GO RACHEL CORRIE June 4, 2010

BREAKING: MV Rachel Corrie approached rapidly by Israeli navy

June 4th, 2010 | by Jesse Bacon | Add a Comment

By Jesse Bacon

I was interviewing Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Laureate, when the MV Rachel Corrie was rapidly approached by the Israeli Navy, 65 miles from Gaza. We ended the call to keep the line clear. Hopefully the whole world really is watching.

http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/06/breaking-mv-rachel-corrie-approached-rapidly-by-israeli-nav/

First Arab Woman goes to North Pole

Elham Al-Qasimi is the first Arab woman to go to the North Pole. Here is a video from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2010/06/02/ime.arctic.arab.woman.bk.f.cnn


Here's her blog:
http://elhamalqasimi.com/

Go Elham! Let's see how the media will cover this following Rima Fakih's story and SATC 2

Update on the #flotilla "censorship"

Here's an update read the whole article for more info:

UPDATE: A couple of hours after this was posted it became clear Twitter users had switched to different terms, namely “Gaza flotilla” and #freedomflotilla which are working and trending just fine, so there is clearly no “censorship” going on. As we say, it may well have been down to technical problems with the original hashtags people were using.

UPDATE 2: Twitter has just got back to us with this statement: “We are investigating a technical issue that caused search errors for a short period of time this morning. Twitter facilitates the open exchange of information and opinions worldwide so when that is hampered for any amount of time by a bug, we take it very seriously.”

http://eu.techcrunch.com/2010/05/31/the-mystery-of-the-disappearing-flotilla-on-twitter/

Update: Flotilla and #flotillafreedom finally trending on twitter

Finally they are trending! Yesterday there was censorship over flotilla, today, it showed up as trending topic! Spread the word everyone, let the whole world know who the real terrorists are! Keep it up - we are so technologically advanced these days and this can help in so many ways! Spread the truth While you're at it check the hype on twitter, it's breathtaking.


Trending: Worldwide

Spinner Change

* #4wordsbeforedeath
* #freedomflotilla
* #memorialday
* Mockus
* iPads
* Flotilla
* Quit Facebook
* Cookouts
* Bofo
* Oil Spill


My twitter home page:


1. Electronic Intifada intifada

We, from Gaza, call on you to demonstrate and support the courageous men and women who went on the #FreedomFlotilla http://j.mp/9KuDRl 3 minutes ago via Nambu Retweeted by Zeinobia and 7 others

2. Zeinobia Zeinobia

"Photo from Getty Images" via @Daylife - http://www.daylife.com/photo/0duF0ze229597 #Gaza #flotilla 2 minutes ago via web

3. Joshua IsraeliSoldier

'Where is Gilad? Where is Gilad' shouts the protestors 2 minutes ago via TweetDeck

4. Tamer Mowafy kalimakhus

RT @Amiralx: RT @jonjensen: Protesters shouting "Down with Israel!" and praise for Turkey. #freedomflotilla #Cairo #Egypt 5 minutes ago via TweetDeck Retweeted by Zeinobia

5. Engy Ghozlan EngyG

RT @kalimakhus RT @Amiralx: RT @jonjensen: Protesters shouting "Down with Israel!" and praise for Turkey. #freedomflotilla #Cairo #Egypt 4 minutes ago via Nambu

6. Engy Ghozlan EngyG

RT @moselim RT @mrmeit: مصادر: النواب المصريين بخير ، وهم أسري الأن لدي الكيان الصهيوني http://bit.ly/a1hmAM #Egypt #freedomflotilla 4 minutes ago via Nambu

7. Joshua IsraeliSoldier

Crowds continue to grow. Amazing mix of people here 5 minutes ago via TweetDeck


8. Engy Ghozlan EngyG

RT @3arabawy thousands of protesters inside the mosque it's almost full. There r protesters outside.police dispersing them via @mohamedwaked 5 minutes ago via Nambu


9. twibbon.com twibbon

Stay healthy! Today is World No Tobacco Day. Get your Twibbon here - http://bit.ly/b3gxWn 5 minutes ago via web

10. Sarahcarr Sarahcarr

Biggest demo since 2008. Very orderly. 9 minutes ago via Ping.fm Retweeted by Zeinobia and 2 others


11. Engy Ghozlan EngyG

RT @ielsakka RT @wael RT @souhail_: The police is using tear gas against protestors approaching the israel embassy in Paris #FreedomFlotilla 7 minutes ago via Nambu


12. cathypreety cathypreety


13. Joshua IsraeliSoldier

Never thought I'd enjoy Israelis honking their car horns so much... 7 minutes ago via TweetDeck

14. Engy Ghozlan EngyG

Demo in Cairo #freedomflotilla RT @Sarahcarr Biggest demo since 2008. Very orderly.

Why is twitter censoring Flotilla!

What's with the censorship and not havin the flotilla a trendin topic?! I'm pretty sure it's a trending topic, it's being updated every second. If you go on google news, you will see the updates every second, and on twitter you will see the updates every seconds! #flotilla freedom

http://www.google.com/#q=flotilla&hl=en&prmd=nuv&tbs=rltm:1&tbo=u&ei=NVUDTJeOLoGC8gbe5fnODQ&sa=X&oi=realtime_result_group_more_results_link&ct=title&resnum=8&ved=0CEkQ5QUwBw&fp=79e0c4f53045b371

Happy Memorial day: Flotilla carrying aid to Gaza attacked!

TOday is Memorial day. TOday, also an international aid flotilla was attacked on the way to Gaza! Read the article below for more information, stay informed, tell people about it, protest. This is a human rights issue! Stand up for humanitarian rights! Let's remember the killing of innocent people, innocent volunteers going to Gaza to help children, women, innocent people who are affected by the Israeli government. Twitter it also and make it a trend:#flotilla

We are with you Gaza. We are with you flotilla, you are our heroes today.

I'll blog with any updates.

10 killed in Israeli attack on aid flotilla bound for Gaza

JERUSALEM, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces on Monday attacked an international flotilla carrying aid to besieged Gaza, killing at least 10 people, an Israeli television reported.

A human rights organization Free Gaza Movement also said clashes happened between an international aid flotilla bound for Gaza and Israeli navy, causing several casualties.

Israeli commandos dropped from a helicopter onto the deck of a Turkish ship at about 4:30 a.m. and immediately opened fire on unarmed civilians.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman's office cannot confirm the report at the press time.

Live image from the flotilla shows that Israeli soldiers from the helicopter and a number of speedboats boarded one of the ships at night. Activists wearing life vests were treating what appeared to be injuries for unknown reasons.

Israeli navy on Sunday night sighted the pro-Palestinian "Freedom Flotilla" bound for the Gaza Strip and ordered the convoy to dock at an Israeli harbor.

Troops boarded the flotilla and clashed with the activists after they ignored Israeli orders to turn back, Turkey's NTV reported Monday.

The flotilla of six ships set sail from a port in Cyprus on Sunday and was expected to reach Gaza by Monday morning, Al-Jazeera reported.

The flotilla, originally made up of nine ships from Turkey, Britain, Ireland, Greece, Kuwait and Algeria, were carrying around 10,000 tons of aid including cement, water purification systems and wheelchairs. One of the ships had not arrived and two others had been damaged.

egypt or no egypt?

I'm still debating on whether or not I want to go to Egypt this summer. A part of me is dying to hear the call to prayer (athan) five times a day, to eat mango's, grape leafs, koshari, drink karkadeeh, asab, shop for hijabs for cheap, go for a morning run at the nadi, drink a costa frescato while reading a book at an odd hour of the day to avoid the loud noise and fuming cigarettes, see all my relatives, aunts, uncles, grandma, listen to egyptian jokes, watch cheesy egyptian movies, order everything from the comfort of my home (pharmacy, super market, cook door!!), ask for directions and end up in no where, listen to taxi driver's amusing yet sad ramblings, stay up all night with cousins talking about our naive, fun, corny pasts, go on a walk on the stanly bridge and eat roasted corn on the cob and friska, and so on.

Yetthe other part of me doesn't really want to witness sexual harassment, poor treatment of customers, maids, lower class workers, or cairo traffic, corruption, police officer and guards bribery, corruption, taxi's ripping you off because you have a slight accent, workers' attitudes, employee's stalking when you go inside a store, messed up streets, inadequate traffic laws, silly driving laws, heat, stuck-up rich people, teenagers (and older) with their stereo on so loud to look cool, being harassed although one is dressed properly, laziness, hijabi's wearing super tight, cheesy, rainbow colored clothes (lime green carina, seriouslyyy??), teens trying to hard to look 'western,' overpriced items.

to go to egypt or not go to egypt, that is the not so easy question

Sex and the city 2 vs. hijabies in the city

So I watched Sex and the City 2 and wow do I have some mixed feelings about it.

First of all it's filled with stereotypes. Rich Arabs in "Abu Dhabi," dubbed the "new middle-east" which equals to "modernized." So the four ladies go to Abu Dhabi and stay at this super luxurious hotel with fancy shmancy butlers and food. The ladies are awed by the females who are at the hotel, wearing 'niqwab' which is actually supposed to be 'niqab.' I mean if you're going to make a film in an Arab country (the filmed was set in Morocco by the way) then at least get the Arabic words right.

Anyway, so they think it's funny how the niqwab-ed ladies eat french fries and poke some fun at them as well as the female swimmers in burkini's (a head to toe swimmin suit). At that same scene, however, they were talking about how pretty a girl's abaya was because of it's embroidery and this was popular among young liberal females.

Fast forward to dull, unoriginal boring scenes, (and a couple of Samanatha's disturbing scenes which I thought gave American ladies a bad image --i.e. think sexual desires at 52) and in the end you see some niqwab-ed ladies take off their head covering and abayas and are dressed in sexy stylish clothing and look hot.

Anyway, the movie emphasized that in Abu Dhabi (or any Muslim country), people dressed modestly and mixing and touching of the opposite sex is illegal (Samantha got arrested for what she was doing on the beach).

At times it portrayed Arab men as controllers, but it also showed that American men the same way as the lawyer lady (I forgot her name) kept being silenced by her male colleagues). So treatment of women was an issue in the movie, that both American, Arab, Muslim, non-Muslim females can be treated negatively and unfairly.

However, most of the strict scenes that happened in the movie, is most likely not true in a country as liberal and diverse and UAE. I mean if this movie took place in Saudi Arabia, then I'd understand.

Now, for any non-muslim who sees the movie and wonders if arab women are really like that, I'll leave you with a question. Are all american women like samantha?

It was also a bit awkward to walk out of the movie theatre after the movie was done with my friends (being all hijabi's and the movie had a bunch of stereotypes). But we wore stylish clothes, handbags, sunglasses, and walked out in confidence with our hijabs on proudly and out into the city -- Hijabies in the city.


Here's an article that critics the movie:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/25/sex-and-the-city-2-review_n_589155.html

A little girl wearing hijab? -From Oprah's website

This is interesting. Would you guys (muslim or non-muslims) let your little kid wear a scarf at a young age (what's the youngest you would let them? 9? 8? 11?)


Your request is being processed...

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Choosing-to-Wear-the-Muslim-Headscarf

Dear Mr. Future president of Egypt

If you guys could write a letter to the future president of the Egypt (maybe Baradei), what would you say? I would LOVE to read what everyone has to say!!

Also apparently, you can ask Baradei a question and he will answer on http://www.google.com/moderator/?hl=ar#16/e=6017

So comment below and write your letters to the future president of the u.s.! open your heats out about egypt, ask questions, voice your concerns, personal issues, etc

Bear hugs: spreading the love, one cartoon at a time

It's May 20, "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day."

If I had to leave every or page on Facebook except for one, it would be the "It's not that serious" page.

So you've probably heard about South Park controversy where South park depicted Prophet Muhammad as a bear. South Park then censored the episode after the creators were threatened by some guy who claims he's a Muslim and thinks he's tough, apparently.

I found the cartoon offensive. Other Muslims had found the cartoon offensive. But it's South Park. Doesn't the show poke fun at everything and everyone? Including Jesus and Moses. So why didn't Mr. Chester (of Revolution Muslim Website who posted the warning), say something a long time ago when they were being made fun of? All prophets are created equally and we should respect all. People watch South Park because of its satirical, profane humor. It's just a cartoon, therefore it's not that serious to threaten people's lives.

But Mr. Chester took it personally and threatened to kill the creators of South Park, which the media loved and made a big deal out of anything relating to such "Muslims are evils, see I told you" type of news stories because that's what people want to watch and read about.

So, on behalf of bunch of other Muslims who were flabbergasted at what Mr. Chester had said, let me clarify a couple of things. Be warned: the media might not like what I may have to say and maybe even ignore it.

A Jewish woman once brought a lamb that was poisoned to the Prophet Muhammad and he ate it. Afterward, people suggested they kill the woman. But the Prophet refused, although he felt the effects of the poison for years. The Prophet was a forgiving person. In another story, Prophet Muhammad had stones thrown at him by the people of Al-Taif. He bled from head to toe. He could have then asked cursed the people or punish them, but no. He prayed for them. In another example, Prophet Muhammad had sheep intestines thrown at him while he was prostrating in prayer, and he just prayed for justice.

See? It was all not that serious to the Prophet Muhammad. Did he threaten to kill anyone who harmed him? His acts were peaceful, just like a Muslim's acts should be. Just like any human being's acts should be. And if you did find the cartoon offensive because our beloved Prophet was mocked, then express your feelings in other ways. Blog about it. Create dialogue with others. Write a letter to the editor. Send the creators a message telling them it was offensive to you and other Muslims. But it will still go on. People will make fun of prophets and have been making fun of prophets and religion for a long period of time. There are other ways to let the anger out. In a peaceful way.

Prophet Muhammad would give a bear hug (no pun intended) to his enemies if he could, because he was so merciful and just.

As for the Facebook group "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" on May 20, it's your freedom to draw whatever you wish, if it makes you feel good about yourselves. However, Muslims will not threaten to kill you. We will just invite you to read about who Prophet Muhammad really was.

So on a final note to Mr. Chester, South Park Creators, creators of the Facebook group, and the media: I'll quote the Joker: "Why so serious?"

Because it's not that serious. It's just a cartoon, get over it. Now let's just give each other bear hugs and spread love and peace throughout the world! And draw non-offensive cartoon, as well.

What are your opinions and thoughts?

Sorry it's been a while: updates, hummus, MISS USA, immigration laws!

I apologize for not keeping up to date on my blog. I don't think anyone reads this, but one day maybe someone will! Anyway some updates on things that happned the past couple of weeks:

Saudi Woman beats up virtue cop <--- sweet!

Elvis Costello cancels Israel Concerts <-- even more sweet!

Muslim designers mix the hijab with latest fashions <--- i like hijabi fashion

CAIR Video: Fla. Mosque Attack Called Terrorism, Reward Offered <--- not sweet

Arizona Ethnic Studies Classes Banned, Teachers With Accents Can No Longer Teach English <--- pathetic along with the new illegal immigration law

Congratulations America, a Muslim is Miss USA 2010 <--- seriously the most ironic thing ever. someone representing america is 'muslim and arab' hahaha. bahaha. oh and dont forget since president obama is "muslim" also, and wasn't even born in the "u.s." we have two people represeting the usa who are muslims. be. afraid. be. very. afraid. they. are. taking. over.

and the best for last (dedicated to this blog)
Biggest Serving of Hummus ever made

Muslims and movies

I love seeing Muslims and/or Arabs in the film industry. Here are some films that have come out or will soon. Both look interesting:

1- Shahada: Film explores Muslims struggling with life in West Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_8O5RWiJfQ

2- My Name Is Khan:

Because Muslims are always the bad guys ...

two scenarios:

1- Muslim flies plane into building.
2- American white guy flies plane into building.

Hmm they seem pretty similar to me. innocent people die/injured in both scenarios. there's certainly a 'bad guy' involved in both scenarios.

But. Guess who makes it on all national news, with his religion's name plastered in every direction? Guess who will be labeled a terrorist?

Take a wild guess.

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/82387-muslim-group-wants-government-to-call-austin-plane-attack-terrorism


Muslim group wants government to call plane attack terrorism
By Jordy Yager - 02/19/10 04:40 PM ET

A leading Muslim advocacy group is pushing government officials to call the suicide plane crash in Texas “an act of terror,” saying that if a Muslim had been flying the plane there would be no hesitancy to call it terrorism.

On Thursday, Andrew Joseph Stack III flew a small plane into the IRS's four-story office building in Austin, killing himself and at least one federal employee. Before the incident, Stack allegedly left a series of messages on a website expressing his disgust with the IRS, saying at one point that “violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer.”

“Whenever an individual or group attacks civilians in order to make a political statement, that is an act of terror,” said Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

“Terrorism is terrorism, regardless of the faith, race or ethnicity of the perpetrator or the victims,” said Awad, adding in a statement that “if a Muslim had carried out the IRS attack, it would have surely been labeled an act of terrorism.”

In the hours after the crash, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters that the incident looked to be “a criminal act by a lone individual.” And while Acevedo refrained from calling it an act of terror, he said the FBI, which is heading the investigation, would make the judgment call on how to categorize the crash.

A spokesman with the FBI’s San Antonio office on Friday said that the FBI was handling the case “as a criminal matter of an assault on a federal officer” and that it was not being considered as an act of terror at this time.

The White House had yet to make a public statement about how it viewed Thursday’s incident, other than to say that both President Barack Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had been notified and had asked to be kept apprised of the situation.

But two lawmakers from the area were quick to call the plane crash, which resulted in two seriously injured people and 13 people with minor injuries, an act of terror.


http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/82387-muslim-group-wants-government-to-call-austin-plane-attack-terrorism

Being denied health care ...

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who checks and reads my blog but what the heck. Maybe one day other people will read it. Anyway, check out this article. It's really sad. What I find so strange though is that people complain about health care in America but in Egypt (and in a lot of other countries) health care is so much worse. I know of so many people who were diagnosed and treated incorrectly in Egypt. I mean sure it happens in the u.s. also, but in Egypt, if you were misdiagnosed at least you will get an apology and you can even sue the hospital/doctor. But in Egypt ... wazza hell? Yeah that doesn't work. Come one Egypt, you can do it. Just be fair in your treatments, doctors, and hospitals, don't deny people who can't afford health care. Imagine if you or one of your family members didn't have enough money to get treated, wouldn't it be nice if someone treated you for free?

2.2 million poor Egyptians were given free treatment in 2009


End of free health care hits Egypt’s poor hardest


Millions of poor Egyptians with no health insurance bear brunt of government’s empty coffers.


CAIRO - Hesham Gohary says he has been coming to the Health Ministry in central Cairo for weeks in the hope of getting free kidney dialysis treatment, but always leaves empty-handed.

The 54-year-old farmer is one of 35,000 low-income kidney failure patients whose collective US$118 million health bill used to be footed by the government, until it recently declared its coffers empty.

“I badly need the dialysis,” Gohary told IRIN. “But it seems so difficult to get free treatment in this country these days.”

Around 35 million of the country’s 80 million people are in the state health insurance system, according to the Health Ministry, and most of the rest are supposed to get free health care.

Those seeking free treatment must make their case at a Health Ministry office and, if successful, receive an official letter authorizing public hospitals to treat them for free. The hospitals then reclaim payment from the ministry.

Last year, the government gave free treatment to 2.2 million poor Egyptians, including kidney failure, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure patients, according to Mohamed Abdeen, chairman of the Specialized Medical Councils, the part of the Health Ministry which determines whether a patient qualifies for free treatment or not.

This is a problem of money. The hospitals can’t do anything else. If they don’t get money, they won’t be able to offer treatment or medicine for these people.

“A problem of money”

But the government has incurred debts of US$219 million to hospitals and is no longer able to pay its health bills, and since mid-December 2009 hospitals have stopped treating the patients it sends to them.

“This is a problem of money,” Abdeen told IRIN. “The hospitals can’t do anything else. If they don’t get money, they won’t be able to offer treatment or medicine for these people.”

Gohary used to receive kidney dialysis treatment 12 hours a week at a cost to the government of $3,302 a year - a small fortune for him.

“I really can’t pay for my treatment. And it’s hard for me to work because repeated dialyses have made my body frail,” he said.

The Health Ministry says around 700,000 high blood pressure and diabetes patients used to receive free health care at an annual cost of $183 million; and around 25,000 cancer patients cost the government $51 million annually.

Egypt's economy grew by 7.1 percent in 2007, 7.2 percent in 2008 but just 4 percent in 2009, according to the government. Independent analysts say the loss to the economy because of the global financial crisis is bigger than the government is willing to admit.

Meanwhile, individuals like Gohary are facing the consequences: “I suffer bleeding every time I undergo the dialysis… This costs me 300 pounds [$55] in medication every month. This money and the cost of the dialysis are too big for my sons to be able to pay.”

It's about time!

It's about time! Sexual harassment in Egypt is crazy. It's especially embarrassing when foreign females are there and they're harassed-- do they think that these tourists are going to like Egypt more? It happens to everyone-- veiled, not-veiled, and niqab (burqa) and abaya (long, loose dress) wearing people also. It's disgusting to walk around the street in Egypt, minding your own business and you're forced to look down because if you make contact with a guy, it's a 'bad' thing and they'll assume you want to be harassed. I mean, it happens everywhere, but in Egypt, other people just watch as you're being harassed and if you tell the police near by, they don't do anything. Heck, policeman and guards even harass you! I hope this law works, come on Egypt, you can do this!

Egypt moves closer to passing sexual harassment law

Dina Zayed
CAIRO
Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:55pm EST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt, under pressure from activists, has moved closer to passing laws to crack down on sexual harassment after overcoming initial legislative hurdles, members of parliament said on Wednesday.

World

Activists said sexual harassment has been an obstacle to women having a full economic and political role in Egypt, where a 2008 study found 83 percent of those surveyed had been sexually harassed and half said it happened daily.

The push for a change in the law gained prominence in 2008 when a truck driver was jailed for sexually harassing a woman, in the country's first case to be brought to court.

Members of parliament backing draft bills said that without a specific definition in law, penalties can be arbitrary. Activists say a law would curb harassment, an issue that can harm the image of tourism-reliant Egypt.

One bill was presented to parliament's legislative affairs committee this week and another was approved by the Justice Ministry so it can be presented to the committee in days.

MPs behind the drafts say they differ on details, such as the level of fines to be imposed, but would welcome either.

STATE RESPONDING

"It shows the state is responding and changing ... They are now understanding the significance of the issue," said Nihad Abu Al-Qumsan, head of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights.

"There has to be a law criminalizing sexual harassment in Egypt," Abu Al-Qumsan told Reuters, referring to a need to address issues exposed in the 2008 study on harassment.

That study, conducted by Abu Al-Qumsan's independent NGO, was based on a sample of more than 2,000 Egyptian men and women and 109 foreign women. Ninety-eight percent of the foreign women said they had experienced harassment in Egypt.

Both draft bills define sexual harassment, specify its forms and assign punishments. Egypt has so far dealt with such cases under laws referring to lewd acts in public.

"I think the bill will pass, for the simple reason that it has been thoroughly studied by the government," said MP Georgette Kalini, who is sponsoring the bill that has been approved by the Justice Ministry.

The second bill, backed by MP Mohamed Khalil Qaweyta, had been derailed in a preliminary review but was now back in the legislative committee. Qaweyta said he aimed to have it on an agenda for MPs to discuss and vote on within a month.

In October 2008, Egyptian courts sentenced Sharif Gommaa to three years in prison and ordered him to pay about $950 (5,000 EGP) in compensation to Nuha Rushdi, a woman he sexually harassed. Gommaa's appeal was rejected earlier this week.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61G3ZS20100217

Sad fact

17 million Egyptians live below the poverty line. I think the show that I was watching (El beit beitak) said that was 350 pounds which equals around 70 dollars ... a month. 17 MILLION! Yet the president continues to congratulate soccer players. Hosni Mubarak, it is time for you to go and never come back. And may your legacy never continue through.


Does anyone read this blog? I think I am the only one who does. I'll continue to write. Maybe one day it'll mean something.

Egypt won, let's get over it and focus on more important issues

I'm really really really ecstatic Egypt won! I screamed, I jumped, I update my facebook status and 'liked' everyone's status on my friend's list who wrote about Egypt's victory. I even changed my pictures on FB to Egypt-related. Okay. Now what? Third time in a row champions. Very nice. 7 time winner. Excellent. So ... Again, now what? I think it's awesome that Egyptians every where are celebrating, and especially in Egypt itself, Egyptians are laughing, being happy, cheering, and having that pride-filled sentiment.

Unfortunately everything comes to an end. We won. The End. Now let's focus on more important issues, such as that flood that happened in Egypt, that no one seems to be noticing. And that the Egyptian election is coming up and people need to know more information about who is running. I find that soccer and sports can some times be a relief to all the hardship that's going on in one's country.

I mean, yes Egypt has accomplished a lot, but in reality, it's on a pretty low scale compared to other countries. If people were more enthusiastic about overthrowing corrupt governments, poverty, injustice, imagine how amazing Egypt should be? Egypt still deserves to celebrate, the people need a little break and past time and that's healthy. And it's also wonderful that Egyptians of all social levels and religions all cheer for that one team and celebrate together.

I just think they shouldn't celebrate for too long and no not move on with their lives -- but move on to other more crucial issues in the country. I love Egypt with all my heart. And one of the goals of this blog is to not criticize my country, but to encourage others to take MORE steps in making it a better country.

Congratulations Egypt, you deserved it, and he team made us all proud. But let us always stay proud of who we are, regardless of whether or not we win a soccer game, and to strive to make Egypt a better place. I'll end with this quote in a New York Time's article that just came out, title Soccer Gains Ground on Politics In Gaza Strip: "When people ... cannot find solutions to their political problems, they shift their interest to movies and sports. Sports have become a prime interest," he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/01/31/sports/sports-uk-soccer-nations-palestinians.html

EGYPT WINS AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS THIRD TIME IN A ROW

Egypt won Ghana at the finals for the Africa Cup of Nations! This is our 7th (or 8th?) time to win it, and third time in a row!! LET THE CELEBRATIONS BEGINNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!

EGYPT VS ALGERIA 4-0

And Egypt won heck yeah! We won 4-0, and Algeria (Semi-finals for the African Cup of Nations) received 3 red cards! We were awesome. I'm trying to find the video of the goals online but I don't think they are up yet. On Saturday we get to play Ghana for the final cup!!!!!! This will be our 7th time winners of the cup if and when we win, God Willing. WE ROCK! And anyone who says the referee was paid, well, then, I'll lead you to this video, and listen closely to this guy's very last phrase:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neMw-agguwg&feature=sub

MASR!

Hellz yeah Egypt!

Egypt beat Cameroon today, which qualifies them for the semi-finals in the african cup of nations!!!!!!!!1 We won 3-1! We rock. Period. On Thursday we play Algeria. Oh no. I'm feeling tremulous but confident we will win, God willing. I don't want to talk about what happened in the qualifying matches for the World Cup, because you most probably already know. And for the record -- I think both teams/fans were crazy and BOTH were at fault! Let's try to calm down a bit before the next match and not do any thing stupid!!!

On a more serious note, I find it so interesting that although Egypt is a pretty poor country, EVERYONE, well ok mostly everyone who is Egyptian will either support their team or watch it together and cheer! It's probably the only thing I can think of that all Egyptians have in common. I think it's awesome. And I think if all Egyptians had other things like this in common, then Egypt would be a better place. You know ... for example, as in opposing corruption! Opposing the president and the government! Imagineee if all those people watching the match did some type of protest or revolution. Egypt's disgusting dictatorship might end. And if not, at least we will say we tried.

Good luck Egypt! InshAllah you will win, my love!

Details about our win ... since I suck at explaining sports-related issues: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/01/25/sports/sports-uk-soccer-nations.html

hilarious video: i love egyptian soccer commercials they crack me up!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B_tbLcc0cg

Awesome Female Muslimah: Ambreen, 15, boxer

Again, this doesn't show up in the media often. I love these inspiring young, strong, enthusiastic females! Go Ambreen--sting like a muslimah-butt-kicking- butterfly

Ambreen Sadiq, Muslim girl boxer, aims to combat prejudice to succeed in the ring

Few girls, let alone Muslim girls, can expect to be encouraged to pick up a pair of boxing gloves and go out fighting.

But Ambreen Sadiq, a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Bradford, has overcome opposition in her community to win her latest fight and aim for the 2016 Olympics.

Hailed tonight as a “pioneer” by the Amateur Boxing Association, Ambreen has already won the national female championship for her age and weight.

She has overcome opposition from her community to be nominated as junior sports personality of the year at the British Asian Sports Awards.

In the ring, she transforms from shy Muslim in traditional dress to a rapid-fire fighting machine in shorts, vest and ponytail.

Few Muslim women go into boxing, although one exception is Laila Ali, Mohammed Ali’s daughter, a professional boxer who now hosts American Gladiators.

A Channel 4 documentary tomorrow night shows Ambreen, trained by coach Naz Jalil of Eastburn boxing club, defeat Leigh Park’s Bobbie Clark.

According to one report of the match, Ambreen, who is known as “Beeno”, “dominated her southpaw opponent from the off, catching her with numerous combination shots to go 9-2 up after the first round.”

The Bradford Telegraph and Argus reported: “She continued to pressure Clark, who had no option but to come forward to win some points of her own but each time was met with a barrage of punches, leaving the score 14-3 after round two.

“The third round was Sadiq’s best. Her skills saw her slip Clarke’s punches, making her miss wildly.

“On one occasion, she slipped under a big right, turned Clark and delivered three big shots which forced the referee to give an eight count as the Eastburn girl triumphed 20-5.”

Ambreen has already attended one training session with the England squad.

Her father, Shokit Ali Sadiq, who has encouraged her since childhood, said he had predicted since she was a baby that she would become a boxer. “Nobody would believe me.”

Ambreen said: “I know you should not show your arms and legs off but I am not doing it so I can show my arms and legs off to the whole world. I am doing it so I can enjoy boxing. It is what I want.”

The Muslim Council of Britain said: “We would not take a position against this.” He said some Muslim scholars did, however, regard boxing in general as “inhumane”.

Ayesha Abdeen, vice-chair of the Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation, said: “We believe that women should have an opportunity to take part in sport and keep fit and healthy. A Muslim woman boxer I would say is quite rare.”

Martin Utley, regional coach for the Amateur Boxing Association, said she was one of the top female boxers in Britain: “There are other Muslim girl boxers but not at this competitive level. She is pioneering as far as Muslim girls are concerned in boxing.”

Not in the mainstream media: Arab-American sworn into Lackawanna office

Arab-American sworn into Lackawanna office

Well, this is good.

Arab-American sworn into Lackawanna office
By Dale Anderson
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: January 05, 2010, 10:13 pm / 19 comments
Published: January 04, 2010, 6:36 am

It was proud day Sunday for Abdulsalam Noman.

Before a crowd of about 200 family members and friends from Lackawanna’s Yemenite community, the incoming First Ward Council member took the oath of office on his father’s copy of the Quran and became the city’s first Arab-American elected government official.

He’s also the first Arab-American elected to public office in New York State and only the second in the nation. The first was in Michigan.

Lackawanna, which counts 4,000 Yemenites among its 18,000 population, also has elected two Arab- American School Board members, one of whom currently serves on the board.

All of Noman’s five brothers, including the one from Michigan, and three sisters attended the ceremony in Curly’s Banquet Facility on Ridge Road. Lackawanna City Judge Frederic Marrano swore in Noman.

Missing were only his uncle in Arizona, who wasn’t feeling well enough to make the trip, and his father, Kassim, who died in November, two weeks after Noman was elected.

“I’m proud to be an American citizen,” the new Council member said Sunday.

Noman came to Lackawanna from Yemen in 1975 with his mother and one of his sisters, two years after his father emigrated. They followed his uncle, who came to work in the steel plant in the 1950s, and another sister. The other brothers and sister came later.

He graduated from Lackawanna High School and earned a history degree at the University at Buffalo in 1986. Now the father of four, he has been a teacher’s aide and Arabic translator for the Lackawanna City School District, and the high school soccer coach, a job not nearly as bruising as the campaign for the First Ward Council seat.

“It was a tough election,” he said Sunday night. “There were four running in the primary and three candidates in November. It helped that the endorsed Democrat [Joseph Jerge, whom he defeated in the primary] threw his support behind me.”

Among his hopes as a Council member is to add more diversity to the city’s work force, which currently has only two Arab-Americans.

As for the troubles in his native land, he said he’ll be glad to see the United States send military aid to the Yemenite government.

“What’s going on over there is unacceptable,” he said. “I’d like to see the United States root it out. I support President Obama 100 percent.”

Athan ring tone, haram?

Okay, so a new fatwa was made that ringtones that are the Muslim's call to prayer "athan" and even Quranic verses are haram (forbidden). It can be "misleading." I think they are cool, some times. What if at that moment you were about to do something "bad" and then suddenly someone calls--and not your average Akon rington--rather a verse from the Quran or Athan. Would the person rethink what he or she was about to do? On the other hand, are some people just using these types of ring tones for showing off? Is it disrespectful to use Quranic verses as ring tones? I don't see any harm in it. But God knows best. Obviously there were no ring tones at the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), but it is widely known that the Quran should always be respected, as well as other holy books and other religious beliefs, not just Islam. Here's the link: Oh, and I like the picture on the top--so typical of Egyptians on the streets.




CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's top cleric wants Muslims to answer the call to prayer, but not when its ringing on their cellphones.

Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa issued a fatwa, or a religious edict, on Wednesday urging Muslims to do away with a popular fad — Quranic verses or the five daily calls to prayer as cellphone ringtones. The government-appointed cleric says such ringtones are inappropriate, misleading and demeaning to God's words.

"God's words are sacred. ... He ordered us to respect them and glorify them," Gomaa said.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and the time for this is announced solely with calls to prayers from mosques, Gomaa said. "The calls to prayer are to announce it is time ... using it as a ringtone is confusing and misleading."

Edicts, or fatwas, serve as advice for the pious who observe them closely. Gomaa's edict, published on the official website of Dar al-Iftah, one of Sunni Islam's earliest institution for interpreting religion, is not binding.

FAITH & REASON: The less we know, the more we fear

Islamic ringtones are ubiquitous in this country of 80 million. They are also making the rounds in Baghdad, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank and to a lesser degree, multi-sectarian Lebanon. A group of Saudi clerics recently made a similar plea to Saudis not to use Quran for ringtones.

In Egypt, verses or calls to prayer from the holy book of Quran are not only popular as ringtones. They have become the rage with screen savers and text messages in holiday greetings. The tones can be downloaded from the Internet, mobile phone company websites and are advertised on TV stations.

With a rising tide of Islamic conservatism, Egyptians are increasingly peppering their lives with religious symbols, and turn to fatwas to regulate their day-to-day lives.

Head scarves are predominant among the country's Muslim women and men increasingly sport traditional beards. Quranic verses can be seen plastered as posters or stickers on cars, offices and homes. Even daily greetings have become Islamized, with people starting and ending their conversations by invoking God's name or words.

The majority of Egyptians are Sunni Muslims. There are nearly 50 million mobile phone subscribers.

For those insisting their ringtones have an Islamic character, he suggested they use Islamic hymns or religious prose.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-01-22-egypt-fatwa_N.htm
----

What do you guys think? Do you have such ring tones? Do you think they're wrong?

Debatable: Religious, "Muslim" soccer players?

This is interesting. The Egyptian soccer coach only allows devout Muslims on his team. I mean, I see where he's coming from. If you're religious, you pray to God often. If you pray to God often, you pray that you win. If you win, then you win different cups, games, etc. But to single out Christian players? What if they're religious Christian players in Egypt that are really good? And what if these so called Muslims are pretending to be religious just to be on the team? I don't follow up often on Egyptian soccer games, but I'm pretty sure there have been excellent Christian players on the teams before (El-zamalek, Ahly, etc). I just don't think your religion should be based on whether or not you get to play on a team. If you're religious, excellent. If you're Muslim--good. If you're Christian--good. Let's keep a person's religious beliefs out of this and just WIN! And pray that we win!
Here's the link:
Egypt's soccer boss says piety key to making team

United we stand--Christians and Muslims in Egypt?

From what I read, this started when a "Coptic" raped an Egyptian girl a couple months ago. So the "Muslims" wanted revenge and attacked a Church. What the hell? You people live together, are neighbors, work together, go to school together. What's with all the stupidity? Both sides need to calm down a bit and stop playing the 'you started it you deserved it' game. What happened to Egyptians bonding, regardless of religion? Christians and Muslims are friends, especially in Egypt. And watch Hasan w Mor2os for a refresher.

Link: Suspects in Egypt's Christmas slayings surrender

Muslims are good people, too.

See when negative things happen to Muslims or Arabs, the media sparks and goes on and on about them. But, when they do any good--well, they're just ignored. It's as if the media is programed to exaggerate on stupid things Muslims do. And show it over and over and over. Check out these stories about philanthropic Muslims these past couple days:
Muslim Online Haiti Fundraiser, Organized on Facebook, Raises $105K in 2 Hours with 400 Donors


Muslims Rally Support for Haiti

and

Letter from Haiti: A Haitian Muslim’s Request for Help

The least we can do is pray for them. Or at least donate a couple dollars. They need it. So do millions of other people in despair and in need of clean water and health. Let us pray and try to be the change we want to see in the world.

Stuff Arab Americans like.

please feel free to add more to the list: (note, some specifically apply to females. another note: don't get offended, laugh it off, even if you don't think it's true, some others might.)

1-Dressing up on Eid day. And I mean totally dressing up as in high heels, ties, suits, etc.
2- Saying Wallah way too many times.
3- Playing loud music in car.
4- Obsession with expensive make up.
5-Asking for discounts at stores.
6- Cars.
7- Pita bread.
8- Acting/speaking "ghetto."
9- Saying 'ya3ni' in the middle of English words.
10- Saying habeebti to girls you barely speak to.
11- Updating facebook statuses or writing on other people's walls in Arabic so your English speaking American friends will not understand.
12- Saying "FOB' or "Boater"
13- Laugh at other people's accents.
14- Engineering.
15- If you're a doctor, you're just better.
16- Nicknames like lele and lulu and susu
17- Arabs in the media.
18- Facebook.
19- Hookah. And bragging to your fellow American friends about all the diff. flavors.
20- Equality
21- Unity
22- Giving back

I'd like some hummus with the pita bread, please

We are two Egyptian-Americans searching for uncanny answers and ask provoking questions regarding Arab/American/Islamic/Egyptian related issues. We try to keep it real. Comment away.