happened. So while there should be no excuses for this behaviour I would like to say that this mob separated itself from a larger protest and headed towards the consulate, stopping it required the use of force....again everyone please note that only Muslims have died once more - and this is not newsworthy in the West, the Danish people have nothing to do with this , they are also caught in the middle. I still maintain that this crisis will lead to a dialogue if we are wise enough to seize it.
Each time I say to myself , 'ok that's the end of the story' , but no the ramifications of flames stirred by the Danish caricatures of prophet Muhammad seem to widen once more.
My best friend in the US wakes me up at 8 am Tripoli time "highlander is what Sandmonkey is saying true?" . Me "huh?" I'm still in bed ...Sandmonkey is not on my to do list at 8 am ...Ok I'm thinking in a haze of sleep and remnants of a nightmare in which my mother, a brother and one of his kids are on a bus on some kind of weird pilgrimmage in a country obviously under occupation, and I'm holding a vinyl record ( not CD) of the Pink Floyd album "The Wall" ( any dream interpreters out there?). "Well.." says my best friend " the Libyans seem to have burned the Italian embassy in Libya ? 10 dead". Silence from my side , I'm thinking to myself ..what at 8 am they already demonstrated and torched an embassy in Libya ? that was quick. I'm not registering any surprise really, I'm just wondering what happened ..the story was dying out, it had not been that much of a story here anyway on the street at least. Was someone mad at the provocative Italian minister T-shirt campaign ?I thought that guy's publicity stunt to gain exposure for his political career would stir trouble, yes, but not to go burn an embassy. Anyway, I'm still not thinking clearly and answer in monosyllables. Let me collect my thoughts and check the news. I went to bed last night and all was fine in my world. ..
Well true enough , BBC has Libya on its frontpage, and here I was hoping my country will have a low profile for a few days at least. Not a fat chance I guess. Before reading this I thought it was the embassy in Tripoli, so I told my friend I could go have a look later on in the day..but then I learned that it is the Italian consulate in Benghazi; that's over 1000 km far from Tripoli.
So for those who sent emails (1) yes it's true and it is all over the news here - I just was not watching it Friday night and went to bed before checking the news again , (2) thank you I'm ok and not in any danger - it is very very far from me (3) Yes Sandmonkey has an interesting theory, but Libya is NOT on 'fire' as he suggests ( hopefully it will not be), (4) if any of you care the situation is calm, the people are in hospital or the morgue, and (5) "The Social People's Leadership of Great Jamahiriya asked the Public Prosecutor to investigate the way police dealt with this incident". Please be reminded that live ammunition was fired by Libyan security at Libyans to protect that building and still the police is going to be prosecuted for any shortcoming if their responses was not strong enough. I am so not going again into the debate about demonstrations , the mob etc.... it will be like going back to the 'start' case. I already said attacking diplomatic missions is not the solution, however, what that Italian MP did was not a way to defuse any situation, if Muslims are supposedly uncivilised then the West should lead by example and show how civilized one can be not taunt the others. If I'm in a dark alley with a thug I have 3 choices go for the kill , try to make him more mad or reach and talk my way out...reaching out needs a noble disposition self control and patience ...some have it some don't.
As to why I am not heading the alarmists statements about Libya ? it is because Libya has sacrificed too much to be accepted back into the western fold and America's bossom it is not going to wipe all that in one slash regardless of the histrionics. Please know that we are very very aware of our faults, and only Libyans can solve these problems. Relationships between sovereign countries have a choice of channels , it seems the Italians were willing to use the voice of reason too. Dear Italians attacking the consulate is not how a demonstration should be done and I'm really sorry this happened. So while there should be no excuses for this behaviour I would like to say that this mob separated itself from a larger protest and headed towards the consulate, stopping it required the use of force....again everyone please note that only Muslims have died once more - and this is not newsworthy in the West, the Danish people have nothing to do with this , they are also caught in the middle. I still maintain that this crisis will lead to a dialogue if we are wise enough to seize it.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Places in the Heart : Part II
continued from here .
....Scene two, we have an unaffected lawyer of Arab origin in his bachelor house talking to his pet hamster. With flashback he starts to tell us about how he got to America like many others in his quest for the ‘land of all dreams’. Bakr (or Baker as the Americas call him ) fought in the 67 war with Israel and came back to Egypt a broken man, it took the October war of 73 which ended positively for Egypt to strengthen him out. But he was disillusioned and sought better pastures in America.
He was a lawyer in Egypt prior to going to war, so he tells us of his struggle in the states to work and finance his law studies for the bar exam there to be able to practice in the US.He speaks of his great love and devotion for America his adopted country which has opened her arms to him and in which he has finally healed. He is settled, and has married a lovely American (white woman) – Tracy whom he met on campus, and they had a beautiful daughter – Leila.
Hmmm but here the idyllic story is broken, Tracy’s ex-boyfriend whom she had dumped when he was drafted to Vietnam and whom she had subsequently been told was dead turns out to be alive… So what does Tracy do. Tracy informs Bakr that her ex-boyfriend Mark is back and she would like to have some time from their marriage off to go live and be with Mark because she thinks she still loves him , she wants to ‘test’ if Mark is still in her system and is she over him or not. Now I think that any sane man or woman regardless of being married or not will agree that what Tracy is asking for is not reasonable, right ?
Would you let your husband go live with his ex and be intimate with her in every way possible? I would call that adultery whether a man or a woman does it. In the West people are disgusted by Muslims’ polygamy (which is at least a legal relationship sanctioned by God ) so how could they stand for such a request ?
This woman basically wants to go have her fling with her ex and keep the security of being married if the ex does not work out. Having her cake and eating it in a way!
So of course what is a red blooded man going to do? being an Arab has nothing to do with it in my opinion but maybe adds more to the drama because of the special attitude of Arabs and Muslims towards the honour of their women.
Anyway Bakr gives Tracy an ultimatum, but she does not heed his warning, she dumps him and Leila ( a toddler) and goes with her boyfriend. After she leaves him the court sympathizes and he gets a divorce and custody of Leila. Tracy is even happy to sign the papers giving up her rights to the baby.
The years pass, Bakr is now a US lawyer and active member of the American society , loved and respected in his neighborhood, we are shown how he has brought up his daughter who loves him very much. But hey now this is too good right ? we can’t have that …
Meanwhile dear Tracy is gradually disillusioned with Mark who had returned from Vietnam with post traumatic stress syndrome , full of anger and resentment. He has become a woman beater, a drunkard and a bum and she has picked up his destructive alcoholism. One beating too many and she leaves Mark for Bakr asking to be his wife again. Bakr of course is livid and tells her that it is too late as he has gotten over her love and is settled now. She tells Bakr she wants to take Leila then and he says no since she has given up her custody right. She warns him ‘I will fight you in court and get my daughter from you. I will tell the judge/jury that you want to take Leila, an American back to your filthy Arab and Muslim country and dress her in a veil and prevent her from her freedom and keep her in the house and raise her as backward Arab girl.
Now let us remember the context in which this threat has been issued : following the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979), the image of Muslims in the world had been shaken over the years, and the American public had an especially deep grievance with this memory because of the storming of the US embassy and the gruesome episode of the hostage taking that followed. Later on in the 90s movies such as ‘Not without my daughter’ came striking a raw nerve in the collective western psyche. So anyway Bakr weasels out and gives in to Tracy’s blackmail he gives her the daughter and she slaps him with a court order that he should not approach them within a certain distance and gives him very strict visitation rights.
Bakr goes on with his life, constantly nagged and blackmailed for money by Tracy every time her various boyfriends dump her , all under the excuse that she needs it for Leila. With this background the years pass , but Bakr is a petty crimes lawyer a bit obscure he deals mostly with immigrants or the less fortunate slices of society. But he has quite a following among these people who ask him to run for Mayor of the city in the summer of 2001. So he takes his election campaign seriously and starts working on it.
Meanwhile the local papers are full of a story about the Arab Muslim Egyptian woman who killed her American husband, this is Lina from the opening scene if you recall ….
To my Arab readers here are interesting links about the series ,
one, lyrics , google.
continued from here .
....Scene two, we have an unaffected lawyer of Arab origin in his bachelor house talking to his pet hamster. With flashback he starts to tell us about how he got to America like many others in his quest for the ‘land of all dreams’. Bakr (or Baker as the Americas call him ) fought in the 67 war with Israel and came back to Egypt a broken man, it took the October war of 73 which ended positively for Egypt to strengthen him out. But he was disillusioned and sought better pastures in America.
He was a lawyer in Egypt prior to going to war, so he tells us of his struggle in the states to work and finance his law studies for the bar exam there to be able to practice in the US.He speaks of his great love and devotion for America his adopted country which has opened her arms to him and in which he has finally healed. He is settled, and has married a lovely American (white woman) – Tracy whom he met on campus, and they had a beautiful daughter – Leila.
Hmmm but here the idyllic story is broken, Tracy’s ex-boyfriend whom she had dumped when he was drafted to Vietnam and whom she had subsequently been told was dead turns out to be alive… So what does Tracy do. Tracy informs Bakr that her ex-boyfriend Mark is back and she would like to have some time from their marriage off to go live and be with Mark because she thinks she still loves him , she wants to ‘test’ if Mark is still in her system and is she over him or not. Now I think that any sane man or woman regardless of being married or not will agree that what Tracy is asking for is not reasonable, right ?
Would you let your husband go live with his ex and be intimate with her in every way possible? I would call that adultery whether a man or a woman does it. In the West people are disgusted by Muslims’ polygamy (which is at least a legal relationship sanctioned by God ) so how could they stand for such a request ?
This woman basically wants to go have her fling with her ex and keep the security of being married if the ex does not work out. Having her cake and eating it in a way!
So of course what is a red blooded man going to do? being an Arab has nothing to do with it in my opinion but maybe adds more to the drama because of the special attitude of Arabs and Muslims towards the honour of their women.
Anyway Bakr gives Tracy an ultimatum, but she does not heed his warning, she dumps him and Leila ( a toddler) and goes with her boyfriend. After she leaves him the court sympathizes and he gets a divorce and custody of Leila. Tracy is even happy to sign the papers giving up her rights to the baby.
The years pass, Bakr is now a US lawyer and active member of the American society , loved and respected in his neighborhood, we are shown how he has brought up his daughter who loves him very much. But hey now this is too good right ? we can’t have that …
Meanwhile dear Tracy is gradually disillusioned with Mark who had returned from Vietnam with post traumatic stress syndrome , full of anger and resentment. He has become a woman beater, a drunkard and a bum and she has picked up his destructive alcoholism. One beating too many and she leaves Mark for Bakr asking to be his wife again. Bakr of course is livid and tells her that it is too late as he has gotten over her love and is settled now. She tells Bakr she wants to take Leila then and he says no since she has given up her custody right. She warns him ‘I will fight you in court and get my daughter from you. I will tell the judge/jury that you want to take Leila, an American back to your filthy Arab and Muslim country and dress her in a veil and prevent her from her freedom and keep her in the house and raise her as backward Arab girl.
Now let us remember the context in which this threat has been issued : following the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979), the image of Muslims in the world had been shaken over the years, and the American public had an especially deep grievance with this memory because of the storming of the US embassy and the gruesome episode of the hostage taking that followed. Later on in the 90s movies such as ‘Not without my daughter’ came striking a raw nerve in the collective western psyche. So anyway Bakr weasels out and gives in to Tracy’s blackmail he gives her the daughter and she slaps him with a court order that he should not approach them within a certain distance and gives him very strict visitation rights.
Bakr goes on with his life, constantly nagged and blackmailed for money by Tracy every time her various boyfriends dump her , all under the excuse that she needs it for Leila. With this background the years pass , but Bakr is a petty crimes lawyer a bit obscure he deals mostly with immigrants or the less fortunate slices of society. But he has quite a following among these people who ask him to run for Mayor of the city in the summer of 2001. So he takes his election campaign seriously and starts working on it.
Meanwhile the local papers are full of a story about the Arab Muslim Egyptian woman who killed her American husband, this is Lina from the opening scene if you recall ….
To my Arab readers here are interesting links about the series ,
one, lyrics , google.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Danish-Libyan blogger , dating sites etc..
I could not resist this , just saw it on Khadijateri's blog , it seems we have us a Libyan blogger in Denmark yay... please go and welcome Safia and fill her comment section :) ...
Now as for the dating thread started by our one and only Craig who is trying to set up Arab Lover NBA... well maybe we have us a gold mine here :) spreading love ? we can even turn it into a separate link , any ideas are appreciated .. I can do the matchmaking just send the profiles and photos.
Also Bad weather = bad phone= no internet : psst keep a secret I live in the outbacks :) so I'm not ignoring you guys , just can't keep up with all this at the cyber cafe.
Please continue discussing in whichever thread you fancy .
I could not resist this , just saw it on Khadijateri's blog , it seems we have us a Libyan blogger in Denmark yay... please go and welcome Safia and fill her comment section :) ...
Now as for the dating thread started by our one and only Craig who is trying to set up Arab Lover NBA... well maybe we have us a gold mine here :) spreading love ? we can even turn it into a separate link , any ideas are appreciated .. I can do the matchmaking just send the profiles and photos.
Also Bad weather = bad phone= no internet : psst keep a secret I live in the outbacks :) so I'm not ignoring you guys , just can't keep up with all this at the cyber cafe.
Please continue discussing in whichever thread you fancy .
Places in the heart
Egyptian Satellite Channel ( ESC) aired a series in Ramadan of last year ( October 2005 ), which I probably would not have noticed immediately had I any choice for Arabic entertainment at that time and place. With hindsight, I’ve concluded that it was meant to be; as this TV series deals with an important issue and was produced to tackle and discuss concerns that our Arab societies have been struggling with in the 21st century.
The series ( over 30 episodes ) is called ‘amaken fil alb’, my translation: ‘Places in the Heart’. It is evidently a budget production and is not grand on special effects and such. The plot is not that fantastic either. However, the nature of the topic brings itself front stage and is in line with current events within a social and human context and how world affairs have affected the ordinary lives of not only Egyptians but Arabs in general but more so their American counterparts and by extension the West. I believe there is a deep message in the developing story despite its superficial packaging.
In light of the recent events surrounding the so called Danish cartoons which have evolved quickly evolved into a world crisis of economic, diplomatic and social proportions, this story is even more relevant, as it uncovers the tip of the iceberg of our fears (or in this case western fears) of the other, stereotypes, respect, Islamphobia and Arabphobia - but also vice versa I must admit.
I think this TV series is important because it has been picked up for broadcast after Ramadan by the MBC Channel which is a very popular pan Arab satellite channel.
I’ll recount the story for you - those which have not seen it – and the non –Arab speakers ;). Maybe we can brainstorm the significance of the subliminal message if any. Should I have a reason to be apprehensive?
I have forgotten the names of most protagonists except for the 2 or 3 of them so I’ll chose for them names. If one of you has seen it let me know and I will correct them.
The scene opens with LAPD entering a suburban villa at night and arresting a lovely blond green eyed woman obviously dazed and in shock (Lina) and reading her the Miranda rights. Lina is covered in blood and still clutching a knife. The police are following a trail of blood which leads from the master bedroom to the terrace at the edge of a precipice on the ocean. They can’t find the body. ...
I will continue later tonight - having problems with my connection after the last storm, writing in an internet cafe is not too comfy.. don't go away :)
Egyptian Satellite Channel ( ESC) aired a series in Ramadan of last year ( October 2005 ), which I probably would not have noticed immediately had I any choice for Arabic entertainment at that time and place. With hindsight, I’ve concluded that it was meant to be; as this TV series deals with an important issue and was produced to tackle and discuss concerns that our Arab societies have been struggling with in the 21st century.
The series ( over 30 episodes ) is called ‘amaken fil alb’, my translation: ‘Places in the Heart’. It is evidently a budget production and is not grand on special effects and such. The plot is not that fantastic either. However, the nature of the topic brings itself front stage and is in line with current events within a social and human context and how world affairs have affected the ordinary lives of not only Egyptians but Arabs in general but more so their American counterparts and by extension the West. I believe there is a deep message in the developing story despite its superficial packaging.
In light of the recent events surrounding the so called Danish cartoons which have evolved quickly evolved into a world crisis of economic, diplomatic and social proportions, this story is even more relevant, as it uncovers the tip of the iceberg of our fears (or in this case western fears) of the other, stereotypes, respect, Islamphobia and Arabphobia - but also vice versa I must admit.
I think this TV series is important because it has been picked up for broadcast after Ramadan by the MBC Channel which is a very popular pan Arab satellite channel.
I’ll recount the story for you - those which have not seen it – and the non –Arab speakers ;). Maybe we can brainstorm the significance of the subliminal message if any. Should I have a reason to be apprehensive?
I have forgotten the names of most protagonists except for the 2 or 3 of them so I’ll chose for them names. If one of you has seen it let me know and I will correct them.
The scene opens with LAPD entering a suburban villa at night and arresting a lovely blond green eyed woman obviously dazed and in shock (Lina) and reading her the Miranda rights. Lina is covered in blood and still clutching a knife. The police are following a trail of blood which leads from the master bedroom to the terrace at the edge of a precipice on the ocean. They can’t find the body. ...
I will continue later tonight - having problems with my connection after the last storm, writing in an internet cafe is not too comfy.. don't go away :)
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Friday, February 10, 2006
Of Clouds and Silver Linings : Thank you Jyllands -Posten ...
'Every cloud has a silver lining' ! The same goes with the Danish caricatures re. Islam, Muslim but most of all Prophet Muhammad ( hattip Mad Canuck ).
Are you shocked ? well don't be and allow me to explain why...after all I did promise to weigh in at least one more time on this subject.
Following a week of controversy, anger, questions, diplomatic, embroglio, protests, deaths, childish behaviour, threats and so much more , we have OD-ed on this topic. I think the most shocked are probably the Danes as they seem not to know what hit them. I'm really sorry guys that you had your baptism of fire so to speak (no offense meant) in such a way, though I deplore the torching of embassies and such I think you are extremely lucky that so far only Muslims died accross the world.
However, there seems to be a misconceptions at the root of all this, as I mentioned my first post on this sorry issue , the Western world seems to think that Muslims are offended because the Prophet was represented despite a religious edit which prohibits this action. I hate to repeat myself again and state that although this could be technically correct it is not true especially in light of the 'sudden' revelation that an Egyptian paper had already printed the cartoons in October 2005 in an attempt to demonstrate how negative the portrayal by Europeans was of Muslims and their beloved Prophet ( Kudos to Freedom For Egypt and Sandmonkey).
I'll elaborate some more but I need to take this in baby steps. First do check a letter by Safia Libyan Muslim in Denmark ( which I found on Khadijateri's blog), excerpts : " I followed the issue from its very start in September 2005; a loony communist writer proposed to fill a wagon with qurans, then shed some menstruation blood on it (his name is Kare Bluitgen) - he declared he wanted to irritate Muslims for fun (he called it ART!)Nobody took him serious and he was ignored for a while. Then suddenly he declared he wanted to make a comic book about the life of our Prophet Muhammed (SAAS). He could not get anyone to draw the book, though. That started a discussion in the newspapers about why no one would draw the comic - Bluitgen claimed that Muslims had intimidated artists from working on the book. When journalist ridiculed him, he suggested to bring some comic drawings in the media to "test" the reaction of the Muslim community. The rest is history... " . She does not feel comfortable anymore and has made plans for an eventual return to Libya.
For all the talk about 'press freedom that we have been deafened with, and also the controversy brought up in the comment section about the Holocaust and it being an off limit topic to European ( and western) journalism and press and anyone in this world and it being IRRELEVANT to freedom of the press , I must wonder about this other anectode then and I quote "The Danish daily turned down the cartoons of Christ three years ago, on the grounds that they could be offensive to readers and were not funny". ( courtesy of The Guardian). That just makes my antennaes twich why the double standards dear folks at the Jyllands- Posten ?
I still maintain that as published by Jyllands-Posten and then deliberately reprinted by several European papers and taken further by bloggers and even American pundits ( Thank you Mad Canuck again for putting Michelle Malkin in my path ), the intent was and remains to hurt Muslims in an attempt to shake off the very real collective subonscious fear of Islam. My position also remains unchanged that the Muslim world had the right to be offended and seek retribution in a CIVILIZED manner as per the original principles of Islam and not what has been done in its name during the last week.
Moreover, I have personally seen and read about these cartoon on a French website back in September 2005, and did not think they were newsworthy or deserved to give them any publicity of credit ( because that is what their owner wanted ). This had opened my eyes from the illusion I had about Denmark, I knew that there was racial problems in France and Germany but did not really worry about Denmark. Now in my eyes all of Europe will be lumped toghether in this same pot - Islam haters at a deeper level than I thought. This sounds so radical does it not - although I am striving to keep an open mind - this is just my gut feeling at the moment. I know it is not true, as I have lived in Europe for years and tons of my friends are Europeans, also I've seen the genuine responses and feelings from Europeans on this blog and on other ME blogs and can evaluate their lovely emotions and sincere questions. I don't, won't and can't blame the European or the West. Why ? because this mess is our own.
The issues are beyond being a devout Muslim, the real issue rests in the fact that many Muslims have lost touch with Islam, the real Islam ( but that is not the problem of the West and none of their business, it's the Muslim's to work out on their own). The Muslims however are aware of their deficiency and some are looking for a way out of it. This to me explains why the Egyptians did not rise and riot when the Danish caricature were published in their own press - because simply not enough people from the easily influenced simple mob read about them. You can ask the Sandmonkey himself :) , who reads the papers in Egypt ? Is the thrashing threatening mob even litterate ? So the cartoons in Egypt newspapers passed beningnely because only a few thousand literrate people read that Al Fagr issue and understood the implications, which in their opinion ( and mine) would not warrant a boycott of Egypt or that particular paper precisely because it has OPENED their eyes to what for example Jylland Posten thought about Islam ( I'm not going to insult the Danes and say they all think this way). I believe that those Egyptians who read Al-Fagr were satisfied that it exposed this issue. Their sense of offense if any would be towards the Danish paper and NOT their own paper who was doing them a FAVOUR by reporting on this. So I disagree with Sandmonkey when he states that 'and not a single squeak of outrage was present' . SM, the outrage was already expressed by the paper. It is elementary. It would have been the cue for the Egyptian civil society then to move on with steps to make known its outrage overseas, if they they thought they were offended Not doing so was a big mistake. My only excuse to justify their inaction is that we have been used over the decades to being the recipients of abuse and offense from the West for a variety of reasons, and one more cartoon about Islam only comes to increase that list. What many of us Arabs are not used to is how to go and complain and write to your mayor, senator or whatever to stand up for your own rights. The 'ignorant' mob whose only fault is a love of the prophet was blissfully unaware.
However, the Danish Muslims, who were raised in a 'democratic' country knew better, and when they did not get the response they wanted from the Danish governement they went to seek the support of good old Saudi Arabia, because they know how influential that would be. I think they did not calculate this hysterical backlash, but only were thinking about getting some cash and maybe diplomatic pressure, and so they stuffed their file to make their case better. Due to the respect and love that Mecca and Medina hold in the hearts of Muslims everywhere, any crazy utterance which comes from a Saudi official would be taken seriously by ordinary Muslims. and extremists alike because half baked knowledge is more dangerous then ignorance. That needs to be changed by the way - as the Saudis ( not the populace) don't necessarily have the welfare of the Muslim world on their mind .
The culprits in this standoff are, in addition to the staff of Jylland Posten -who knew what they were doing- the Danish Muslims who went to fan this thing, which was then taken advertised with the petrodollars and that's how the Muslim street FINALLY heard about it and how the extremist exploited the Muslims mobs gullibility. What surprises the Muslim though is the matter of the boycott and that it worked. Though I agree that they were offended and hurt, I will confidently say that the larger part of the hurt was that they realised this was not a simple cartoon , that this was a calculated and deliberate bomb in their face, that is why they went bersek because Islam has replaced nationalism, Islam has become Islamic nationalism- does it make sense? It is equivalent to what many of you have been stating in the comment section that you feel hurt when you flag was burnt that is nationalism right ? Islam has become for many THE nation, and stirs deep feelings of nationalism, enough to go to war. Again it does not in any way excuse the torching of embassies or the death threats.
From the images on the Associated Press ( which are 481 up to now) we notice that the only ones bearing OFFENSIVE and THREATENING messages comes from those staged by our dear Muslims brothers in London ( and yes I am sarcastic when I say dear). Because dressing up as a suicide bomber to protest is not a bright idea especially in London; I'm glad the lunatic drug dealer was arrested. Now why was I being a tad sarcastic about our dear brothers in London? because although I don't wish to lay blame on others I would like to say that this whole mess was started by democratised Muslims in Europe ( of course let's not forget that is was after ample provocation by the free press) . Those Muslims in Europe ( the unsettled ones) have a different set of problems then the Muslims in the ME, they have not integrated, they have their own culture within a culture ( not just Islamic culture) and mix up a lot of things in the name of Islam including extremist feelings. I can understand the feelings of the Syrian protesters burning flags and even attacking an embassy, but not those cool placard carrying London Muslims whose messages were chilling. I've said it on many occasions but our Muslim non Arab brothers and particularly our Asian ones are a big problem ! We already have enough problem for a million lifetimes. So being caught between the anvil of the Asian Muslim extremists and the sledgehammer of the Saudi fundies is a nightmare of gigantic proportions. In addition the Western zealots are not a great help either :) if I may say so.
I must agree with Sandmonkey on this though "Now while the arab islamic population was going crazy over the outrage created by their government's media over these cartoons, their governments was benifitting from its people's distraction. The Saudi royal Family used it to distract its people from the outrage over the Hajj stampede. The Jordanian government used it to distract its people from their new minimum wage law demanded by their labor unions. The Syrian Government used it to create secterian division in Lebanon and change the focus on the Harriri murder. And, finally, the Egyptian government is using it to distract us while it passes through the new Judiciary reforms and Social Security Bill- which will cut over $300 million dollars in benefits to some of Egypt's poorest families".
And so I'm glad that the Libyan people from two measly lone staged protests here and here , and an initiative to boycott Danish products which we don't have that many anyway, have been largely reasonable about this whole process. Plus we only had 2 emails circulating and NO text messages yet ! Ok I'm not forgetting the decision to close the embassy but we already discussed that before right ? Anyway Libya has been more engrossed in the African mini-summit taking place here to try to diffuse the situation between Sudan and Chad, and which resulted in this declaration. On the whole things were pretty reasonable here :).
'Lo Allah Changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts' [Qur'an :Verse 10 Sura 13- Picktall translation 1997 , p .217].
In other words , only by taking their destiny into their own hands could Muslims ( or any freedom seeking people ) solve their problems and restore their dignity. This should be done by going back to pristine Islam and its pure principles and at the same time using all the tools of modern civil society provided to us by the West. I don't see any harm in that we have given to the world civilization, it is our turn to take from it to grow once again into a brilliant community- it's not like we lack the potential for that.
I'll conclude by a glimpse of what other Libyan bloggers said on this and which was not posted by me before :
Khadijateri : "while I don't believe that it's right to insult anyone's religious beliefs, I do believe that people should have the freedom to express themselves. Or to attend, or not attend a demonstration".
Tyenness: "I mean, if some freakish individuals feel this inescapable urge to prance around making faces and 'nanana' ing kindergarten fashion…well, let them. I don't see how anyone could take offense at something so pathetic.Abu Laban, the Danish Imam who first decided to make such an issue out of this, just exemplifies the extremist idiots jumping on the bandwagon. ".
Hanu: who linked to a great article "the clash to end all clashes" , and who also said "The thing was blown way out of proportion and was kept on the spotlight longer than it deserved".
The most graceful post and subtle post I've seen spawned by this issue must go though to Nura, who simply quoted from 'The Sunna of the beloved ' a book Dr. Khaled abu el-Fadl , a distinguished brilliant American lawyer and Islamic thinker, commissioned by President Bush.
Excerpts: " Permit me my Prophet, my own beloved Prophet, to tell you that I do not know you from the majestic debates of this Conference, I do not know you from the learned lectures of teachers, or from some infatuated delusional dream. No, I do not know you from the books full of sayings you reportedly said, and I even do not know you from all the reports about your life and about your likes and dislikes. I know you from a moment in time in which I fell in love with you. I know you because God taught you, praised you, and honored you. I know you because God comforted you, consoled you, and empowered you. I know you because God loved you. My Prophet, I know you through a heart that loves" . (Thank you Nura & Dr. Khaled for reminding us why we love Muhammad).
Now back to why am I grateful for the Jyllands- Posten ? simply because perhaps this crisis will spark another interfaith/intercultural dialogue which would be between peoples this time not the Vatican and Al-Azhar. I've seen you readers numerous in seeking answer. Maybe it would allow us all to understand the other a bit more, correct our mutual mistakes and misconceptions, educate not hesitate to ask questions and maybe learn that what is okay for us can be offensive for someone else, that is that my freedom ends where yours begins.
PS I hope I have covered most of what the readers have asked in the comment section I am grateful to all of you for participating and coming here, more specific and personalised replies to your qestions are all here - pls forgive the delay , but we had terrible weather ( Hattip -Khadijateri ) . So internet access was difficult for me; I hope you will come back even after this page in our history is turned, that would be the Silver Lining! Amin.
'Every cloud has a silver lining' ! The same goes with the Danish caricatures re. Islam, Muslim but most of all Prophet Muhammad ( hattip Mad Canuck ).
Are you shocked ? well don't be and allow me to explain why...after all I did promise to weigh in at least one more time on this subject.
Following a week of controversy, anger, questions, diplomatic, embroglio, protests, deaths, childish behaviour, threats and so much more , we have OD-ed on this topic. I think the most shocked are probably the Danes as they seem not to know what hit them. I'm really sorry guys that you had your baptism of fire so to speak (no offense meant) in such a way, though I deplore the torching of embassies and such I think you are extremely lucky that so far only Muslims died accross the world.
However, there seems to be a misconceptions at the root of all this, as I mentioned my first post on this sorry issue , the Western world seems to think that Muslims are offended because the Prophet was represented despite a religious edit which prohibits this action. I hate to repeat myself again and state that although this could be technically correct it is not true especially in light of the 'sudden' revelation that an Egyptian paper had already printed the cartoons in October 2005 in an attempt to demonstrate how negative the portrayal by Europeans was of Muslims and their beloved Prophet ( Kudos to Freedom For Egypt and Sandmonkey).
I'll elaborate some more but I need to take this in baby steps. First do check a letter by Safia Libyan Muslim in Denmark ( which I found on Khadijateri's blog), excerpts : " I followed the issue from its very start in September 2005; a loony communist writer proposed to fill a wagon with qurans, then shed some menstruation blood on it (his name is Kare Bluitgen) - he declared he wanted to irritate Muslims for fun (he called it ART!)Nobody took him serious and he was ignored for a while. Then suddenly he declared he wanted to make a comic book about the life of our Prophet Muhammed (SAAS). He could not get anyone to draw the book, though. That started a discussion in the newspapers about why no one would draw the comic - Bluitgen claimed that Muslims had intimidated artists from working on the book. When journalist ridiculed him, he suggested to bring some comic drawings in the media to "test" the reaction of the Muslim community. The rest is history... " . She does not feel comfortable anymore and has made plans for an eventual return to Libya.
For all the talk about 'press freedom that we have been deafened with, and also the controversy brought up in the comment section about the Holocaust and it being an off limit topic to European ( and western) journalism and press and anyone in this world and it being IRRELEVANT to freedom of the press , I must wonder about this other anectode then and I quote "The Danish daily turned down the cartoons of Christ three years ago, on the grounds that they could be offensive to readers and were not funny". ( courtesy of The Guardian). That just makes my antennaes twich why the double standards dear folks at the Jyllands- Posten ?
I still maintain that as published by Jyllands-Posten and then deliberately reprinted by several European papers and taken further by bloggers and even American pundits ( Thank you Mad Canuck again for putting Michelle Malkin in my path ), the intent was and remains to hurt Muslims in an attempt to shake off the very real collective subonscious fear of Islam. My position also remains unchanged that the Muslim world had the right to be offended and seek retribution in a CIVILIZED manner as per the original principles of Islam and not what has been done in its name during the last week.
Moreover, I have personally seen and read about these cartoon on a French website back in September 2005, and did not think they were newsworthy or deserved to give them any publicity of credit ( because that is what their owner wanted ). This had opened my eyes from the illusion I had about Denmark, I knew that there was racial problems in France and Germany but did not really worry about Denmark. Now in my eyes all of Europe will be lumped toghether in this same pot - Islam haters at a deeper level than I thought. This sounds so radical does it not - although I am striving to keep an open mind - this is just my gut feeling at the moment. I know it is not true, as I have lived in Europe for years and tons of my friends are Europeans, also I've seen the genuine responses and feelings from Europeans on this blog and on other ME blogs and can evaluate their lovely emotions and sincere questions. I don't, won't and can't blame the European or the West. Why ? because this mess is our own.
The issues are beyond being a devout Muslim, the real issue rests in the fact that many Muslims have lost touch with Islam, the real Islam ( but that is not the problem of the West and none of their business, it's the Muslim's to work out on their own). The Muslims however are aware of their deficiency and some are looking for a way out of it. This to me explains why the Egyptians did not rise and riot when the Danish caricature were published in their own press - because simply not enough people from the easily influenced simple mob read about them. You can ask the Sandmonkey himself :) , who reads the papers in Egypt ? Is the thrashing threatening mob even litterate ? So the cartoons in Egypt newspapers passed beningnely because only a few thousand literrate people read that Al Fagr issue and understood the implications, which in their opinion ( and mine) would not warrant a boycott of Egypt or that particular paper precisely because it has OPENED their eyes to what for example Jylland Posten thought about Islam ( I'm not going to insult the Danes and say they all think this way). I believe that those Egyptians who read Al-Fagr were satisfied that it exposed this issue. Their sense of offense if any would be towards the Danish paper and NOT their own paper who was doing them a FAVOUR by reporting on this. So I disagree with Sandmonkey when he states that 'and not a single squeak of outrage was present' . SM, the outrage was already expressed by the paper. It is elementary. It would have been the cue for the Egyptian civil society then to move on with steps to make known its outrage overseas, if they they thought they were offended Not doing so was a big mistake. My only excuse to justify their inaction is that we have been used over the decades to being the recipients of abuse and offense from the West for a variety of reasons, and one more cartoon about Islam only comes to increase that list. What many of us Arabs are not used to is how to go and complain and write to your mayor, senator or whatever to stand up for your own rights. The 'ignorant' mob whose only fault is a love of the prophet was blissfully unaware.
However, the Danish Muslims, who were raised in a 'democratic' country knew better, and when they did not get the response they wanted from the Danish governement they went to seek the support of good old Saudi Arabia, because they know how influential that would be. I think they did not calculate this hysterical backlash, but only were thinking about getting some cash and maybe diplomatic pressure, and so they stuffed their file to make their case better. Due to the respect and love that Mecca and Medina hold in the hearts of Muslims everywhere, any crazy utterance which comes from a Saudi official would be taken seriously by ordinary Muslims. and extremists alike because half baked knowledge is more dangerous then ignorance. That needs to be changed by the way - as the Saudis ( not the populace) don't necessarily have the welfare of the Muslim world on their mind .
The culprits in this standoff are, in addition to the staff of Jylland Posten -who knew what they were doing- the Danish Muslims who went to fan this thing, which was then taken advertised with the petrodollars and that's how the Muslim street FINALLY heard about it and how the extremist exploited the Muslims mobs gullibility. What surprises the Muslim though is the matter of the boycott and that it worked. Though I agree that they were offended and hurt, I will confidently say that the larger part of the hurt was that they realised this was not a simple cartoon , that this was a calculated and deliberate bomb in their face, that is why they went bersek because Islam has replaced nationalism, Islam has become Islamic nationalism- does it make sense? It is equivalent to what many of you have been stating in the comment section that you feel hurt when you flag was burnt that is nationalism right ? Islam has become for many THE nation, and stirs deep feelings of nationalism, enough to go to war. Again it does not in any way excuse the torching of embassies or the death threats.
From the images on the Associated Press ( which are 481 up to now) we notice that the only ones bearing OFFENSIVE and THREATENING messages comes from those staged by our dear Muslims brothers in London ( and yes I am sarcastic when I say dear). Because dressing up as a suicide bomber to protest is not a bright idea especially in London; I'm glad the lunatic drug dealer was arrested. Now why was I being a tad sarcastic about our dear brothers in London? because although I don't wish to lay blame on others I would like to say that this whole mess was started by democratised Muslims in Europe ( of course let's not forget that is was after ample provocation by the free press) . Those Muslims in Europe ( the unsettled ones) have a different set of problems then the Muslims in the ME, they have not integrated, they have their own culture within a culture ( not just Islamic culture) and mix up a lot of things in the name of Islam including extremist feelings. I can understand the feelings of the Syrian protesters burning flags and even attacking an embassy, but not those cool placard carrying London Muslims whose messages were chilling. I've said it on many occasions but our Muslim non Arab brothers and particularly our Asian ones are a big problem ! We already have enough problem for a million lifetimes. So being caught between the anvil of the Asian Muslim extremists and the sledgehammer of the Saudi fundies is a nightmare of gigantic proportions. In addition the Western zealots are not a great help either :) if I may say so.
I must agree with Sandmonkey on this though "Now while the arab islamic population was going crazy over the outrage created by their government's media over these cartoons, their governments was benifitting from its people's distraction. The Saudi royal Family used it to distract its people from the outrage over the Hajj stampede. The Jordanian government used it to distract its people from their new minimum wage law demanded by their labor unions. The Syrian Government used it to create secterian division in Lebanon and change the focus on the Harriri murder. And, finally, the Egyptian government is using it to distract us while it passes through the new Judiciary reforms and Social Security Bill- which will cut over $300 million dollars in benefits to some of Egypt's poorest families".
And so I'm glad that the Libyan people from two measly lone staged protests here and here , and an initiative to boycott Danish products which we don't have that many anyway, have been largely reasonable about this whole process. Plus we only had 2 emails circulating and NO text messages yet ! Ok I'm not forgetting the decision to close the embassy but we already discussed that before right ? Anyway Libya has been more engrossed in the African mini-summit taking place here to try to diffuse the situation between Sudan and Chad, and which resulted in this declaration. On the whole things were pretty reasonable here :).
'Lo Allah Changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts' [Qur'an :Verse 10 Sura 13- Picktall translation 1997 , p .217].
In other words , only by taking their destiny into their own hands could Muslims ( or any freedom seeking people ) solve their problems and restore their dignity. This should be done by going back to pristine Islam and its pure principles and at the same time using all the tools of modern civil society provided to us by the West. I don't see any harm in that we have given to the world civilization, it is our turn to take from it to grow once again into a brilliant community- it's not like we lack the potential for that.
I'll conclude by a glimpse of what other Libyan bloggers said on this and which was not posted by me before :
Khadijateri : "while I don't believe that it's right to insult anyone's religious beliefs, I do believe that people should have the freedom to express themselves. Or to attend, or not attend a demonstration".
Tyenness: "I mean, if some freakish individuals feel this inescapable urge to prance around making faces and 'nanana' ing kindergarten fashion…well, let them. I don't see how anyone could take offense at something so pathetic.Abu Laban, the Danish Imam who first decided to make such an issue out of this, just exemplifies the extremist idiots jumping on the bandwagon. ".
Hanu: who linked to a great article "the clash to end all clashes" , and who also said "The thing was blown way out of proportion and was kept on the spotlight longer than it deserved".
The most graceful post and subtle post I've seen spawned by this issue must go though to Nura, who simply quoted from 'The Sunna of the beloved ' a book Dr. Khaled abu el-Fadl , a distinguished brilliant American lawyer and Islamic thinker, commissioned by President Bush.
Excerpts: " Permit me my Prophet, my own beloved Prophet, to tell you that I do not know you from the majestic debates of this Conference, I do not know you from the learned lectures of teachers, or from some infatuated delusional dream. No, I do not know you from the books full of sayings you reportedly said, and I even do not know you from all the reports about your life and about your likes and dislikes. I know you from a moment in time in which I fell in love with you. I know you because God taught you, praised you, and honored you. I know you because God comforted you, consoled you, and empowered you. I know you because God loved you. My Prophet, I know you through a heart that loves" . (Thank you Nura & Dr. Khaled for reminding us why we love Muhammad).
Now back to why am I grateful for the Jyllands- Posten ? simply because perhaps this crisis will spark another interfaith/intercultural dialogue which would be between peoples this time not the Vatican and Al-Azhar. I've seen you readers numerous in seeking answer. Maybe it would allow us all to understand the other a bit more, correct our mutual mistakes and misconceptions, educate not hesitate to ask questions and maybe learn that what is okay for us can be offensive for someone else, that is that my freedom ends where yours begins.
PS I hope I have covered most of what the readers have asked in the comment section I am grateful to all of you for participating and coming here, more specific and personalised replies to your qestions are all here - pls forgive the delay , but we had terrible weather ( Hattip -Khadijateri ) . So internet access was difficult for me; I hope you will come back even after this page in our history is turned, that would be the Silver Lining! Amin.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Subject: The infamous cartoons, announcement...
Dear All, just in case you're wondering I'm not ignoring the discussions here. Just need time to combine a proper reply. I do have to pretend I work right ;) ....otherwise I won't have a job over this blogging business .
Dear All, just in case you're wondering I'm not ignoring the discussions here. Just need time to combine a proper reply. I do have to pretend I work right ;) ....otherwise I won't have a job over this blogging business .
Total Eclipse March 2006 - Libya: Hurry up !!!
According to this report , Libya is slowly becoming a prime tourist attraction, as it is “Libya aims to welcome ten million visitors per year compared with the current total of 300.000.”.
Hmmm I’m not sure I want to see that many tourists around as then Libya will never be the same. But the future seems to lie in diversification from reliance on oil, especially in view of the US President’s latest call to stop oil addiction.
One of the first great tourist events for this year will be the total eclipse of March 29th, and tourism agencies have a deadline of one week left only to get their act together , and visa processing has been speeded up immensely. So if you want to visit you better hurry as places have been quasi sold out on some cruises.
According to the The Libyan Center for Space Sciences and Remote Sensing “Libya’s total eclipse will last longer than other countries because of the fine weather and clear skies here, in addition to the location of monitoring center, which will be stationed in the desert.”
If my plan works I shall be watching it too in March.
According to this report , Libya is slowly becoming a prime tourist attraction, as it is “Libya aims to welcome ten million visitors per year compared with the current total of 300.000.”.
Hmmm I’m not sure I want to see that many tourists around as then Libya will never be the same. But the future seems to lie in diversification from reliance on oil, especially in view of the US President’s latest call to stop oil addiction.
One of the first great tourist events for this year will be the total eclipse of March 29th, and tourism agencies have a deadline of one week left only to get their act together , and visa processing has been speeded up immensely. So if you want to visit you better hurry as places have been quasi sold out on some cruises.
According to the The Libyan Center for Space Sciences and Remote Sensing “Libya’s total eclipse will last longer than other countries because of the fine weather and clear skies here, in addition to the location of monitoring center, which will be stationed in the desert.”
If my plan works I shall be watching it too in March.
Message to Arab oil producing countries
Last week the US President urged his country to become less dependent on oil. This should be possible with technology, so that by 2025 there would be “a 75% cut in US oil imports”.
Dear Arab world this is your cue to start doing something for when oil will NOT be a prime commodity.
According to this you got 20 years to put your act toghether.
So move it now !
Last week the US President urged his country to become less dependent on oil. This should be possible with technology, so that by 2025 there would be “a 75% cut in US oil imports”.
Dear Arab world this is your cue to start doing something for when oil will NOT be a prime commodity.
According to this you got 20 years to put your act toghether.
So move it now !
Friday, February 03, 2006
Condolences to the victims of the Egyptian ferry disaster
I was shocked when I saw the breaking news ticker today over 1000 people are dead.
"ان لله وان اليه راجعون"
ربنا يصبر اهاليهم
Update 4:30 am Saturday
My uncle and cousin are supposed to take the ferry to Egypt from the ME on Friday, I just realised this NOW ....dear God please let it be not them on the ferry. Please please please .....no one has thought about it yet in the family and I'm not going to ..first will have to be patient to contact their hotel and find out what time they left . Ya rab 2oltof , the other cousin's cellphone who was supposed to meet them is out of coverage .
Update 2
ok I was hysterical - the news is they are taking the ferry from Jordan. But still have not heard from them so hope all is right . Thank you guys for caring.
Final update 9.46 pm 4/2/06
I'm really angry and upset about this whole ferry accident especially that as Sandmonkey says there could be some mess up by the company cover up and betrayal ...this is DISGUSTING (thanks Sandmonkey for putting up). That is so scary I can't imagine the fear and pain of the dying passengers. If the turns out to be true the crew should be sentenced to death nothing less.
As for my uncle, we finally located him and the cousin, they are waiting for the ferry from the Aqaba port in Jordan. Alhamdulilah.
I was shocked when I saw the breaking news ticker today over 1000 people are dead.
"ان لله وان اليه راجعون"
ربنا يصبر اهاليهم
Update 4:30 am Saturday
My uncle and cousin are supposed to take the ferry to Egypt from the ME on Friday, I just realised this NOW ....dear God please let it be not them on the ferry. Please please please .....no one has thought about it yet in the family and I'm not going to ..first will have to be patient to contact their hotel and find out what time they left . Ya rab 2oltof , the other cousin's cellphone who was supposed to meet them is out of coverage .
Update 2
ok I was hysterical - the news is they are taking the ferry from Jordan. But still have not heard from them so hope all is right . Thank you guys for caring.
Final update 9.46 pm 4/2/06
I'm really angry and upset about this whole ferry accident especially that as Sandmonkey says there could be some mess up by the company cover up and betrayal ...this is DISGUSTING (thanks Sandmonkey for putting up). That is so scary I can't imagine the fear and pain of the dying passengers. If the turns out to be true the crew should be sentenced to death nothing less.
As for my uncle, we finally located him and the cousin, they are waiting for the ferry from the Aqaba port in Jordan. Alhamdulilah.
Liberty and Freedom in the 21st Century or cartoons & weapons of mass destruction
The Dannish Issue ....had some trouble with Blogger so could not put up the post ( I guess they have been overwhelmed by traffic) + I also have to sleep you know ;) anyway thanks for your patience and here is the update.
This is the update on my previous post about the Danish cartoons ; for those who did not get it, basically I said that the newspaper should not have run these carton because apart from hurting the image of a religious icon, they are racist. I also said that although free speech should not be questioned, there is nothing called 'total' freedom , because with freedom comes responsibility. Moreover, on the basis that free speech and human rights are for all, the Muslims should not be blamed for exercising this freedom to be offended- even if that is the only thing they every will do in their respective countries. So the Danes are free to criticise and so are we - that's fair right ?
Undeniably there is repression in the ME but that does not mean they have no rights to also feel about this subject and act on it civilly and peaceful (I expressly mentioned that they should emulate the West in their approach to these matters especially that now religion seems to have no place in the West but only civil society.
I quote "we should definitely mount a suitable campaign and civil action to prevent this kind of offense from ever recurring again but we have to play the game the Western way".) - but alas not everybody can hold their temper that is a human trait present on both sides. I won't quote from the Bible as many of you seem to find it irrelevant in this debate. I have always been under the impression that boycott is a civilized way to express disagreement.
Consequently hate speech by Muslims, death threats, and violence are not acceptable. I also do not think that diplomatic measures by states are a good idea either as they escalate the situation, or give international exposure. Still that is not a crime but only a method, albeit faulty. Calling Muslims retards and moronic ( by some Muslims) in order bow to pressure perpetuates bad sentiments also because it shows only one thing fear of a threat from the West, which is illogical because the ME is always under some kind of threat from the West if it does not concede to their demands ( that may be a flawed arguments but that is how many envision it).
Every one on the blogs is getting excited about the Jews, while this time should be about the Muslims. Funnily enough no one picked on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as Craig said either. What kept happening was what we call in Arabic '7adith torshan' a conversation of the deaf, with many people wishing to impose their own standards on others ( both sides) without stopping to think whether this might be the chance to reach out and actually talk WITH each other not AT each in order to reach a civil compromise that would satisfy all parties involved so that none of them believes they are wronged and perhaps also redress some historical wrongs in this regard similarly to what happened with the Jews.
In this regard I would like to point out that the persona of the Prophet Muhammad has been attacked and defamed viciously throughout the centuries by the West and Europe specifically ( Dante , Voltaire , the Church and countless others and others come to mind - thanks Eya).
On this same vein it is worth noting (thank you Eya again for reminding us)
that “Roger Du Pasquier points out:
In general one must unhappily concur with an Orientalist like Montgomery Watt when he writes that 'of all the great men of the world, no-one has had as many detractors as Muhammad.' Having engaged in a lengthy study of the life and work of the Prophet, the British Arabist add that 'it is hard to understand why this has been the case', finding the only plausible explanation in the fact that for centuries Christianity treated Islam as its worst enemy. And although Europeans today look at Islam and its founder in a somewhat more objective light, 'many ancient prejudices still remain.' (From Unveiling Islam, by Roger Du Pasquier, page 47 - quoting from W M Watt's Muhammad at Medina, Oxford University Press)”.
So neither Muhammad nor God need us to defend them, but yes we feel emotional about it.
A quote comes to mind which Egyptian Sally has graciously provided:
'French theologian Sohaib Bencheikh said, "One must find the borders between freedom of expression and freedom to protect the sacred.... Unfortunately, the West has lost its sense of the sacred."If only it were just the West'.
Is it not ironic that the US government found a cartoon in the Washington post OFFENSIVE ? (brilliant Hannibal).
The Danish Muslims it seems have accepted the paper's apology ( hattip Hannibal).Though many think it is incomplete check below MMM from subzeroblue :
"A bit earlier, I read that the Danish newspaper that published the cartoons has apologized for offending Muslims around the world, not for publishing the cartoons, but for offending Muslims."We apologize for the fact that the cartoons undeniably have offended many Muslims,"' Carsten Juste, editor-in-chief of Jyllands-Posten, wrote late yesterday in a letter on the paper's Web site. He said Jyllands-Posten wasn't sorry for running the cartoons though. As for Vebjoern Selbekk, the editor of Norwegian Magazinet, the paper that republished the caricatures, he too said that he "regrets if the drawings were offensive to Muslims.."
Still a good step forward to defuse the situation.
What did some Muslim leaderships in Arab countries do? they reply in civilized steps to also reign in the burning sentiments and call for civilized action, here is the announcement of the World Islamic Peaple’s Leadership (Arabic) for example. Or the essay on ceilings of freedom.
Compare it to the hysteria which has gripped the European press, by republishing the cartoons to make a point almost out of strife it seems, they solve nothing but only unwillingly or willingly demonstrate the extent of racism and hatred as Muslims suspected. It does not show any spirit of secularism or civil society or humanism yet they keep preaching to us about it.
The standoff between the Muslim peoples and the West hence continues and according to the media and to the blogs it’s like WWIII out there, but in reality it is not. The only looser in this embroglio are the Danish companies.
The Arab streets are not ablaze with boycotters and demonstrators who want to ‘defend the faith’ ( thanks Loulou) , that is simply not true. This is despite the calls by Fatah and Hizbollah for marching ( according the Sandmonkey ). The ME, NA and the rest of the Muslim world is a huge space and I don’t see 1.3 billion people reacting crazily ( not even one thousand- so far)– so please stop the media hype and exaggerations.
Certainly in Libya nothing is happening apart for some official statements here , here and here the Cen-Sad Union of Jurists issued a statement which states:
"[...]those cartoons stem from hostility, anti- beliefs and offending shrines, and igniting the spirit of extremism from which the world suffers a lot, as well as enlarging the gap between civilizations, and severing cooperation and solidarity among the peoples, transcending the professional journalistic values, and denying cultural plurality contradicting all international charters and covenants.
The Jurists Union of the Cen-Sad Community urged in its statement the need for the intervention of the international community, represented in the UN regarding this racist offense, as well as taking all necessary legal measures, according to the requirement of international charters and covenants, against those who committed such heinous behavior, by all courts, councils, and competent international organizations, and regard such request an official initiation of the law suit presented by the secretariat of the union.
The Union also asked in its statement the need for the Danish authorities to apologize to Muslims about that offense, punish the concerned newspaper and the author Viliming Russ.[sic] [this part I know is impossible and does not work the same way as in our world]"
Even the Libyan blogosphere is not interested apart from smokeyspice here.
I have said earlier that Libya had closed it's embassy, well my mistake it has not YET closed I should have looked at my own local press not blogs and foreign press, the statement issued by the governement is the following "going to close" is different then CLOSED ( which is a fait accomplit) .
Moreover, unlike is some other countries there is no frenzy of mobile text messages and only one lone email so far ( and believe me I’m very popular in real life ;) ).
However there is a popular movement by ordinary folks in the world and if they don’t want to eat Danish then it’s up to them. Danish products are still available in our markets in Libya for sale(I checked myself) and no one is preventing access to them so far, but they are labelled as Danish products. Plus anyway they have been paid for in advance to the Danish food company.
I will leave you with a rendering from Eman at Aquacool which encapsulated the whole thing please read it as it is very telling and go check her other posts on the matter also her comment section is full :)
"Today isn’t just my day. I’m sick, exhausted and working my head off to meet deadlines that have been given to me in a very short notice! Anyway, few minutes after I’ve got back from my lunch break, a client (a foreigner, doesn’t matter what nationality) is at the company door. He came to meet the boss, who was out. So I asked him to wait in my office till my boss arrives.
After a quick chitchat I got back to my work and he just looked through the window. Suddenly he strikes me with this question.
Client: You must be feeling ashamed of what your people are doing!
Eman: Sorry! (what the hell is he talking about)
Client: You know, the Danish cartoonist and the whole fuss Muslims did about that, come on, boycotting Denmark, asking for a punishment… this is quite silly I must say. (laughs)
Eman: Aha, that’s what you’re talking about then!
Client: I mean no offence to you, you’re different, you’re open-minded, not like those backward conservatives! are you even 100% Arab?
Eman: Well, I am 100% Arab, and I’m open-minded, and I am totally with the stand of “my people” on this… if that interests you!
Client: What!
Eman: Listen. I’m fed up of people calling us different kinds of things just because we stand for what we believe in, just because we stick to our principles. And you know what bothers me the most? It’s when people from within us: Muslims, and Arabs feel embarrassed because some of us spoke up!
Client: I’m shocked! You! I thought you were different and tolerant!
Eman: I am tolerant, you are NOT. I am open-minded, you are Not!
You lecture us about how we should live, how we should act, what we should say, and how we should react, but you free yourselves from every restriction in the name of democracy, and if we speak up you ask us to mind our own business?
Client: So now you are the civilized, democratic ones!
Eman: No, we still have a long way to go. But there’s a very fine line between democracy and racism; between freedom of expression and disrespect.
I might not totally agree with punishing the Cartoonist himself, but I am definitely with drawing lines to the relationship with any country that humiliates our religion.
You’re free to express, and so are we!
Client: But it was just a cartoon for God’s sake!
Eman: We -as human beings- have the right to object and protest. In your country, you have the right to sue someone if they used your name or picture without your permission, let alone use it in a racist, humiliating way!
Client: But…
Eman: But what? If I start drawing silly cartoons of your mother and humiliate her worldwide, would you still be friends with me?
Client: but it’s different, it was just a dead prophet!
Eman: To you, may be, to us he’s someone we look up to, someone we refer to, someone who’s always alive in every verse of Quran we read, in every school we go to, in every home we live… insulting him, is insulting me and “my people”, we’re not asking you to believe in him, but why humiliate him? If you insist to insult, go ahead, but you can’t force me to ignore the whole thing and act as if it didn’t happen, I’m free to feel disgusted, offended, and hurt!
Client: Hurt! What about terrorism!
Eman: What about it? You think you are the only ones suffering from it, we don’t?
Client: So you’re victims now!
Eman: No, and neither are you, we all have victims and criminals, we as Arabs have people who are such a disgrace, and so do you. The important thing is that we respect our differences and cultures.
Client: You’re right, but still I believe we’re free to choose the means of expressing ourselves!
Eman: You’re right, but still I believe we’re also free to choose the means of expressing ourselves equally!
(moment of silence)
Client: Now that I think of it, your people’s reaction does not sound so weird! That doesn’t mean I’m condemning the cartoonist.
Eman: I’m not asking you to, and thanks for listening to me.
Client: Thank you for explaining.
(the boss’ face appears on my security camera, I open the door, by the way… my boss is Arab and Muslim)
Boss: Sorry for the wait!
Client: Actually, I thank you for the wait, we had quite a discussion on the cartoonist issue.
Boss: What cartoonist? Ah right, the poor guy!
Client: Poor guy? (looks at me in shock)
Boss: He just drew few cartoons and boom attacks come from everywhere, I feel so embarrassed, really! You must think we are all backward bastards.
Eman: (I roll my eyes)
Client: (stands up, puts his hand on the boss’ shoulders) In fact, I believe as tolerant people, we should respect each other’s races and religions. You totally have the right to feel humiliated.
Boss: well… hmm…
Client: I mean, would you stand still if the cartoonist drew your dad the same way
Boss: (walking away from my office) I will kill him if he just thinks of it, anyway….
Client: (looking back at me) I was right, you are different! (smiles) "
Now from Highlander enough said this is very bad timing on a last note, why don't we ponder on this little incident of freedom "Take, for example, when Prince Harry dressed up in a Nazi outfit. The discussion was not about freedom of speech but what is considered offensive". (from BBC)
The Dannish Issue ....had some trouble with Blogger so could not put up the post ( I guess they have been overwhelmed by traffic) + I also have to sleep you know ;) anyway thanks for your patience and here is the update.
This is the update on my previous post about the Danish cartoons ; for those who did not get it, basically I said that the newspaper should not have run these carton because apart from hurting the image of a religious icon, they are racist. I also said that although free speech should not be questioned, there is nothing called 'total' freedom , because with freedom comes responsibility. Moreover, on the basis that free speech and human rights are for all, the Muslims should not be blamed for exercising this freedom to be offended- even if that is the only thing they every will do in their respective countries. So the Danes are free to criticise and so are we - that's fair right ?
Undeniably there is repression in the ME but that does not mean they have no rights to also feel about this subject and act on it civilly and peaceful (I expressly mentioned that they should emulate the West in their approach to these matters especially that now religion seems to have no place in the West but only civil society.
I quote "we should definitely mount a suitable campaign and civil action to prevent this kind of offense from ever recurring again but we have to play the game the Western way".) - but alas not everybody can hold their temper that is a human trait present on both sides. I won't quote from the Bible as many of you seem to find it irrelevant in this debate. I have always been under the impression that boycott is a civilized way to express disagreement.
Consequently hate speech by Muslims, death threats, and violence are not acceptable. I also do not think that diplomatic measures by states are a good idea either as they escalate the situation, or give international exposure. Still that is not a crime but only a method, albeit faulty. Calling Muslims retards and moronic ( by some Muslims) in order bow to pressure perpetuates bad sentiments also because it shows only one thing fear of a threat from the West, which is illogical because the ME is always under some kind of threat from the West if it does not concede to their demands ( that may be a flawed arguments but that is how many envision it).
Every one on the blogs is getting excited about the Jews, while this time should be about the Muslims. Funnily enough no one picked on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as Craig said either. What kept happening was what we call in Arabic '7adith torshan' a conversation of the deaf, with many people wishing to impose their own standards on others ( both sides) without stopping to think whether this might be the chance to reach out and actually talk WITH each other not AT each in order to reach a civil compromise that would satisfy all parties involved so that none of them believes they are wronged and perhaps also redress some historical wrongs in this regard similarly to what happened with the Jews.
In this regard I would like to point out that the persona of the Prophet Muhammad has been attacked and defamed viciously throughout the centuries by the West and Europe specifically ( Dante , Voltaire , the Church and countless others and others come to mind - thanks Eya).
On this same vein it is worth noting (thank you Eya again for reminding us)
that “Roger Du Pasquier points out:
In general one must unhappily concur with an Orientalist like Montgomery Watt when he writes that 'of all the great men of the world, no-one has had as many detractors as Muhammad.' Having engaged in a lengthy study of the life and work of the Prophet, the British Arabist add that 'it is hard to understand why this has been the case', finding the only plausible explanation in the fact that for centuries Christianity treated Islam as its worst enemy. And although Europeans today look at Islam and its founder in a somewhat more objective light, 'many ancient prejudices still remain.' (From Unveiling Islam, by Roger Du Pasquier, page 47 - quoting from W M Watt's Muhammad at Medina, Oxford University Press)”.
So neither Muhammad nor God need us to defend them, but yes we feel emotional about it.
A quote comes to mind which Egyptian Sally has graciously provided:
'French theologian Sohaib Bencheikh said, "One must find the borders between freedom of expression and freedom to protect the sacred.... Unfortunately, the West has lost its sense of the sacred."If only it were just the West'.
Is it not ironic that the US government found a cartoon in the Washington post OFFENSIVE ? (brilliant Hannibal).
The Danish Muslims it seems have accepted the paper's apology ( hattip Hannibal).Though many think it is incomplete check below MMM from subzeroblue :
"A bit earlier, I read that the Danish newspaper that published the cartoons has apologized for offending Muslims around the world, not for publishing the cartoons, but for offending Muslims."We apologize for the fact that the cartoons undeniably have offended many Muslims,"' Carsten Juste, editor-in-chief of Jyllands-Posten, wrote late yesterday in a letter on the paper's Web site. He said Jyllands-Posten wasn't sorry for running the cartoons though. As for Vebjoern Selbekk, the editor of Norwegian Magazinet, the paper that republished the caricatures, he too said that he "regrets if the drawings were offensive to Muslims.."
Still a good step forward to defuse the situation.
What did some Muslim leaderships in Arab countries do? they reply in civilized steps to also reign in the burning sentiments and call for civilized action, here is the announcement of the World Islamic Peaple’s Leadership (Arabic) for example. Or the essay on ceilings of freedom.
Compare it to the hysteria which has gripped the European press, by republishing the cartoons to make a point almost out of strife it seems, they solve nothing but only unwillingly or willingly demonstrate the extent of racism and hatred as Muslims suspected. It does not show any spirit of secularism or civil society or humanism yet they keep preaching to us about it.
The standoff between the Muslim peoples and the West hence continues and according to the media and to the blogs it’s like WWIII out there, but in reality it is not. The only looser in this embroglio are the Danish companies.
The Arab streets are not ablaze with boycotters and demonstrators who want to ‘defend the faith’ ( thanks Loulou) , that is simply not true. This is despite the calls by Fatah and Hizbollah for marching ( according the Sandmonkey ). The ME, NA and the rest of the Muslim world is a huge space and I don’t see 1.3 billion people reacting crazily ( not even one thousand- so far)– so please stop the media hype and exaggerations.
Certainly in Libya nothing is happening apart for some official statements here , here and here the Cen-Sad Union of Jurists issued a statement which states:
"[...]those cartoons stem from hostility, anti- beliefs and offending shrines, and igniting the spirit of extremism from which the world suffers a lot, as well as enlarging the gap between civilizations, and severing cooperation and solidarity among the peoples, transcending the professional journalistic values, and denying cultural plurality contradicting all international charters and covenants.
The Jurists Union of the Cen-Sad Community urged in its statement the need for the intervention of the international community, represented in the UN regarding this racist offense, as well as taking all necessary legal measures, according to the requirement of international charters and covenants, against those who committed such heinous behavior, by all courts, councils, and competent international organizations, and regard such request an official initiation of the law suit presented by the secretariat of the union.
The Union also asked in its statement the need for the Danish authorities to apologize to Muslims about that offense, punish the concerned newspaper and the author Viliming Russ.[sic] [this part I know is impossible and does not work the same way as in our world]"
Even the Libyan blogosphere is not interested apart from smokeyspice here.
I have said earlier that Libya had closed it's embassy, well my mistake it has not YET closed I should have looked at my own local press not blogs and foreign press, the statement issued by the governement is the following "going to close" is different then CLOSED ( which is a fait accomplit) .
Moreover, unlike is some other countries there is no frenzy of mobile text messages and only one lone email so far ( and believe me I’m very popular in real life ;) ).
However there is a popular movement by ordinary folks in the world and if they don’t want to eat Danish then it’s up to them. Danish products are still available in our markets in Libya for sale(I checked myself) and no one is preventing access to them so far, but they are labelled as Danish products. Plus anyway they have been paid for in advance to the Danish food company.
I will leave you with a rendering from Eman at Aquacool which encapsulated the whole thing please read it as it is very telling and go check her other posts on the matter also her comment section is full :)
"Today isn’t just my day. I’m sick, exhausted and working my head off to meet deadlines that have been given to me in a very short notice! Anyway, few minutes after I’ve got back from my lunch break, a client (a foreigner, doesn’t matter what nationality) is at the company door. He came to meet the boss, who was out. So I asked him to wait in my office till my boss arrives.
After a quick chitchat I got back to my work and he just looked through the window. Suddenly he strikes me with this question.
Client: You must be feeling ashamed of what your people are doing!
Eman: Sorry! (what the hell is he talking about)
Client: You know, the Danish cartoonist and the whole fuss Muslims did about that, come on, boycotting Denmark, asking for a punishment… this is quite silly I must say. (laughs)
Eman: Aha, that’s what you’re talking about then!
Client: I mean no offence to you, you’re different, you’re open-minded, not like those backward conservatives! are you even 100% Arab?
Eman: Well, I am 100% Arab, and I’m open-minded, and I am totally with the stand of “my people” on this… if that interests you!
Client: What!
Eman: Listen. I’m fed up of people calling us different kinds of things just because we stand for what we believe in, just because we stick to our principles. And you know what bothers me the most? It’s when people from within us: Muslims, and Arabs feel embarrassed because some of us spoke up!
Client: I’m shocked! You! I thought you were different and tolerant!
Eman: I am tolerant, you are NOT. I am open-minded, you are Not!
You lecture us about how we should live, how we should act, what we should say, and how we should react, but you free yourselves from every restriction in the name of democracy, and if we speak up you ask us to mind our own business?
Client: So now you are the civilized, democratic ones!
Eman: No, we still have a long way to go. But there’s a very fine line between democracy and racism; between freedom of expression and disrespect.
I might not totally agree with punishing the Cartoonist himself, but I am definitely with drawing lines to the relationship with any country that humiliates our religion.
You’re free to express, and so are we!
Client: But it was just a cartoon for God’s sake!
Eman: We -as human beings- have the right to object and protest. In your country, you have the right to sue someone if they used your name or picture without your permission, let alone use it in a racist, humiliating way!
Client: But…
Eman: But what? If I start drawing silly cartoons of your mother and humiliate her worldwide, would you still be friends with me?
Client: but it’s different, it was just a dead prophet!
Eman: To you, may be, to us he’s someone we look up to, someone we refer to, someone who’s always alive in every verse of Quran we read, in every school we go to, in every home we live… insulting him, is insulting me and “my people”, we’re not asking you to believe in him, but why humiliate him? If you insist to insult, go ahead, but you can’t force me to ignore the whole thing and act as if it didn’t happen, I’m free to feel disgusted, offended, and hurt!
Client: Hurt! What about terrorism!
Eman: What about it? You think you are the only ones suffering from it, we don’t?
Client: So you’re victims now!
Eman: No, and neither are you, we all have victims and criminals, we as Arabs have people who are such a disgrace, and so do you. The important thing is that we respect our differences and cultures.
Client: You’re right, but still I believe we’re free to choose the means of expressing ourselves!
Eman: You’re right, but still I believe we’re also free to choose the means of expressing ourselves equally!
(moment of silence)
Client: Now that I think of it, your people’s reaction does not sound so weird! That doesn’t mean I’m condemning the cartoonist.
Eman: I’m not asking you to, and thanks for listening to me.
Client: Thank you for explaining.
(the boss’ face appears on my security camera, I open the door, by the way… my boss is Arab and Muslim)
Boss: Sorry for the wait!
Client: Actually, I thank you for the wait, we had quite a discussion on the cartoonist issue.
Boss: What cartoonist? Ah right, the poor guy!
Client: Poor guy? (looks at me in shock)
Boss: He just drew few cartoons and boom attacks come from everywhere, I feel so embarrassed, really! You must think we are all backward bastards.
Eman: (I roll my eyes)
Client: (stands up, puts his hand on the boss’ shoulders) In fact, I believe as tolerant people, we should respect each other’s races and religions. You totally have the right to feel humiliated.
Boss: well… hmm…
Client: I mean, would you stand still if the cartoonist drew your dad the same way
Boss: (walking away from my office) I will kill him if he just thinks of it, anyway….
Client: (looking back at me) I was right, you are different! (smiles) "
Now from Highlander enough said this is very bad timing on a last note, why don't we ponder on this little incident of freedom "Take, for example, when Prince Harry dressed up in a Nazi outfit. The discussion was not about freedom of speech but what is considered offensive". (from BBC)
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Of cartoons and freedom of speech
You don’t read/watch the news for a couple of days because you have other more important things to take care of and when you come back to the world what do you find ?
The Muslim world and specifically the ME and NA in arms about the Danes, and the Western world in arms about Hamas’s democratic election, while the Iran -nuclear cliffhanger still has us holding our breath ‘will the US go to war (which is what it looks like 99%) or will the Iranians be cunning enough to avert the US wrath once again and deflect it on someone else? Or what is going to happen to Syria?’.
Please dear world give me a respite, I need to write the other posts I promised my readers, and not strive to catch up with current hot topics!!!!!!!
So for today since the Danish cartoons seems to have the blogging world abuzz, I’ve chosen to put in my 2 cents. I’m not going to take space on someone else’s blog and increase the confusion; I have my own blog for my own rants :)
I’ve decided to get involved because primo I can see from your IP addresses that many of you dear European friends especiallly are expecting me to say something on this topic ( I can see you ) . Segundo, I got one of those forwarded chain emails to my work email from a friend urging me to boycott Danish goods and tertio I find out yesterday that Libya has closed its embassy in Denmark over this issue.
Now when actions start to be taken at state level, things have definitely become serious and need time out for reconsideration. The silver lining in all this is that I don’t think we shall get carpet bombed by the Danes for that…. on second thought we might ..oh what the hell , we will all have to die one way or another. But this is out of topic let’s get back to what I was trying to say.
So what did I do with the email? well you know there is a preview option (without having to open the email) I clicked on it and found out that this was originally forwarded by someone from the UAE, ok I did not need to see more, I deleted the stuff on the spot. I don’t think that work areas should be sites for political debate or campaigning. I also phoned that so called friend and asked her to refrain from sending me inflammatory material especially at work. I don’t want to get arrested either for her stupidity, people sometimes just don’t think! I won’t repeat Sandmonkey’s words that they are ‘retarded’ .
As for Libya closing its embassy, well I was not surprised about that, we have always been the ones to try and ‘top’ other Arab countries in what I can only term ‘ a challenging, defiant stance’, almost like saying ‘ok you guys, who can do more than that now ?’
So what seems to be the problem and why has it gotten out of hand? With threats and deaths by extremists Muslim groups as well ? Why is everybody hell bent on proving Huntington’s Clash of civilization right?
The problem is compound, complex, and multifaceted, this is not good to start with, despite the way it is portrayed as an attack against ‘free speech ‘ on one side and a deliberate attack on sacred personae on the other, with the truth being lost. I’ve spent some time reading bloggers and readers, and have witnessed the wide spectrum of opinions and counter-opinions and almost lost sight of the original issues, because this has turned into another Islamophobia.
Let me try to dissect the problem for you (maybe I will make sense of it finally too).
A Danish paper decides to test the boundaries of ‘tolerance’ and exercise its ‘right’ at free speech by insulting ( thanks Michael) the most highly regarded and cherished figure in the Muslim and Arab world. Now with all due respect to Danes, I’m wondering is this a publicity stunt, a carefully planned agenda, or pure venom. I’m ruling out stupidity, because stupidity affects human relations but not in this deliberate way. Did the cartoonist really expect that their work will be glanced over? Why do it in the first place if you’re going to put your government in a tight spot, enflame the feelings of millions and issue an apology or apologies ( thank Sandmonkey) later?
This kind of action could have been expected from us Middle Easterners and North Africans renowned for our hotheadedness and boiling blood ; but in the cool Nordic spaces? no way. I find it surprising. With a Europe that is reeling and buckling under ethnic, racial , cultural and belief tensions as a large number of its population originates from immigrant stock ( i.e. non-white) this is begging for trouble. I mean if you don’t care about the Muslims in the rest of the world then supposedly you should care about the feelings of your own population since they carry your passport/nationality too. Otherwise in my book you are using double standards and those who do not ‘conform’ to a certain pattern don’t count ( I can already see some smartass trying to put me in my place and accusing me of being intolerant ;) well be my guest that’s why there is a comment section, just keep the profanities out please). Isn’t the paper’s action tantamount to incitement to hatred, when you bear in mind all that is going on in this world, including the heightened sensitivity of Muslims who only perceive persecution after 9/11 ( even if they could be wrong ?!?).
I believe that the right of freedom of expression does not exclude the right and necessity to be responsible. Plus let’s not forget the law of physics, ‘for every action there is an equal reaction’. That goes both ways by the way to the Muslims hotheads and to the Western hotheads (I’m not going to say Christians because that is simply not true ..in my humble opinion this is not a clash between Christianity and Islam no matter how much people like to say so and are mixing the deck of cards).
So those Danish cartoonist should have put their talent for a worthier cause of which there are so many in this world.
Now for the reaction from the Muslim world and particularly the ME and NA, I can understand it , I am very offended myself so are all those in my entourage. But as much as you have been offended some actions are simply out of place. Death threats in Gaza ? what are we terrorist bigots now ? This does not help our image as Muslims.
Yes, we should definitely mount a suitable campaign and civil action to prevent this kind of offense from ever recurring again but we have to play the game the Western way.
Our mistake as Arabs has been and will always be bombastic pride and arrogance (that’s probably a sin too ;) ). Please be reminded that most Arabs are not your cosmopolitan bloggers , but they are the ordinary people. We cannot assimilate that the rest of the world does not share our way of thinking and no matter to claims to the contrary most are not interested in reaching out to our way of thinking, you don’t do that when you are a dominating civilization .. While we Arabs have not accepted that our civilization though once great (emphasis on once) has waned. So we need to add another tool to our arsenal, think like ‘them’ and emulate their methods of problem solving. It will not diminish our personality, and it will reap us a lot of rewards in winning hearts and minds ™ in the West plus actually winning media wars followed by victory for the causes we are passionate about. We can keep our method of dealing as Arabs for each other, sort of like an internal memo and a circular memo.
Until the day we learn to do that, we will keep piling mistake upon mistake, whereby the truth and the right on our side will be turned against us!
Us acting stupidly, even though rightfully indignant, does not exonerate the Danish cartoonists and the paper from their grave miscalculations which may carry consequences we know nothing yet of. I don’t wish to be in their shoes with the dead people who are going to be on their conscience.
Some of you ask why are Muslims so angry?, ‘we don’t get angry when someone offends Jesus or Moses ( Peace be upon them ), or touches symbols of the church, that’s silly’. My reply is suit yourself if you don’t feel like redressing a wrong, but most offensive material about Jesus is usually by a Westerner. Muslims (especially ME and NA) revere Jesus and Moses just as they do Muhammad, they are certainly not going to ridicule them because that invalidates their Qu’ran and you cannot have that without the other.
Some westerners mention that they are called infidels (or kafirs) by bin Ladin types and wannabes and that they [the westerners] did not make a fuss about it? First of all bin Ladin and his ilk do not represent Islam but their own ideology and secondly if we look at it this way does beign called Kafir equate with Jesus being pictured as a killer and terrorist ? infidel or kafir is strictly reserved for non-believers those who have rejected Islam, and obviously Jews and Christians do have a book and are ‘people of the book and believers’ . So no affront has been done here since the persona of Christ has not been dirtied.
I’ve read a comment ( on Sandmonkey but can't find the specific link ) where some imam was preaching in Egyptian mosques and calling Christians and Jews pigs and cows, well this guy has absolutely no right to act this way and should be arrested for public insult, he definitely is not talking in the name of Muslims and should be incarcerated or sued, and is a bad believer, using ‘free speech’ wrongly. But mind you this imam has not denigrated our Jesus if you notice. This imam would not be in this world if he did because he would be thorn to shreds by the Muslim masses.
The qu’ran says ‘you have your religion and I have mine’.
RE. the cartoons again, I’ve seen this issue being explained as the fact that the Muslim should not make representations or statues of the prophet lest they fall into idolatry and that is why those cartoons are offensive. My response yes Muslims are not supposed to draw the prophet and his companions but those cartoons will certainly not encourage them towards idolatry, they are rather repugnant. To idolize and adore someone godlike you have to make him/her beautiful and attractive ( even on the cross) , look at the Virgin Mary and child statues and paintings, that is beautiful not repulsive and God loves beauty. If the cartoonist had tried to draw Muhammad in a ‘normal’ non satirical way they may have committed a faux pas but NOT an offense. There is a canyon between these two actions. On this same vein I’ve seen some bloggers justify the cartoonists' actions and refute this unspoken law about not representing the prophet by posting some calligraphies and illuminations and portraits ( hattip Roba) which represent the prophet and which were done during the Islamic age. I say again yes, but look at them closely again…. Is there anything offensive about them apart from the fact that they should not have been made in the first place ? They clearly depict passages from his life, and if you look closely you will see they are heavily Asian/East Asian influenced. No Arab would dare to do that. And I forgive them for this error because they Muslims applying their own cultural methodolgy to Islam.They have not portrayed the prophet in a threatening, evil, or blasphemous way. So using this as an excuse does not stand, it does not create a precedent to exonerate the cartoonists. Those were Chinese, Indian, Iranian or Turkish Muslims, but they have not insulted the prophet of Islam.
Arabs/Muslims have been stereotyped greatly in western media in far worse cartoons ( political and others ) and portrayals for the last 50 years or so and they never complained about that because, that is not offending the sacred religion. Westerners have also been satirically illustrated in Arab media yet never touching sacred beliefs so that is not an excuse to say ‘look at them they ridicule us’. Satire and offending the sacred are different things.
As for the so called boycott, well it may and may not work, me thinks it already did since the paper apologized.
Libya imports a lot of Danish products so I will miss the cheese and other dairy stuff, but thank God for other choices, I’ll go check today the state of the supermarkets.
When in the name of democracy and freedom of expression a state cannot interfere to clear the good name of a religious community by asking the offender to apologise, that opens the doors to attacking the human rights of others as stated in articles 18 and 19 of the Universal declaration of human rights .
Because the other party which feels wronged must not be begrudged also its ‘human rights ‘ and ‘freedom of expression’ to seriously contend the cartoonists action for example. My criticism is however leveled at the way used to respond to this onslaught of hate on Islam, not at the fact that it took place as everyone is free with their opinions.
Thanks to these cartoonists and hot headed Muslim counterparts the wick has been kindled, and the fire may run unchecked and engulf everything in its way… if we don’t do something to stop this there will soon be no humanity; especially if other nations decide to jump in to champion this cause.
Dear Muslims and dear people of the ME and NA, please don’t give the chance to your enemies (wherever they be) to laugh silently at you shooting yourself in the foot, you HAVE THE RIGHT to do something, take your time but do it with grace and brains. Your ancestors have done it before, I’m sure you can do it again. Amin .
You don’t read/watch the news for a couple of days because you have other more important things to take care of and when you come back to the world what do you find ?
The Muslim world and specifically the ME and NA in arms about the Danes, and the Western world in arms about Hamas’s democratic election, while the Iran -nuclear cliffhanger still has us holding our breath ‘will the US go to war (which is what it looks like 99%) or will the Iranians be cunning enough to avert the US wrath once again and deflect it on someone else? Or what is going to happen to Syria?’.
Please dear world give me a respite, I need to write the other posts I promised my readers, and not strive to catch up with current hot topics!!!!!!!
So for today since the Danish cartoons seems to have the blogging world abuzz, I’ve chosen to put in my 2 cents. I’m not going to take space on someone else’s blog and increase the confusion; I have my own blog for my own rants :)
I’ve decided to get involved because primo I can see from your IP addresses that many of you dear European friends especiallly are expecting me to say something on this topic ( I can see you ) . Segundo, I got one of those forwarded chain emails to my work email from a friend urging me to boycott Danish goods and tertio I find out yesterday that Libya has closed its embassy in Denmark over this issue.
Now when actions start to be taken at state level, things have definitely become serious and need time out for reconsideration. The silver lining in all this is that I don’t think we shall get carpet bombed by the Danes for that…. on second thought we might ..oh what the hell , we will all have to die one way or another. But this is out of topic let’s get back to what I was trying to say.
So what did I do with the email? well you know there is a preview option (without having to open the email) I clicked on it and found out that this was originally forwarded by someone from the UAE, ok I did not need to see more, I deleted the stuff on the spot. I don’t think that work areas should be sites for political debate or campaigning. I also phoned that so called friend and asked her to refrain from sending me inflammatory material especially at work. I don’t want to get arrested either for her stupidity, people sometimes just don’t think! I won’t repeat Sandmonkey’s words that they are ‘retarded’ .
As for Libya closing its embassy, well I was not surprised about that, we have always been the ones to try and ‘top’ other Arab countries in what I can only term ‘ a challenging, defiant stance’, almost like saying ‘ok you guys, who can do more than that now ?’
So what seems to be the problem and why has it gotten out of hand? With threats and deaths by extremists Muslim groups as well ? Why is everybody hell bent on proving Huntington’s Clash of civilization right?
The problem is compound, complex, and multifaceted, this is not good to start with, despite the way it is portrayed as an attack against ‘free speech ‘ on one side and a deliberate attack on sacred personae on the other, with the truth being lost. I’ve spent some time reading bloggers and readers, and have witnessed the wide spectrum of opinions and counter-opinions and almost lost sight of the original issues, because this has turned into another Islamophobia.
Let me try to dissect the problem for you (maybe I will make sense of it finally too).
A Danish paper decides to test the boundaries of ‘tolerance’ and exercise its ‘right’ at free speech by insulting ( thanks Michael) the most highly regarded and cherished figure in the Muslim and Arab world. Now with all due respect to Danes, I’m wondering is this a publicity stunt, a carefully planned agenda, or pure venom. I’m ruling out stupidity, because stupidity affects human relations but not in this deliberate way. Did the cartoonist really expect that their work will be glanced over? Why do it in the first place if you’re going to put your government in a tight spot, enflame the feelings of millions and issue an apology or apologies ( thank Sandmonkey) later?
This kind of action could have been expected from us Middle Easterners and North Africans renowned for our hotheadedness and boiling blood ; but in the cool Nordic spaces? no way. I find it surprising. With a Europe that is reeling and buckling under ethnic, racial , cultural and belief tensions as a large number of its population originates from immigrant stock ( i.e. non-white) this is begging for trouble. I mean if you don’t care about the Muslims in the rest of the world then supposedly you should care about the feelings of your own population since they carry your passport/nationality too. Otherwise in my book you are using double standards and those who do not ‘conform’ to a certain pattern don’t count ( I can already see some smartass trying to put me in my place and accusing me of being intolerant ;) well be my guest that’s why there is a comment section, just keep the profanities out please). Isn’t the paper’s action tantamount to incitement to hatred, when you bear in mind all that is going on in this world, including the heightened sensitivity of Muslims who only perceive persecution after 9/11 ( even if they could be wrong ?!?).
I believe that the right of freedom of expression does not exclude the right and necessity to be responsible. Plus let’s not forget the law of physics, ‘for every action there is an equal reaction’. That goes both ways by the way to the Muslims hotheads and to the Western hotheads (I’m not going to say Christians because that is simply not true ..in my humble opinion this is not a clash between Christianity and Islam no matter how much people like to say so and are mixing the deck of cards).
So those Danish cartoonist should have put their talent for a worthier cause of which there are so many in this world.
Now for the reaction from the Muslim world and particularly the ME and NA, I can understand it , I am very offended myself so are all those in my entourage. But as much as you have been offended some actions are simply out of place. Death threats in Gaza ? what are we terrorist bigots now ? This does not help our image as Muslims.
Yes, we should definitely mount a suitable campaign and civil action to prevent this kind of offense from ever recurring again but we have to play the game the Western way.
Our mistake as Arabs has been and will always be bombastic pride and arrogance (that’s probably a sin too ;) ). Please be reminded that most Arabs are not your cosmopolitan bloggers , but they are the ordinary people. We cannot assimilate that the rest of the world does not share our way of thinking and no matter to claims to the contrary most are not interested in reaching out to our way of thinking, you don’t do that when you are a dominating civilization .. While we Arabs have not accepted that our civilization though once great (emphasis on once) has waned. So we need to add another tool to our arsenal, think like ‘them’ and emulate their methods of problem solving. It will not diminish our personality, and it will reap us a lot of rewards in winning hearts and minds ™ in the West plus actually winning media wars followed by victory for the causes we are passionate about. We can keep our method of dealing as Arabs for each other, sort of like an internal memo and a circular memo.
Until the day we learn to do that, we will keep piling mistake upon mistake, whereby the truth and the right on our side will be turned against us!
Us acting stupidly, even though rightfully indignant, does not exonerate the Danish cartoonists and the paper from their grave miscalculations which may carry consequences we know nothing yet of. I don’t wish to be in their shoes with the dead people who are going to be on their conscience.
Some of you ask why are Muslims so angry?, ‘we don’t get angry when someone offends Jesus or Moses ( Peace be upon them ), or touches symbols of the church, that’s silly’. My reply is suit yourself if you don’t feel like redressing a wrong, but most offensive material about Jesus is usually by a Westerner. Muslims (especially ME and NA) revere Jesus and Moses just as they do Muhammad, they are certainly not going to ridicule them because that invalidates their Qu’ran and you cannot have that without the other.
Some westerners mention that they are called infidels (or kafirs) by bin Ladin types and wannabes and that they [the westerners] did not make a fuss about it? First of all bin Ladin and his ilk do not represent Islam but their own ideology and secondly if we look at it this way does beign called Kafir equate with Jesus being pictured as a killer and terrorist ? infidel or kafir is strictly reserved for non-believers those who have rejected Islam, and obviously Jews and Christians do have a book and are ‘people of the book and believers’ . So no affront has been done here since the persona of Christ has not been dirtied.
I’ve read a comment ( on Sandmonkey but can't find the specific link ) where some imam was preaching in Egyptian mosques and calling Christians and Jews pigs and cows, well this guy has absolutely no right to act this way and should be arrested for public insult, he definitely is not talking in the name of Muslims and should be incarcerated or sued, and is a bad believer, using ‘free speech’ wrongly. But mind you this imam has not denigrated our Jesus if you notice. This imam would not be in this world if he did because he would be thorn to shreds by the Muslim masses.
The qu’ran says ‘you have your religion and I have mine’.
RE. the cartoons again, I’ve seen this issue being explained as the fact that the Muslim should not make representations or statues of the prophet lest they fall into idolatry and that is why those cartoons are offensive. My response yes Muslims are not supposed to draw the prophet and his companions but those cartoons will certainly not encourage them towards idolatry, they are rather repugnant. To idolize and adore someone godlike you have to make him/her beautiful and attractive ( even on the cross) , look at the Virgin Mary and child statues and paintings, that is beautiful not repulsive and God loves beauty. If the cartoonist had tried to draw Muhammad in a ‘normal’ non satirical way they may have committed a faux pas but NOT an offense. There is a canyon between these two actions. On this same vein I’ve seen some bloggers justify the cartoonists' actions and refute this unspoken law about not representing the prophet by posting some calligraphies and illuminations and portraits ( hattip Roba) which represent the prophet and which were done during the Islamic age. I say again yes, but look at them closely again…. Is there anything offensive about them apart from the fact that they should not have been made in the first place ? They clearly depict passages from his life, and if you look closely you will see they are heavily Asian/East Asian influenced. No Arab would dare to do that. And I forgive them for this error because they Muslims applying their own cultural methodolgy to Islam.They have not portrayed the prophet in a threatening, evil, or blasphemous way. So using this as an excuse does not stand, it does not create a precedent to exonerate the cartoonists. Those were Chinese, Indian, Iranian or Turkish Muslims, but they have not insulted the prophet of Islam.
Arabs/Muslims have been stereotyped greatly in western media in far worse cartoons ( political and others ) and portrayals for the last 50 years or so and they never complained about that because, that is not offending the sacred religion. Westerners have also been satirically illustrated in Arab media yet never touching sacred beliefs so that is not an excuse to say ‘look at them they ridicule us’. Satire and offending the sacred are different things.
As for the so called boycott, well it may and may not work, me thinks it already did since the paper apologized.
Libya imports a lot of Danish products so I will miss the cheese and other dairy stuff, but thank God for other choices, I’ll go check today the state of the supermarkets.
When in the name of democracy and freedom of expression a state cannot interfere to clear the good name of a religious community by asking the offender to apologise, that opens the doors to attacking the human rights of others as stated in articles 18 and 19 of the Universal declaration of human rights .
Because the other party which feels wronged must not be begrudged also its ‘human rights ‘ and ‘freedom of expression’ to seriously contend the cartoonists action for example. My criticism is however leveled at the way used to respond to this onslaught of hate on Islam, not at the fact that it took place as everyone is free with their opinions.
Thanks to these cartoonists and hot headed Muslim counterparts the wick has been kindled, and the fire may run unchecked and engulf everything in its way… if we don’t do something to stop this there will soon be no humanity; especially if other nations decide to jump in to champion this cause.
Dear Muslims and dear people of the ME and NA, please don’t give the chance to your enemies (wherever they be) to laugh silently at you shooting yourself in the foot, you HAVE THE RIGHT to do something, take your time but do it with grace and brains. Your ancestors have done it before, I’m sure you can do it again. Amin .
Monday, January 30, 2006
New Years by the handful
Today is the 1st of Muharram 1427 in Libya , that is the first day of the month of Muharram in the Islamic ( lunar ) calendar. Happy New Year everyone. It will be the 1st of Muharram tomorrow in North America.
In the meantime the Chinese celebrated their New Year according to the Chinese calendar on January 29th this time, we are in year 4703 now. Happy New Year of the DOG everybody.
What is your chinese zodiac? and element? do you think that they are illustrative of our personality ?
Other Highlander link on these topics.
Today is the 1st of Muharram 1427 in Libya , that is the first day of the month of Muharram in the Islamic ( lunar ) calendar. Happy New Year everyone. It will be the 1st of Muharram tomorrow in North America.
In the meantime the Chinese celebrated their New Year according to the Chinese calendar on January 29th this time, we are in year 4703 now. Happy New Year of the DOG everybody.
What is your chinese zodiac? and element? do you think that they are illustrative of our personality ?
Other Highlander link on these topics.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
A tiny part of the rich Libyan traditions : Ghadames
The Libyan city of Ghadames is renowned for its unique style of architecture, traditions and culture. Amongst these interesting traditions is the one found in a typical Ghadames home where a small peephole is made into the front door. A visitor would look through it inside the house at a reflection in a mirror hung on the wall opposite the door. This mirror reflects the picture of an oil lamp placed on a shelf.
There are 6 positions for the lamp, and these positions inform the visitor of what’s going on in this home and so help him to act/decide accordingly.
Whilst reading the local press in May of 2001, I came across an artist's drawing and a brief explanatory text of what I was talking about above, unfortunately this is not available online to be linked too and I could not find the author to credit him/her. So whoever you are thank you for this explanation. However I did cut out the diagram with the symbols and here it is for you dear readers.
1-There is a wedding or engagement in the house.
2-A birth
3-Circumcision
4-Illness or death
5-Father not home
6-Father home please come in!
How cool is that ? Those Ghadamsi people were such an ingenious society.
The Libyan city of Ghadames is renowned for its unique style of architecture, traditions and culture. Amongst these interesting traditions is the one found in a typical Ghadames home where a small peephole is made into the front door. A visitor would look through it inside the house at a reflection in a mirror hung on the wall opposite the door. This mirror reflects the picture of an oil lamp placed on a shelf.
There are 6 positions for the lamp, and these positions inform the visitor of what’s going on in this home and so help him to act/decide accordingly.
Whilst reading the local press in May of 2001, I came across an artist's drawing and a brief explanatory text of what I was talking about above, unfortunately this is not available online to be linked too and I could not find the author to credit him/her. So whoever you are thank you for this explanation. However I did cut out the diagram with the symbols and here it is for you dear readers.
1-There is a wedding or engagement in the house.
2-A birth
3-Circumcision
4-Illness or death
5-Father not home
6-Father home please come in!
How cool is that ? Those Ghadamsi people were such an ingenious society.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Camel adventures
Camels are an ordinary sight here in Libya, but I don't know what is this one doing in this vehicle - a bit too tight of a spot for such a large animal.
This is a Honda Civic parked in front of a garage door obviously in Libya.
What do you think ? and how did he fit in here ? But the camel is soooooooooo cute :)
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Libyan blogs
Have been a bit lazy lately and delayed the introduction of some more Libyan blogs :).
Anyway they are doing pretty well without it ... still here we are everybody please welcome 7mada ( you've seen him commenting here) . He is so refreshing and lives in Britain.
The other blog Flying Birds has 3 members : A. , Serrag and Esra. Thanks Khadijateri for leading us to it.
That's all for today , if I get more news I will share them here.
H Out.
Have been a bit lazy lately and delayed the introduction of some more Libyan blogs :).
Anyway they are doing pretty well without it ... still here we are everybody please welcome 7mada ( you've seen him commenting here) . He is so refreshing and lives in Britain.
The other blog Flying Birds has 3 members : A. , Serrag and Esra. Thanks Khadijateri for leading us to it.
That's all for today , if I get more news I will share them here.
H Out.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Ipod mania
A frivolous post to lighten up the mood . I am officially an ipod fan! yay . I recently acquired the nano , more like a few months back and totally forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago . Since then its been so great I just wonder why did it take me so long to accept it ? Maybe I did not want to be blindly following fashion ? be one of the herd . Oh but it is sooooo convenient, I have converted my favourite tracks there and it is such fun , especially when you have it on shuffle . Plus you can add your favourite photos as well ! Use it in the car , walking , shopping , working out ... I love it , it brought back the days of the CD walkman and other stuff.
Now "Denim giant Levi Strauss designs a pair of jeans able to control the wearer's iPod music player" ... I wonder how that is done ? I may want one of these .. fashion accessory ? imagine buying jeans to wear with your ipod ...
A frivolous post to lighten up the mood . I am officially an ipod fan! yay . I recently acquired the nano , more like a few months back and totally forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago . Since then its been so great I just wonder why did it take me so long to accept it ? Maybe I did not want to be blindly following fashion ? be one of the herd . Oh but it is sooooo convenient, I have converted my favourite tracks there and it is such fun , especially when you have it on shuffle . Plus you can add your favourite photos as well ! Use it in the car , walking , shopping , working out ... I love it , it brought back the days of the CD walkman and other stuff.
Now "Denim giant Levi Strauss designs a pair of jeans able to control the wearer's iPod music player" ... I wonder how that is done ? I may want one of these .. fashion accessory ? imagine buying jeans to wear with your ipod ...
Monday, January 09, 2006
Yahoo messenger announcement
To all those who left me offline messages, I am not ignoring you my friends, I honestly could not read them as they get dropped when I loose internet connection. Somebody decided to repair something in my street and the nitwits have been working for the past 2 weeks ruining my telephone cables in the process!!! I don't know why should the vibrations of a buldozers cut the telephone tone ? ( any engineers out there with hints ?) . It makes for unhappy haphazard blogging and surfing.
So please bear with me, I wil reply to your emails, listen to your voice messages , and answer your questions . The only thing I cannot do is know what you wrote in the offline messenges, therefore if it was important please email it to me and I shall eventually see it, and if it was urgent then call me ( those who have my number).
Eid Adha Mabrouk everyone. Please let me not interrupt you from the discussions on the other posts.
H.
To all those who left me offline messages, I am not ignoring you my friends, I honestly could not read them as they get dropped when I loose internet connection. Somebody decided to repair something in my street and the nitwits have been working for the past 2 weeks ruining my telephone cables in the process!!! I don't know why should the vibrations of a buldozers cut the telephone tone ? ( any engineers out there with hints ?) . It makes for unhappy haphazard blogging and surfing.
So please bear with me, I wil reply to your emails, listen to your voice messages , and answer your questions . The only thing I cannot do is know what you wrote in the offline messenges, therefore if it was important please email it to me and I shall eventually see it, and if it was urgent then call me ( those who have my number).
Eid Adha Mabrouk everyone. Please let me not interrupt you from the discussions on the other posts.
H.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Divination, oracles, prophecies and analysis of the future
Predicting the future has become a favourite pastime on New Year’s Eve. We are familiar with the scores of psychics and analysts lined up on TV shows who bombard us with what they ‘read’ will happen in the next year. Also we must not forget the written media too. In our era knowledge is the most important commodity and if you know the future then you can prepare strategies for it, or wait in awe.
I can’t recall which philosopher stated that if we knew what the future had in store for us we would choose not to find out but rather to let it happen if anyone knows this quote please send it to me, I’m too lazy to research it!). On the other hand, an old Arab saying states ‘kadaba al munajum wa law sadaqu, i.e astrologers are lying even if they say the truth , the purpose of this is that supposedly these oracles can find out about parts of the ‘present-future’ due to their dabbling with the occult etc.. but only God knows the what the future holds and hence they ‘lie’ because they cannot predict all of and are bound to make mistakes which could be fatal.
December 2005 was no exception, and the Lebanese TV is never one to miss that. In Libya we watch a lot of Lebanese satellite TV stations (along with other of course) and it has become a tradition to decipher what the stars have in store for us. Many wait for this night and cancel any appointments to watch the pundits.
I won’t analyze what each tarot reader, crystal gazer, astrologist or analyst said, but I’ll attempt to give you the gist.
Because of the events going on in their country, and it being a Lebanese channel, the utterings of the guest speakers were especially valuable, with a sense of urgency for the Lebanese viewers. I noticed how even the hostess of the talk seemed nervous and somber. This comes in the aftermath of all the 2004 prophecies for 2005 coming true, or at least could be interpreted to adapt to the occasion –Hariri etc.. So Lebanese were understandably anxious.
Summary from TV:
Fortune teller A: ‘if you thought that 2005 was bad for the Middle East , I can assure you that 2006 will have nothing to envy it’.
Fortune teller B: ‘the current cycle of violence and bad karma for ME started in 2000 and will last for 10 years. That is only after 2010 will death and killing stop’. Thank you that’s encouraging, only 4 more years of blood baths.
Fortune teller C: ‘I’m sorry I will not be able to have our usual chat this year , I have specific orders not to talk about any event’ . I guess the government does not wish to increase the citizen’s panic. The situation is very precarious indeed.
Fortune teller D: ‘I lift the veil a little , Sharon will be gravely ill and probably die, his successor will be even more of a hardliner and this will translate into more hardship for Palestinians’. Ok so far we know that Ariel Sharon is in a coma . ‘The situation in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon will not see any change until 2007 were the planet X will affect the ascending Y and something will happen’. D does not say if it is good or bad, donc we assume the worst.
Needless to say the Lebanese and Arab viewer a quite concerned and worried , specially about the guy who refrained to talk. At the end of the show you could see that the hostess was getting quite emotional.
Falling into this category are the annual reviews and analyses and ‘estimations’ for next year. Aljazeera carried out an interesting one Libyan Leader and the Egyptian thinker/journalist Mohamed Hassanein Haykal.
In his comments about the region, Libyan Leader said that Damascus had done it’s role in Lebanon and holds the merit for effectively ending the civil war, and its pull- out has resulted in a lot of calamities.
With regards to common Arab cooperation, roughly translated he said ‘it is a common Arab hypocrisy , malice and an alliance with the enemy against one’ , it seems he forecasts that the Arabs will never have any ‘presence’ or future.
Haykal on the other hand, warned about the dangers in the ME (we know them habibi we have been aware of these for so long), and of the Israeli agenda. With regards to Iraq he thinks that the US will not pullout but would rather seek to control the oil wells despite the loss of some of its soldiers. He feels that comparisons with Vietnam are not logical because the Iraqi resistance is not unified and because he thinks the US objective is oil.( again)
Simpson from the BBC, thinks that “Osama bin Laden will be tracked down, but will not be captured alive” . While I think that if whoever was tracking him wanted to get him they would have years ago, he serves his purpose better alive than dead and also better on the run than in prison where he could not be blamed for every deviant youth.
Another breed of oracles is the Futurologist . While some see reasons to be cheerful in 2006 , Jihad el Khazen (3/1/06, Ayoon Wa Azan -we’ve been losing for 13 centuries) at Dar al Hayat, thinks the Arabs have been losing for 13 centuries. That’s a mighty statement, seeing our mistake is ok , but labeling ourselves as eternal losers is certainly not and self-hate is not good either . I will leave on a cheerful note with an excerpt from his article, his recipe for reasons for Arab readers to be happy in 2006;
Of particular note are points 4, 6 and 7 !
“As for the average Arab citizen, what would make him or her happy?
One, if the government were to leave office, that would be a big reason for happiness. Even bigger if the government leaves office and goes to South America. I would suggest seeing ministers go on trial, but that could lead to people dying of happiness.
Two, US forces and terrorists defeat each other in Iraq, so that Iraqis could get on with their lives.
Three, the government talks about democracy so much that it believes itself, and democracy is established and the government falls.
Four, during the upcoming com! petition between Likud and Kadima, Ariel Sharon kills Benjamin Netanyahu, or vice versa, while the killer is sent to prison for life. Labor returns to office to continue the peace process from the point where Sharon broke it off.
Five, the reader is blessed with friends, job opportunities, good health, a bad memory, and a hidden conscience. If the reader remembers that there is something he or she wants but hasn't obtained, he or she will be happy with the things he or she has, and not wants.
Six, they say (who's they?) that happiness is a married woman and a single man. But this takes into the realm of the impossible. We should remind the reader that Haifa Wehbi, Nancy Ajram, and Shirine are all single. The reader will truly become happy if he marries one of them in 2006, even though they say being single is a condition for happiness among men.
Seven, the reader falls asleep and doesn't wake up until 2007, or 2017, to get beyond 2006 and every year that won't br! ing happiness to Arabs.
Eight, half of Arab newspapers and magazine s, and three-fourths of satellite stations go bankrupt and are permanently closed. In fact, more than half of the Arab press and about 90% of Arab satellite stations are already bankrupt, but they continue to operate, magically, through unseen means, just like Arab governments.
Nine, 2006 passes without seeing the dreams of Arab optimists fulfilled, and neither the nightmares of Arab pessimists.
Ten, we defeat Burkina Faso in football (there have been no military victories since the conquest of Andalusia; we've been losing capital for 13 centuries).
Eleven, the government stops issuing laws that deprive citizens of everything that makes them happy.
Twelve, an intelligence agent receives a bomb from his president, to assassinate another Lebanese journalist, but it explodes and kills them both. The investigation continues and reveals a terrorist network responsible for all of the crimes committed in Lebanon since 14 February 2005.
Thirteen - I'll stop here, sinc! e the number 13 is unlucky. They say you get double bad luck if the 13th falls on a Friday, so I'll just let the reader dream of a better year [sic]”.
Predicting the future has become a favourite pastime on New Year’s Eve. We are familiar with the scores of psychics and analysts lined up on TV shows who bombard us with what they ‘read’ will happen in the next year. Also we must not forget the written media too. In our era knowledge is the most important commodity and if you know the future then you can prepare strategies for it, or wait in awe.
I can’t recall which philosopher stated that if we knew what the future had in store for us we would choose not to find out but rather to let it happen if anyone knows this quote please send it to me, I’m too lazy to research it!). On the other hand, an old Arab saying states ‘kadaba al munajum wa law sadaqu, i.e astrologers are lying even if they say the truth , the purpose of this is that supposedly these oracles can find out about parts of the ‘present-future’ due to their dabbling with the occult etc.. but only God knows the what the future holds and hence they ‘lie’ because they cannot predict all of and are bound to make mistakes which could be fatal.
December 2005 was no exception, and the Lebanese TV is never one to miss that. In Libya we watch a lot of Lebanese satellite TV stations (along with other of course) and it has become a tradition to decipher what the stars have in store for us. Many wait for this night and cancel any appointments to watch the pundits.
I won’t analyze what each tarot reader, crystal gazer, astrologist or analyst said, but I’ll attempt to give you the gist.
Because of the events going on in their country, and it being a Lebanese channel, the utterings of the guest speakers were especially valuable, with a sense of urgency for the Lebanese viewers. I noticed how even the hostess of the talk seemed nervous and somber. This comes in the aftermath of all the 2004 prophecies for 2005 coming true, or at least could be interpreted to adapt to the occasion –Hariri etc.. So Lebanese were understandably anxious.
Summary from TV:
Fortune teller A: ‘if you thought that 2005 was bad for the Middle East , I can assure you that 2006 will have nothing to envy it’.
Fortune teller B: ‘the current cycle of violence and bad karma for ME started in 2000 and will last for 10 years. That is only after 2010 will death and killing stop’. Thank you that’s encouraging, only 4 more years of blood baths.
Fortune teller C: ‘I’m sorry I will not be able to have our usual chat this year , I have specific orders not to talk about any event’ . I guess the government does not wish to increase the citizen’s panic. The situation is very precarious indeed.
Fortune teller D: ‘I lift the veil a little , Sharon will be gravely ill and probably die, his successor will be even more of a hardliner and this will translate into more hardship for Palestinians’. Ok so far we know that Ariel Sharon is in a coma . ‘The situation in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon will not see any change until 2007 were the planet X will affect the ascending Y and something will happen’. D does not say if it is good or bad, donc we assume the worst.
Needless to say the Lebanese and Arab viewer a quite concerned and worried , specially about the guy who refrained to talk. At the end of the show you could see that the hostess was getting quite emotional.
Falling into this category are the annual reviews and analyses and ‘estimations’ for next year. Aljazeera carried out an interesting one Libyan Leader and the Egyptian thinker/journalist Mohamed Hassanein Haykal.
In his comments about the region, Libyan Leader said that Damascus had done it’s role in Lebanon and holds the merit for effectively ending the civil war, and its pull- out has resulted in a lot of calamities.
With regards to common Arab cooperation, roughly translated he said ‘it is a common Arab hypocrisy , malice and an alliance with the enemy against one’ , it seems he forecasts that the Arabs will never have any ‘presence’ or future.
Haykal on the other hand, warned about the dangers in the ME (we know them habibi we have been aware of these for so long), and of the Israeli agenda. With regards to Iraq he thinks that the US will not pullout but would rather seek to control the oil wells despite the loss of some of its soldiers. He feels that comparisons with Vietnam are not logical because the Iraqi resistance is not unified and because he thinks the US objective is oil.( again)
Simpson from the BBC, thinks that “Osama bin Laden will be tracked down, but will not be captured alive” . While I think that if whoever was tracking him wanted to get him they would have years ago, he serves his purpose better alive than dead and also better on the run than in prison where he could not be blamed for every deviant youth.
Another breed of oracles is the Futurologist . While some see reasons to be cheerful in 2006 , Jihad el Khazen (3/1/06, Ayoon Wa Azan -we’ve been losing for 13 centuries) at Dar al Hayat, thinks the Arabs have been losing for 13 centuries. That’s a mighty statement, seeing our mistake is ok , but labeling ourselves as eternal losers is certainly not and self-hate is not good either . I will leave on a cheerful note with an excerpt from his article, his recipe for reasons for Arab readers to be happy in 2006;
Of particular note are points 4, 6 and 7 !
“As for the average Arab citizen, what would make him or her happy?
One, if the government were to leave office, that would be a big reason for happiness. Even bigger if the government leaves office and goes to South America. I would suggest seeing ministers go on trial, but that could lead to people dying of happiness.
Two, US forces and terrorists defeat each other in Iraq, so that Iraqis could get on with their lives.
Three, the government talks about democracy so much that it believes itself, and democracy is established and the government falls.
Four, during the upcoming com! petition between Likud and Kadima, Ariel Sharon kills Benjamin Netanyahu, or vice versa, while the killer is sent to prison for life. Labor returns to office to continue the peace process from the point where Sharon broke it off.
Five, the reader is blessed with friends, job opportunities, good health, a bad memory, and a hidden conscience. If the reader remembers that there is something he or she wants but hasn't obtained, he or she will be happy with the things he or she has, and not wants.
Six, they say (who's they?) that happiness is a married woman and a single man. But this takes into the realm of the impossible. We should remind the reader that Haifa Wehbi, Nancy Ajram, and Shirine are all single. The reader will truly become happy if he marries one of them in 2006, even though they say being single is a condition for happiness among men.
Seven, the reader falls asleep and doesn't wake up until 2007, or 2017, to get beyond 2006 and every year that won't br! ing happiness to Arabs.
Eight, half of Arab newspapers and magazine s, and three-fourths of satellite stations go bankrupt and are permanently closed. In fact, more than half of the Arab press and about 90% of Arab satellite stations are already bankrupt, but they continue to operate, magically, through unseen means, just like Arab governments.
Nine, 2006 passes without seeing the dreams of Arab optimists fulfilled, and neither the nightmares of Arab pessimists.
Ten, we defeat Burkina Faso in football (there have been no military victories since the conquest of Andalusia; we've been losing capital for 13 centuries).
Eleven, the government stops issuing laws that deprive citizens of everything that makes them happy.
Twelve, an intelligence agent receives a bomb from his president, to assassinate another Lebanese journalist, but it explodes and kills them both. The investigation continues and reveals a terrorist network responsible for all of the crimes committed in Lebanon since 14 February 2005.
Thirteen - I'll stop here, sinc! e the number 13 is unlucky. They say you get double bad luck if the 13th falls on a Friday, so I'll just let the reader dream of a better year [sic]”.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Praying for Ariel Sharon
The jaw dropping is audible, but hear me out folks. It seems there is no way to get out of the compulsory Sharon post…
Sooner or later, it was going to happen – the stroke I mean- the guy is hyperactive and overweight, has a lot of pent up anger, worries about Israel’s security, about voters , about the corruption case he was implicated in. I am surprised he held out this long. But Sharon is a tough man I must give that to him.
As a human being regardless of his cruel and bloody past I will ask that may God prolong his life and spare him or shorten his pain if he is dying.
As someone who has done a lot of harm in the ME and who was blatant about it then I must admit that I felt it is kind of ironic that he may soon join Arafat his archenemy in the afterlife.
If as the medical reports say that even if he survives he may be severely brain damaged, I think that would be a very cruel way to spend the rest of his life..some people may call it Karma.
For many Israelis he is a hero, and for the other camp he is a butcher. I absolutely understand the way he acted, because he was being true to his vision, and he stuck to it.
Sharon’s death will not herald a new era of peace, because in my opinion , the next PM will try to outdo Sharon to sound credible to his people and that can only bring more cruelty and bloodshed in the ME. I am going to pray for his recovery. God let Sharon live, at least he knows the situation and the people know how to deal with him.
The jaw dropping is audible, but hear me out folks. It seems there is no way to get out of the compulsory Sharon post…
Sooner or later, it was going to happen – the stroke I mean- the guy is hyperactive and overweight, has a lot of pent up anger, worries about Israel’s security, about voters , about the corruption case he was implicated in. I am surprised he held out this long. But Sharon is a tough man I must give that to him.
As a human being regardless of his cruel and bloody past I will ask that may God prolong his life and spare him or shorten his pain if he is dying.
As someone who has done a lot of harm in the ME and who was blatant about it then I must admit that I felt it is kind of ironic that he may soon join Arafat his archenemy in the afterlife.
If as the medical reports say that even if he survives he may be severely brain damaged, I think that would be a very cruel way to spend the rest of his life..some people may call it Karma.
For many Israelis he is a hero, and for the other camp he is a butcher. I absolutely understand the way he acted, because he was being true to his vision, and he stuck to it.
Sharon’s death will not herald a new era of peace, because in my opinion , the next PM will try to outdo Sharon to sound credible to his people and that can only bring more cruelty and bloodshed in the ME. I am going to pray for his recovery. God let Sharon live, at least he knows the situation and the people know how to deal with him.
The trend in Syria bashing
An Arab proverb, (and I’m not sure if it is Libyan or not anymore) states that ‘when the cow falls, the number of knives increases’. Basically the number of those ready to butcher it increases when such a massive animal is unable to defend itself.
This allegory in my opinion perfectly fits the situation of Syria currently. Syria is now caught between a rock and a hard place and no one is willing to give it a chance. Moreover, MSM, journalistic pretenders and pundits are riding this wave because it makes good coverage and serves to sell front page news.
I don’t object in principle to constructive criticism and analyses. However, I find it hypocritical to jump on the bandwagon once Syria and its regime are no longer under the aegis of western power who have discarded it like a used towel. That is, to me at least it seems as if western interests do not include Syria anymore and so the shield of respectability it provided for her is gone, uncovering Syria’s raw flesh to the ‘hungry’ masses clamouring for blood.
Bloggers are no exception to what is happening and the Lebanese blogosphere is full of speculations and accusations about Syria’s alleged responsibility in the wave of destructive murders of political and media personalities which have taken place since the killing of Hariri. Hariri’s death is the issue of an ongoing UN investigation, and the famous Mehlis report if you read it carefully does not prove anything but mainly speculates and attempts to connect the strings to find out the truth. As we stand many of the strings lead to Damascus but nothing more. There is absolutely no evidence. So maybe the ‘innocent until found guilty’ and ‘due process’ should be applied in this case as opposed to sanctions, war, unrest, and the democratization process a la Bush to destabilize the country.
“When Lewis Libby [US Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff] was accused [of perjury in October], President Bush said he was innocent until proven guilty. Why didn’t Bush apply the same principle in judging Syria?”
I WANT THE TRUTH just like everybody else.
I can understand the feelings and approach of the Lebanese bloggers, but I don’t think that other bloggers myself included could pretend to know what is better for Lebanon and Syria more than those concerned. And though I do not advocate censoring, but at times silence is indeed golden, sensational blogging no matter how good can perpetuate a lot of myths in the mind of readers unfamiliar with the Middle East.
Sandmonkey, one of my favourite Egyptian bloggers, is a wonderful, witty blogger and his site is one of my daily stops. His humour, insight fill me with amazement even though I sometimes find myself disagreeing with some points, though I highly respect the thought process that leads him to these conclusions. (The guy is a genius , but please don't tell him I said that mish 7and'ar 3aleh 'abadan ba3dein)
So when I saw his recent , loud and frank anti-Syrian rhetoric , I was slightly bemuzzled knowing his usual fairness in treating any issue. This prompted me to change my approach and seek the Syrian bloggers and what do they have to say on the historical events unfolding in their countries. After all, would not they have more first hand experience of Lebanon and Syria than myself or anyone else? I mean I’m not going to stand here theorizing and inciting hatred or love when they could say so much better.
If I thought that the Tunisian blogosphere was varied and interesting, I was amazed at the quality of the Syrian blogosphere. The spectrum of opinions is large, to name but a few randomly : Karfan (against everything is he for real?), Catherine (courageous with thorny subjects), Sasa (budding journalism), Damascene ( her family's Iraqi ordeal), Ayman (check the tallest Christmas tree in the ME) and numerous others. I have a whole new world to discover, their links will lead you to other unimagined riches.
An Arab proverb, (and I’m not sure if it is Libyan or not anymore) states that ‘when the cow falls, the number of knives increases’. Basically the number of those ready to butcher it increases when such a massive animal is unable to defend itself.
This allegory in my opinion perfectly fits the situation of Syria currently. Syria is now caught between a rock and a hard place and no one is willing to give it a chance. Moreover, MSM, journalistic pretenders and pundits are riding this wave because it makes good coverage and serves to sell front page news.
I don’t object in principle to constructive criticism and analyses. However, I find it hypocritical to jump on the bandwagon once Syria and its regime are no longer under the aegis of western power who have discarded it like a used towel. That is, to me at least it seems as if western interests do not include Syria anymore and so the shield of respectability it provided for her is gone, uncovering Syria’s raw flesh to the ‘hungry’ masses clamouring for blood.
Bloggers are no exception to what is happening and the Lebanese blogosphere is full of speculations and accusations about Syria’s alleged responsibility in the wave of destructive murders of political and media personalities which have taken place since the killing of Hariri. Hariri’s death is the issue of an ongoing UN investigation, and the famous Mehlis report if you read it carefully does not prove anything but mainly speculates and attempts to connect the strings to find out the truth. As we stand many of the strings lead to Damascus but nothing more. There is absolutely no evidence. So maybe the ‘innocent until found guilty’ and ‘due process’ should be applied in this case as opposed to sanctions, war, unrest, and the democratization process a la Bush to destabilize the country.
“When Lewis Libby [US Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff] was accused [of perjury in October], President Bush said he was innocent until proven guilty. Why didn’t Bush apply the same principle in judging Syria?”
I WANT THE TRUTH just like everybody else.
I can understand the feelings and approach of the Lebanese bloggers, but I don’t think that other bloggers myself included could pretend to know what is better for Lebanon and Syria more than those concerned. And though I do not advocate censoring, but at times silence is indeed golden, sensational blogging no matter how good can perpetuate a lot of myths in the mind of readers unfamiliar with the Middle East.
Sandmonkey, one of my favourite Egyptian bloggers, is a wonderful, witty blogger and his site is one of my daily stops. His humour, insight fill me with amazement even though I sometimes find myself disagreeing with some points, though I highly respect the thought process that leads him to these conclusions. (The guy is a genius , but please don't tell him I said that mish 7and'ar 3aleh 'abadan ba3dein)
So when I saw his recent , loud and frank anti-Syrian rhetoric , I was slightly bemuzzled knowing his usual fairness in treating any issue. This prompted me to change my approach and seek the Syrian bloggers and what do they have to say on the historical events unfolding in their countries. After all, would not they have more first hand experience of Lebanon and Syria than myself or anyone else? I mean I’m not going to stand here theorizing and inciting hatred or love when they could say so much better.
If I thought that the Tunisian blogosphere was varied and interesting, I was amazed at the quality of the Syrian blogosphere. The spectrum of opinions is large, to name but a few randomly : Karfan (against everything is he for real?), Catherine (courageous with thorny subjects), Sasa (budding journalism), Damascene ( her family's Iraqi ordeal), Ayman (check the tallest Christmas tree in the ME) and numerous others. I have a whole new world to discover, their links will lead you to other unimagined riches.
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