Bars have a bad reputation, especially in the Arab world. Their mere association with serving alcohol is bad enough in any country with a Muslim majority and only to make matters worse bars became the refuge for prostitutes since according to how an Arab mind works if somebody is doing something wrong the he must also be doing all sorts of bad things -which is how somebody who's harassing a girl in the street justifies himself "if she's wearing like this she has to be a bitch" and also in politics, whenever somebody disagrees with the regime he is accused of being a traitor, a thief and all these sorts of insults that we're familiar with.
But, I think that bars in the states and in the western world in general has a much more significant role. A bar is somewhere where people could gather, chat together, dance, meet new people, have a conversation, watch a sports event, sing or have parties. I see it as a corner stone in a normal a normal social life in the west. A place to go when you're feeling bad, good, need to meet somebody, hit on a woman, especially hitting on women since in a bar is the perfect atmosphere for something like this. Girls come with the intention of meeting somebody already in their minds which makes it that much easier for guys to attempt to make a move on them. Booze is readily available, you could dance and chat, all the requirements for a perfectly good first date are there. And thats exactly what we don't have in Egypt.
If we just had a public space where it is well-known that anybody who's going there has the intention of meeting a person from the opposite sex then we're eliminating -or at least reducing- the amount of harassment that happens on the street where women are usually defensive and anybody with even the purist of intentions could be humiliated and even beaten -depending on the location :)-, and for all the conservatives out there, there shouldn't even be booze, just regular drinks or coffee or whatever, the only important thing is the concept itself.
Just another great idea by moi.
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
28 November, 2006
26 November, 2006
Hijab Fight, Act 4
I was just watching "El-3ashera masa2an" on Dream 2. I didn't see the show for quite a while now but I came by it on TV and I immediately remembered why I hate to watch arabic talk shows. EVERYBODY IS SCREAMING! Everywhere I watch TV now I find people, all kinds of people, shouting and screaming on TV trying to make a point. A point that usually is that they're the only ones who got it right and that everybody else is wrong. Every time I see this I immediately remember when I was watching "Quadriga" on DW-TV and he said that the only reason why he's watching this show is because of how calmly and nicely do these people argue with each other! :)
Anyways, first impressions? This Salah Eisa is a an arrogant son of a bitch. He was treating everybody -especially Essam Sultan- like he was much better than them and this is just a quality that I despise. Did anyone of these see Dr. Ahmad Zewail or Farouk El-Baz and how humble they sound when they're talking and I bet that they're much more well-known in the world than any of them. Anyways, I was glad that the issue of the lacking of a culture of civilized argument in Egypt -and in the arab world- in general, because in my opinion this is the key issue in the whole fight on Farouk Housni.
I'm afraid that our country, because of the absence of a real political atmosphere, is being hijacked by Islamic radicals. These are the people who are truly behind this whole bubble. The proof? I'm going to use the same argument used by Magdi El-Gallad, where the hell were they when the real shit happens? Where were they when Egyptians are burned alive, drowned, poisoned and all these wrong doings! Where were they when women were -and still are- sexually harassed? Or is Islam now restricted to covering the hair and growing a beard?
Honestly, I didn't want to talk about this subject at all cause to me, as all the guests -and surprisingly the head of the Islamic brotherhood on the phone- agreed that this subject is irrelevant and is only a front of a much bigger problem. The hijacking of the country by extremist Islamists. And thats not at all a good thing, but thats the subject of my next post.
Anyways, first impressions? This Salah Eisa is a an arrogant son of a bitch. He was treating everybody -especially Essam Sultan- like he was much better than them and this is just a quality that I despise. Did anyone of these see Dr. Ahmad Zewail or Farouk El-Baz and how humble they sound when they're talking and I bet that they're much more well-known in the world than any of them. Anyways, I was glad that the issue of the lacking of a culture of civilized argument in Egypt -and in the arab world- in general, because in my opinion this is the key issue in the whole fight on Farouk Housni.
I'm afraid that our country, because of the absence of a real political atmosphere, is being hijacked by Islamic radicals. These are the people who are truly behind this whole bubble. The proof? I'm going to use the same argument used by Magdi El-Gallad, where the hell were they when the real shit happens? Where were they when Egyptians are burned alive, drowned, poisoned and all these wrong doings! Where were they when women were -and still are- sexually harassed? Or is Islam now restricted to covering the hair and growing a beard?
Honestly, I didn't want to talk about this subject at all cause to me, as all the guests -and surprisingly the head of the Islamic brotherhood on the phone- agreed that this subject is irrelevant and is only a front of a much bigger problem. The hijacking of the country by extremist Islamists. And thats not at all a good thing, but thats the subject of my next post.
22 November, 2006
21 November, 2006
Mubarak Denies My Suggestion on Niqab
Apparently, Mr. Osama Shaltout, a shoura council member has raised my suggestion of banning niqab in Egypt to president Hosni Mubarak! Check it out here.
20 November, 2006
Pink is not a color
I was taking my usual cigarette in the balcony, enjoying the fresh cold air that I missed so much when it suddenly hit me. Pink is not a color!
We have learned in the arts class in school that you have your basic three colors, red, yellow and blue. Mixed in different proportions you get any color in the world, but pink? Pink is what you get when you add "white" to red! Its not actually a color! Pink is simply the "lack" of red!!! Its not even a natural color, its "artificial" and now remember this cause its going to be important later on. Thinking about it, pink doesnt' even occur naturally, there's not a single fruit or vegetable I know thats pink! Even pink roses, I bet its only a phase before getting a real color, RED! Apparently, omwhere in our history, a guy ran out of red while painting so he decided to add some white to it and he came up with, pink! And apparently this dude was highly recognized that nobody dared to object when he decided that he discovered a new color and even got at its own name, pink!
Now, I know this might sound rediculous to most of you, but here's the catch. Pink destroyed women's lives.
Ever wondered about these girls who adore the color pink and put it in everything they have? Well, here's my theory: Pink is a color that was specifically invented to oppress women and to lock them in the box of being "cute little things" and, and this is quite clever now, they used to promote another illusion, romance.
"Romance" is artificial. Or at least the kind of romane that you see on TV, but all the girls some how got in their minds the whole "romantic love" thing and the "hero of their dreams" and all that impossible stuff about finding the one and blah blah. Immagine the statistical improbability of finding the "one" from among 6 billion inhabitants of our planets! And girls got so fixated on this idea that for most of them it has become the aim of their lives to find the one and get married and have children, your typical Hallmark family, a fictional family by the way. And when their boyfriends, fiances etc. don't act like the complete romantic heros they're supposed to be they're frowned upon and treates as cold-hearted insensitive beings when in fact we are only being "realistic".
Anyways, so the marketers of this new romance idea decided to associate it with a color -for marketing purposes of course- and what better color to describe an artificial feeling than an "artificial" color, Pink!
We have learned in the arts class in school that you have your basic three colors, red, yellow and blue. Mixed in different proportions you get any color in the world, but pink? Pink is what you get when you add "white" to red! Its not actually a color! Pink is simply the "lack" of red!!! Its not even a natural color, its "artificial" and now remember this cause its going to be important later on. Thinking about it, pink doesnt' even occur naturally, there's not a single fruit or vegetable I know thats pink! Even pink roses, I bet its only a phase before getting a real color, RED! Apparently, omwhere in our history, a guy ran out of red while painting so he decided to add some white to it and he came up with, pink! And apparently this dude was highly recognized that nobody dared to object when he decided that he discovered a new color and even got at its own name, pink!
Now, I know this might sound rediculous to most of you, but here's the catch. Pink destroyed women's lives.
Ever wondered about these girls who adore the color pink and put it in everything they have? Well, here's my theory: Pink is a color that was specifically invented to oppress women and to lock them in the box of being "cute little things" and, and this is quite clever now, they used to promote another illusion, romance.
"Romance" is artificial. Or at least the kind of romane that you see on TV, but all the girls some how got in their minds the whole "romantic love" thing and the "hero of their dreams" and all that impossible stuff about finding the one and blah blah. Immagine the statistical improbability of finding the "one" from among 6 billion inhabitants of our planets! And girls got so fixated on this idea that for most of them it has become the aim of their lives to find the one and get married and have children, your typical Hallmark family, a fictional family by the way. And when their boyfriends, fiances etc. don't act like the complete romantic heros they're supposed to be they're frowned upon and treates as cold-hearted insensitive beings when in fact we are only being "realistic".
Anyways, so the marketers of this new romance idea decided to associate it with a color -for marketing purposes of course- and what better color to describe an artificial feeling than an "artificial" color, Pink!
19 November, 2006
Netherlands, the next big enemy...
Netherlands is banning borqa in public places. So what?
First of all, I don't live there, and don't nobody start on me that the west are attacking Islam and all that shit and that we should unify with our "brothers" in the west, I don't even believe that arab countries, let alone the Islamic countries, are ever going to be unified and I don't even want it to happen, but thats a different issues.
Second of all, if you're living in the Netherlands, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, and you are wearing a borqa, then you obviously don't belong there and you should move out. Wearing a borqa is an extreme measure, even in Islam, and its not even required to cover your face or hands, and if you are this extreme then I don't understand how you are living in a place that contradicts with all your believes?
Third of all, its not even required to wear a borqa! So why make a big deal about it? Why make a fight out of it? If you have to wear it then go somewhere else, but to me at least, its not natural to cover your face, I can't communicate with a person without seeing his face, its like you want to erase your identity! Besides, the Netherlands says that they're banning it for security reasons, of course our conspiracy theorists won't buy this one bit but I for one think that this is a totally legitimate reason for banning the borqa. Here in Saudi Arabia, terrorists go around freely wearing borqa to cover their identity and no police officer dares asking a woman to uncover her face. Even cars with women inside goes through security check-points unchecked! I don't care if you put check-points all over the place you're not going to make me feel safe if you let a car pass unchecked because there's a woman inside! So, I really don't blame the Netherlands for saying they're banning it for security reasons.
What I really think is that we should ban it in Islamic countries too! Borqa is nothing but an out-dated garment forced on women by tradition and has nothing to do with Islam. I read an investigation by a Saudi newspaper about this issue and I was surprised to know that some of these women never take it off -its not actually a borqa in this case but something similar worn on the face beneath it but they still wear a borqa when they go outside- anyways, I was saying that even their kids never saw their faces, and in some cases, their husbands! This is a case where social traditions got intermingled with Islamic teachings and these women need to understand that and stop abusing themselves because it, according to psychiatrists interviewed for this newspaper investigation, has some serious consequences on their psychiatric well being! Let along on their family, imagine if you never saw your mom's face! How could she show affection or love or any other feeling?
First of all, I don't live there, and don't nobody start on me that the west are attacking Islam and all that shit and that we should unify with our "brothers" in the west, I don't even believe that arab countries, let alone the Islamic countries, are ever going to be unified and I don't even want it to happen, but thats a different issues.
Second of all, if you're living in the Netherlands, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, and you are wearing a borqa, then you obviously don't belong there and you should move out. Wearing a borqa is an extreme measure, even in Islam, and its not even required to cover your face or hands, and if you are this extreme then I don't understand how you are living in a place that contradicts with all your believes?
Third of all, its not even required to wear a borqa! So why make a big deal about it? Why make a fight out of it? If you have to wear it then go somewhere else, but to me at least, its not natural to cover your face, I can't communicate with a person without seeing his face, its like you want to erase your identity! Besides, the Netherlands says that they're banning it for security reasons, of course our conspiracy theorists won't buy this one bit but I for one think that this is a totally legitimate reason for banning the borqa. Here in Saudi Arabia, terrorists go around freely wearing borqa to cover their identity and no police officer dares asking a woman to uncover her face. Even cars with women inside goes through security check-points unchecked! I don't care if you put check-points all over the place you're not going to make me feel safe if you let a car pass unchecked because there's a woman inside! So, I really don't blame the Netherlands for saying they're banning it for security reasons.
What I really think is that we should ban it in Islamic countries too! Borqa is nothing but an out-dated garment forced on women by tradition and has nothing to do with Islam. I read an investigation by a Saudi newspaper about this issue and I was surprised to know that some of these women never take it off -its not actually a borqa in this case but something similar worn on the face beneath it but they still wear a borqa when they go outside- anyways, I was saying that even their kids never saw their faces, and in some cases, their husbands! This is a case where social traditions got intermingled with Islamic teachings and these women need to understand that and stop abusing themselves because it, according to psychiatrists interviewed for this newspaper investigation, has some serious consequences on their psychiatric well being! Let along on their family, imagine if you never saw your mom's face! How could she show affection or love or any other feeling?
14 November, 2006
On My Bed!
Here is yet another thing I don't get about women...
I was just watching "Ed TV" on mbc2, great movie, anyways, there's this scene where his mother tells him, Ed, that his father was cheating on her, not only that, no, it was "in her bed"!!!
So here's what I don't get, cheating is bad, I totally agree. Married men shouldn't do it. But, when it happens, does it really make any difference where? How is cheating in "your bed" much worse than cheating anywhere else? I mean, here you're with this hot chick, you're both ready to commit sin, where do you go? Her place is a mess, I don't know, its too late to go to a hotel, its going to show up on your credit card report or whatever and its gonna get you in trouble, there are like a million reasons for a man, if he's going to cheat, to do it in a "familiar place"! He knows where the drinks are, he knows where the food is, he's gotta wake up early and go to work and he needs to take a shower, I personally love my shower, I don't like taking showers in a strange bathroom!! There's your clean clothes and stuff... The only problem is, she knows where you live now and if anything goes wrong, you're screwed!
So, ladies, I don't see the importance of "the bed" here, what if he did in on the kitchen floor, is "he did on my floor, the damn bastard?". Is it just the bed or is any place in the house also a "no go zone".
And guys... we gotta stick together, I have always wanted to have "The Guy Code". A manual for such weird social and relationship stuff and what is the standard procedure in such situations. And one important chapter in this book should be "Cheating", cause, women are bending our hands here over this "cheating" thing and I think we need to go UN over them and make a clear definition of "cheating". Is kissing cheating? Is kissing Sandra Bullock cheating? If I had the chance, I don't care who am I going out with, I have to kiss her!! And what about when you're outside the country or the city? What exactly is cheating? Cause we need to end this thing once and for all.
I was just watching "Ed TV" on mbc2, great movie, anyways, there's this scene where his mother tells him, Ed, that his father was cheating on her, not only that, no, it was "in her bed"!!!
So here's what I don't get, cheating is bad, I totally agree. Married men shouldn't do it. But, when it happens, does it really make any difference where? How is cheating in "your bed" much worse than cheating anywhere else? I mean, here you're with this hot chick, you're both ready to commit sin, where do you go? Her place is a mess, I don't know, its too late to go to a hotel, its going to show up on your credit card report or whatever and its gonna get you in trouble, there are like a million reasons for a man, if he's going to cheat, to do it in a "familiar place"! He knows where the drinks are, he knows where the food is, he's gotta wake up early and go to work and he needs to take a shower, I personally love my shower, I don't like taking showers in a strange bathroom!! There's your clean clothes and stuff... The only problem is, she knows where you live now and if anything goes wrong, you're screwed!
So, ladies, I don't see the importance of "the bed" here, what if he did in on the kitchen floor, is "he did on my floor, the damn bastard?". Is it just the bed or is any place in the house also a "no go zone".
And guys... we gotta stick together, I have always wanted to have "The Guy Code". A manual for such weird social and relationship stuff and what is the standard procedure in such situations. And one important chapter in this book should be "Cheating", cause, women are bending our hands here over this "cheating" thing and I think we need to go UN over them and make a clear definition of "cheating". Is kissing cheating? Is kissing Sandra Bullock cheating? If I had the chance, I don't care who am I going out with, I have to kiss her!! And what about when you're outside the country or the city? What exactly is cheating? Cause we need to end this thing once and for all.
05 November, 2006
El 5elfa welly by5allefooha
There are a lot of things about living in Egypt that makes me wonder if I'm really living in the 21st century or is it that there's just something magical about Egypt that makes its people stay the same while everything else around them is changing.
women circumcision for example, magic, superstition and the supernatural world in general, virginity, divorce, polygyny... You see all of these issues come and go in the media probably when they have nothing better to do and they want a sure hit... its the "fart bag" theory by Mahmoud El-Sa'adani all over again and weather it requires wodoo2 again or not.
Polygyny in particular always made me think, yes it is permissible by Islam to marry more than one woman, but, really, do you think anybody does for any other reason than sex? This is yet another way where a part of Islam was taken, manipulated, and under the influence of our man-made culture it gave an opportunity for perverts to have sex with more than woman "fel-7alal"... Before you all attack me and start spreading accusation right and left, don't you think that Islam made this practice ok to solve a particular kind of problem? All "tashree3at" in Islam were put there to serve a purpose that will eventually make the society better... but, is this why man people practice polygyny now? Have you ever heard of a single case where a man is married to more than one woman and there was no problems cause that are far worse than if he stuck with his first wife? Is their a relationship between the fact that people who get married to more than one woman have like a gizillion kids?
Is not being fertile reason enough to destroy a marriage? I see kids all over the place and to be honest, I don't think that anybody is doing any better job than anybody else bringing up his own kids, that is if he gives a damn in the first place about them growing up into responsible human beings. It actually makes me wonder of the relevance of having kids anymore, especially with our world not getting any better, is it a good decision to burden ourselves emotionally and financially to introduce yet more people to this over-crowded planet?
If we are still living in farms and own our land and work on them growing corps then having kids, and even at relatively young ages, is a good source for good and reliable labor! Think about it, I believe this is the main reason why peasants like to have many kids and get married at very young ages, because their lifestyle demands such measures. But, unless you are a peasant, and unless you're so egotistical that you actually believe that the world needs more people like you? Because other than that, If I have learned anything from my parents and all the hell I and my brothers put them through, all this pressure, all this money spent, then it is to not have any kids.
But lets say you are crazy enough to get married... and lets say that you found someone and you've met her family and all is going well, just after the "fara7", there's the first obstacle, virginity. Let's say your wife was -el 7amdolellah- a virgin, which I don't get the relevance of especially with the invention of "re-verginization" operations. But, answer me this question... why is their is always this pressure on the newly weds by their in-laws to get pregnant as soon as possible? Is it suddenly your responsibility to ensure the continuity of the human species? Are you the last fertile couple on Earth?
But again, let us forget about this, let's say that you are a "normal couple" who had a young baby like 10-12 months after marriage and you have successfully ruined the only pussy you are allowed to touch -from now on, its the death penalty, and by stoning too-. Let me ask you a question, what difference in the world does it make if the baby is a boy or a girl? Let me take you back to the peasant mentality because its the only way I could explain the relevance of the sex of the child. Again you're a poor peasant who's starving for a another loyal laborer to work on his land, if you get a girl, you're surely going to let her help you after she has grown strong, all peasant women do, but, as it is the customs of peasants before your daughter reaches 20 years old, maybe even 18 or 16, she's going to get married and belong to someone else's household and start working on their land, you have given him free labor and you have lost an 18 years old investment! A boy on the other hand is going to stay with you helping you with your own land, not only that, he is too going to get married and doing so, you have gained another free laborer too! Thats a good return on a night of fun, don't you think?
Now, unless you are a peasant who needs free labor, you are not allowed to discriminate between a boy and girl. But again, el sharaf yabettelkalb, el sharaf!!! And don't let me get started on that, but if you gotta, Isis said it all here.
Here's a little story I heard on a movie once. A man got married to a woman, and after some time, the man noticed that whenever his wife cooks fish, she cuts the tail and the head and put it in the pan. When he asked her why she is doing this, she answered that she always saw her mother do it this way. So the guy decided to research the issue, so he went to her mother and asked her why did she always cook fish this way, she answered that its because she was poor and her pan was smaller than the pan, and since she couldn't afford a bigger pan, she would only cut the head and the tail so that the fish fits in the smaller pan!
Before you do something just because every generation before you did, because your whole ignorant community is doing it, ask yourself a simple question, why do I have to do it exactly the same?
women circumcision for example, magic, superstition and the supernatural world in general, virginity, divorce, polygyny... You see all of these issues come and go in the media probably when they have nothing better to do and they want a sure hit... its the "fart bag" theory by Mahmoud El-Sa'adani all over again and weather it requires wodoo2 again or not.
Polygyny in particular always made me think, yes it is permissible by Islam to marry more than one woman, but, really, do you think anybody does for any other reason than sex? This is yet another way where a part of Islam was taken, manipulated, and under the influence of our man-made culture it gave an opportunity for perverts to have sex with more than woman "fel-7alal"... Before you all attack me and start spreading accusation right and left, don't you think that Islam made this practice ok to solve a particular kind of problem? All "tashree3at" in Islam were put there to serve a purpose that will eventually make the society better... but, is this why man people practice polygyny now? Have you ever heard of a single case where a man is married to more than one woman and there was no problems cause that are far worse than if he stuck with his first wife? Is their a relationship between the fact that people who get married to more than one woman have like a gizillion kids?
Is not being fertile reason enough to destroy a marriage? I see kids all over the place and to be honest, I don't think that anybody is doing any better job than anybody else bringing up his own kids, that is if he gives a damn in the first place about them growing up into responsible human beings. It actually makes me wonder of the relevance of having kids anymore, especially with our world not getting any better, is it a good decision to burden ourselves emotionally and financially to introduce yet more people to this over-crowded planet?
If we are still living in farms and own our land and work on them growing corps then having kids, and even at relatively young ages, is a good source for good and reliable labor! Think about it, I believe this is the main reason why peasants like to have many kids and get married at very young ages, because their lifestyle demands such measures. But, unless you are a peasant, and unless you're so egotistical that you actually believe that the world needs more people like you? Because other than that, If I have learned anything from my parents and all the hell I and my brothers put them through, all this pressure, all this money spent, then it is to not have any kids.
But lets say you are crazy enough to get married... and lets say that you found someone and you've met her family and all is going well, just after the "fara7", there's the first obstacle, virginity. Let's say your wife was -el 7amdolellah- a virgin, which I don't get the relevance of especially with the invention of "re-verginization" operations. But, answer me this question... why is their is always this pressure on the newly weds by their in-laws to get pregnant as soon as possible? Is it suddenly your responsibility to ensure the continuity of the human species? Are you the last fertile couple on Earth?
But again, let us forget about this, let's say that you are a "normal couple" who had a young baby like 10-12 months after marriage and you have successfully ruined the only pussy you are allowed to touch -from now on, its the death penalty, and by stoning too-. Let me ask you a question, what difference in the world does it make if the baby is a boy or a girl? Let me take you back to the peasant mentality because its the only way I could explain the relevance of the sex of the child. Again you're a poor peasant who's starving for a another loyal laborer to work on his land, if you get a girl, you're surely going to let her help you after she has grown strong, all peasant women do, but, as it is the customs of peasants before your daughter reaches 20 years old, maybe even 18 or 16, she's going to get married and belong to someone else's household and start working on their land, you have given him free labor and you have lost an 18 years old investment! A boy on the other hand is going to stay with you helping you with your own land, not only that, he is too going to get married and doing so, you have gained another free laborer too! Thats a good return on a night of fun, don't you think?
Now, unless you are a peasant who needs free labor, you are not allowed to discriminate between a boy and girl. But again, el sharaf yabettelkalb, el sharaf!!! And don't let me get started on that, but if you gotta, Isis said it all here.
Here's a little story I heard on a movie once. A man got married to a woman, and after some time, the man noticed that whenever his wife cooks fish, she cuts the tail and the head and put it in the pan. When he asked her why she is doing this, she answered that she always saw her mother do it this way. So the guy decided to research the issue, so he went to her mother and asked her why did she always cook fish this way, she answered that its because she was poor and her pan was smaller than the pan, and since she couldn't afford a bigger pan, she would only cut the head and the tail so that the fish fits in the smaller pan!
Before you do something just because every generation before you did, because your whole ignorant community is doing it, ask yourself a simple question, why do I have to do it exactly the same?
On niqab welly byetnaqqabo
This started as a comment on Isis's post
http://egyptreality.blogspot.com/2006/10/hijab-niqab-my-head-hurts.html
on hijab. As I started writing it I realized that I have too much to say about the issue that I decided to make it a complete post on my blog too... So, here it is:
Dick, Isis, and everybody else who's reading this comment.
I have to say that this is one interesting topic you're discussing here and it is still controversial even in Islamic countries, not only in the west.
I hope that my opinion here might open a new perspective especially that I've been living in Saudi Arabia for a very long while now.
I'll tell you my opinion on hijab at the end, but right not, I want to say that I disagree with muslim immigrants to the west wearing niqab or forcing their daughters to do so. I think that if you agreed to immigrate to another country then you agree to make certain compromises, I'm not saying that he doesn't have to be a muslim, but Islam is really based on five "pillars" or requirements that if you do them then you're a muslim.
I think that its only the most religiously extreme immigrants that chose to cover their whole body, it is extreme even in Egypt! But the issue is, if you are accepting to live in that culture you have to live by their social norm and not force it on the others, if you choose to wear niqab and cover you whole body then may be leaving your home islamic contry wasn't a smart choice to begin with.
I take it on muslims who live in westerns country and not try to accept and really become a part of the society they are living in now but instead hiding themselves behind cover after cover until they are completely insulated from the effect of that society, if you are afraid of it so much, why live there in the first place? And what is the niqab if it is not another barrier between the person wearing it and the society he's living in?
I think that these people live in a type of dilemma because Islam requires muslims who are not able to perform their islam correctly in any place to leave it as the prophet did when he left from Mekka to Al-Madina.
I'm not against covering the hair or wearing hijab, I believe that it is a personal choice, but its a personal choice that necessitates certain transition in a persons life style. Its a sign of humbleness and total abidance by the teachings of Islam thats why the example of the "sexy mohagaba" mentioned by Isis here is completely fraud!! cause being sexy in itself is completely against wearing hijab and the only thing I could understand from such attitude is that this person was forced, either by family or by social pressure, to wear something that reflects an image that is different than what the person believes in.
Western women who live in Saudi Arabia often wear some kind of cover "abaya - 3abaya" which is a black peace of textile worn on top of the clothes, just like saudi women do. Not necessarily because they believe in it, but because they are responsible persons who respect the culture of the country they're living in. I ask for nothing more from muslims when they're living abroad, and there's not contradiction here. One of my veiled friends when she goes to the states she wears an ice mask to cover her hair instead of wearing the traditional hijab she usually wears in Egypt because she understands that the essence is covering here hair not that she has to cover it in a certain way.
The insistence of girls to cover their faces -even with paper as Isis's saying! lol!!! never seen this one before though!- comes from a non-understanding of their own religion and instead listening to the new bread of neo-Islamists who are all around TV now who made these girls think that if covering your hair is good then covering your face is even better!
These people forgot that Islam always asked people not to do more than they could handle or afford, thats why we don't have a system of priesthood in Islam where men and women are not allowed to get married, its because Islam recognizes the needs of the body and well not accept or tolerate not accepting them, also there are a lot of indications on such things in the teachings of our prophet where people are specifically and repeatedly asked to make the easier choice between two good practices!
Covering the face is, at least in my opinion, a political statement that they think that the rest of us are wrong and that they're the only true muslims... the trend of the "Islamic Brotherhood" who were by the way responsible for the spread of extreme understanding of Islam all over the world and who are responsible for the birth of the Taliban and last but not least the guy from Austrailia...
http://egyptreality.blogspot.com/2006/10/hijab-niqab-my-head-hurts.html
on hijab. As I started writing it I realized that I have too much to say about the issue that I decided to make it a complete post on my blog too... So, here it is:
Dick, Isis, and everybody else who's reading this comment.
I have to say that this is one interesting topic you're discussing here and it is still controversial even in Islamic countries, not only in the west.
I hope that my opinion here might open a new perspective especially that I've been living in Saudi Arabia for a very long while now.
I'll tell you my opinion on hijab at the end, but right not, I want to say that I disagree with muslim immigrants to the west wearing niqab or forcing their daughters to do so. I think that if you agreed to immigrate to another country then you agree to make certain compromises, I'm not saying that he doesn't have to be a muslim, but Islam is really based on five "pillars" or requirements that if you do them then you're a muslim.
I think that its only the most religiously extreme immigrants that chose to cover their whole body, it is extreme even in Egypt! But the issue is, if you are accepting to live in that culture you have to live by their social norm and not force it on the others, if you choose to wear niqab and cover you whole body then may be leaving your home islamic contry wasn't a smart choice to begin with.
I take it on muslims who live in westerns country and not try to accept and really become a part of the society they are living in now but instead hiding themselves behind cover after cover until they are completely insulated from the effect of that society, if you are afraid of it so much, why live there in the first place? And what is the niqab if it is not another barrier between the person wearing it and the society he's living in?
I think that these people live in a type of dilemma because Islam requires muslims who are not able to perform their islam correctly in any place to leave it as the prophet did when he left from Mekka to Al-Madina.
I'm not against covering the hair or wearing hijab, I believe that it is a personal choice, but its a personal choice that necessitates certain transition in a persons life style. Its a sign of humbleness and total abidance by the teachings of Islam thats why the example of the "sexy mohagaba" mentioned by Isis here is completely fraud!! cause being sexy in itself is completely against wearing hijab and the only thing I could understand from such attitude is that this person was forced, either by family or by social pressure, to wear something that reflects an image that is different than what the person believes in.
Western women who live in Saudi Arabia often wear some kind of cover "abaya - 3abaya" which is a black peace of textile worn on top of the clothes, just like saudi women do. Not necessarily because they believe in it, but because they are responsible persons who respect the culture of the country they're living in. I ask for nothing more from muslims when they're living abroad, and there's not contradiction here. One of my veiled friends when she goes to the states she wears an ice mask to cover her hair instead of wearing the traditional hijab she usually wears in Egypt because she understands that the essence is covering here hair not that she has to cover it in a certain way.
The insistence of girls to cover their faces -even with paper as Isis's saying! lol!!! never seen this one before though!- comes from a non-understanding of their own religion and instead listening to the new bread of neo-Islamists who are all around TV now who made these girls think that if covering your hair is good then covering your face is even better!
These people forgot that Islam always asked people not to do more than they could handle or afford, thats why we don't have a system of priesthood in Islam where men and women are not allowed to get married, its because Islam recognizes the needs of the body and well not accept or tolerate not accepting them, also there are a lot of indications on such things in the teachings of our prophet where people are specifically and repeatedly asked to make the easier choice between two good practices!
Covering the face is, at least in my opinion, a political statement that they think that the rest of us are wrong and that they're the only true muslims... the trend of the "Islamic Brotherhood" who were by the way responsible for the spread of extreme understanding of Islam all over the world and who are responsible for the birth of the Taliban and last but not least the guy from Austrailia...
01 November, 2006
Etkallemo
I'm writing this post in support of the unofficial campaign started by Malik after the incidents of sexual herrasements...
WE ARE A SICK COMMUNITY...
Yes, we are absolutely a sick community. And we have been one for quite a long time now, well, as far as I remember I started to read at least. We would make a very interesting case study for an interested psychological researcher with all our hidden truths and feelings and double standards and yet we, on the political level, ask others to be fair and just with us while we are unfair and unjust to ourselves and to everyone around us.
We are all hypocrates. We all want something or promote for something and do the complete opposite. We all pretend to have a certain standard but as soon as we are alone we do all types of wrong doings. The sexual herrasement event that took place is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger issue which is the woman in our society and all of this also fits in the larger picture that we are all living in a sick hypocratic community.
I remember when I was a kid and I was reading kids magazines, there was a feature where the magazines answers questions that kids ask them. One particular quesiton that came up almost every week was always from a girl who has a brother and she's asking why is he allowed more freedoms than she does and the answer would be that since she's getting a lot of more precious stuff in the form of jewelery, it is justified that he should also get some more previlages since he's not getting any jewelry!!! Even as a little kid I didn't buy it, and I still don't. Thinking about it now, maybe if you made the boys stay in as much as girls or abide by the same curfew maybe, just maybe, we could've trusted our daughters going on the streets alone... or is the concept of eliminating the cause not familiar with all of us?
To tell you the truth, I nver understood the extreme importance we give to virginity and how if a girl loses it the whole world crumbles over not only her, but on her whole family. I immediately get the all well-known image of a mother crying over the lost virginity of her daughter and asking herself "7awaddi weshi men el nas feen" and the father getting in deep trauma and depression and is just not able to talk to anybody and loses all will for living and this whole aurora of shame the falls on the family and then the girl falls in the abyss of sin!!! And it doesn't matter how did the girl lose her viriginity, if it was by accident or if she was abused or raped or if she committed it by her own will, no matter what the circumstances are the reaction is the same. And especially in the case of rape, and this is what really grinded my gears, is when a rape accident is "solved" by the rapist accepting to marry the girl that he raped... does anybody see anything wrong here? What about the girl? the rape victim? what about her being scarred for life by a sick soul that she's then forced to live with for the rest of her life? what is going to happen to her? where is her right to live a normal life after being victimized?
Again, maybe if we treated the guys the same way for losing their virginity too we wouldn't have these problems! If we eliminate them from the society and treat them like outcasts too any guy will thing twice before committing this sin which in Islam has the same weight and requires the same penalty! And we call ourselves a muslim community, excuse my french, but you could all kiss my ass.
This might make most of you laugh but maybe its because I never had a sister. But I don't think thats the reason... or maybe, I really don't know.
The other dilemma I have is the issue of divorce. It just amazes me how much crap a woman can bare from an abusive husband just because she doesn't get divorced and the whole scene from the loss of virginity. I think that being raised outside Egypt and only visiting it on vacations and trying in this little space to catch up with whats happening and immersing myself in the magazines and newspapers and then spending the rest of the year outside made me an "outside observer" who has a different views of our society.
Now, back to the issue which I beleive is not the public abuse and herrasement but the issue is how we look to the woman in our society and how women also look at themselves. I know we as a "masculine" society bare most of the fault but women too acting week and vulnerable and being unable to support themselves financially and emotionally are committing the same crime against themselves. I don't know who said it on TV, I think Nawa Al-Sa'dawi, yeah I beleive it was her who said that a woman who's being abused by her husband deserves to be abused! Thats completely true, you choose weather you're a victim or not. But again, I have to admit that it takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of a whole community that looks at a woman as property and if she loses her virginity, for any reason, she's broken goods that anybody can go abuse and use just because!!!
Unfortunately most girls coast through life waiting for "the one", the dream person who well make them feel special and treat them righteously instead of fighting and demanding their own rights for themselves. I've been talking once with a girl who's a medicine student and she was getting engaged and I asked her what she's going to do after getting married and she told me that she's going to be a stay at home mom. I have nothing against any girl wanting to stay at home and take care of her kids and actually beleive that its the right of the kids to have their mom looking after them, if she chooses so that is. But I was shocked because this girl worked so hard studying through school and went to study medicine and put herself under this whole pressure just to be a stay-at-home mom at the end. I mean, she might as well have stayed at home right after school waiting for the "right" person to come along. Again, I'm not against the education of women but I'm against the notion in our society that the ultimate goal of any girl is to get married and produce offspring, immediately! Why is it that any couple who gets married have this obligation of producing children as soon as possible and why is it if they fail to do so or just simply choose to wait a little that they are criticized by the whole community as if if she fails to get pregnant then she's useless. And then there's this whole egyptian movie again where the guys mother criticizes the girl very harshly and treats her like excess luggage and wants her boy to divorce this girl and marry another "fertile" one?
To be honest with you, I'm yet to see the perfect son. I've seen too many examples of bad parenting that resulted in weird specimens of people that I'm wondering why is anybody thinking that they could do a better job bringing up their own sons? And I could go on and on on the weird stuff that we take as givens in our society.
Nawal Al-Sa'dawi, aside from all the debat going on about her and her controversial statements and position, which are only controversial because they contradict with our sick mentality, is one of my heros. She wasn't afraid of divorcing her husband and defied the rule of the community and preferred to make people respect her for who she is not for the state of her hymen membrane. She alone had the courage to defy the way over-due taboos of an unjust community and didn't feel any shame in getting divorce. I just wish all girls had the same courage. I wish that girls have the courage that Hend El-Hennawi had going public with her pregnancy and forcing "ebn el fishawi" as I like to call him to accept the "nasab" of his daughter. Did anybody really ask himself why did everybody attack this girl? Did anybody think that maybe its the right of this little girl to have a father and save her some misery in the future that we all know she's going to suffer from as soon as she begins to understand what people are talking about?
I have talked too much here and I know that most people reading this post will not come so far but if you did, thank you. I'm only righting this just to record my despise of our society regarding the treatment of women. And girls, I have nothing more to say than "ekallemo"...
WE ARE A SICK COMMUNITY...
Yes, we are absolutely a sick community. And we have been one for quite a long time now, well, as far as I remember I started to read at least. We would make a very interesting case study for an interested psychological researcher with all our hidden truths and feelings and double standards and yet we, on the political level, ask others to be fair and just with us while we are unfair and unjust to ourselves and to everyone around us.
We are all hypocrates. We all want something or promote for something and do the complete opposite. We all pretend to have a certain standard but as soon as we are alone we do all types of wrong doings. The sexual herrasement event that took place is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger issue which is the woman in our society and all of this also fits in the larger picture that we are all living in a sick hypocratic community.
I remember when I was a kid and I was reading kids magazines, there was a feature where the magazines answers questions that kids ask them. One particular quesiton that came up almost every week was always from a girl who has a brother and she's asking why is he allowed more freedoms than she does and the answer would be that since she's getting a lot of more precious stuff in the form of jewelery, it is justified that he should also get some more previlages since he's not getting any jewelry!!! Even as a little kid I didn't buy it, and I still don't. Thinking about it now, maybe if you made the boys stay in as much as girls or abide by the same curfew maybe, just maybe, we could've trusted our daughters going on the streets alone... or is the concept of eliminating the cause not familiar with all of us?
To tell you the truth, I nver understood the extreme importance we give to virginity and how if a girl loses it the whole world crumbles over not only her, but on her whole family. I immediately get the all well-known image of a mother crying over the lost virginity of her daughter and asking herself "7awaddi weshi men el nas feen" and the father getting in deep trauma and depression and is just not able to talk to anybody and loses all will for living and this whole aurora of shame the falls on the family and then the girl falls in the abyss of sin!!! And it doesn't matter how did the girl lose her viriginity, if it was by accident or if she was abused or raped or if she committed it by her own will, no matter what the circumstances are the reaction is the same. And especially in the case of rape, and this is what really grinded my gears, is when a rape accident is "solved" by the rapist accepting to marry the girl that he raped... does anybody see anything wrong here? What about the girl? the rape victim? what about her being scarred for life by a sick soul that she's then forced to live with for the rest of her life? what is going to happen to her? where is her right to live a normal life after being victimized?
Again, maybe if we treated the guys the same way for losing their virginity too we wouldn't have these problems! If we eliminate them from the society and treat them like outcasts too any guy will thing twice before committing this sin which in Islam has the same weight and requires the same penalty! And we call ourselves a muslim community, excuse my french, but you could all kiss my ass.
This might make most of you laugh but maybe its because I never had a sister. But I don't think thats the reason... or maybe, I really don't know.
The other dilemma I have is the issue of divorce. It just amazes me how much crap a woman can bare from an abusive husband just because she doesn't get divorced and the whole scene from the loss of virginity. I think that being raised outside Egypt and only visiting it on vacations and trying in this little space to catch up with whats happening and immersing myself in the magazines and newspapers and then spending the rest of the year outside made me an "outside observer" who has a different views of our society.
Now, back to the issue which I beleive is not the public abuse and herrasement but the issue is how we look to the woman in our society and how women also look at themselves. I know we as a "masculine" society bare most of the fault but women too acting week and vulnerable and being unable to support themselves financially and emotionally are committing the same crime against themselves. I don't know who said it on TV, I think Nawa Al-Sa'dawi, yeah I beleive it was her who said that a woman who's being abused by her husband deserves to be abused! Thats completely true, you choose weather you're a victim or not. But again, I have to admit that it takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of a whole community that looks at a woman as property and if she loses her virginity, for any reason, she's broken goods that anybody can go abuse and use just because!!!
Unfortunately most girls coast through life waiting for "the one", the dream person who well make them feel special and treat them righteously instead of fighting and demanding their own rights for themselves. I've been talking once with a girl who's a medicine student and she was getting engaged and I asked her what she's going to do after getting married and she told me that she's going to be a stay at home mom. I have nothing against any girl wanting to stay at home and take care of her kids and actually beleive that its the right of the kids to have their mom looking after them, if she chooses so that is. But I was shocked because this girl worked so hard studying through school and went to study medicine and put herself under this whole pressure just to be a stay-at-home mom at the end. I mean, she might as well have stayed at home right after school waiting for the "right" person to come along. Again, I'm not against the education of women but I'm against the notion in our society that the ultimate goal of any girl is to get married and produce offspring, immediately! Why is it that any couple who gets married have this obligation of producing children as soon as possible and why is it if they fail to do so or just simply choose to wait a little that they are criticized by the whole community as if if she fails to get pregnant then she's useless. And then there's this whole egyptian movie again where the guys mother criticizes the girl very harshly and treats her like excess luggage and wants her boy to divorce this girl and marry another "fertile" one?
To be honest with you, I'm yet to see the perfect son. I've seen too many examples of bad parenting that resulted in weird specimens of people that I'm wondering why is anybody thinking that they could do a better job bringing up their own sons? And I could go on and on on the weird stuff that we take as givens in our society.
Nawal Al-Sa'dawi, aside from all the debat going on about her and her controversial statements and position, which are only controversial because they contradict with our sick mentality, is one of my heros. She wasn't afraid of divorcing her husband and defied the rule of the community and preferred to make people respect her for who she is not for the state of her hymen membrane. She alone had the courage to defy the way over-due taboos of an unjust community and didn't feel any shame in getting divorce. I just wish all girls had the same courage. I wish that girls have the courage that Hend El-Hennawi had going public with her pregnancy and forcing "ebn el fishawi" as I like to call him to accept the "nasab" of his daughter. Did anybody really ask himself why did everybody attack this girl? Did anybody think that maybe its the right of this little girl to have a father and save her some misery in the future that we all know she's going to suffer from as soon as she begins to understand what people are talking about?
I have talked too much here and I know that most people reading this post will not come so far but if you did, thank you. I'm only righting this just to record my despise of our society regarding the treatment of women. And girls, I have nothing more to say than "ekallemo"...
The Hala Show Taboo
I know this comment is comming a little too late, but I just read this article and I just had to comment on it because it made me feel angry. This is yet another example of how double-faced our society is becoming and how untolerant and un-willing to participate in any kid of positive discussion we have become. I'm talking about the letter that 200 people sent to the rotana channel demanding the resignation or firing of Hala Sarhan because of the nature of contraversial subjects she is discussing in her show on the channel.
First, I don't know how difficult it is for some people to just change the channel if they don't like what they're watching on the TV. It is impossible for everything that is shown on the TV to abide by the hight "moral?" standards of all the people watching because by default it is being shown to a very wide segment of people, if they like it thats good, if they don't, they don't have to! It is their right to change the channel and watch something else that is more to their tast and standards. But if everbody demands the stopping of every show that discusses issues he doesn't necessarily agree with then there is not going to be anything left to watch!
Secondly, I'm one of the very few people who say they don't like Hala Sarhan and actually don't watch her shows! I didn't see the one that spurred all that controversy but its the reaction that has stunt me! I respect Hala and think that she's very brave for discussing such subjects that nobody else on TV dares to come even close to, its her way of talking that really annoys me, I dislike her as a person not as a professional if that makes any sense to anybody! If she's going to talk about prostitutes in Egypt, why not? Isn't there prostitutes in Egypt? Haven't you been to the street before? Hellooo! She didn't just create this issue for the sake of discussion! It is a problem that the community suffers and if we are going to do anything about we have to discuss it and see who are these people and what are their problems in order to fix them and prevent more people from doing the same again, but this is in an ideal community...
I don't think that anything that has been discussed on TV has ever changed anything or solved any problems and thats why it really bugs me whent these actresses and actors go on saying that they are going to "discuss a problem" in their dumbass series "يعالجو المشكلة" as they always like to say... but thats not the issue here, the issue is that these people, the respected ones ofcourse, have the right to disect the society and show us the rotten things that are living inside in order for us to become aware of it and try to solve it.
At the end of the article it discusses the issue of openly discussing safe sex on TV and trying to enforce it as a subject in the schools. I personally have no problem with this and maybe even encourage it, to tell you the truth, it is something that teenagers have to hear about from somewhere and in our society, I don't think that parents are willing to openly discuss this kind of stuff with their kids so if there's a reliable source of information about it, why attack it? especially when it comes to using birth control, which the Egyptians have to seriously start considering! Its one thing for a teenager to have sex -and in the case of girls bring shame to their family forever! :)- but it is going to be much less of a headache if it doesn't develop into a pregnancy issue which our society handles and a disasterous way either way... Drop all the pretexts of social right and wrong and think about it objectively and you will find that I'm right. I don't think that now you can preven teenagers from doing whatever they want to do, so you might as well teach him how to do it right so it wont distroy their future!
First, I don't know how difficult it is for some people to just change the channel if they don't like what they're watching on the TV. It is impossible for everything that is shown on the TV to abide by the hight "moral?" standards of all the people watching because by default it is being shown to a very wide segment of people, if they like it thats good, if they don't, they don't have to! It is their right to change the channel and watch something else that is more to their tast and standards. But if everbody demands the stopping of every show that discusses issues he doesn't necessarily agree with then there is not going to be anything left to watch!
Secondly, I'm one of the very few people who say they don't like Hala Sarhan and actually don't watch her shows! I didn't see the one that spurred all that controversy but its the reaction that has stunt me! I respect Hala and think that she's very brave for discussing such subjects that nobody else on TV dares to come even close to, its her way of talking that really annoys me, I dislike her as a person not as a professional if that makes any sense to anybody! If she's going to talk about prostitutes in Egypt, why not? Isn't there prostitutes in Egypt? Haven't you been to the street before? Hellooo! She didn't just create this issue for the sake of discussion! It is a problem that the community suffers and if we are going to do anything about we have to discuss it and see who are these people and what are their problems in order to fix them and prevent more people from doing the same again, but this is in an ideal community...
I don't think that anything that has been discussed on TV has ever changed anything or solved any problems and thats why it really bugs me whent these actresses and actors go on saying that they are going to "discuss a problem" in their dumbass series "يعالجو المشكلة" as they always like to say... but thats not the issue here, the issue is that these people, the respected ones ofcourse, have the right to disect the society and show us the rotten things that are living inside in order for us to become aware of it and try to solve it.
At the end of the article it discusses the issue of openly discussing safe sex on TV and trying to enforce it as a subject in the schools. I personally have no problem with this and maybe even encourage it, to tell you the truth, it is something that teenagers have to hear about from somewhere and in our society, I don't think that parents are willing to openly discuss this kind of stuff with their kids so if there's a reliable source of information about it, why attack it? especially when it comes to using birth control, which the Egyptians have to seriously start considering! Its one thing for a teenager to have sex -and in the case of girls bring shame to their family forever! :)- but it is going to be much less of a headache if it doesn't develop into a pregnancy issue which our society handles and a disasterous way either way... Drop all the pretexts of social right and wrong and think about it objectively and you will find that I'm right. I don't think that now you can preven teenagers from doing whatever they want to do, so you might as well teach him how to do it right so it wont distroy their future!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
